It seems like it was only yesterday that we released Apron Card, our very own expense card for small businesses and the accountants and bookkeepers who back them.

Time flies when you’re building something great with a community of tens-of-thousands, and this month we’ve released even more features to help business owners clear the way to success. So, shall we dive right in?

Apron Books Club: The rewards programme from Apron

Books Club is our new partner programme (Partners is the name we use for the amazing accountants and bookkeepers who use Apron).

As a partner, you’ll earn points automatically whenever your firm, and any connected clients, use Apron. As you capture documents, make payments, or use cards you’ll unlock plan discounts, CPD credits, priority support and more.

We wrote a blog post on the release of Books Club, which we encourage you to check out.

Oh, and we’re taking Books Club on the road with a special roadshow for accountants and bookkeepers. It’s your chance to:

• Learn all about everything that’s new with Apron’s capture and bill pay workflows.
• Get practical tips on introducing clients to Apron.
• Ask any questions you have about how to get the most out of Apron.
• Pick up loads of free Apron merch, and a free lunch.

Keep an eye on your inbox for more information on the Apron Books Club Roadshow.

Split billing: More control, fewer surprises

Split billing gives your firm the flexibility to separate payment-related fees from invoice capture fees.

By default, company plans are billed directly to your clients, giving you peace of mind that unexpected charges won’t show up in your monthly invoice (unless you choose to cover them). The choice is yours.

This new feature can help to improve the working relationships you have with your clients, as you can have an open conversation about what works best for each of you.

And perhaps the best part? You can have different rules for each client, so everyone gets what they prefer.

Practice hub performance boost

Faster, snappier, and built for scale. We’ve turbocharged the Practice hub to better support larger firms.

You’ll notice a smoother experience when switching client accounts, inviting team members, and managing high volume activity. It’s all part of making sure you have everything you need, when you need it, as you grow your practice and serve your clients.

Not running accounts payable for lots of clients at scale just yet? Hub will still feel smoother for you, even if you’re only serving a handful of clients. Because we love you all!

Centralised bills tab and AI-labelling

The Bill pay workflow is getting an update from 3rd June. First up, we’re centralising bills into a single tab to give you greater clarity.

To help you navigate this new tab, we’re introducing two statuses named ‘Review’ and ‘Pay’.

We’re also introducing AI-labelling, a new feature that automatically labels all bills to highlight what needs to be paid. The new labels you’ll see are:

To Pay — Bills to pay in Apron.

Direct Debit — Bills which are paid by Direct Debit.

Subscription — Bills paid via card subscription or a linked card.

Paid — Bills paid outside of Apron.

Not Bill — Anything else which is not a bill (e.g. A receipt, or a non-payable document that was uploaded by mistake).

For more details on these changes and how they’ll make your work easier and save you even more time, read our dedicated support centre article ‘Improved Bill pay workflow coming 3rd June’.

Stop duplicates in their tracks

Finally for this month, you can now tell Apron to auto-reject duplicates before they get into the system to reduce time spent reviewing them manually. This simple but useful feature can not only save you time, but also further reduce the risk of paying a supplier, contractor or staff member twice.

What else should be add to Apron? Join us on Linkedin and let us know.

Get started with an Apron account today.