XU Biweekly - Issue 13 - 6th September 2021

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

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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...

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Capitalise Raises £10m to Launch Integrated Credit Protection Service

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

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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.

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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

shares

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...