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This new era of trust needs a measure, namely reputation capital. Treat energy the same way you treat money – both are finite resources that need to be wisely managed, reallocated and invested. Productised services provide far better value for money than custom solutions as the productised service has been created to deliver one result in a highly efficient and systemised way. If you can’t find a productised service that delivers what you are after then a custom offering might be your only option, but I do recommend exploring productised services first. Here is a post we wrote about why we chose a productised service back when we first launched.
Historically it has been a painful process for these entrepreneurs to access bank loans. The impact of bringing machine learning to Xero is that the majority of data entry work can be automated. Some of this automation we can expect to see in the next 1-2 years. I’d been aware of the impact of machine learning on the accounting industry, but the speed with which this technology is coming caught me by surprise. In his keynote address Rod Drury, Xero CEO and Co-Founder, shared Accounting 2020 – a vision for the future of the accounting industry. The key themes in Rod’s keynote were machine learning and artificial intelligence. Last month I headed to Brisbane for Xerocon South – an innovative conference for cloud accounting leaders in Australia, NZ, and Asia.
Practical Tips To Survive And Thrive At Xerocon
There’s no better time to network with your peers, connect with new friends, or touch base with product providers than at a conference. XeroCon has held at the Brisbane Conference Centre and 2,400 accountants from around Australia and New Zealand attended. As well as learning about key developments in Xero and in the accounting industry in general, there were also some great business leadership sessions that we will look to share with you in coming blogs. To develop a high performing and innovative team in your business implement a ‘no triangles’ policy and develop a culture of “respect trumps harmony”. This can also be used to develop deeper and more productive relationships with your clients.
It’s important to me that you trust that Fresh Financials are the experts in our field. I want you to know that the systems that we use are the most efficient on the market. And that the speed in which we can process your data is the fasted available. You’ll know yourself from your own life and business that technology moves so quickly. Things that were mind blowing just a few years ago can be mainstream today. Check out Xerocon in Review for great content or Xero’s Youtube channel for keynote sessions. Nothing beats being on the ground and getting to chat to people face to face.
From Hubdoc and Xero Tax to paying bills with TransferWise, learn about all the big product announcements from Xerocon London. Whether you joined us at Xerocon in London or kept up from afar, it’s time to recap on some of the highlights and make a plan for what’s next. Let’s begin with insights from two Xero leaders – Steve Vamos and Gary Turner. For those partners who are unable to attend Xerocon South this year, keep an eye on the blog and social media to stay up to date with these announcements, as well as other news and insights from the event. Access all Xero features for 30 days, then decide which plan best suits your business. Work flexibly and keep track of your business with the Xero mobile app.
In addition to the amazing speakers throughout the event, the team outdid themselves with the exhibition hall. Each year we invite investors and analysts to Xerocon to take part in a unique opportunity to meet with our team and our partners, and gain an in-depth understanding of the business and our values. Connecting investors with our community helps give them intimate knowledge of what makes Xero special. Back in 2010, Xerocon in this region consisted of a passionate group of around 30 accountants and bookkeepers who gathered in Napier.
Include a personalised message to accompany your request on LinkedIn. Remember, everyone’s inbox will be flooded, so make yourself memorable by reminding your new connection what you discussed. Thankfully, it’s not hard to keep yourself on track, so long as you strike when the iron’s hot. Write on the back of people’s business cards to remind yourself of the salient points of your conversation, or digitally capture the cards and take notes in an app such as CamCard. Include details about what session or happy hour you met them at — anything that will jog your memory a day or a week after the fact. If you’re attending with coworkers, try and see as much as possible.
This week a few of my interests have collided – Microsoft Australia’s annualPartner Conference, ProBlogger’sannual conferenceand Xero’sXerocon Southconference. Our ‘communities of purpose’ theme continued from our San Diego event in June. It’s a particularly relevant theme at this event which is now in its tenth year in Australasia. Select Accept cookies to consent to this use or Manage preferences to make your cookie choices. You can change your cookie choices and withdraw your consent in your settings at any time.
- Plan to get lunch or dinner each day to regroup on key takeaways.
- Include details about what session or happy hour you met them at — anything that will jog your memory a day or a week after the fact.
- Some cool insights into practice clients using Xero show what addons their clients are using.
- A productised service is a service which has been packaged up in way that can easily and consistently be delivered at scale, rather than offering a custom solution to each client.
- Xerocon typically doesn’t hold breakout sessions during these presentations, so you won’t have to worry about missing out on anything else.
You don’t want to be stuck at the registration desk while everyone else is off to the races. Register as early as possible so you can minimise your time standing in lines and maximise your time learning and meeting people. Familiarise yourself with the conference space so you don’t get lost. You don’t want to miss important information, or for a roomful of people to form a negative first impression of you by showing up late.
Rest assured, as the Top of the South’s only Platinum Xero Partner, and winner of the 2016 Tasman Accounting Partner of the Year, WK is working hard to stay ahead of all the innovative changes Xero is driving. We will shortly be releasing information on training and seminars to assist you to take advantage of all the Xero benefits for your business. There were nearly 100 add-on partners at Xerocon, including Figured and our very own Ranqx – we will be providing advice to clients regarding add-ons in the coming months. Of course, we remain wholeheartedly committed to our community and are looking at options to connect in meaningful ways this year to stay inspired and share our latest product, partner and customer news. After careful consideration of the evolving COVID-19 crisis as well as guidance from external agencies and governments around holding events, we have made the decision to cancel 2020 Xerocon Sydney.
A Few Thoughts On Xerocon San Diego
When it comes to smaller sessions, consider both the speaker and the subject matter. Highly tactical sessions are generally useful to attend regardless of who leads them. However, sessions less directly related to your profession can be valuable as well if they’re led by an industry figure you’re angling to meet. Its guaranteed there will be no time to stop and pause once you arrive at the event, so take some time to complete the following items before you board that plane/train/bus. Two of the features that Xero is about to release are really taking accounting software to places I did not expect to see in my career. The speed of the change is quite scary, but as Xero continues to evolve, we will be able to spend more time helping you address the real business issues.
So rather than looking for harmony, encourage all of your team members to treat each other with respect. No Triangles is the practise of only having direct conversations. If you have an issue with “John” and you discuss it with “Anna” you have created a ‘triangle’ as there are now three people involved. The term ‘no triangle’s means that you would discuss the issue directly with John. Rachael Robertson led the Australian expedition to Davis Station, Antarctica – the second female to lead a team at the Station and the youngest ever leader. Rachel believes we are at the start of the shift from trusting people more than corporations or government.
Rod also demoed Xero HQ, which will be the new My Green Xero coming later this year. Some cool insights into practice clients using Xero show what addons their clients are using.
This will be a great tool for practices to use and will help them understand the needs of their client base better. Coming on the heels of our recent NZD$5 million capital raise, it really has been a great month for Spotlight Reporting. We now have a fantastic roadmap in place for the months ahead in terms of hiring talent (yes, we’re hiring) and enhancing our product suite too.
I’m still hoping to meet people at the main event, but large conferences tend to have a ‘birds of a feather’ feel during breaks where you tend to stick with the people you know. And when you don’t know many other people that are going , it can actually be pretty lonely sometimes, despite the massive crowds. The team who organise and deliver our Xerocon events now move their focus to Xerocon London which rolls out in November, where we host cloud accounting leaders from across the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa. I’m looking forward to being there and being part of another exciting event.
That tight-knit community may have multiplied, but the passion and belief in what we can achieve when we unite with purpose is stronger than ever. Xerocon South is a highlight on the Xero calendar each year, and the energy and enthusiasm of the attendees this year brought a real buzz to the event. It was fantastic to be back in Brisbane last week at Xerocon South 2019 with thousands of accountants and bookkeepers from across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Dr Michael Fraser’s session focused on the ethical hotspots in business banking and finance, noting that ethical behaviour and a purpose beyond profit are central to successful business. Together they serve to attract and retain clients and top talent, he said, and build trust in an organisation.
So, Im Off To Xerocon South And This Is Why
A packed agenda– The session calendar is your friend, but leave time for connecting with people and for having some quite downtime. You’d think just listening to someone else would be easy, but it’s actually pretty taxing on your brain’s glucose consumption, hence why you leave at the end of the day feeling exhausted. It was fantastic to be back in Brisbane last week at #Xerocon South 2019 with thousands of accountants and bookkeepers from across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
It’s been a hell of a ride from the first Xerocon in 2010 with fifty accountants and a handful of Xero employees getting drunk in a vineyard near Rod Drury’s house. To the 17th and biggest instalment yet in a huge conference centre in the heart of Brisbane and featuring a cast of 2,300 accountants, bookkeepers, software peeps and Xeroes. As CEO of Spotlight Reporting, a former ‘Xero’ and very early Xero accounting partner, I’ve been lucky enough to have a front row seat. Thorp identified the top three ‘sleep deprivers’ being faced by the industry, as ‘sourcing new clients, time management, and obtaining timely and accurate data’. To counter this, he explained that technology, knowledge and clients were the three key areas of growth that will offer the greatest impact on the business of bookkeeping right now. This year, the annual conference hosted by online accounting giant, Xero, is being held in Brisbane on the 8-9 September.
Don’t forget to stop by our stand (we’ll be at site 20) to say hello and catch up with the team. Connecting with people you met during the conference is best done in the days immediately following your return. Send follow-up notes and LinkedIn requests while the conference is still fresh in everyone’s minds.
London played host to the world’s most beautiful and innovative conference for cloud accounting leaders in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa. We’re looking forward to heading along as exhibitors and making the most of the opportunity to meet many of our New Zealand and Australian accounting partners over those two days.
Xerocon: Bringing Together Communities Of Purpose
I’ve also put together a more detailed article withmy views on the future of the accounting industry and the impact for small business. Brisbane was not only a thrilling new combination of Kiwi, Australia and Asia, it presented the best traits of an industry conference. There was innovation and vision in spades – just check out Rod Drury’s keynote. With nods to six centuries of tradition, the data landscape of the present and the connected, predictive and AI-driven financial and business web of the future. There are a fewpre-conference events, so I’m hoping to make some personal connections at theXero Mastermind Meetupand theAccountants for Good Launch. Especially where I’ve already met people online, these events provide a smaller crowd & venue which encourages conversation more.
The next few days will be a whirlwind of activity, but don’t be overwhelmed. You’re armed with a goal and a plan — there are only a few additional things to keep in mind to help you make the most of your time.
“In short, bookkeepers are charging more per hour to more clients but making less money,” Peter Thorp said. eInvoicing – a digitally generated invoice system developed by a collaboration of industry, advisors, professional associations, government, software companies and the banking sector. Not surprisingly, it named technology-related services as a driver of this change. Xerocon was filled with insightful keynotes, engaging panels and dynamic sessions that centered around our people. From integrations with Google and Microsoft and guides on the best apps for your clients, see how we’re helping businesses connect to technology that helps them thrive.
Let’s Talk Business
Most of us within the accounting and bookkeeping world are already aware that the ATO is redesigning its systems to more closely align with the working reality of Australian SMEs. That’s why today, we invited four leading industry bodies in the Australasian bookkeeping and accounting world to take to the Xerocon stage. As they can share the insights on their agenda today, you can be more prepared with what to expect for tomorrow. We know the landscape of the bookkeeping and accounting industry continues to evolve at rapid speeds, and that to succeed you need to stay ahead of the curve. Nowhere has that been more apparent than at Xerocon South over the last few days. We’ll also be sharing some exciting announcements around product functionality and key partnerships that you won’t want to miss.
