XU Biweekly - Issue 25 - 12 March 2022 by XU Magazine

Saturday 12 March 2022 | No. 25

XU Biweekly

THE PARTY IS ALMOST HERE

The independent news source for Xero users, by Xero users

XERO AND QANTAS BUSINESS REWARDS PARTNER TO BRING MORE BENEFITS TO AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESSES By Joseph Lyons

HIS YEAR, MORE SMALL BUSINESSES ARE EXPECTED TO TAKE OFF AS BUSINESS TRAVEL MAKES A RETURN. AFTER YEARS OF RESCHEDULED FLIGHTS, IT’S EXCITING TO SEE BORDERS REOPENING, GIVING SMALL BUSINESSES THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECONNECT WITH CUSTOMERS AND COLLEAGUES ALL OVER THE WORLD. THAT’S WHY I’M EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE XERO’S NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH QANTAS BUSINESS REWARDS IN AUSTRALIA. In a first for Xero and an airline, the partnership will allow Australian small

businesses to earn Qantas Points via the Xero App Store and streamline their bills when booking a Qantas flight as a Qantas Business Rewards member. “The Qantas Business Rewards program is focused on helping members do business better, all while being rewarded for it. In partnership with Xero, we’re giving business owners new ways to grow their points balances when using business apps in the Xero App Store. “It’s now easier for businesses to manage their travel with Qantas, with invoices flowing directly into Xero accounting software. We know this is something our...

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Spenmo Expands Leadership Team With Appointment of First CRO, Kevin Fitzgerald, To Fuel Next Stage Of Growth

PENMO, A SINGAPORE-BASED PAYABLES SOFTWARE STARTUP, TODAY ANNOUNCED THE APPOINTMENT OF KEVIN FITZGERALD AS THE COMPANY’S FIRST CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER (CRO). Kevin will lead the sales, marketing, partnerships and customer success teams to build and scale the business rapidly across Asia. Prior to Spenmo, Kevin was the Managing Director at Xero Asia, a leading global small business platform that has been working closely with Spenmo for the past two years to support the growth of SMEs in the region. ”Kevin is an Accountant by trade. He’s spent many years gaining a deep understanding of Accountants workflows and helping SMEs streamline their processes with technology, making him one of the most ecognised leaders of finance digitisation for businesses in APAC. We believe his stellar track record and leadership experience will help us scale our team...

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MEET IGNITION: PRACTICE IGNITION DROPS ‘PRACTICE’ AND ENHANCES THEIR PLATFORM TO REDEFINE CLIENT ENGAGEMENT & COMMERCE By Dane Thomas

PRACTICE IGNITION, THE WORLD’S FIRST CLIENT ENGAGEMENT AND COMMERCE PLATFORM FOR THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, HAS BECOME IGNITION TO REFLECT ITS GROWTH BEYOND PROPOSALS AND PAYMENTS, HELPING ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUSINESSES SPARK LONG-LASTING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS WITH EASE. The brand reframe follows 18 months of signiﬁcant product investment, to build a

scalable and intuitive platform that meets the needs of a diverse and growing...

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2 XU Biweekly | No. 25

New Apps & Updates

ROTAREADY PRODUCT UPDATE – JANUARY 2022

Salestrekker partners with Annature for exclusive eSigning

O KICK OFF 2022, WE’VE GOT SOME EXCITING UPDATES FOR YOU. INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO; TWO BRAND NEW INTEGRATIONS, HISTORICAL FIGURES WITHIN COST CONTROL, AND WORKED HOURS WITHIN THE ROTAREADY APP. HERE’S WHAT’S NEW…

Worked hours in the Rotaready app Replicating what managers can see under the attendance section in Rotaready, this update gives employees an overview of the hours they worked each day.

Saturday 12 March 2022

HE LEADING AUSTRALIAN-OWNED ESIGNING PLATFORM BUILT FOR THE DIGITAL AGE, ANNATURE, TODAY ANNOUNCED SALESTREKKER CRM WILL NOW EXCLUSIVELY TRUST ITS INNOVATION FOR ESIGNING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS EACH YEAR. Salestrekker is used by almost 10,000 mortgage and finance brokers who rely on Salestrekker to organise, collaborate and automate home loan, personal, asset, and commercial finance details. Salestrekker is used by almost 10,000 mortgage and finance brokers who rely on Salestrekker to organise, collaborate and automate home loan, personal, asset, and commercial finance details. Salestrekker CEO and founder Dalibor Ivkovic said...

FEBRUARY RELEASE: IMPROVE EFFICIENCY WITH MAINTENANCE PLANNER UPDATES

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By Jeremy Chuang

N OUR FEBRUARY UPDATE, WE'VE ADDED NEW FUNCTIONALITIES TO ENHANCE THE USER EXPERIENCE OF MAINTENANCE PLANNER AND IMPROVE SECURITY. READ ON TO FIND OUT ABOUT OUR FEBRUARY UPDATE, INCLUDING: • • • • •

Lock Maintenance Planner jobs Group assets in Maintenance Planner Utilize extensive Task audit logs Save time with a new two-factor authentication option Close projects via the Open Work tab

Read more XU BIWEEKLY - No. 25 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 Creative Assistant: Hatty Morton 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 2014-2022. 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: Office 1, Brunswick House, Brunswick Way, Liverpool, L3 4BN, 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.

DEAL FLOW - OVERVIEW

Kanban style columns to easily identify what stage of the journey your client is on

By Anna Curzon

GL CORPORATE "This is an industry SOLUTIONS, AUS- first solution, and we are TRALIA'S LEADING extremely proud to have PROVIDER OF SMSF AD- developed NBOC togethMINISTRATION, PORT- er with our long-term FOLIO ADMINISTRATION friends and partners at AND ASIC CORPORATE Cointree" said Ron Lesh, COMPLIANCE SOLU- BGL’s Managing Director. TIONS, NTELLIGENT IN COLLABORABUSINESS MANAGEMENT “Unlike stocks on SOFTWARE, the ASX TION PROJECTWORKS.IO, WITH COINTREE, HAS A ANNOUNCED that cease THE trading ABILITY every TO LEADING RESOURCE BY CRYPTOCURDAY, WEEK OR afternoon MONTHand ON have THEIRa PLATsinFORM. RENCY EXCHANGE, IS gle price, cryptocurrencies PROUD TO ANNOUNCE are traded 24/7 across THE TheRELEASE update comes OF NBOC; in alongside multiple a big rebuild exchanges of theand way they AN handle AUSTRALIAN resourcing BASED under the in hood, multiple which countries. will setThis them upSOLUTION for a whole PROVIDING host of further A makes updates accurate over the valuation coming months! DAILY PRICE FEED FOR challenging. So, BGL and... HUNDREDS OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES. Read moreFind out more

UR TEAMS HAVE BEEN BUSY DURING FEBRUARY, RELEASING NEW FEATURES TO IMPROVE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN XERO. READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW WE’RE CONTINUING TO INVEST IN HUBDOC, AS WELL AS ENHANCE THE XERO ACCOUNTING APP, XERO PAYROLL IN NEW ZEALAND AND OUR COVID-19 BUSINESS SUPPORT TOOL IN AUSTRALIA.

New features: View progress while importing contacts into Xero — Global

By Sonia Dorais

AM DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH OF CHASER’S PARTNERSHIP WITH FUNDING CIRCLE, THE UK’S LARGEST LOAN PLATFORM FOR SMES.

This partnership gives Chaser users access to additional funds in the form of fast, affordable business loans. Like Funding Circle, we at Chaser want to help small and mid-sized businesses worldwide to improve their cash flow. Funding Circle specialises in SME finance and makes it fast and simple for businesses using Chaser to access funding for cash flow, stock, equipment and more. Chaser users seeking funding for their next step of business growth can now access quick, affordable SME loans through a trusted Chaser partner; Funding Circle.

Late payments & the need for stable cash flow

Using a Kanban style view, Deal Flow uses columns to easily identify what stage of the journey your client is on. From identifying clients to getting the proposal signed. At each stage, your team will be able to see what they need to do next. An easy drag and drop system for moving clients between...

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We’ve improved the way you import contacts in Xero, with a refreshed design...

Joiin's Report packs

PARTNER TO OFFER SMES QUICK ACCESS TO FUNDS

ITH DEAL FLOW YOU CAN KEEP TRACK OF ALL CLIENTS YOU'D LIKE TO HELP WITH BUSINESS ADVISORY SERVICES. WITH DEAL FLOW, YOU CAN HAVE EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE. YOU CAN FIND YOUR DEAL FLOW FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU IN THE TOP LEFT.

HE ULTIMATE IN FLEXIBLE REPORTING, REPORT PACKS ALLOW YOU TO CREATE PRINTED REPORTS AND PDF DOCUMENTS CONTAINING MULTIPLE JOIIN REPORTS AND CHARTS.

A flexible solution to regular reporting Select any combination of reports and filters, including custom reports and personalise them with graphics and templates to create polished, professional documents at...

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NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS! IDU-CONCEPT GLOBAL - Automate and streamline the manual process of spreadsheet based budgeting, forecasting and reporting with idu-Concept. Track spend, manage assets, equipment and more. For mid to large business.

MOOLAH GLOBAL - Easily report on Xero repeating invoices and monitor and forecast your monthly recurring revenue, all in one place. See the monthly or indepth insights you need to run a successful business.

AUTOSETTLE UK - A new, smarter way for companies to recover overdue invoices and debt, without compromising their relationships. Get paid fast with their smart reminder technology.

News & Updates

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JOIIN'S NEW FEATURES FOR MARCH 2022

HIS MARCH, WE’RE BRINGING YOU THE LATEST UPDATES, NEWS AND FEATURES FRESH FROM THE TEAM AT JOIIN. REMEMBER, YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ALL FEATURES IN OUR SUPPORT CENTRE.

By Trent McLaren

CCOUNTANTS AND BOOKKEEPERS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE LIFE OF A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER.

Incredibly proud to announce a new partnership with The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers and DiviPay Through this partnership we're equipping all ICB members with complimentary access to DiviPay and our Partner Program. The partnership allows ICB members to access our award-winning spend management and financial control technology that are incredibly well suited to NFP's, charities, community clubs and volunteer led organisations. DiviPay automatically captures merchant data, GST, and can automate publishing of GL codes to your favourite cloud accounting software Xero, MYOB & Intuit QuickBooks

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QuickBooks Single Sign on/In Now you can sign up and sign into Joiin using your QuickBooks login – no need to keep track of a separate login and password for Joiin. Simply log in to QuickBooks and use the launcher to access Joiin – or use the Sign In with Intuit button on the Joiin login page.

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Saturday 12 March 2022

Product update: Agenda templates, timers & Xero By Rory Macrae

collaborate to help US franchises improve business operations By Paul Lewis

E ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A NEW COLLABORATION WITH NATIONAL ACCOUNTING FIRM ONEPOINT FRANCHISE ACCOUNTING.

OnePoint was born out of a desire to serve the franchise community and remove the burden of accounting, so franchise businesses can focus on other things like quality of food, customer service and employees. Technology is pivotal to OnePoint’s day-to-day operations with their clients. As OnePoint’s preferred cloud accounting solution provider, Xero helps provide greater financial insight for OnePoint clients so they can better understand their...

MALL MONTH, BIG ON PRODUCT UPDATES. HERE’S WHAT’S NEW ON CONNECT4 THIS FEBRUARY. THE STORY SO FAR...

1. Agenda library We’ve upgraded our agenda library so that it’s more accessible for everybody. You’ll now see Agendas sitting in the top navigation bar, right next to Pods. This means you no longer need to go into a pod to access agenda templates or create your own templates. This is even accessible on our free plan.

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The Xero dashboard is getting a new look

By Emily Henlein

N THE MONTHS AHEAD, YOU MAY NOTICE THAT YOUR XERO DASHBOARD LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

It’s all part of our work to upgrade the technology that underpins our platform, so it doesn’t slow us down over time. Just as you need to upgrade your phone...

Accountancymanager:

By Pedro Sampaio

2021’s Practice Management Software of the Year

AM PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT CHASER'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SONIA DORAIS, HAS BEEN RECOGNISED IN THE TOP 25 WOMEN LEADERS IN FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY OF EUROPE FOR 2022, BY THE FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY REPORT.

T’S OFFICIAL. WE’VE ONLY GONE AND WON THE 2021 ACCOUNTINGWEB AWARD FOR PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR. Although it feels weird to be celebrating an award win in February, we’re not complaining. Quite the opposite. For us, awards aren’t just badges for the website or new bling for the office. They’re recognition – from our users and the industry – that we’re genuinely making a difference on a large scale. And what could be better than that? The fact that we obtain almost 50% of all votes in our category.

Chaser CEO in Top 3 Women Leaders in Financial Technology Europe 2022

YOU CAN NOW RECORD YOUR AUSTRALIAN CLIENT VERIFICATIONS IN XERO By Anthony Migliardi

HE TAX PRACTITIONERS BOARD (TPB) RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT ALL TAX AND BAS AGENTS IN AUSTRALIA NEED TO UNDERTAKE PROOF OF IDENTITY VERIFICATIONS FOR NEW CLIENTS, TO REDUCE THE RISK OF TAX AND IDENTITY FRAUD.

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Emerging from a steeply competitive shortlist, Sonia was scored in the Top 3 by a panel of judges across the criteria of growth, leadership, and making invaluable contributions to their companies. This recognition is a testament to Sonia's inspiring leadership, spearheading a "people first" culture, whilst taking the business through significant change and a shift to remote working, which has lead to the outstanding results the company has been able to achieve since her inception as CEO. Out of scores of nominees, The Top 25...

By Nick Houldsworth

RECENTLY HELPED HOST A TECHCRUNCH GLOBAL DIGITAL ROUNDTABLE TO DISCUSS ALL THINGS APPS, ECOSYSTEM AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS (SO BASICALLY, ALL MY FAVOURITE SUBJECTS).

How connected tech can help startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses succeed brought together a dream-team panel, including Xero partners, HubSpot, Stripe and Shopify, to share our collective insights into the current digital platform landscape, and where connected tech and apps will make the biggest impact for startups and small businesses customers in the future. We talked about interesting developments within our platforms’ ecosystems, apps and integrations, innovations we are seeing from startups and small businesses, and more. If you missed the live broadcast, the recording is available now here – and it’s definitely worth a watch. In the meantime, here's what I feel are some of the...

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News

6 XU Biweekly | No. 25

CHAMPIONING GENDER EQUALITY By Nicole Reid

ODAY, TUESDAY 8 MARCH, IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. THIS YEAR, THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY THEME IS #BREAKTHEBIAS – CELEBRATING WOMEN’S ACHIEVEMENT, RAISING AWARENESS AGAINST BIAS, AND TAKING ACTION FOR GENDER EQUALITY. I’m taking the opportunity to reflect, as I do every year, about the progress that Xero has made and consider our goals for the...

New findings show CFOs look to automation to improve team satisfaction, not to replace them

Why Australian small businesses should care about the Business eInvoicing Right (BER) By Simon Foster

ORE BUSINESSES ARE GETTING ON BOARD WITH EINVOICING, A NEW WAY TO EXCHANGE INVOICES ELECTRONICALLY BETWEEN ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS.

LLOYDS BANK PARTNERS WITH SATAGO TO REINVENT INVOICE FINANCING FOR UK SMES

By Nicole Reid

NALYSIS PARALYSIS IS A VERY REAL THING, AND NOT JUST AN EXCELLENT NAME FOR A HEAVY METAL BAND. IT DESCRIBES WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP OVER ANALYSES A SITUATION TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT NO SOLUTION IS EVER REACHED. This can be as minor as struggling to pick a new Netflix show, or as major as a small business deciding on a digital tool that could not only help them thrive in the future, but ensure they remain compliant with government legislation. That’s right, we’re talking about Making Tax Digital (MTD). Choosing the right accounting software...

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Kolleno raises £4M seed to help businesses solve their cash flow struggles

Published as businesses recover from the chronic disruption due to the pandemic, the research asked over 500 CFOs worldwide how they approach automation in finance.

By Stuart Miller

It promises to make the whole invoicing and billing process faster, more efficient and more secure – especially for the 90 per cent of Australian businesses still processing invoices manually. But to see these benefits, we first need more people to join the network. And a new government proposal may...

By Shandel McAuliffe

N OVERWHELMING 89% OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS (CFOS) ARE INCREASINGLY LOOKING TO AUTOMATE THEIR BACK-OFFICE TO ENGAGE THEIR EMPLOYEES, NOT TO REPLACE THEM, ACCORDING TO A NEW RESEARCH REPORT BY AUSTRALIA’S FIRST ALL-INONE EXPENSE MANAGEMENT PLATFORM DIVIPAY.

Saturday 12 March 2022

HR Partner Recognized as Best HRIS Software by Software Advice!

OFTWARE ADVICE, A LEADING COMPANY THAT HELPS BUSINESSES NAVIGATE THEIR SOFTWARE BUYING JOURNEY, FEATURED HR PARTNER AS ONE OF THE BEST HRIS SOFTWARE FOR BUSINESSES IN ITS TOP-RATED SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS REPORT.

The agreement builds on the existing partnership, extending the use of Satago’s technology to help Lloyds Bank customers get access to cash against invoices due. It will power a single unified solution for...

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HR Software for Small & Medium Businesses Streamline your HR processes and free up your time

Paying all our people fairly Gender diversity – across all genders, binary and non-binary – is a critical component of our approach to diversity and inclusion at Xero. A core area of focus for us...

OLLENO, A LONDON-BASED STARTUP SPECIALIZING IN ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE (AR) MANAGEMENT FOR SMES, HAS ATTRACTED £4M ($5.4M) IN SEED FUNDING LED BY EURAZEO AND STRIDE VC, WITH PARTICIPATION FROM EULER HERMES, HUBSPOT AND SEVERAL ANGEL INVESTORS INCLUDING MICHAEL PENNINGTON, MARK RANSFORD, AND WILL NEALE. Founded in 2020 by Dimitri Raziev, CEO (ex-Goldman Sachs, Fasanara Capital) and Ron Danenberg, CTO (ex-Expedia Group, Vatglobal), Kolleno simplify B2B credit control and collections for SMEs by automating the management of receivables on one single platform. In short, the platform does cash reconciliation, prioritises the workflow and provides tailored collection strategies by advising the most effective communication channels using AI and machine- learning technology. The customers are approached via omnichannel, in-app communication methods (including email, SMS, and call.)

We understand that a diverse workforce is an invaluable strength, and our approach to this is underpinned by our values, our purpose – to make life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world – and our inclusive work policies and practices. By creating an environment where people are able to bring their unique selves to work, and feel like they belong, we can empower our people to do the best work of their lives. We are committed to making a real difference by championing diversity and inclusion within the tech sector and our broader community.

This report features the list of top-rated HRIS solutions helping small businesses and human resource leaders around the globe. Check out our placement here – The 10 Best HRIS Software for Your Business With over 40+ 5 Star Reviews, we have an incredible overall rating of 4.9 (out of 5). Whoohoooo! We’d like to extend a big thank-you to all our amazing customers who love us so much! It would not have been possible without your support and we feel very privileged to be helping with your HR records and processes. As you can see, most of our users...

ATAGO, THE CASH MANAGEMENT PLATFORM THAT PROVIDES AUTOMATED CREDIT CONTROL, RISK MANAGEMENT AND INVOICE FINANCE TO SMES AND ACCOUNTANTS, TODAY ANNOUNCES THAT IT HAS PARTNERED WITH LLOYDS BANK TO TRANSFORM ACCESS TO SHORT-TERM FINANCE FOR ITS BUSINESS CUSTOMERS ACROSS THE UK.

T XERO, WE BELIEVE FOSTERING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF SUPPORTING OUR PEOPLE, CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES.

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8 XU Biweekly | No. 25

Events & Webinars

3 MUST SEE PLACES IN NOLA DURING

Saturday 12 March 2022

WATCH AN ON-DEMAND WEBINAR

By Tausha Wallace

EW ORLEANS IS KNOWN AS THE BIRTHPLACE OF JAZZ, THE ‘HOLLYWOOD OF THE SOUTH’, AND CRESCENT CITY – A PLACE TRULY FILLED WITH LIFE, MUSIC, AND HISTORY; THEREFORE, THE PERFECT SETTING TO BRING OUR ACCOUNTING COMMUNITY TOGETHER. When you arrive at Xerocon, you’ll find an immersive experience where you can connect and learn from other practices as well as bond with your local Xero team…so, why not share the NOLA vibes together?

Treat yourself to delicious culinary delights Just 1.7 miles from the New Orleans Convention Center and on the banks of the Mississippi River lies the historic heart of the city – French Quarter...

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VIPUL’S VIEW

THE ADVANCETRACK CONFERENCE 2022 By Vipul Sheth

ITH THE ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING CONFERENCE A COUPLE OF MONTHS AWAY, IT FELT LIKE A GOOD TIME TO USE MY BLOG TO SET OUT WHAT THE CONFERENCE IS SETTING OUT TO ACHIEVE AND, MORE BROADLY, PUT THAT IN CONTEXT OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN ACCOUNTANTS’ WORKING LIVES.

The theme of our conference Essentially, the easiest way of describing what our conference is looking to inform accountants about is ‘building back’. Practices must support their clients through a journey towards some semblance of normality. That means more ‘help’. Now, I know that practitioners have worked incredibly hard over the last couple of years firefighting on behalf of their clients. They’ve provided with essential government advice and led them through grants, loans and tax deferrals. But we know that as businesses come out of recession, a lack of cash and resources can see them collapse as they...

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FOLLOW OUR SISTER PUBLICATION... @xumagazine @xumagazine @XU Magazine

GL HOSTS MAJOR FACE-TO-FACE EVENT BGL REGTECH 2022BGL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PROVIDER OF SMSF ADMINISTRATION, PORTFOLIO ADMINISTRATION AND ASIC CORPORATE COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS IS HOSTING THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST MAJOR FACE-TO-FACE EVENT IN ALMOST TWO YEARS, BGL REGTECH 2022." It’s been fantastic bringing our community back together after so long apart” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “We felt it was really important to run BGL REGTECH 2022 in person and our clients and partners have relished the opportu-

nity to reconnect face-toface”. “Our events in Sydney (01/03) and Adelaide (09/03) have been a huge success with over 200 clients and 18 exhibitors in attendance across the two locations” added Lesh. “We expect ourMelbourne event to be the biggest yet, with over 300 delegates already registered. Add to this our live-stream attendees in Queensland, Western Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, we will have over 600 people attending”. The BGL REGTECH 2022 line-up boasts industry experts David Boyar FCA – CEO ofChangeGPS, Aly Garrett FCA – Founder and...

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Features

10 XU Biweekly | No. 25

Saturday 12 March 2022

DIGITAL SIGNING FOR ACCOUNTANTS: WHEN FRUSTRATION LIGHTS A FUSE XU MAGAZINE

IS CPD CERTIFIED

By Melissa Voss & Scott Barber

T’S PROBLEM-SOLVING 101. TO FIX A PROBLEM, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM. AND NOBODY UNDERSTANDS AN ACCOUNTANT’S PROBLEMS BETTER THAN AN ACCOUNTANT. For over a decade, Melissa Voss managed a Chartered Accounting firm in Brisbane, Australia—passionate about increasing productivity and simplifying complex tasks through process automation. She knew the pain points faced by accountants because she lived them too. So, alongside software engineer Scott

Barber, she turned her frustration into action. In 2015, FuseWorks was born. These two business partners are now proudly building bespoke software solutions to help accountants across the globe. “First, we created FuseDocs, a document compilation tool that, in just a few clicks, automates the preparation of professional document packs or client collations. Next, we created FuseCharts, which creates clear, concise structure charts within seconds. These automation tools will save your administration teams hours of time, so they can work on meaningful and more productive tasks. The

feedback has been incredible! We couldn’t be happier,”— says Voss, now Head of Clients and Partnerships. That wasn’t enough for the FuseWorks team. "We needed to complete the picture; we were still missing a piece of the document delivery puzzle. We wanted to see something purpose-built for the complexity that we deal with every day,” —says Barber, FuseWorks Co-Founder and Head of Product. So after years of planning and consultation with other accounting firms, in 2020 they launched FuseSign, a digital signing tool...

E HAVE BEEN W O R K I N G 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.

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THE 5 STEPS TO SOLID Effortless B2B eCommerce with B2B Wave and Xero FINANCIAL FOUNDATIONS Start receiving B2B orders in no time Integrations In addition to Xero integration B2BWave also connects with several payment and inventory systems and with over 2,000+ apps through Zapier — in addition to custom-built integrations should you feel creative, you can also use the B2B Wave API.

By Qas Ali

S Every great business is built on rock-solid financial foundations. Without the right financial disciplines, a business will never fulfil its true potential. By Michael Ford

HERE ARE FIVE FINANCIAL DISCIPLINES THAT UNDERPIN THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES AND BUILDING DEPTH IN THESE IS WHAT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE... It should come as no surprise that I’m a fan of forecasting. You’d hope so, given I’ve devoted close to 25 years of my life to the field. But even now, after all this time, I’m still enthralled by the transformative power of a great forecasting process. Every great business, no matter the size, the geography or the industry is built on rock-solid financial foundations. Without the right financial disciplines, a business will never fulfil its true potential. And given the SME sector employs over half of the world’s working population, that matters. That matters a huge amount. The global economy needs the SME sector to be robust, vibrant and, ultimately, successful. And as we’ve all seen time and time again, solid financial foundations give these SMEs the freedom, the clarity and the cashflow to be robust, vibrant and successful. It’s a simple equation, but I think it makes

sense. And it means we as a community of accountants, advisers and entrepreneurs are perfectly placed to make a difference. So what do solid financial foundations look like? There are 5 big pieces to the puzzle: • Commercial literacy • Performance visibility • Rolling forecasting • Aligned KPIs & metrics • Insightful analysis There’s no right order to these pieces. They’re more virtuously circular than logically linear. And while there’s no doubt being strong in any one of these areas is a positive, building depth in all 5 is what really makes a difference. It might be helpful here to dig a little deeper into each of these pieces, because there’s more to them than simple slogans.

Commercial literacy Think of this as the next step beyond financial literacy. Take a bunch of financial...

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ELLING ONLINE FOR WHOLESALERS IS A TRICKY BUSINESS. DIFFERENT PRICES PER PRODUCT, PRIVATE CATEGORIES, EXCLUSIVE DEALS. B2B WAVE MAKES IT EASY. To fully reap the benefits of online B2B selling, integrating your B2B eCommerce platform with your Xero account is of the essence. It makes everything more efficient; from your daily business operations to your sales team to the customer ordering process. B2B Wave is a powerful all-in-one B2B e-Commerce platform, exclusively made for wholesale distributors and brands. With B2B Wave you can get your B2B eCommerce portal up and running by easily importing your Xero data (products and customers), inviting customers, and automating invoice creation. Your customer’s experience can be fully personalised with different price lists and privacy settings, and use the sales rep feature to let them manage orders on behalf of their customers.

User-friendly B2B eCommerce experience The all-in-one B2B eCommerce solution will streamline the wholesale order management process with an attractive, user-friendly, wholesale private website where retailers can log in, place orders, and find out about new product offerings and what’s currently on sale.

PDF catalogue generation B2B Wave allows you to instantly accept orders through your own wholesale website, import and manage products on your B2B eCommerce website quickly, generate easily fully customized PDF catalogs for a single customer, a group of customers, specific product categories, and much more.

Localisation features In today’s international world, localisation is a must. You can easily use B2B Wave for selling abroad (even in a different language). We support creating price lists and invoices in different currencies, assigning customers

to different VAT schemes, and even assigning different Xero invoice templates to each customer

Mobile app and sales rep management With the quick import of a spreadsheet, you can immediately start managing your retailers and other B2B customers, including assigning customers to a sales rep and allowing sales reps to place orders on behalf of customers. Through the B2B Wave new sales reps mobile app you can further streamline your order management and empower your sales reps to deliver superior results by dramatically reducing the time it takes sales them to manage new and existing orders.

Support B2B Wave values customer relations and we’ll do our best to thoroughly understand your business and help you get the most out of the integration. Our friendly support team is available 24/7 to help with urgent issues and with product-related questions.

Start a free trial or request a demo! Find out more in Issue 30 of XU Magazine

Fintech

XU Biweekly | No. 25

The home of XU Magazine and XU Biweekly

XU Hub is now live on Apple News!

Saturday 12 March 2022 11

Virtual payment runs. Are you using them yet? How virtual payment runs have the tables turning for bookkeepers and SMEs

By Nicholas Adamou

IRTUAL PAYMENT RUNS MAKE IT EASY FOR BOOKKEEPERS AND ACCOUNTANTS TO OFFER PAYMENT SERVICES AND COLLABORATE WITH CLIENTS... Change can be scary, and making business payments can sometimes be even scarier. What if you miskey something? What if I pay my staff late? Many things make payments risky, especially if you layer multiple people into the process. Fear not. There is nothing scary about virtual payment runs.

The next step in digital accounting? Yes, it brings change, but change is sometimes needed to improve. If you look...

DIGITAL INNOVATION IN ACCOUNTING & 5 tips for accountants to survive the busy start of the year FINANCE: INTRODUCING 2022 SERIES Improve your wellbeing in 2022 by following these vital tips... OF EVENTS

HERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS THAT ACCOUNTANTS CAN IMPROVE THEIR PRODUCTIVITY AND LOOK AFTER THEMSELVES DURING BUSY SEASON.

How can you participate in a series of online technology events for accountants and finance professionals? By Laura Binns

HE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE SHOW ASIA SERIES PRESENTS THE BEST OF BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON CONFERENCES AND EXHIBITIONS FOR ACCOUNTANTS AND FINANCE PROFESSIONALS IN 2022. The Accounting & Finance Show Asia is now in its fifth year and is the go-to event for accountants and finance professionals from SMEs, large enterprises and accounting firms across the region looking to discover and implement the latest digital innovations in technology solutions for their organisations. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated technology adoption across Asia, with businesses of all sizes across all industries fast-tracking their digitalisation plans and actively purchasing technology solutions to ensure they can streamline their processes, safeguard their businesses and leverage

data in everything from their decision making to employee and client engagement. To help our engaged community of tens of thousands of accounting and finance professionals across Asia adopt a growth mindset and remain ever-ready for a transformative future, The Accounting & Finance Show Asia Series introduces the very best tools and digital innovations the world has to offer. Most importantly, it serves as the region’s strongest platform to facilitate the exchange of ideas in themes such as Digital Innovation, Finance Transformation, Digital Practice Management and Business Advisory.

Now that January is behind us, it is a good time for accountancy practices to reflect on how personal tax season went. It is no secret among accountants that the start of each calendar year is incredibly busy – even in 2022, despite HMRC’s extension of the self-assessment deadline. The quantity of work mounts up, and it’s vital that accountants look after themselves during that start-of-year rush. In addition, factors such as the punctuality of your clients and technological efficiency have a dramatic impact on your own productivity and wellbeing. At Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK, we want to make a difference in the communities in which we operate. In keeping with that ethos, we believe the productivity and wellbeing of our customers are intrinsically linked. We’ve put together five vital tips for you to follow below....

Productivity

1) Incentivise early submissions We would advise you to consider how you communicate deadlines to your clients. If a client knows they can send you their information just before an HMRC deadline (and that you will work late into the night to ensure it is submitted on time), they may well do just that. Ensuring that deadlines are firm and clear can encourage clients to submit the required information in good time, so that deadlines for filing the return can be met. This can therefore help to prevent work being rushed, and also protect your own wellbeing.

2) Integrate tax and document management systems Efficiency is key during tax return season, and the optimum driver is technology.

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When are the Accounting & Finance Show Asia Series events happening? Find out more

ISSUE 30 OUT NOW!

FinTech News

12 XU Biweekly | No. 25

Revolut Launches Stock Trading in Australia

Hub

By Emma Potter

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Saturday 12 March 2022

EVOLUT, THE GLOBAL FINTECH COMPANY WITH MORE THAN 18 MILLION RETAIL CUSTOMERS WORLDWIDE, HAS ADDED ITS POPULAR STOCK TRADING FEATURE TO ITS AUSTRALIAN OFFERING. Australian Revolut customers now have the opportunity to buy and sell fractional shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ through the Revolut app. The feature allows customers to invest as little as US$1 into stocks from popular listed companies such as Amazon, Tesla, Coca-Cola, and Netflix. To mark the launch, Revolut Australia is waiving all commission fees for the rest of the year to anyone who uses the Stock Trading feature by June 30, 2022.* The Stock Trading feature includes real-time market data, intuitive stock charts, as well as price alerts, market graphs, and global market news within the app. The inapp platform also includes Revolut’s social trading feature, which will allow traders to

share their portfolios and view the investments of other Revolut customers. By providing customers with access to an abundance of market and security information at their fingertips, Revolut aims to empower traders to make more educated investment decisions. “We’re really excited to be offering Stock Trading to our Australian customers, and simplifying the trading experience for...

Contactless limit increases AIRWALLEX PARTNERS WITH PLUM to £100 for UK customers TO POWER ITS STOCK INVESTING FEATURE By Emma Potter

HETHER YOU’RE GRABBING FOOD TO GO, RUSHING THROUGH A BUSY COMMUTE OR JUST SHOPPING IN A HURRY, CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS HAVE MADE OUR LIVES A LOT EASIER. But for the fast moving, get-up-and-go, modern spender, even the £45 limit often just isn’t enough. Well we’ve got some exciting news. We’re more than doubling the contactless limit for UK customers to £100. Plus, the total amount you can spend before you need to enter your PIN or reset your limit in-app has done the same, leaping from £130 to £300.

It’s all about convenience Contactless payments are all about making it less of a hassle for you when you’re using your card out and about. These changes take the limit from £45 and mean you can spend over twice as much money in one contactless transaction as before. The cumulative limit for contactless payments has also risen to £300, which means you don’t have to enter your PIN or reset your contactless limit as often.

Airwallex was chosen as Plum’s global payments and FX partner to support the launch of Plum’s new stock investing feature that will allow for its customers to trade in 500+ U.S. stocks across a range of large tech brands and options, including major fortune 500 businesses. With the Airwallex integration, Plum can collect, hold and convert funds in multiple currencies and more quickly bring to market new features to customers on their investing journey. “How a person manages their wealth is key to their financial success, and Plum has identified an innovative way to help achieve that,” said Jed Rose, GM, EMEA at Airwallex. “We are excited to be Plum’s partner of choice as they look to grow internationally, supporting them on their latest stock investing feature. Our global financial infrastructure aims to empower businesses just like Plum, enabling them to operate anytime and anywhere. We look forward to deepening...

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Sending money to Ukraine with Revolut By Emma Potter

INCE THE OUTSET OF THE EVENTS IN UKRAINE, WE’VE DONE EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE TRYING TO SEND MONEY TO OR FROM UKRAINIAN BANKS ARE ABLE TO DO SO.

How to send money to Ukraine

By Linda Yang

“We’re on a mission to take the pain out of getting paid, and we’re proud to partner with FinDock which unlocks Salesforce for endto-end payments manage-

A warm shoutout to everyone for entrusting us with this responsibility. Your belief in us is a guiding force. But that's not all! Our mission and vision continue to guide us in a steadfast manner as we announce our new round of funding. We've had the honor of being trusted by businesses across the globe. Now, it is time for us to climb to new heights. We're so happy to announce that Volopay is coming to THREE new countries - India, Indonesia, and the Philippines! None of this would've been possible without the dedication of our Volofam. Not so little anymore,

Here’s all you need to know about sending money to Ukraine using Revolut.

FinDock Welcomes GoCardless Open Banking to Payments Management on Salesforce

RIES A.

we've grown to over 150 Volopeers. Together, we've built the foundation for transforming fintech in the South Asian and APAC regions. Without their hard work and effort, it wouldn't have been possible to craft a portfolio that has onboarded numerous reputable clients. And, well, that's just the start. From the bottom of our hearts, a shoutout to all our lovely users for believing in us and allowing us to grow. We've achieved a lot in just two years. We're ready to throw ourselves into the next stage of the game. Prepared to work harder, create smarter, and bring to you the best of what Volopay has to offer. Stay tuned!

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ment. Now, users can further realise the benefits of FinDock, with added automation and cost efficiencies," says Karl Stjernstrom, Head of Global Enterprise Partnerships at GoCardless. “As we continue to combine our global bank debit network with open banking technology, Salesforce customers will be among the first to access the latest account-to-account solutions via FinDock, those that let payments flow freely, without cards, expira-

E'VE RAISED $29 MILLION FOR OUR SE-

IRWALLEX, A GLOBAL FINTECH PLATFORM, TODAY ANNOUNCED ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADING INVESTING APP, PLUM, TO SUPPORT ITS CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS AND FX NEEDS.

Revolut card in your mobile wallet? No change there

INDOCK IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE ITS PARTNERSHIP AND NEWLY ADDED OPEN BANKING INTEGRATION WITH GOCARDLESS, A LEADING FINTECH IN DIRECT BANK PAYMENT SOLUTIONS.

raises $29 million Series A

tion dates or extra costs." The FinDock and GoCardless integration allows users to switch on GoCardless as a payment processor directly in their Salesforce environment. From there, merchants can collect oneoff and recurring payments directly from their customers’ bank accounts through GoCardless via FinDock. This means that complex processes, such as direct debit mandate management, compliance notifica-

tions and collections can all be automated, saving organisations considerable time and cost. The GoCardless integration works seamlessly across FinDock’s data model, which means payment data becomes CRM data, accessible and actionable across all Salesforce Clouds and industry solutions, making it even easier to deliver personalised payment experiences and drive more...

First, tap ‘Transfer’ in the app, then tap ‘New’ in the top right corner. Select ‘Add a bank recipient’ from the list. Select ‘Ukraine’ and choose the currency (USD, EUR, GBP, or one of our other currencies). Most banks can receive transfers in major currencies like EUR or USD, but please make sure that the recipient bank can accept the currency that you’re sending, or it may be rejected. Next, you’ll need your recipient’s account number or IBAN, and their SWIFT/BIC code. IBAN codes in Ukraine follow the standardised IBAN format consisting of the UA country code followed by 27 digits (29 characters total). Account numbers usually consist of 14 characters, although this can vary. The SWIFT/BIC code usually has 8 or 11 characters where the fifth and sixth characters are Ukraine’s country code (for example, XXXXUAXX). Three additional characters may follow to identify a particular bank branch. Once you've added the recipient, enter the amount on the net page and tap 'Continue'. You'll be able to...

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