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Join us as we detail how Xero mobile and increased in-product automation are making this easier than ever. 2020 was one of the most demanding years yet for accountants and bookkeepers across the country. Join Xero’s Trent Innes as he reveals all that we’ve learned throughout this period – from uncovering the trends driving the state of small business to building the future-ready practices we need today. It’s a big week, and I think I’m ready for it, but especially as a first-timer I’m going to make sure I’ve got a plan of action so that I make the most out of the whole trip. It’s also been great to join the #Xerocon Brisbane Facebook group as well as XeroMasterMind group to join in on the hype before the conference.
Following one of the most challenging years on record for the advisor community, Xero is here to support you with what comes next. From revealing the latest offers to uncovering how to win and service new clients as well as building a digitally enabled firm – find out everything we’re doing to help you on your journey. Following what has been one of the most challenging years yet for advisors across the country, the scene is now set to take stock and forge ahead. That means harnessing all that we’ve learned, and using it to build the future-ready practices we need today.
Mark Manson lightened the mood, helping the crowd to find happiness by not sweating the small stuff and instead focus on the problems we enjoy solving to bring more meaning to our work and lives – something we can all relate to. Xero itself unveiled some exciting new developments including the acquisition of data entry automation company Hubdoc and a new integration with NAB. These developments, along with other automation enhancements, will see improvements in processes like bank reconciliations and manual invoice entering resulting in greater accuracy, time savings and better information for decision making.
And, in an exciting development, Roadshow 2021 will introduce MC comedian Merrick Watts, and keynote speaker Future Crunch. You may remember from previous Xerocons that we had reused backpacks and cotton totes on hand for anything you couldn’t carry.
The biggest announcement by a mile was the addition of autopay for sales invoices via a deep integration with Stripe. A business can turn on autopay to receive recurring card payments for repeat billing customers directly through Xero. Modern hospitality businesses have high customer turnover, fast moving stock and large staff numbers. With the right systems in place, you can bring order to what can sometimes feel like chaos. There’s no better way to end the week than by joining our expert ecosystem team and guests for Appy Friday. Discover the best apps for future proofing both your practice and your clients’ businesses. From winning a new client group through to getting the final tax returns and financials signed, we’ll reveal the ways technology can give you back more time by automating admin and removing complications.
Xero Ltd
The theme of this year’s Xerocon “Human” was supported by some incredible keynote speeches. Genevieve Bell shared her journey, from outback kid in the Northern Territory to professor at Stanford University in California and becoming a Fellow at Intel, along with insights into the future of artificial-intelligence. Gill Hicks moved the audience with her story of survival and recovery and highlighted the humanity of all those involved in her rescue and resurrection.
It’s then harvested and put through a process to shred it and then knitted into a material we use. You’ll recognise jute as the material of choice in many supermarket shopping bags – so whether you’re carting around groceries or your gym gear, it’s sturdy enough to use time and time again. As we focus on our partner and small business community, we’ve also been busy making improvements to create a more sustainable Xerocon for 2019 – and here’s some of what you can expect.
Perfect time to do your homework and learn from other seasoned experts. The parties are great, but Andrew Jordon also reminded me to find some time to talk with other accountants. When you sit down at a session on a particular topic you are surrounded by a room for a people probably with the same intrigue or problem as you. Before you get up, talk to the person next to you, they may well give you the more practical advice than the speaker themselves. Digital First covers news and opinions on accounting technology and is read by tech-savvy accountants who understand the importance of technology in establishing competitive advantage. This will reduce the number of passwords a firm or business requires to run their business – single sign-on is great for security.
It will be in the quality of its insights, more commonly known in technology circles as business intelligence. Dina is responsible for our comms and running our marketing campaigns, and is very passionate about giving you the right tools and materials to explain the value of Figured to new clients.
“For the main stage keynote we created a custom-built stage that was ‘in the round’, which meant the audience was surrounding the stage in a 360-degree design that was shaped like the Xerocon ‘pin logo’,” says Roberts. “When it came time for the Xero-specific breakout sessions, we lowered in an X-shaped lighting installation that created a visual division and quadrant-like design.
We are happy to be hosting Xerocon in Brisbane this year, but we’re not doing it alone. We’ve invited local businesses – including Gelato à Go-Go– to join us on-site, to give you a taste of Queensland as we support local trade. We recently made a pledge to our partners to deliver the best human technology platform, to empower our customers, and become a force of good for accountants, bookkeepers, businesses, and the broader economy. #TeamClarity will be wearing our branded t-shirts with pride, almost 24/7, so be sure to stop us and ask us how Clarity is making business simple if you see one of the t-shirts wandering around. We’re also really excited to make some new app friends, and will be keeping an eye out for other branded teams. You will probably have noticed that #Xerocon have been pushing really hard for a plastic free event.
Xero Roadshow 2021
We’re proud to support Xero in this, and thank Freedom Mentoring and our good friend Wayne Schmidt for the prompt ahead of ordering our expo swag. Come and check out our eco-friendly swag in the Start Up Alley to get involved in the message too. Anna Curzon highlighted the information that HubDoc collects and automatically adds to invoices. Supplier name, due date, amount, GST , date, invoice number – all of which appears in Xero’s SMB Insights report as a benchmark for debtor days for all businesses.
Coming home with a full heart, JuanTax vows to continue to grow and achieve bigger milestones in the Philippines by touching more lives one #TaxDoneRight at a time. Marvin Galang, Founder and CEO of DoubleRule & JuanTax was caught by surprise after being cited as an example that embodies breaking personal growth and leveraging through technology to improve and impact his community. Galang is the first in Asia to partner with the government by developing the first third party tax “lodging” system in the Philippines. Forecast your cash with accuracy and make business decisions with confidence. Trent Innes is here to encourage you to revel in the small victories, rather than to hold your breath until the big one hits. Sometimes you paint by numbers until something sticks, but building a business slowly is the best way to delight your customers and ensure long-term success. We designed a 360-degree custom built stage for keynote presentations, and used four 12m x 7m custom made fab frame screens to created a cube structure which hung over the stage.
Xerocon San Diego 2019
Back in 2017 Xero announced it had automated Stripe reconciliation for online invoices. When a Xero business added Stripe as a payment gateway and sent an online invoice to a customer, the customer’s credit card payment was automatically reconciled in Xero. As a global cloud-based company, we also love the opportunity to spend some time ‘on the ground’ with our partners, getting to know you a little better, meeting new accountants and finding out more about your business. Is there a product feature or add-on that could help your practice create even more efficiencies?
- This should accelerate the number of enterprises globally that send bills through Xero.
- 2020 was one of the most demanding years yet for accountants and bookkeepers across the country.
- We’re also really excited to make some new app friends, and will be keeping an eye out for other branded teams.
- In line with Curzon’s views Vamos, Xero CEO, deeply banks on the connection between Xero and it’s partners as the key driver that makes Xero special.
- Xero has not published any details about its process, but from the list of Xero’s Sub-processors anyone can take a guess.
- Coming home with a full heart, JuanTax vows to continue to grow and achieve bigger milestones in the Philippines by touching more lives one #TaxDoneRight at a time.
We lowered in an X-shaped lighting installation for the breakout sessions, which created a visual division and enabled the audience to navigate to their designed zones with ease. When it came time for a keynote presentation, the X-shaped installation was lifted so the audience could enjoy them as a unified group again.
Take the time to explore the latest tech ready to transform your offering. In line with Curzon’s views Vamos, Xero CEO, deeply banks on the connection between Xero and it’s partners as the key driver that makes Xero special. More than anything else, maintaining human touch in the cloud-based system is the key to “rewire the world of small businesses, making it seamless, simpler, and smarter” he says. The new face of accounting and bookkeeping lies in the building of practices that are both agile and digitally enabled. Join our Marketing and People directors as they unpack how you can grow your business through digital marketing and create a flexible, mentally healthy working environment where your staff feel supported to do their best. The future of work has arrived – and that means making sure you’re able to do business anytime, from anywhere. Xero has been designed to ensure that partners and small businesses alike can always operate remotely, regardless of the device they’re using.
She’ll be at Xerocon ready for a chat about how you’re going with your journey to advisory, and how you’re finding the Figured product. So if you’re keen to feature on our social channels or website with any of your insights (or banter!) then keep an eye out for her. Anyone in a room with Dave can’t help but get inspired by his energy – especially when it comes to spreading the word about Figured. He’s excited to be in town for Xerocon, seeing the impact that Xero and Figured is making on the agri-advisory scene. “Every year, we love hearing from delegates how inspired they’re feeling after attending Xerocon and how they’re able to apply learnings in their day to day,” he said.
Join us and gain an understanding of how Xero practice tools can extend the capabilities of your practice thanks to a connected stack of best in class apps. As we enter 2021, harnessing the right tools can mean the difference between surviving and thriving for your clients. Join us as we uncover Xero’s new and upcoming small business features, here to support across everything from real-time cash flow forecasting to payment solutions and access to funding – allowing you to set them up for success.
Together with our bookkeepers, accountants and BAS advisors, Xero is determined to build the most data-rich, insightful and trusted global small business platform anywhere. The majority of the value in Xero isn’t going to be in building the best accounting software.
Senior accountant, Ben Smith, represented 4Front at this year’s Xerocon making contact with a number of developers working on products to assist both our clients and our firm. We are currently in the process of reviewing these applications and look forward to bringing you more insights, greater efficiencies and opportunities for growth. Xero staged its annual 3-day conference in Brisbane earlier this month. Global brand communications agency INVNT partnered with Xero to deliver Xerocon 2018, which saw more than 3000 financial professionals gather at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Please reach out to your account manager or contact us at You can find your Account Manager’s details in Xero HQ under the Practice Overview tab. However, we have some exciting Xero training and education coming next year just for small business owners – stay tuned for more information. If you have clients in service industries looking for a job management app to better manage their people, profit and performance then this WorkflowMax webinar is for you.
Xero’s acquisition of Instafile for tax in the UK could follow a similar model. GreatSoft has few Australian customers as yet – reasonable given the complexity of migrating practice software for a very large firm. Xero has had a more effective practice strategy than the direct-to-business Intuit, particularly with the investment in Xero Tax, now up to 5,000 firms in Australia. The company line used to be that Xero Tax in Australia was a one-off and that it didn’t want to buy or build tax in every market it entered. These networks exist in the enterprise world and are called an electronic data interchange, or EDI network. This should accelerate the number of enterprises globally that send bills through Xero.
Reap the rewards of helping them make the move to a cloud system while boosting the value of your own advisory business. Learn the basics of how to find the best apps for both your practice and your clients. Our Xero Connect team will also explore how their integrations work to help automate data entry for your small business clients. BAS agents, join us as we uncover the apps that work with you to proactively review client data for anomalies, as well as delivering accurate, up-to-date accounts and providing beautiful management reports to accompany every BAS. In this in-depth app session, we’ll also look at the tools you need to help manage workflow and support getting paid faster.
Email-to-Bills is another nice feature that tries to automate the purchase invoice data entry. I judge this by the speed of the data capture process, which is similar to the Xero Expenses app, which I think uses a similar approach. Xero has not published any details about its process, but from the list of Xero’s Sub-processors anyone can take a guess. Anyway, this is a valid approach in the data capture industry and Datamolino although more automated also uses humans to assist our process. The new Email-to-Bills is great for freelancers and small business that do not need to automated hundreds of documents. These users will find the new feature very convenient and kudos to Xero to bring this to the masses.
This is Xero’s name for the data interface that connects to enterprises that have thousands or millions of business customers. Since the acquisition a year ago, Xero has doubled the processing rate of HubDoc by improving the way in which it reads numbers from printed invoices and receipts. Xero has added a new data feed from Stripe – a globally exclusive feature, no other accounting platform has invested the time and money with Stripe to do it, apparently. If your customer’s card changes (i.e. they are replacing an expired, lost or stolen card), Stripe will work with card networks to automatically update the saved card details. This lowers the risk of payment failure and reduces the need to collect new card details. To add auto-pay, tick the ‘Offer auto pay’ check box on your repeating invoice templates.
From unlocking transformative tools to uncovering the latest tech and gaining insights on how to support both clients and staff – your road to renewal starts at Roadshow 2021. This February, the team at Xero are bringing you an all-new digital Roadshow packed full of inspiring content and never seen before features. For the first time, you’ll discover segmented sessions that cater towards both our accountant and BAS agent partners.