Dictate in any app · Finance

Voice typing in Xero

Xero is shared with an accountant, which makes your notes somebody else's evidence. Typally puts your words into Xero the moment you release the key, in whichever field you left the cursor.

From the people who build Typally. If Xero's own option covers your use, use it — this page will tell you when it does.
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In short

  • Xero's own dictation: None. Descriptions, notes and discussion fields are typed.
  • What Typally does instead: types into the focused window, so it works in Xero and everywhere else you write.
  • Best used for: transaction descriptions

Does Xero have built-in dictation?

None. Descriptions, notes and discussion fields are typed.

Why dictate in Xero at all?

The whole point of cloud accounting is that your bookkeeper sees the same file. That only helps if what you write is comprehensible to them, and a two-word description is not.

In practice people use it for: Transaction descriptions, discussions on a bill or invoice, contact notes, and the explanation attached to a reconciliation.

How to dictate in Xero

You do not configure anything in Xero. The hotkey works wherever your cursor happens to be:

1

Set Typally up once

One install, one sign-in. Nothing else to configure.

2

Put the cursor in the Xero field you are filling

The cursor position is the whole instruction — Xero routes the keystrokes from there.

3

Hold the hotkey and talk

Say the whole thought, then let go. No time limit.

4

Read it before you move on

Reconciliation screens move on quickly once an item is matched. Dictate the note before confirming the match, not after.

What Typally adds in Xero

Typally types into transaction descriptions and Xero's discussion threads, so a question for your bookkeeper can be asked directly on the transaction rather than in a monthly email of eleven queries. Dictate the note before confirming a reconciliation match, since the screen moves on once matched.

What this looks like in practice

Instead of a monthly email listing eleven queries, a business owner speaks each question onto the transaction itself as it comes up. The bookkeeper answers in place, and the month-end call disappears.

One habit that makes it work better

Use Xero's discussion feature and dictate the question for your accountant right on the transaction. It saves the email thread that would otherwise start with 'which one do you mean?'

What to watch out for in Xero

Reconciliation screens move on quickly once an item is matched. Dictate the note before confirming the match, not after.

Frequently asked questions

Does Xero have voice input?

No. All entry is typed.

Can I dictate into Xero's discussion threads?

Yes. Open the discussion on the transaction and click into the box.

Does this work with Xero on a tablet?

Tablets use the on-screen keyboard's microphone; desktop is where a separate tool applies.

Try it in Xero

You can try this on the free plan — 100 minutes a month, no card, no trial countdown.

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Also dictate in: QuickBooks · FreshBooks · Sage · see all apps