XU Biweekly - Issue 31 - 4 June 2022

Saturday 04 June 2022 | No. 31

XU Biweekly

SOLD OUT C

IRCIT, THE AUDIT C O N F I R M AT I O N S AND OPENBANKING PLATFORM, TODAY ANNOUNCED IT HAS COMPLETED A EUR6.5M SERIES A FUNDING ROUND. THE INVESTMENT IS CO-LED

BY FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST INVESTORSAQUILINE TECHNOLOGY GROWTH (ATG) AND MIDDLEGAME VENTURES (MGV).

Circit helps auditors to verify company assets and liabilities in real-time, and at source. The platform is the first of its kind to be directly regulated for Open Banking under the PSD2 regulation, removing paper processes and outdated systems to deliver time saving for all stakeholders in the audit process, as well as reducing the risk of corporate fraud in

global markets.

Founded in 2017, Circit standardised electronic audit confirmations in many of the biggest accounting firms and created a network of validated banks, lawyers, large corporates and SMEs who joined the platform to communicate with auditors during their complete search of a company’s banking arrangements and potential

Read more on page 4

The independent news source for Xero users, by Xero users

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RANSFERMATE SECURES $70M FUNDING ROUND TO ACCELERATE INNOVATION IN B2B CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS AND EXPAND ITS GLOBAL PRESENCE; COMPANY VALUED AT $1BN. TransferMate, the world’s leading provider of B2B payments infrastructure as-a-service, today announced a $70M funding round bringing the company to a valuation of $1BN and $130M of total funding. Railpen, one of the largest UK pension funds, managing £37 billion, participated in the round.

TransferMate has grown its global licensing infrastructure and banking network to be one of the widest in the industry and has been chosen as the partner of choice to power B2B payments products for some of the largest software plat-

forms, innovative banks and Fintechs in the world.

This funding round which consists entirely of primary capital will be used to expand its teams globally and further invest in its technology innovation and product suite.

“We are delighted to welcome Railpen as a shareholder at this exciting time,” said Terry Clune, TransferMate’s Founder. “By combining our technology and our global licence network, we empower software providers, banks and fintechs to deliver payments dramatically faster & cheaper than the traditional SWIFT system. We will use this investment to continue to recruit senior financial talent who can help broaden our customer base.”

“Since the very beginning we have been on a mission to set new standards in how businesses...

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legal liabilities held on its balance sheet.

Circit will use the funds to continue expanding its offering to users on all sides of the platform, and to invest in accelerating the inherent network effects that have been...

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Saturday 04 June 2022

P2

DUBAI ROUNDUP P8

New Apps & Updates

2 XU Biweekly | No. 31

Introducing the Xero Stripe App in the new Stripe App Marketplace

By Tony Ward

W

E ALL PREFER WORK TO BE STREAMLINED AND SIMPLIFIED, BUT BUSINESSES TODAY USE DOZENS OF DIGITAL TOOLS AND SERVICES. RANGING FROM APPS THAT HELP ADDRESS YOUR BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY PAIN POINTS TO PAYMENT PROVIDERS AND ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SOLUTIONS

XU BIWEEKLY - No. 31 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

THAT CAN HELP BUSINESS OWNERS ACCESS CRITICAL INFORMATION OR IMPROVE THEIR WORKFLOWS. But when used in isolation, they often cause disjointed collaboration and manual rework. We believe in making life easier for the small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers we support by simplifying

everyday financial tasks, saving them precious time.

That’s why we’re working with Stripe, a leading financial infrastructure platform, to create a seamless, integrated experience through the Xero Stripe App in the new Stripe App Marketplace.

The Xero Stripe App Keep reading

SPOTTED ON LINKEDIN...

Synergy Product Update May 2022

U

PDATES TO BUDGETS, INVOICING, SYNERGYCRM, DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE SCHEDULING

Subcontractor management introduced to budgets We understand you need to handle different subcontractors in your daily projects, so we made significant changes to the budget planning. The budget line under work breakdown is grouped into Externals, Internals and Expenses categories that allow you to keep track of individual areas as well as your gross budget: • Internals – are your internal team costs • Externals – are sub-contractor costs • Expenses – are any budgeted expenses you predict on the project such as equipment purchases These will assist you to identify what parts of the budget are for subcontractors, and what parts are for real profit. This enables you to fully control your company’s profitability even in the proposal stage.

SynergyCRM SynergyCRM keeps you attuned to your customers with information that’s targeted, relevant, and up-to date in one, central location.

This month we have added a subcategory to your opportunities, allowing you to track your lost opportunities more accurately. Discovering the reasons why you may be losing certain opportunities will enable you to develop a superior approach, and therefore win more work.

We have enhanced the ways you can record information and action items against contacts too! Now you can add notes and to-do items to any given contact. Use this to set due dates and ensure you are pursuing your potential customers successfully.

Ever needed to compare opportunities...

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.

E

VERYTHING AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.

Hot off the press and our biggest update so far this year, we're delighted to introduce you to the new Joiin dashboard. Giving you an overview of your data on one page, now you can stay up to date with the metrics that matter to you.

Easily monitor and generate business insights with key metrics like Operating Profit Margins, Cash in Bank and Total Revenues.

Invoice performance Significant improvements in invoice creation allow for the recognition of errors at the time of processing. An error message will notify the customer to re-generate it again. Further, invoice processing time is greatly improved. Invoices perform more efficiently and can help you collect your account receivables as soon as possible.

CEO: David Hassall Managing Editor: Wesley Cornell Director of Strategic Partnerships: Alex Newson Communications Manager: Bethany Fulks Creative Assistant: Hatty Morton

© 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.

Saturday 04 June 2022

Check your growth at a glance, generate business insights on your consolidated portfolio and stay in control of your data.

Access your personalised dashboard in the left hand menu, above Companies.

As always, we love to hear feedback from the Joiin community. Get in touch with the team and let us know how you're getting on with the new Dashboard.

Like what you're reading? Stay up to date on the Joiin Blog.

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HELPING YOU WIN NEW BUSINESS WITH BEAUTIFUL QUOTES

By Katie Shea

S

ENDING A QUOTE IS OFTEN THE FIRST DIGITAL INTERACTION YOU HAVE WITH A POTENTIAL CUSTOMER, SO IT’S IMPORTANT TO MAKE THE RIGHT IMPRESSION. WE’VE MADE IT EASY IN XERO – YOU CAN CREATE A BEAUTIFUL ONLINE QUOTE IN MINUTES, GET CUSTOMERS TO ACCEPT IT ON THE SPOT, AND QUICKLY CONVERT IT INTO AN INVOICE. To continue improving your experience, we’re

introducing an exciting new feature and fresh design to quotes in Xero. This is all part of our work to upgrade the technology that underpins our platform, so we can build new features faster than ever before.

Send files as email attachments with your quotes In the weeks ahead, we’re rolling out a new feature that will allow you to send files as email attachments with your quotes.

This means your customers can open attachments (such

as terms and conditions, or a sales brochure) from the email itself, rather than via a web page.

This is a long-standing community request that will help you win new business and close the sale, by sending everything you need in one seamless communication.

The ‘Save’ and ‘Send’ buttons in quotes will also be located in the top righthand side of the page, rather than below the quote. We’re rolling out this design across the Xero platform, so you may notice it looks similar to

new invoicing and other upgraded features.

There are some other changes that you’ll need to know when using quotes in Xero. We know these changes to your workflow may

take some time to get used to, but we are always here to support you if you need a hand.

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News & Updates

4 XU Biweekly | No. 31

Saturday 04 June 2022

Annature outperforms forecasts with 500% growth

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GL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PROVIDER OF SMSF, INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AND COMPANY COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE APPOINTMENT OF JEEVAN TOKHI AS ITS NEW HEAD OF SIMPLE FUND 360.

“It has been a pleasure to watch Jeevan grow and thrive with us both personally and professionally, since he joined BGL in 2005” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director.

“We could not be prouder to see Jeevan rise up the ranks to head our Simple Fund 360 product team and make it his own.”

As qualified CPA (SMSF Specialist) and accredited SMSF Specialist Advisor (SSA) with a strong technical background and relentless focus on the clients, Jeevan has contributed significantly to BGL throughout his

career with roles including Support Consultant, Business and Test Analyst, Simple Fund Desktop Product Manager, Simple Fund 360 Product Manager and most recently, Head of Ecosystem.

"I have enjoyed building leading, innovative software applications by focusing on BGL's clients’ needs and will continue to do so'' noted Jeevan Tokhi.

“Jeevan is perfectly positioned and qualified to lead Simple Fund 360 into the future” added Lesh. “With his vision for Simple Fund 360 and experience working with BGL’s flagship products, CAS 360 and Simple Invest 360, our clients are in for an incredible journey. Watch this space!”

Simple Fund 360 is Australia’s leading self-managed super fund (SMSF)...

USTRALIAN BUSINESSES’ CONTINUED UPTAKE OF ESIGNING AND IDENTITY VERIFICATION SOLUTIONS HAS ACCELERATED ANNATURE'S 300% REVENUE GROWTH FORECAST, NOW ON TRACK TO EXCEED 500% THIS FINANCIAL YEAR. ITS CONFIDENCE IN STRIPE PAYMENTS AND BILLING HAS HELPED SUPPORT ITS ACCELERATED GROWTH RATE. As the leading Australian-owned eSigning solution with an integrated digital signature, identity verification, and payments platform built on blockchain technology, Annature offers integration with the world’s leading document...

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What happened to pensions in May 2022?

By Clare Reilly - PensionBee

W

E’VE WRITTEN DURING THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF THE YEAR ABOUT THE CHALLENGES AFFECTING PENSIONS; INFLATION, SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES AND THE ONGOING WAR IN UKRAINE AMONG OTHER THINGS. THIS COMBINATION OF FACTORS IS DRIVING DOWN MARKET PRICES, WHICH YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN REFLECTED IN THE VALUE OF YOUR PENSION POT. Whilst the current market downturn is unwanted, it’s not completely unexpected. It’s normal for the value of your pension to go down as well as up each...

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Joiin has moved into their new office!

Y

OU MAY HAVE SEEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT WE’VE MOVED INTO OUR NEW OFFICE AT THE EXETER SCIENCE PARK. WE’RE DELIGHTED TO BE IN. READ MORE ABOUT OUR LATEST MOVE HERE.

The new office represents the next phase of our business While signups to our platform snowballed during the pandemic, with our fantastic team pulling out all the stops when working remotely, having a base is what we now need. It is an opportunity for our talented team to come together and push Joiin forward.

Joiin’s commercial director, Paul Shipway, said: “We are delighted to have officially moved into our new office at the Exeter Science Park. Existing colleagues are settling in, new staff have joined us, and our first ap-

prentice is about to start at their new desk.”

“Already, it has given us all a boost, with our product team working closely to finalise and launch our platform’s new dashboard.”

“Existing colleagues are settling in, new staff have joined us, and our first apprentice is about to start at their new desk.”

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- SOLD OUT By Alex von Schirmeister

I

T'S BEEN MORE THAN TWO YEARS SINCE THE LAST XEROCON IN LONDON, SO THERE'S CLEARLY A REAL APPETITE AMONGST OUR COMMUNITY TO GET BACK TOGETHER IN PERSON IN JULY. Our team is incredibly excited to welcome everyone back in true Xero-style.

We've got some great speakers lined up, and we're looking forward to sharing more about how we've been enhancing and extending the Xero product in areas like tax, compliance and automation to set accountants up for success in this fast-changing environment.

Perhaps more importantly, Xerocon will provide our partners with a much-needed catch up, and the chance to dust off their dancing shoes for the party!

By Anna Curzon

W

E’VE MADE A NUMBER OF ENHANCEMENTS TO THE XERO PLATFORM IN THE LAST MONTH, INCLUDING UPDATES TO QUOTES, REPORTING, XERO ANALYTICS PLUS, WORKFLOWMAX AND MORE.

New features: Send files as email attachments with quotes — Global In the weeks ahead, we’re rolling out a new feature that will allow you to send files as email attachments with your quotes. This means your customers can open attachments (such as terms and conditions or a sales brochure) from the email itself, rather than a webpage. This is a long-standing community request that will help you send everything you need in one seamless...

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News

6 XU Biweekly | No. 31

Saturday 04 June 2022

Figured Insights reaches a major milestone: Portfolio Modelling with Actuals and Forecast data

The home of XU Magazine and XU Biweekly

XU Hub is now live on Apple News!

We tackle questions landlords may have around Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment

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E’VE REACHED AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN THE FIGURED INSIGHTS JOURNEY, AS WELL AS FOR THE WIDER AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY AND WE CAN’T WAIT TO SHARE THIS NEWS WITH YOU!

W

mental health platform Unmind to provide a toolkit offering practical advice to help small business owners manage their mental wellbeing. Here, we’ll break down some of these tips.

The past two years in particular have thrown up a previously unseen level of disruption and turmoil for small businesses. From the pandemic, to soaring inflation and energy prices, it’s no surprise that finding the time to invest in mental wellbeing is proving challenging.

Our recent study discovered two out of five UK small business owners (40%) believe their business will recover financially before they recover emotionally and mentally from the pandemic. Meanwhile, only around half (55%) know where to turn to get mental health support.

With this in mind, we teamed up with

Mindfulness, while not for everyone, is a technique that can be used to support mental health.

If it works for you, it can teach you how to improve your concentration, remove unhelpful thought patterns and redirect your attention in a more purposeful way. If you are able to practise mindfulness, and feel it’s valuable to you, it’s important to remember that it is more effective when carried out regularly.

According to Unmind, there are two main types of mindfulness:

“Figured Insights is where we can get our advisory piece right. What used to require time spent building multiple excel sheets, we can now do with Figured Insights with much more efficiency and standardisation across the firm. It gives us access to the real-time data that we need to make decisions quicker and with more confidence. From there we move to budgeting and then to management reporting, all of which we can do within the Figured ecosystem.”

- Nigel McWilliam, Director at MBS Advisors With the release of Portfolio Modelling, we’re excited to mark a major update to Figured Insights. We’d like to thank the firms that joined Figured Insights as early...

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Practise mindfulness, if you can

How Candice Brown tackled Making Tax Digital and kept her pub pouring through the pandemic

By Stuart Miller

F YOU’RE A LANDLORD, YOU’LL LIKELY HAVE FELT THE RUMBLINGS AROUND MAKING TAX DIGITAL FOR INCOME TAX SELF ASSESSMENT (MTD FOR ITSA).

Part of the government’s plan to digitalise the UK tax system and make it easier to get your tax right, MTD for ITSA requires landlords and those who are self-employed and earning above £10,000 annually to use MTD-compatible software to keep digital records and submit updates to HMRC. Now, this may feel like a long while away – it will apply from April 2024 – but the sooner you get your ducks in a row...

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Portfolio Modelling with Actuals and Forecast data is live on Figured Insights!

E KNOW THAT MENTAL WELLBEING IS VITALLY IMPORTANT, BUT FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS, STRIKING A BALANCE BETWEEN WORK AND MENTAL HEALTH CAN FEEL ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.

G B

GL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PROVIDER OF SMSF, INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AND COMPANY COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE APPOINTMENT OF BRAD WILKINSON AS ITS NEW HEAD OF ECOSYSTEM. “It’s fantastic to see the Team embrace opportunity and rise up the ranks at

REAT BRITISH BAKE OFF CHAMPION AND PUB OWNER, CANDICE BROWN, SHARES SOME OF THE BUSINESS LESSONS SHE'S LEARNT AFTER A FEW ROUGH YEARS IN HOSPITALITY.

BGL” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “We are proud to have an extraordinary talent pool at BGL that allows us to promote internally rather than seek externally for senior Team members. Brad has been a valued and talented member of the BGL Team for 12 years and is perfectly suited to lead BGL’s Ecosystem Team into the future.”

As a certified SCRUM Master (CSM) with a Bachelor of Accounting, Bank-

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

ing and Finance, Brad is an experienced leader with a passion for software development and project management. Joining BGL in 2010, Brad has contributed significantly to BGL throughout his career with roles including Support Consultant, Data and Business Analyst and most recently, Product Manager - Connected Services.

“In his role as Product...

“I’m very close to my accountant and probably wouldn’t have survived the pandemic without their support.”

Surround yourself with trusted advisors who can provide the right expertise.

“My number one piece of advice is find yourself an accountant or bookkeeper to work with. They’ll not only be able to guide you through #MTD changes, but help you grow your business.”

Don't put #MakingTaxDigital off any longer!

“I was very nervous when I first heard...

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TUTORIALS CASE STUDIES INTERVIEWS NEW APPS NEW RELEASES

OUT NOW: ISSUE 31

8 XU Biweekly | No. 31

Events & Webinars

Saturday 04 June 2022

UPCOMING EVENTS

ACCOUNTEX 2022 CHASER'S HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EVENT

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ON-DEMAND NOW

By Inga Schibsted

L

AST WEEK, EUROPE’S NUMBER ONE ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE CONFERENCE, ACCOUNTEX, TOOK PLACE IN LONDON. WITH OVER 8000 ACCOUNTANTS AND FINANCE PROFESSIONALS ATTENDING, IT’S SAFE TO SAY THAT THE EVENT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. Over 250 global brands, including Chaser, exhibited at the event, and Accountex hosted 180 talks and seminars which were designed to arm the attendees with all the knowledge and inspiration needed to succeed in the fast-changing world of accounting and finance.

We are already looking forward to Accountex 2023, but in the meantime, here are some highlights from the this year’s event:

ON-DEMAND NOW

How to improve your cash flow by £250,000 panel Chaser hosted a panel at the Growth Practice Theatre, where five forward-thinking accountants shared case studies on how they had achieved outstanding cash flow results for their clients and their own business...

Keep reading

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HIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT XU MAGAZINE HAS TEAMED UP WITH THE SEAMLESS BRAND AND ALEX NEWSON, OUR DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, GOT THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE THEIR MIDDLE EAST EVENT IN PERSON THIS WEEK. BELOW HE HAS TAKEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUMMARISE HIS EXPERIENCE. Wow, Seamless Middle East was an amazing experience. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to spend two days networking and speaking with great people from the FinTech industry.

One of our focuses for this year has been making sure that we connect with more providers worldwide in the Payment, Banking and general FinTech markets and our partnership with the

Seamless brand gives us the opportunity to do this. It was awesome to be able to catch up with Stripe, Salesforce, Amazon Pay and so many other brands. Also, it was great to be able to spend some time in their 'Start Up Village' and see what tech has launched over the last year. Some of these are local to Dubai, but most are available worldwide. It seems to be a very exciting time to be exploring the FinTech industry in Dubai.

This was my first time at an in-person event in Dubai and it was fantastic to see the human side behind the tech. Thank you so much for the warm welcome.

Finally, I would love to say a big thank you to Seamless and all the amazing apps and software providers I met over the 2 days for making my time in Dubai fantastic.

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10 XU Biweekly | No. 31

Saturday 04 June 2022

EMBRACE THE FUTURE BY ADDING APPROVAL AUTOMATION TO YOUR ACCOUNTING APP STACK WITH APPROVALMAX

The independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users

I

In March, Xero's 'State of the Industry' report released a series of figures supporting the move to digital accounting tools.

In fact, 94% of study respondents reported that the adoption of digital tools to augment their tech stack has resulted in notable benefits, such as

time-saving and efficiency improvements and better client relationships.

And within tech adoption, it’s no secret that cloudbased accounting software has quickly become the gold standard for financial professionals. You’re probably well on your way to curating a carefully thought-out tech stack that complements your business and helps your finance team move ahead. So how far ahead of the curve are you? And what could you be implementing next to supercharge your tech stack?

The answer? Approval automation.

At ApprovalMax, we specialise in automating approval processes for your accounts payable and accounts receivable. If you’re looking for a simple solution to streamline processes for your financial documents, tighten up on your spend control, and accelerate your automation journey, then ApprovalMax could be for you.

What is ApprovalMax, and how can automated approvals benefit your finance team or

31

magazine

By Konstantin Bredyuk T’S NEVER BEEN EASIER TO ADOPT NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND ADAPT YOUR PROCESSES – AUTOMATED APPROVAL PROCESSES COULD BE YOUR SECRET WEAPON...

ISSUE

clients?

So you’ve adopted Xero, and you’re nearly ready to start using approval automation – the benefits of time-saving, traceability, ease of use, and one universal approval system that’s easy to understand sound so appealing!

Chasing approvals has to be one of the most time-consuming, frustrating tasks for finance professionals, so how do you revamp your approval process, and where should you start?

COVER STORY

Don’t get left behind Supercharge your Xero tech stack with approval automation PLUS LOA DS MORE FRO M

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Issue 31 / 1

TUTORIALS CASE STUDIES INTERVIEWS NEW APPS NEW RELEASES

STP PHASE 2 – ARE YOUR 5 Reasons to Attend Digital CLIENTS READY? Practice Summit 2022 All the latest technologies and digital insights for accountants in practice

By Joanna Cruickshank - CloudPayroll

T

HE AUSTRALIA GOVERNMENT HAS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED THE EXPANSION OF SINGLE TOUCH PAYROLL (STP) TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL REPORTING INFORMATION. THIS EXPANSION IS KNOWN AS STP PHASE 2.

When processing a payroll on STP Phase 2 an employer is no longer required to forward the employees’ tax file declarations to the ATO separately. Employment and taxation conditions will be automatically reported through STP Phase 2. This includes an employee’s employment basis e.g. full time, part time or casual and additional information from their tax file declaration that was previously not required under STP. Employers are still required to keep a signed copy of their employees’ signed declarations. These documents can be conveniently and easily stored in CloudPayroll by scanning a copy and adding it to the employee’s documents.

As part of STP Phase 2 the details of when and why the employee leaves the company will now be reported.

Other key changes to reporting through STP Phase 2 include: • Disaggregation of gross

• Income types • Country codes • Child support garnishees and child support deductions Classification of gross can be easily set up in CloudPayroll. Simply select the relevant earnings type and if there is a need for it to be itemised for tax reporting. Note all allowances will now need to be itemised for STP Phase 2 reporting. These can be set up in CloudPayroll by selecting the category and the other allowance type if the itemised category is other allowances.

For each pay run details of employee’s pay reported via STP Phase 2 will include the type of income for example salary and wages or working holiday maker income. Additionally, the components which make up the pay amount will now be reported i.e. gross pay, paid leave, allowances.

As part of STP Phase 2 additional information will be reported to Services Australia.

This will enable them to more easily ensure their customers, some of whom may be your clients’ employees, receive the correct payments. This also removes the requirement for your clients (and their employees)...

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By Laura Binns

A

CCOUNTING FIRMS IN ASIA ARE FACING A MAJOR TRANSFORMATION. THE ROAD AHEAD IS PAVED WITH CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH. TO THRIVE IN THE COMING YEARS, FIRMS WILL NEED TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY, STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS WITH CLIENTS AND PROVIDE NEW SERVICES THAT ADD VALUE. The Digital Practice Summit returns for a second edition on 15 June 2022, giving you insights into the future of your accounting practice and helping you gain a competitive advantage in the market. Last year, we brought together 700 professionals from accounting and bookkeeping firms across Asia and this year we’re back with more!

The show is a month away so here are the 5 top reasons why accountants and bookkeepers need to be part of this one-day virtual

event:

1) 40+ expert speakers sharing their insights Hear and learn from the best of Asia’s leading accounting and advisory firms on how to build a more collaborative and efficient relationship with your clients. They have successfully leveraged technology to build faster work processes to deliver high quality services and enhanced client experiences. Our speakers onboard include pace-setters from BDO LLP, Forbis Accounting, Affintive, ASL Advisory Pte Ltd, All In Advisory, PixieB, YesBoss and many more.

2) 22 panels and presentations across 2 channels From sessions on cloud accounting, cybersecurity, compliance services to marketing, this year’s programme will help you make sure you have the right information at your fingertips.

There’ll be insightful case studies and interactive panel discussions running live simultaneously on the platform: • Business Advisory: Moving your clients to the cloud, Streamlining practice workflows, Digital Marketing & Sales Tactics, Becoming a firm of the future, Building your practice value through tech • Practice Management: Launching Advisory Services, Building an Advisory App Stack, Tech Advisory and how to charge for it, Advising your client-base without an office, To niche or not to niche

3) Discover and demo all the latest in digital accounting innovations Save yourself time researching and sending off enquiries.

Our fantastic sponsors are gathered on one platform to showcase how to improve the way you work. Meet Title Sponsor...

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XU Biweekly | No. 31

XU MAGAZINE IS CPD CERTIFIED

Fintech News

FOLLOW OUR SISTER 3 Tips to Support Your Field Service Clients PUBLICATION...

By Alan White

@xumagazine

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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.

Claim your FREE CPD Points!

@xumagazine @XU Magazine @xu_magazine

HOW ONE SIZE FITS ALL TECH SOLUTIONS ARE HINDERING SMES AS MUCH AS HELPING THEM

By Sunil Nigam

U

TILISING THE RIGHT TECH TO HELP AUTOMATE PROCESSES IS CRITICAL FOR BOTH SURVIVAL AND PROFITABILITY FOR MILLIONS OF SMES AROUND THE GLOBE. WHETHER YOU HAVE 1,5 OR 200 EMPLOYEES, IT IS NOW ESSENTIAL THAT YOU SOURCE THE BEST TECH SOLUTION TO AUTOMATE AS MUCH OF YOUR BUSINESS AS POSSIBLE. As this technology is evolving it is inevitably changing more traditional business processes. New banks are offering simpler, cheaper and quicker solutions for SMEs. Accountancy software is always evolving to make managing your accounts and invoices easier, cyber security solutions are helping owners keep data safe and GDPR compliant.

However, ‘one size fits all’ tech solutions are actually hindering businesses and impacting profits for millions of firms.

A recent survey* highlighted that only 1 in 5 business owners would describe themselves as tech savvy and therefore the majority of businesses either need a tailored and intuitive solution or they will struggle to utilise tech that was actually developed to support them.

We speak to so many SMEs that are paying for tech that they can’t use, or the solution simply doesn’t work with their current processes. Managing and monitoring employee expenses is challenging espe-

Saturday 04 June 2022 11

cially with a remote workforce. That is why we offer a flexible and tailored solution and work with our clients to match their needs.

Accounting and Expenses software is a great example of how tech giants have built platforms that are used universally but offer little tailoring or personalisation.

And, for many SMEs, they don’t offer interfaces or solutions that are actually that helpful or intuitive. As more employees work remotely, expenses have become much more complex to manage and no two businesses have the same process, but the majority of the tech available expects businesses to upload and manage expenses in the same way.

At ExpenseOnDemand, we integrate and transfer data between Xero/Sage and QuickBooks ensuring the app remains a market leading service, but we also allow businesses to hand pick what services they need, and we can tailor our solution to mirror their current business processes rather than forcing them to change to match our tech.

We have also updated the app to make it easier for the new normal as employees work from home and businesses are turning to technology for simpler and automated solutions.

Apart from offering over 100+ functions to choose from, Xero users can, for...

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I

T’S A SATISFYING FEELING WHEN YOUR ADVISORY SERVICES HAVE PLAYED A PART IN THE GROWTH AND SUCCESS OF A CLIENT’S BUSINESS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM FOR A LONG TIME. BUT EVEN WITHOUT LONG TERM CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS YOU CAN PROVIDE EXCEPTIONAL ADVISORY SERVICES BY KNOWING YOUR CLIENTS, THEIR INDUSTRIES AND THEIR NEEDS AS THEY SCALE.

business

To secure business, field service professionals need to impress customers the second they win the sale. They can do this by: • Getting them an estimate in minutes • Sending an electronic version so it doesn't get lost • Ensuring accuracy

In particular, your field service clients will have their own set of unique challenges so investing time in partnering with experts in that industry will expand your knowledge and set your services apart from the competition.

Check out some of our tips on how you can help field service clients build a solid foundation in three key areas - sales, operations and marketing.

Having a job management solution, like simPRO, speeds up the estimating process significantly by allowing accurate winning estimates to be created, updated and submitted in the first meeting with a potential new customer via a mobile app. This also allows accurate project and control costs, meaning accurate accounts for you as their accountant at the other end.

1) Sales: Create competitive estimates on the fly to easily win new

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Time tracking for payroll, which one is best for your business?

Are you on the hunt for the best time tracking app for your team? You’re not alone.

By Joe Daee

S

TIME MANAGEMENT IS A HUGE PRIORITY FOR BUSINESSES OF ALL SIZES AND INDUSTRIES. COMPANIES ARE RELYING ON TECHNOLOGY TO HELP STREAMLINE THEIR PROCESSES AND BOOST OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY. IN FACT, A STUDY BY PTC FOUND THAT 40% OF EXECUTIVES ARE SEEING HUGE BENEFITS IN OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY FROM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND TECH INITIATIVES. When you are considering time tracking apps they need to be able to easily collect, track, and measure data. Data is an important piece of any business, whether you’re tracking data from customers and potential clients or measuring the internal functions of business and employees.

Time tracking data and keeping an electronic record of employee hours is an important part of running a successful and profitable business. You probably didn’t get into business to constantly think about payroll and billing, but federal and state laws require you

to track employee hours closely. Therefore, it is worth finding a quality (but still affordable) time tracking app that reduces administration time and keeps your business compliant with employment laws and regulations.

A lot of time tracking apps offer similar features, but not all features work the same.

For example; when it comes to tracking time, does your team clock in, take breaks and clock out or

do they complete a weekly timesheet? Do you manage a basic schedule or do you need more automation to manage continuous change?

The only way to find out if a feature like “scheduling” is the right type of scheduling tool for your business is to “try before you buy”..

Here are some additional points to consider when making your decision on which time and attendance..

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FinTech News

12 XU Biweekly | No. 31

Azupay's May Monthly Recap Newsletter

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ELCOME TO AZUPAY'S MAY MONTHLY RECAP NEWSLETTER

Azupay had an exciting May month full of activities and achievements.

Here's a recap:

Real Time Payments Summit 21/22 by the New Payments Platform What a great turnout at the New Payments Platform (Australia) Real Time Payments Summit! Our CEO, John Murphy, discussed the opportunities, innovation and acceleration of NPP and real-time payments with Chris Jewell (CEO Zepto) and Christian Wigstrom (CEO Monoova).

“It was great seeing some very familiar faces and also meeting a

whole new group of people who have a deep interest in payments.

The speakers and sessions were all very high quality and NPPA is to be congratulated on organising a fantastic event. Personally I really enjoyed being on the panel with Bianca, Chris and Christian.”

- John Murphy, Azupay CEO.

Payments Networking Breakfast Lorna Harley, Azupay's SME Sales Director, hosted the breakfast, which was a huge success! Stay tuned, as there will be more networking events in the future.

"Great coffee and breakfast nibbles at yesterday's payments networking breakfast. So good to see...

Saturday 04 June 2022

PLEO LAUNCHES IN FRANCE & THE NETHERLANDS

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T'S OFFICIAL... PLEO HAS LAUNCHED IN FRANCE AND THE NETHERLANDS!

Pleo, the business expenses solution that empowers your people to do more, has recently announced two new countries they are launching in as they continue their expansion across Europe.

With plenty of forward-thinking companies in the Netherlands, and over 70 existing Pleo customers in the market already, Pleo said they were over the moon with the launch. You can meet the team on June 16th and 17th at TNW's Conference 22 in Amsterdam.

As well as moving into these two new markets, Pleo has re-

cently landed in Austria and Finland, opened a new office in Berlin and has welcomed hundreds of new employees to their ranks.

What companies, employees or finance admins do you know in France and The Netherlands that need some Pleo in their life? They’re all ears.

Hub Subscribe to our mailing list and never miss an issue!

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May 2022: What's new from INTRODUCING TIDE’S NEW Revolut Business WORKING OUTSIDE THE OFFICE POLICY – A FULLY FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE S

By Laurie Roxby

PRING IS IN FULL SWING, AND A FEELING OF FRESHNESS IS IN THE AIR. WE’VE EMBRACED THIS FULL-FORCE, DEVELOPING A WHOLE RAFT OF NEW FEATURES BUILT TO ENSURE YOUR Q2 IS A CRUISE.

This month, we’re transforming the way you see payment fees, as well as the notifications you receive when money goes in or out of your account. Alongside this, we’ve made spend management even simpler with new control presets, and powerful updates to FX Forwards, your notifications and more.

Ready to see what’s in store? Dive in below.

Every fee, broken down So you’re about to make a payment, and a fee is added to your transaction. But what is contributing to that fee, and where does it come from? You asked for more transparency, so that’s what we’re delivering.

Now, you’ll be able to see what you are being charged for in detail, giving you the ability to clearly assess the cost before you hit send. You can also see how much of your free allowance balance is remaining to help inform your decision further.

Payment notifications, streamlined and simplified It’s not just payment fees that have seen an upgrade this month. When you send or receive a payment, you’ll now be sent a push notification that’ll take you into your account to view all the important details you need.

This gives you a clearer overview of your cash flow, as well as helping you respond quicker when necessary. So, next time action is required – think payment approvals, or a failed transaction – you’ll be able to address it immediately. Alongside this, you’ll also receive a new-look email, giving you a summary of your daily transfers (as well as scheduled payment reminders, too).

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XU

By Caroline Wire

T

HE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE SEEN A TRANSFORMATION IN THE BUSINESS WORKPLACE. AS A RESULT OF COVID-19, THE DAYS OF A DAILY COMMUTE AND WORKING 9 TO 5 IN THE OFFICE HAVE BEEN REPLACED

BY WORKING FROM HOME. During this time, Tide has not only navigated the pandemic, but closed Series C funding, introduced a host of timesaving features for our members, and grown our headcount by more than 60%. And this has all been achieved while working remotely. This success has proved that flexibility clearly works for one of the UK’s leading digital platforms.

In this post, we will explain the background behind Tide’s Working Outside the Office policy, or ‘WOO,’ as it is abbreviated, why it came into being and how it has now been updated to reflect a new working world. We’ll also explain how Tideans can benefit from flexible working patterns.

Covid-19 and the rise of remote working When the Covid-19 pandemic first hit and large parts of the world went into lockdown in March 2020, we responded by creating our Working Outside the Office policy (WOO).

This was established to enable Tideans to work outside of the office during the pandemic in locations that were right for them while adhering to local government restrictions.

Being a global workforce, this could mean in the Tidean’s home country or from a different location altogether. Therefore this policy was named Working Outside the Office, or WOO for short, as it covered so much more than just working from home.

This flexible approach enabled Tide to not only function as normal in our mission to support small businesses during the pandemic, but to also grow and scale too. This can be illustrated by the fact that our headcount over the past two...

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Spendesk Customer Crunch: May 2022 I

N THIS CUSTOMER CRUNCH: YOUR PEER RECOMMEND SPENDESK INVOICE MANAGEMENT, VISIBILITY INTO THE STATUS OF EXPENSE CLAIMS, ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS INTO YOUR SPEND AND CFO SALARY BENCHMARK SURVEY.

Your peers recommend: Manage invoices with Spendesk In a recent survey, finance professionals using Spendesk voted invoice management as the second most critical feature our platform offers (after accounting preparation). You can get visibility into all your payments with a single platform - subscription, card payments, invoices .. It’s easier, more reliable and saves you hours each week!

New: Your employees have visibility into the status of their expense claims Employees now benefit from a clear, real-time reimbursement status of their expense claims. Note that soon, we will also add the name of the approver in the “Approval” status.

New: Get real-time and actionable insights into your spend Add up to three analytical fields autonomously, without the need to ask Spendesk. These fields will appear in your purchase requests, enabling you to better track and report on your company spending. Get accurate spending reports faster with less work!

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