Xerocon returns in 2022‍

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, we’re bringing Xerocon back for our community in the US and Canada. The conference, to be held in New Orleans in

May next year, will provide a much-awaited opportunity for accountants and bookkeepers to connect with their peers, colleagues and the broader community, to celebrate their accomplishments, and learn more about the latest Xero tools and features. 

Coined by some as ‘Coachella for accountants’, Xerocon has been one of our true passion points and an incredibly unique way for us to bring the Xero community together over the years.  

While virtual events have helped sustain the community over the past few years, we’re excited to have everyone physically come together in 2022. 

In the spirit of resilience, we have also established a fundraising campaign with Americares to support the people and communities impacted by Hurricane Ida, the California wildfires, and other natural disasters. Xero has also pledged to match up to US$20,000. Americares is a health-focused relief and development organisation that responds to people affected by poverty or disaster with life-changing medicine, medical supplies and health programs.

Other Xero updates...

We’ve made a number of other updates on the Xero platform over the past month, including:

Global 

Font size of reports in Xero HQ 

Practice users can now change the font size of PDF reports in Xero HQ. We’ve introduced

a new feature that gives users the ability to increase the font size of text blocks, tables, grids, schedules and report rows. Users can now see four font sizes and get a preview of how it will look in the report.

Tailored Account Transactions reports‍

Our enhancements to Account Transactions reports reduce the manual work needed to pull and organise data, so users can exclude archived accounts and show opening balances on P&L accounts. It also shows accounts with no transactions in a specific period.

Search improvements for bank rules 

Bank rules make bank reconciliation easier. Users can now search for specific bank rules to fin and manage the right one in seconds. Once set up, bank rules automatically categorise 

transactions that occur on a regular basis.

Purchase orders in the Xero Accounting app  

Users are now able to view any purchase orders created via their desktop in the Xero Accounting app. Under the purchase tab, users can see everything that’s in draft, awaiting approval, approved and billed, offering them better visibility of what they’ve purchased.

Easy payments using Square + Xero

A new Square + Xero integration has arrived, giving businesses the ability to easily reconcile Square sales in Xero, capture point-of-sale transactions, and accept Square payments on Xero invoices (where available). 

More ways to pay with Google Pay ‍

We’ve made it even easier for customers to pay an online invoice through Stripe. Now, customers will have the option to make a payment using any credit or debit card saved to their Google Account – supported everywhere Google Pay is available.

Control invoice fields  based on preferences

Every business creates invoices slightly differently, so we’ve redesigned the invoice table in new invoicing to show more fields at a glance. This allows users to control which fields are shown or hidden when creating or editing their invoice.

Australia

Toggle BAS amounts 

Based on customer feedback, we’ve made changes to whether unfiled amounts appear when running a report in the ‘new’ BAS, and made it easier to remove them completely. Using the new unfiled amounts toggle, users can remove any unfiled amounts from their BAS. When switched off, unfiled amounts from the activity statement period aren’t included in that or any future return.

Canada 

New provincial sales tax return reports

Last year, Xero brought several enhancements to GST/HST returns for Canadian subscribers. We’re now excited to announce that our Canadian customers can create provincial sales tax return reports for British Columbia (PST return), Manitoba (RST return), Saskatchewan (PST return) and Quebec (QST return), providing greater sales tax reporting coverage across Canada. 

Xero Business updates 

Global

Spotlighting the good days and bad days of small business 

In a new social series called ‘Good Days, Bad Days’, we explore the realities of small business ownership as told by seven different Xero customers around the world. They candidly describe the challenges they’ve faced, but also the meaningful moments that remind them why they started their business. View the launch video, and stay tuned for more episodes each week.

Xero joins The Climate Pledge

We’re proud to have signed The Climate Pledge and stand alongside other sustainably-minded companies that are committed to reducing carbon emissions and consciously managing their environmental impact.

New podcast series hosted by CEO Steve Vamos

What Led You Here is a business leader podcast which aims to inspire small business owners by delving into the experiences and learnings of successful business leaders. Xero’s CEO, Steve Vamos, talks to chief executives, founders, and entrepreneurs in a series of eight interviews. Listen to the first episode with Stripe president and co-founder John Collison.

United Kingdom

Late payments task force 

Late payments are a huge pain point for many of our customers. In fact, 47 percent of small firms cite cash flow issues and late payments as two of the biggest obstacles to their growth. 

To help combat this, we’re bringing together experts in behavioural change, language, and business to discuss the complex reasons behind late payments and provide new theories on how to break the cycle and drive cultural transformation. 

The Lifecycle of an Invoice research report has been developed to inform the inaugural meeting of Xero’s task force. The task force will discuss the findings and come up with practical recommendations for government and key stakeholders.

United States

US firm selects Xero as a preferred accounting platform

Bernard Robinson & Company (BRC), one of the top ranked CPA firms in the United States, selected Xero as one of its preferred cloud accounting platforms. As a full-service firm, BRC serves privately-owned businesses, corporations, families and high net-worth individuals, and non-profit organisations of varying sizes and stages. With the adoption of Xero, the firm will integrate the cloud accounting platform into its technology stack, helping them better advise clients, access real-time financial insights and make well-informed business decisions.