XU Biweekly - Issue 13 - 6th September 2021 by XU Magazine

Monday 06 September 2021 | No. 13

XU Biweekly The independent news source for Xero users, by Xero users

Accounting software with a purpose.

By Nick Houldsworth

UGUST HAS ARRIVED, AND THIS MONTH WE’RE CELEBRATING OUR APP PARTNER OF THE MONTH CHASER – AN ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE MANAGEMENT APP THAT HELPS SMALL BUSINESSES MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE THEIR CASH FLOW. CHASER WAS ALSO ONE OF OUR LAUNCH APP PARTNERS FOR THE XERO APP STORE. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THE XERO APP STORE HERE. Chaser CEO, Sonia Dorais, gave us the rundown on Chaser’s mission to help small businesses through improved credit-control, how they’ve saved their customers time and what’s next

on their horizon.

Helping soothe late-payment pressures

Late payments are the bane of many small businesses across the world. ‘The State of Late Payments’ research conducted by Xero and Paypal found that in an average month, 48% of invoices issued by small businesses are paid past their due date, which over a year means that owners or managers are spending at least two working weeks chasing late payments. Chaser was founded in 2014 to tackle this frustrating problem. A stressful, uncomfortable and often manual task, invoice chasing is...

Capitalise Raises £10m to Launch Integrated Credit Protection Service

Find out more

Xero founder's family trust sells A$300M of shares

APITALISE.COM, A DIGITAL ‘SUPER PLATFORM’ THAT ALLOWS ACCOUNTANTS AND THEIR SME CLIENTS TO ACCESS CAPITAL FROM MAINSTREAM AND ALTERNATIVE FINANCE PROVIDERS WITH A SUITE OF CREDIT AND RISK TOOLS, HAS RAISED £10 MILLION FROM EXPERIAN, QED INVESTORS, GAUSS VENTURES, HAMBRO PERKS AND POST FINANCE.

ODANNA VENTURES TRUST, THE FAMILY TRUST OF XERO FOUNDER, ROD DRURY, HAS SOLD A$300 MILLION OF SHARES IN THE ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE FIRM. Two

Latest Innovation on Proprietary Accountant and SME platform

million

were sold at A$150 each in an off-market trade on Wednesday 22nd September 2021. Drury's trust still holds 9,914,789 shares in the company, equivalant to a 6.7% stake. Xero now has a market capitalisation of A$22.3 billion.

The investment will expand Capitalise’s accountant and SME platform with a suite of integrated credit protection and risk management services designed specifically for SMEs. Powered by Experian and embedded within an accounting service and SME balance sheet, ‘Capital Reports’ takes up where traditional credit reports leave off. It allows accountants to protect their SME clients from unforeseen risks of their clients’ and suppliers’ credit positions by warning of potential defaults, it analyses what is available to a business

and its propensity or need to borrow, and provides real time access to Capitalise’ curated marketplace of over 100 mainstream and alternative lenders. Half a million UK SMEs have cash reserves of 4 weeks or less. Of those, some 230,000 are at high risk. Their average account balance is £45,000 but the average SME has £30k in outstanding delayed payments: with little idea about when, or if they will be paid. A stronger understanding of the financial risks posed by the suppliers and clients on whom they depend makes SMEs more resilient while improving their own credit rating, allowing easier access to capital at more attractive pricing from both mainstream and alternative finance providers. Capitalise CEO and Co Founder Paul Surtees says; “Everybody has had to think differently during the...

Accounting software with a purpose. Monday 06 September 2021

Page 2

Introducing Waddle for Recruiters

Read about it on page 4

New Apps & Updates

2 XU Biweekly | No. 13

TIME TRACKER BY EBILLITY HAS A BRAND NEW LOOK!

Monday 06 September 2021

SPOTTED ON LINKEDIN...

NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS!

DEALERLOGIC

By Anna Curzon

N THE PAST MONTH, WE’VE RELEASED A NUMBER OF NEW FEATURES TO HELP YOU GET PAID FASTER, INCLUDING BETTER VISIBILITY OF PURCHASE ORDERS ON THE GO AND ENHANCEMENTS TO YOUR E-INVOICING EXPERIENCE. LET’S TAKE A LOOK.

New features View purchase orders in the Xero Accounting App – Global

By Aynsley Damery

ADE WITH LOVE, AND DESIGNED FOR SIMPLICITY, EBILLITY’S TIME TRACKER HAS A NEW LOOK THAT WILL HELP YOU TO GET THE JOB DONE FASTER AND MORE SIMPLY.

Take a look at our new reporting features

You can now view purchase orders in the Xero Accounting App that you’ve created on your desktop. Select the ‘purchase’ tab to see purchase orders that are in draft, awaiting approval, approved and billed. This is one of our most requested features and helps you understand what products or services have been ordered, so you can manage your budget on the go.

Easily create and share reports from Time Tracker by eBillity Our time and billing product allows you to generate important business reports to help improve overall productivity and profitability.

Find out more

XU BIWEEKLY - No. 13 Newsdesk: If you have any news or updates that you would like us to consider for inclusion in the next edition of the XU Biweekly, please email us at: newsdesk@xumagazine.com CEO: David Hassall Managing Editor: Wesley Cornell Director of Strategic Partnerships: Alex Newson Communications Manager: Bethany Fulks Editorial Assistant: Kacey Wright Advertising: advertising@xumagazine.com www.xumagazine.com ‘Xero’ is a trademark of Xero Limited (New Zealand). XU Biweekly and XU Magazine is collaboratively produced by an independent group of Xero users and is not affiliated in any way with Xero. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © XU Magazine Ltd 2014-2021. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. XU Biweekly is published by XU Magazine Ltd (08811842), registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 12 Jordan Street, Liverpool, L1 0BP, United Kingdom. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. XU Magazine Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant XU Magazine Ltd a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all/any editions, including in any physical or digital format, throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither XU Magazine Ltd nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of XU Magazine Ltd, its editors or its contributors.

AU - DEALERlogic looks after every aspect of your dealership, letting you get on with running a successful business. Suited for independent dealers of all shapes and sizes, whether you sell cars, motorcycles, campervans, trucks or farm equipment. Manage, track and report on all aspects of your dealership.

FLUENCCY AU, CA, IE, NZ, UK & US - Fluenccy helps businesses take control of their foreign currency invoices and get a better, more consistent rate. Powerful foreign currency planning tools to help you grow your business. Get your Currency Score and make better currency decisions.

WHAT’S NEW IN JIRAV: AUGUST 2021

MSHOP APP Introducing Email Manager to AccountancyManager

By Blake Oliver, CPA

HIS MONTH, THE R&D TEAM CONTINUED TO WORK ON ADDING MORE WAYS FOR YOU TO CUSTOMIZE THE PRESENTATION OF REPORTS AND DASHBOARDS. WE ALSO WORKED ON MAKING JIRAV EASIER TO USE WITH IMPROVEMENTS TO PLANNING.

CCOUNTANCYMANAGER HAVE IMPROVRED THEIR EMAIL FUNCTIONALITY IN THEIR ONGOING EFFORTS TO HELP YOU AUTOMATE YOUR ADMIN!

Changes to the AM platform will allow you to gain greater visibility and take more control of your emails.

Here’s everything that’s new in August: • Select which report sections to download • Three more text sizes in reports • Create plan drivers at the “Department: All” level • Copy numbers of different formats into Jirav Let’s dive in!

Select which report selections to download

JOIINS Q2 2021, IN NUMBERS:

When downloading a report package as a PDF, you can choose which sections are included. This makes it easier to...

By Kate

Read more By Harriet Boshier

OU MAY HAVE NOTICED A FEW CHANGES IN OUR IN-APP BRANDING RECENTLY AND TODAY WE LAUNCHED OUR NEW LOOK WEBSITE!

By Glen Foster

CCOUNTANTS AND BOOKKEEPERS IN THE UK ARE PLAYING A VITAL ROLE IN REBUILDING OUR ECONOMY. SO AT XERO, WE WANT TO MAKE THEIR LIVES EASIER. When we launched Xero Tax in the UK almost almost a year and a half ago, we made a commitment that personal tax would come next. Today, we’ve fulfilled that promise, offering an end-to-end tax solution that will help advisors reclaim their January. The launch of personal

tax and sole trader accounts solutions forms part of our Next Generation Practice vision and commitment to supporting Making Tax Digital (MTD), paving the way for future digital transformation by seamlessly connecting data and minimising manual entry.

An end-to-end tax solution in Xero

We’re super excited to announce that today we’re launching our newly branded website to help showcase a fresh and modern look that we feel will help demonstrate our innovative...

Find out more

New: Consolidated updates to take your group reporting to the next level By Allanah Miller

ITH THIS MONTH’S PRODUCT RELEASE, WE’RE EXCITED TO INTRODUCE SIDE-BY-SIDE REPORTING FOR CONSOLIDATED BUDGETS AND CASH FLOW STATEMENTS, AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL COMPANY DATA IN GROUP REPORTS.

We know how tedious and paper-heavy collating client information and filing tax returns can be.

Since the launch of Fathom’s consolidation functionality, we've helped to shaved hours off consolidated reporting cycles. You’ve gained efficiency through the automatic aggregation of underlying company data, and fully customisable group report templates. This latest update is all about...

Find out more

HK, ID, MY, PH & SG An advanced e-commerce platform for the creation of branded online shops and mobile apps for small and medium businesses of all retail industries. Mshop is easy to operate, with no transaction fees. Sync your member, order and purchase data with Xero. Create your own brand - sell it to the world!

MODANO GLOBAL - The ultimate financial modelling, forecasting, scenario analysis, and dashboard reporting tool, empowering businesses and advisors to make better decisions. Modano gives you a single financial model which live links® to Xero and automatically rolls forward each month, providing real time insights.

CLIENT DIARY GLOBAL - An uncomplicated, affordable appointment booking software that focuses on ease of use, providing access to powerful tools. Take care of your bookings, transactions, customers, marketing, team, reports, deposits, vouchers, messaging & stock management all in one place for a single set low price.

FINESS DATA AU, CA, IE, NZ, SG, UK & US - Leverage the power of Excel and Xero to connect and consolidate multiple organisations, create financial forecasts and compelling reports in just a few clicks, without sacrificing your audit trail. Refresh your financial data to update your models, papers & analysis.

News

4 XU Biweekly | No. 13

Channelling the three Ps to progress at Xero Roadshow Asia 2021

NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS!

B.SMART SG - A one stop platform for SMEs to manage and forecast cash flow in order to avoid running out of cash, plan scenarios and raise funds with speed and certainty. The platform syncs with your Xero account and automatically provides real-time and smart insights

Monday 06 September 2021

Vote for your favourite Xero Australia Awards finalist By Jared Baker

MADE.SIMPLR UK - A cloud-based software that helps R&D providers maximize resources and expand their business through process automation. Eliminates the need for manual claim processing which can be complicated & time-consuming. Add value to R&D providers as well as their clients.

INCE THE PANDEMIC’S ARRIVAL, AUSTRALIANS HAVE FACED ALL KINDS OF NEW CHALLENGES. YET, THROUGH IT ALL, THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAS SHOWN UNWAVERING RESILIENCE, CONFIRMING THAT COVID-19 HAS BY NO MEANS DIMINISHED ITS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT. AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE ALL THAT YOU – AS SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, ADVISORS, AND APP PARTNERS – HAVE ACHIEVED THAN WITH THE XERO AUSTRALIA FY22 AWARDS. Since nominations closed earlier in August, our judging panel has faced the almighty task of selecting just a handful of award contenders from hundreds of entries. Although they were blown away by the calibre of each submission, the chosen finalists raised the bar in showcasing their passion, innovation and contribution to the wider business community.

It’s your time to shine

By Kevin Fitzgerald

VER THE YEARS, THE XERO ROADSHOW ASIA HAS BECOME A HALLMARK EVENT FOR US AND OUR ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE SECRETARIAL PARTNERS ACROSS THE REGION. IT HAS GIVEN US A PLATFORM TO CONNECT, SHARE AND COLLABORATE TO SUPPORT THIS CORE COMMUNITY AT THE HEART OF THE SME ECOSYSTEM THROUGH INNOVATION AND EDUCATION. THE PAST YEAR MAY HAVE

DISRUPTED THAT FLOW, BUT WE ARE INCREDIBLY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE XERO ROADSHOW ASIA IS BACK. Xero Roadshow Asia 2021 is a virtual event, taking place on 10 November 2021. Just like in our previous roadshows, the focus will be on helping partners make the most out of Xero, our connected ecosystem and all the latest technological developments in the accounting industry. We are

excited to welcome industry leaders to share their expertise, learnings and best practices.

The three Ps: Product, Practice Growth and Platform We’ve curated our lineup of content and speakers to deliver the content that is most relevant and important to our accounting partners focusing on the ever critical three Ps...

Find out more

Latest Xero Small Business Insights shows recoveries will be complex

By Craig Hudson

HE NEW ZEALAND XERO AWARDS ARE ALL ABOUT CELEBRATING THE INCREDIBLE WORK OF OUR DIVERSE RANGE OF ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, AND APP PARTNERS WHO HELP SMALL KIWI BUSINESSES THRIVE. There is no better time to honour this community’s admirable mahi, and we are incredibly proud to shine a spotlight on their outstanding achievements over the past year.

Two new award categories

FATHOM NAMED AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S TOP 100 INNOVATORS By Georgie Pollok

ATHOM HAS JUST BEEN NAMED IN THE AUSTRALIAN’S INAUGURAL LIST OF 100 TOP INNOVATORS FOR 2021, WHICH CELEBRATES THE FUTURE-FOCUSED LEADERS AND COMPANIES WHO ARE ELEVATING AUSTRALIA’S STATUS AS AN “INNOVATION NATION”.

By Rachael Powell

HE PAST MONTH HAS BEEN A REMINDER OF HOW QUICKLY THINGS CAN CHANGE, AND HOW THESE UPS AND DOWNS ARE A RECURRING PART OF LIFE WHICH WE NEED TO ADAPT TO. XERO SMALL BUSINESS INSIGHTS (XSBI) DATA FOR JULY HIGHLIGHTS HOW SETBACKS CAN IMPACT EVEN SEEMINGLY WELL-ESTABLISHED ECONOMIC RECOVERIES WHILE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CONTINUES.

By Trent McLaren

IRTUAL CREDIT CARD AND EXPENSE MANAGEMENT PLATFORM DIVIPAY HAS BEAT OUT PAYMENT INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHTS MEDIPASS, RUSHGOLD AND WISE, NAMED AMONG THE MOST INNOVATIVE AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES IN 2021.

This year we are excited to announce two new award categories. App Integrator of the Year will recognise an app integrator partner who provides an excellent user experience and has a world class training and support programme set up for their Xero clients. Our second new award category, Vertical Partner of the Year will recognise a Xero accounting or bookkeeping partner who has gone above and beyond for their clients in a particular vertical. This may include, but is not limited to, community involvement and advocacy in a particular industry segment such as retail, construction, agriculture, education, professional services, and so on.

A world-class advisory panel of ten experts contributed to the list, among them David Gonski, Julie Bishop and Atlassian Work Futurist, Dominic Price. David Swan, Editor of The List: Australia’s Top 100 Innovators, and Paul Howes, National Managing Partner, Enterprise, KPMG Australia said that we all have a role to play in driving the innovation that will lead to Australia’s continuing success. “We are proud to celebrate the ideas, individuals and businesses moving us forward as a nation and on the global stage. These are the people and organisations who are rethinking, reorienting, and reinventing how...

In June, the Australian Index hit a record high, but the return of restrictions across major cities saw the Index fall 41 points in July to 101 points. By the last week of July, more than half of Australians were living under stay-at-home orders as the Delta strain...

DiviPay a Sydney FinTech start-up, was founded in 2017 by two former Westpac employees. They met in the Westpac innovation hub and have since set out to rid business of the perpetually annoying expense claim form. Out of which DiviPay has sliced out a hefty chunk of the growing virtual credit card pie, and earning it bragging rights as the Best Payment Innovation of this year’s Finder Innovation Awards. DiviPay is effectively a one stop shop to manage all your business spending, handling everything from the transaction to the data...

Find out more

In July, the Xero Small Business Index – part of the XSBI program – fell significantly in Australia, and slightly in New Zealand and the UK.

Restrictions in Australia impact small business performance in July

21 MANCHESTER CENTRAL | 20-21 SEPTEMBER 2021

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Events

6 XU Biweekly | No. 13

Monday 06 September 2021

ACCOUNTEX IS BACK

MANCHESTER EVENT TAKES PLACE ON 20-21 SEPTEMBER 2021 Visitor registration is open now for Accountex Summit North 2021

JOIN US THIS SEPTEMBER! By David Boyar FCA

X By Caroline Hobden

AROLINE HOBDEN, THE NEW PORTFOLIO DIRECTOR FOR ACCOUNTEX SHARES DETAILS ON THE RETURN OF ACCOUNTEX SUMMIT NORTH Following on from the postponement of all in person Accountex events in 2020, we are delighted to welcome the return of Accountex Summit North - the definitive event for accountancy and finance in the North of England. The event will take place at Manchester Central for its third edition on 20-21 September 2021. For this year only Accountex Summit North will run across two days to meet the increase in visitor demand, which has resulted from the postponement of the 2020 events. To allow for maximum capacity, visitors are being asked to select one day to attend the Manchester event. As an established brand in the world of accounting and finance, we’re so proud of the vital role Accountex plays in connecting the profession and driving innovation. The team have really missed bringing the community together. But, since announcing that Accountex Summit North will run this

autumn, we’ve been overwhelmed by the interest in the show and the support from the industry. Attendees to Accountex Summit North will have the opportunity to network in person with other industry professionals and meet and do business with 100 leading suppliers. All the big brands will be there including Sage, NatWest, SAP Concur, Xero, Wolters Kluwer and FreeAgent, plus cutting-edge companies like Comma and Made.Simplr. The exhibition will offer the opportunity to see demos of all the latest accounting and fintech software, so whether an entirely new system is needed or just a small add-on, there’ll be something for everyone. The event is also home to a CPD-accredited seminar programme, where visitors

can immerse themselves in accounting expertise. With over 21 seminars across three theatres, the programme will include sessions delivered by big industry names and high-profile thought leaders. Speakers include cybersecurity expert Paul Newton, who will ‘steal’ information from the audience during the session and give tips on how to avoid it happening in real life; The HMRC team will be on hand to share the latest Making Tax Digital updates, plus the latest on Penalty Reform; and MyFirmsApp will lead an interesting panel discussion with actual clients discussing what they want from their accountants. Those interested in starting a practice can join ‘Spilling the beans: The real...

U MAGAZINE IS PROUD TO BE A MEDIA PARTNER AND SUPPORTER OF THE ‘FROM THE TRENCHES - TRENCHES SUMMIT’ WHICH IS BEING HOSTED ON THE 13TH & 14TH SEPTEMBER 2021. XU MAGAZINE RECENTLY CAUGHT UP WITH DAVID BOYAR FCA, FROM THE TRENCHES PODCAST HOST AND CEO OF ACCOUNTINGTECH COMPANY CHANGEGPS...

David was excited to talk about a brand new online accounting summit, built for accountants by accountants, presenting the “From The Trenches - Trenches Summit”. The Trenches Summit is a two-day online accounting conference hosted entirely online using world-class virtual summit technology. It’s free to attend and/or a paid ticket option is available to get access to all session re-

cordings. Register your tickets here for the 13th & 14th of September. David was proud to tell us that a percentage of all ticket sales are being donated to Beyond Blue for the fantastic work they’re doing to help support mental health in Australia. In what is described as one of the most trying times...

Find out more

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8 XU Biweekly | No. 13

Monday 06 September 2021

OH HOW WE MISSED YOU ALL!

AST WEEK THE XU TEAM ATTENDED OUR FIRST IN-PERSON EVENT SINCE THE PANDEMIC CLOSED OUR DOORS, AND BOY DID IT FEEL GOOD TO SEE YOUR FACES AGAIN! September kicked off with one of the highlights of our year so far. We were the official Media Partner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London for The Digital Accountancy Show 2021. The show explored the potential the accountacy profession now has access to, helping people understand how best to implement exciting new technologies, apps and processes. Along side 74 other exhibitors, the entire day was packed full of innovation. "The Digital Accountancy Show was an amaz-

ing experience. After being one of the first sponsors to help promote and launch the event (way back in 2019) it was great to finally get to do it! The DAS team has dealt with everything thrown at them over the last

Features Open banking: The next big thing for small businesses

18 months extremely well. Dan and the whole team put together an amazing forward thinking event. The venue (wow), speaking schedule, delegates and exhibitors helped this become a great event that needs to be in our calendars going forward. It was epic to end the day and kick off the night in Europe's longest bar. Getting to celebrate my first in-person event back since November 2019. Roll on DAS 2022!" - Alex Newson, Director of Strategic Partnerships, XU Magazine. We also want to say a big congratulations to Rebekah Gough, the winner of our draw to win £200 for any lucky entrant who simply referred a friend or colleague to XU Magazine!

ISSUE 28 OUT NOW!

By Brad Ewin

12,000,000 GOOGLE RESULTS. 3,850,000 IF YOU WRAP IT IN QUOTATION MARKS. A LOT IS BEING SAID ABOUT OPEN BANKING. AND A LOT OF PRODUCTS POWERED BY OPEN BANKING ARE POPPING UP ON THE MARKET. IN THE UK, THERE ARE CURRENTLY MORE THAN 100 REGULATED OPEN BANKING APPS. But why is there such a push towards open banking, particularly for small businesses? When we look at how open banking is impacting payments, the root of the answer can be found in research GoCardless did into the small business market. Surveying 1,000 small businesses across the UK and Australia, the top five biggest benefits sought by small businesses were: • Improving cash flow. • Avoiding wasting time chasing late payments. • Having visibility over which customers have and haven’t paid. • Improving the rate of successful payments. • Reducing the amount of manual work required to reconcile payments. • The reason open banking is such an exciting technology for small businesses is because it can be used to deliver businesses exactly these benefits, where current payments technologies do not.

What is open banking? Open banking describes the process of banks and other financial institutions opening up data for regulated providers to access, use, and share, in a safe and secure manner.

Banks are putting in place infrastructure for their customers’ data to be shared more easily with third parties, when the customer chooses to do so. That last part is important. Open banking isn’t a ploy to allow banks to more easily sell their customers’ data. The intention is quite the opposite - open banking was conceived to improve financial services for customers. By banks opening up access to data they’ve historically kept in-house, new companies and new products can come to market, using this data in helpful, innovative ways. Open banking can also be used to initiate Account-to-Account (A2A) payments. Here at GoCardless, we’ve leveraged that capability to start rolling out to our users a better way to collect one-off payments. Via a feature called Instant Bank Pay.

The size of open banking: Millions of users, billions of dollars The origins of open banking in the UK lay with a 2013 proposal from the European Commission to revise an EU regulation called PSD2. In 2016, the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) formed - the organisation responsible for creating the software standards and industry guidelines that enable open banking. In 2018, they launched the Open Banking Standard itself, and in the years since then open banking in the UK has exploded and shows no signs of slowing down. Data from the OBIE illustrates the scope and pace of open banking in the UK:

Find out more in the full CPD Certified article

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Features

10 XU Biweekly | No. 13

Monday 06 September 2021

Q&A with Joseph Lyon, MD (Aus/Asia), Xero

U: HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THE FIRST FEW MONTHS IN YOUR NEW ROLE AS MD, AUSTRALIA & ASIA? JL: I started my role as Managing Director for Xero Australia and Asia at the turn of the new financial year in Australia. It’s been exciting and fastpaced so far. From a leadership level right throughout the entire business, we have a high performing and incredibly capable team. So I feel grateful to have taken the helm when I did. We all share a common purpose and naturally align ourselves with Xero’s values, which shows through the genuine care we have for our customers and each other. That empathy factor has been especially important in recent times, as many team members face rolling lockdowns and ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic. It’s been tough for our community, but despite the challenges, the way we’ve collectively supported our partners and small business customers has been impressive to see.

products and services for our customers and partners. I spent my first eight weeks in the company getting to know our partners

XU: You used to be the EGM of Global Sales, what did that role entail?

a n d teams – not just here in Australia but also across our other global regions. As you can imagine, this stint on the road was short-lived due to the pandemic’s arrival in

XU: How long have you been with Xero, and what has your experience with them been like so far? JL: I joined Xero the week before Christmas in December 2019. Ever since, I’ve continued to be struck by the authenticity of our people. Everyone that works at Xero is proud to be here, and what’s more, they believe in the value of our

Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to work across Xero’s more established and emerging markets. We’re continuing to grow and develop our teams, bringing in talent with new capabilities and experiences that enable us to continue to stay ahead of the curve. It’s been an interesting and very rewarding 18 months here at Xero, and we won’t be slowing down any time soon.

e a r l y 2020. In fact, I can remember being in Denver, Colorado when the reality of COVID-19 hit. As borders started closing and flights were being cancelled, we immediately realised that our priority had to be getting our people home safely.

JL: In my early phase with Xero, I worked in our newly established global customer team. So I had the benefit of working alongside our teams in customer experience, marketing, operations, communications and other functions. Our goal was to align each region to improve our systems, tools and processes that would help partners and small businesses operate more effectively. My role within that vision was to unify our sales leaders and teams around the world to improve the level of consistency in our service offerings for our partners and customers. By aligning Xero’s sales function to one vision, we have been able to set up our teams for future scale and growth around the...

Read more of the CPD Certified article

The Restaurant POS of the Future is Fully Integrated By Karina Rapose - Sapaad

HEN IT COMES TO RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, DISCOVER WHY IT IS FUTURE FORWARD TO TRANSITION TO AN ALLIN-ONE, CENTRALIZED CLOUD SOLUTION TO STREAMLINE OPERATIONS, REDUCE COSTS AND GROW REVENUE. From legacy systems to all-in-one cloud solutions, restaurant technology has tremendously evolved in the past few decades. With a centralized system that seamlessly brings together all aspects of restaurant management – including front of house, back of house, back office, business intelligence, and accounting – merchants are empowered to focus on doing what they love, while technology does the rest. The advantages of a fully-integrated restaurant management system are manifold. It

E HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CPD CERTIFICATION SERVICE TO HAVE OUR ARTICLES CPD CERTIFIED. As you read through our sister publication, XU Magazine, any article that shows the CPD Certified logo has been approved to count towards your CPD points. The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 as the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the Continuing Professional Development policies of professional institutes and academic bodies. The CPD Certification Service provides support, advice and recognised independent CPD accreditation compatible with global CPD principles.

eliminates the need to maneuver separate systems and do manual reconciliation. Furthermore, merchants can optimize staff productivity and increase revenue, while saving costs and keeping their OpEx in check.

Omnichannel Sales One of the most important benefits of an all-in-one system is the ability to manage all your order channels in one centralized cloud POS. You can sell in-store through walk-in, take-away, dine-in orders, or even through self-ordering kiosks and QR-code solutions. If you run your own online store or are partnered with online food delivery apps, you can fulfil all your online delivery orders centrally. Orders placed through your website, Facebook, Instagram or third-party...

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All About The Data A wise man I used to work for once said, “it’s all about the data”

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By Lucy Day - Compleat Software

WISE MAN I USED TO WORK FOR ONCE SAID, “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DATA”, AND IF HE IS READING THIS I HOPE HE WON’T BE SENDING ME A BILL FOR USING HIS CATCHPHRASE!

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Joking aside, that is something that has really stuck with me, because it really is. Even when I recently upgraded my mobile phone to a new contract, I was bombarded by questions around data usage, what I use my phone for to ensure I have enough data, what happens if I use too much data, it seems mobiles these days are less about actually calling people and more to ensure you can stream the latest episode of Love Island! But it’s a fact that we live in a data driven society, with an incredible 2.5 quintillion bytes of data being created every day, and 90% of the world’s data being created in the last two years alone. A staggering figure, which is expected to double every two years. And when I think back over the last 18 months of lockdown during the pandemic, it really HAS been all about the data. At every government briefing sitting through countless presentations #nextslideplease showing trends of cases, hospitalisations, and vaccinations, and other modelling, because in our world today, data is probably the thing that matters most. But why does it matter, why is it all about the data?

When I think back to some of the projects I have been involved with in the past, systems customers have implemented have not just been to manage a process more efficiently, it has been to capture data. One example of something that was quite mind blowing at the time, was a utilities company who were using drone technology to capture pictures of various pieces of equipment. This would then allow technicians to analyse and determine whether any maintenance or repair work was required which could be scheduled within their asset maintenance application. Very clever stuff.

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FinTech News

Introducing Waddle for Recruiters

Monday 06 September 2021

PayPal Launches the Ability to Buy, Hold and Sell Cryptocurrency in the UK

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AYPAL ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF A NEW SERVICE ENABLING ITS CUSTOMERS IN THE UK1 TO BUY, HOLD AND SELL CRYPTOCURRENCY WITH PAYPAL. THIS NEW SERVICE STARTS ROLLING OUT THIS WEEK.

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E KNOW THE CASH FLOW PRESSURE THAT RECRUITMENT COMPANIES ARE UNDER, HAVING TO PAY CONTRACTORS WEEKLY, WHILST WAITING 30 OR MORE DAYS FOR CLIENT PAYMENTS. THAT'S WHY WE'VE LAUNCHED A NEW PRODUCT DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY. With Waddle for Recruiters you could be eligible for an advance rate of 85% of the value of your invoice ledger, an increase on the standard 80%. In addition, we've made changes to our regular concentration limits. Depending on the size of the facility, you could still be eligible for the full 85%, even if you only have one debtor.

How it works For facilities under $50k: • Advance rate - 85% (this is a percentage of the total value of all of your eligible invoices) • Concentration limits - none (this means that even if you just have a single debtor, you're still eligible for an 85% advance rate) For facilities under $50-200k: • Advance rate - 85% • Concentration limits - 50% (if you only have a single debtor, you'll be eligible for...

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50% off your first 3 months

Starling milestones: Summer 2021

By Emma Potter

Save up to $2000! Offer ends 30/06/21

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Customers can choose from four types of cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. By accessing their PayPal account via the website or the mobile app, they can view real-time crypto prices, access educational content to help answer commonly asked questions, and learn more about cryptocurrencies, including the opportunities and risks. This announcement marks the first international expansion of the company’s cryptocurrency offering outside of the United States. With a trusted brand like PayPal now making an entry, access, knowledge, and the exploration of cryptocurrency has the potential to become mainstream in the UK. “The pandemic has accelerated digital change and innovation across all aspects of our lives— including the digitisation of money and greater consumer adoption of digital financial services,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Vice President and General Manager, Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies at PayPal. “Our global reach, digital payments expertise, and knowledge of consumer and businesses, combined with rigorous security and compliance controls provides us the unique opportunity, and the responsibility, to help people in the UK to explore cryptocurrency. We are committed to continue working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support—and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce.”

UGUST IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE AND COOLER DAYS MAY SOON BE ON THEIR WAY, BUT THAT NEVER STOPS THE WHEELS TURNING HERE AT REVOLUT. AS ALWAYS, WE’VE BEEN WORKING TO BRING YOU THE BEST POSSIBLE EXPERIENCE, AND WE’VE GOT SOME REAL FIREWORKS FOR YOU THIS MONTH. FROM EASIER APP NAVIGATION, TO A BRAND NEW SALARY ADVANCE PRODUCT, THERE’S BOUND TO BE SOMETHING TO CATCH YOUR EYE. CHECK OUT WHAT’S NEW BELOW.

Get full visibility of transfer pricing Stay on top of how much it’ll cost to send money abroad with our new pricing widget. You’ll know exactly what to expect from in-

ternational transfers, no matter which currency you’re sending. There’ll be no more confusion or uncertainty about charges when you’re sending money to loved ones around the world.

Eat out in London to get up to 30% cashback Restrictions have lifted, it’s summertime, so it’s time to enjoy yourself again! Get out and about to rediscover great London restaurants and get rewarded with instant cashback. And with Revolut, you can even split the bill easily with friends. Did someone say night out on the town?

To add money to your Monzo account from a linked account hit “Add Money” on the homepage, then “Linked account”. You’ll see a pending payment created...

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By Thomas George

Our philosophy has always been to build Monzo out in the open, with input and feedback from our users. We already have plans for how linked accounts and transfers will evolve in the near future (see below), but we

S SUMMER DRAWS TO A CLOSE, WE SHARE A FEW OF OUR RECENT HIGHLIGHTS. STARLING NOW HAS MORE THAN 2.4 MILLION OPEN ACCOUNTS, INCLUDING 400,000+ BUSINESS ACCOUNTS. Our deposits are almost £4 billion for business account holders and a typical Starling business customer, in credit, has an average balance of more than £13,000. For personal and joint accounts, the average balance is more than £2000 and the total deposit value is more than £2.8 billion. Since May 2021, we’ve announced: • Lending under the government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) • Additional features for Starling’s Kite card for kids, including app login • Dark mode for iOS • A refresh of the Spaces feature • New card details screen for iOS • Additional fraud prevention measures • Partnerships with several British events and venues, including the Pub in the Park festival, Brighton Pier and Kew Gardens • A partnership with Instavolt, an electric vehicle charging network, that boosts our commitment to sustainability • The launch of a new image library as part of our #MakeMoneyEqual campaign • Our latest annual report and accounts, showing a 600%...

Monzo USA: Move money to and from your other accounts – now in Beta testing ROM TODAY YOU’LL BE ABLE TO LINK YOUR OTHER NON-MONZO ACCOUNTS TO YOUR MONZO ACCOUNT. QUICKLY ADD MONEY TO YOUR MONZO ACCOUNT FROM LINKED ACCOUNTS, OR MOVE MONEY FROM MONZO TO ANY OF YOUR OTHER ACCOUNTS – ALL FROM INSIDE THE MONZO APP.

By George Blew

wanted to launch this version to start collecting feedback from our users and ensure we’re building something that meets your needs.

An easier way to add money to your Monzo account and move money to other accounts