XU Biweekly - Issue 32 - 18 June 2022 by XU Magazine

Saturday 18 June 2022 | No. 32

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

Fintech Swoop lands £5.4 million funding for international expansion

Cape and GoCardless team up to launch instant bank pay to help SMEs improve cash flow

S PART OF THIS PARTNERSHIP, BY WORKING WITH GOCARDLESS, CAPE WILL BE ONE THE FIRST SOFTWARE COMPANIES IN AUSTRALIA TO USE THE NEW PAYMENTS PLATFORM’S PAYTO INSTANT ACCOUNT-TO-ACCOUNT PAYMENT NETWORK, BACKED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND

LAUNCHING ON THE 1ST OF JULY. Cape customers will be able to schedule both recurring and one off repayments, to eliminate the stress and time associated with settling balances. The collaboration will underpin a core part of Cape’s payment infrastructure

which is currently powering our ‘Closed Beta’ program. We invited onboard our first set of early adopters to this after recently closing a $33.1 million debt and equity funding round, led by Aura Ventures, Investible, Mercury Capital principals and a handful of angel investors with notable roles at Atlassian, Stripe and LegalVision.

Keeping one eye on the future, GoCardless’ payment infrastructure will also provide Cape with the ability to seamlessly expand internationally , without the need to set upinternational entities and bank accounts. Together, Cape and GoCardless seek to solve cash...

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WOOP, THE ONESTOP MONEY SHOP FOR BUSINESSES AND THEIR TRUSTED ADVISORS, HAS RAISED £5.4M IN A SERIES A FUNDING ROUND TO ACCELERATE INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AND HELP MORE ADVISORS ACCESS AN ARRAY OF FINANCING OPTIONS FOR THEIR CLIENTS. The funding announcement follows a surge in demand for SME financing, with revenues at Swoop forecasted to increase by 450% this year. Andrea Reynolds, CEO and Co-Founder of Swoop, said the funding would be used to expand into new markets, with a particular

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Saturday 18 June 2022

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focus on North America. The fast-growing fintech is targeting the US through its existing operations in Canada and this follows the recent establishment of an Australian operation, in addition to its offices in the UK and Ireland. More than 75,000 businesses have already used Swoop’s software platform to investigate and access the wide range of funding sources, including equity, grants, loans and tax credits. Founded in 2017, Swoop will have 80 staff by the end of the summer, up from 60 at present. The Series A funding round includes investment...

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New Apps & Updates

2 XU Biweekly | No. 32

Saturday 18 June 2022

Ekos launches Shopify ecommerce integration Integration eliminates manual processes and provides complete visibility into key metrics

E D

IVIPAY HAS JUST LAUNCHED MULTI-LEVEL APPROVALS VIA OUR NEW CUSTOM WORKFLOWS BUILDER. Here’s something we know the finance teams out there will APPROVE of… Using Custom Workflows, any payment approval workflow can be set up to reflect your existing expense approval policy, making it easy to say goodbye to manual approval pro-

XU BIWEEKLY - No. 32 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.

KOS, THE LEADING BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR CRAFT BEVERAGE BUSINESSES, IS ANNOUNCING A NEW INTEGRATION WITH ECOMMERCE PLATFORM SHOPIFY.

cesses

What are Custom Workflows? Custom Workflows is a feature within DiviPay that will enable you to customize the experience of DiviPay. The custom workflows will allow you to customise the approval process based on a series of rules you set up. The approval workflows can be created for Budget top-ups, Bills and Reimbursements.

In addition to this, admins can also create workflow rules on when transactions should be exported to the accounting software. Using multi-level approval workflows, DiviPay makes sure the right person signs off on the right type of expense, at the right time. From employee reimbursements, to budget topups and bill payments, you choose who has the final approval.

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PROJECTWORKS.IO NEW FEATURE: HORIZONTAL PERMISSIONS

E'RE VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR LATEST FEATURE: HORIZONTAL PERMISSIONS In Projectworks you now have maximum control over user permissions within projects with Horizontal Permissions. Horizontal Permissions allows you to: • Protect sensitive information like project margins • Keep people focused on only their projects • Keep office projects separate or allow collaboration between multiple offices

• Only allow people to log time entries on projects they are assigned to • Streamline views for your timesheet users • Allow senior managers to have visibility over project margins • Provide read only access to all information • Prevent visibility of all financial information And so much more. For more information about this feature, read the article in the Projectworks knowledge base, or start a free trial to see Horizontal Permissions for yourself.

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The integration allows breweries, wineries and cideries to connect Shopify ecommerce transactions directly with Ekos to keep inventory up to date and to create invoices and journal entries in their connected accounting software. Ekos users with the integration can: • Save 2+ hours per week by eliminating manual reconciliation of daily transactions • Automate ecommerce inventory depletion and journal entry creation • Prevent over- or under-selling by allocating inventory to be sold through Shopify • Gain better business visibility with tracking of tax-paid inventory • Better plan future production and ensure inventory remains fully stocked “We have seen the value that ecommerce and POS integrations have brought to our customers — significant time savings, more accurate data and greater visibility into metrics that matter,” said Ekos CEO Josh...

By Nathan Carter

NE OF THE THINGS WE ALL LOVE ABOUT QUOTIENT IS HOW SPEEDY IT IS TO CREATE AND SEND QUOTES TO CUSTOMERS.

Schedule Email Now, let’s say you’ve just finished a call with your customer, and while

everything is fresh in your head, you whip up a quick quote. The quote is detailed and thorough, it responds to their brief (and more). You’ve used some of your existing Saved Content too, so it looks like you’ve actually spent...

“It’s nice when you are first to market with highly requested features” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “While others talk about vapourware, the BGL product teams have delivered the electronic lodgment of the Trust Return, and I am incredibly proud of them.” “The Trust Tax Return functionality was released in two parts with the paper trust tax return and associated schedules released in February 2022” added Lesh. “This latest release, after receiving approval from the ATO, provides our clients with the ability to electronically lodge the 2021 Trust Tax Return from within Simple Invest 360 today”. Launched in June 2021, Simple Invest 360 is an end-to-end investment portfolio management solution for accountants and financial professionals. It automates the tedious tasks of CGT record-keeping and financial reporting no matter what the tax structure - trusts, companies or individuals. Simple Invest 360 integrates with CAS 360 and Simple Fund 360 as...

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Wolters Kluwer unveils the new Return Dashboard – an addition to CCH Axcess™ Tax By Kelly de Castro

QUOTIENT New features: Schedule Email, Stop Email

GL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PROVIDER OF SMSF, INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AND COMPANY COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF THE TRUST TAX RETURN ELECTRONIC LODGMENT IN ITS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO SOFTWARE SOLUTION, SIMPLE INVEST 360.

New CCH Axcess Tax Return Dashboard feature provides up-to-the-minute status updates, yearover-year analysis, and important diagnostic information to facilitate the review process.

S TAX PROFESSIONALS STRAIN TO BALANCE GROWING WORKLOADS, REGULATORY COMPLEXITY, AND STAFFING CHALLENGES, THE NEED FOR EFFICIENT ACCESS TO PROJECT STATUSES AND DIAGNOSTICS IS CRITICAL TO MEETING DEADLINES AND MAINTAINING PROFITABILITY. To help improve visibility into the status of tax returns and the latest eFile status, Wolters Kluwer is releasing a new Return Dashboard feature for CCH Axcess™ Tax in July, 2022. This new dashboard will provide quick, at-a-glance information about returns, including key dates, return status, amount due, refund amount, and deeper diagnostics to help tax preparers find the information they need and resolve problems quickly. With the CCH Axcess Tax Return Dashboard, tax preparers will have a wealth of information about each return available to them in a single view: Complexity Scores: A proprietary algorithm has a quick-reference panel that shows the complex characteristics of each clients’...

NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS! INTEGRATELY GLOBAL - Create automation in just 1 click with the help of Integrately. Share your Xero data with other apps for a more streamlined and powerful reporting process. 18x less expensive than alternatives.

NOVEL UK - An automated tax software solution to help you learn, track, collaborate and produce compliant R&D tax relief claims without prior experience, all in house, whether you're a start-up, accountant or established biz.

BURDI AU - Streamline your accounts payable with Burdi. It will manage all of your supplies and materials, extracting each line item from your invoices and receipts to create Xero bills, whilst alerting you of purchase variations.

DOLIO UK - Business mileage tracking and expense claim management, incorporating automatic calculation of HMRC Advisory Fuel Rates (AFR) with Google postcode calculation.

News & Updates

4 XU Biweekly | No. 32

Saturday 18 June 2022

Lightyear June Product Updates Deeper Integrations, Auto-publish, Bulk Actions and more! By Chris Gregg

E'VE BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY THROUGHOUT MAY AND JUNE, WORKING EXTRA HARD TO BRING YOU NEW FEATURES AND ENHANCEMENTS FOR AN EVEN BETTER USER EXPERIENCE.

ELCOME TO THE FUNDING CLOUD™ FAMILY MARKETFINANCE, WE'RE THRILLED TO HAVE YOU JOIN THE PLATFORM! Funding Options help business owners get the right finance in place, so they can trade, plan and grow with confidence, and the embeded lending platform Funding Cloud™ enables a fast and seamless application process, providing tailored results and instant offers for our customers. Through this integration, MarketFinance, the business finance lender specialising in invoice finance, business

simPRO Mobile Updates By Bridget Ryan

O YOU FEEL THE NEED TO REFOCUS AND TAKE TASKS ONE STEP AT A TIME AFTER AN ALREADY BUSY YEAR? WE HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK IN THE BACKGROUND DEVELOPING NEW FEATURES THAT YOU HAVE REQUESTED AND BEEN WAITING FOR. These updates will help you streamline your workflows and improve efficiency in the field. There are so many exciting features in development we can’t wait to share with you! This feature spotlight touches on: • Single Quote Job View for Technicians • Security Groups • Asset modules • Other New Features • Recent updates to the simPRO mobile app

1. Single Quote Job View for Technicians Introducing the single quote job view for...

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loans and corporate finance, will be able to support even more SMEs with access to the essential funding they need to grow at speed by embedding its suite of loans and lending products directly within the lending marketplace. SMEs will be able to get near-instant decisions on loans without having to leave Funding Options. If you're a small business lender interested in learning more about how you can integrate with Funding Cloud™, get in touch: partners@fundingoptions.com

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Check out the list below to see what we've been up to: • A new and improved API platform for deeper integrations with our accounting & ERP partners, starting with Xero. • Our 'Auto-publishing' feature has arrived. Send documents directly to Accounting & ERP APIs, meaning zero touch approvals for selected supplier bills. • More bulk actions (including deleting documents, returning them to Processing and previous tabs, plus bulk sign-off and export). • Saved CSV templates to save you time from mapping data before uploads. • Get documents into Lightyear faster...

By Nick Houldsworth

I’m excited to introduce June’s app partner of the month, EzzyBills – a smart, simple data processing and approvals tool for small businesses and their advisors. EzzyBills helps business operators save time by automating data capture and streamlining expense approval processes, all the while keeping the numbers up-to-date in Xero. Co-founder, Michael Fitzmaurice, gave us the lowdown on how EzzyBills came to be, how it connects into your...

By Jared Baker

T’S NO SECRET THAT END OF FINANCIAL YEAR (EOFY) COMES WITH ITS CHALLENGES FOR MANY SELF-EMPLOYED AUSTRALIANS. WHETHER YOU’RE A SOLE TRADER, SIDE-HUSTLER OR FREELANCER, UNDERSTANDING DEDUCTIONS TO SUPER AND TAXES – ON TOP OF RUNNING YOUR OWN SHOW – IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ANYONE’S HEAD SPIN. THANKFULLY, THERE’S A WAY TO MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL. HOW? BY TALKING TO YOUR ADVISOR. Take our word for it; a trusted accountant or bookkeeper will become your best friend at tax time. But if it’s been a while since you last spoke – maybe even a year exactly (funny that, isn’t it) – you might not be getting the most out of their advisory. The good news? Now is the perfect time to pick up the conversation (and keep it going). To kick things off, we asked three experts to share their EOFY tips for solo operators.

1. Reconcile, and reconcile again

ERO CONNECTS WITH OVER 1,000 APPS THAT HELP SMALL BUSINESSES AND THEIR ADVISORS SUCCEED, WITH MOST AVAILABLE IN THE XERO APP STORE. EACH MONTH WE CELEBRATE AN APP PARTNER WHO STANDS OUT FOR HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES THRIVE. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BECOMING A XERO APP PARTNER HERE.

How to nail end of financial year: A guide for Australia’s self-employed

Joiin's New Features for June 2022

HIS JUNE, WE'RE BRINGING YOU THE LATEST UPDATES, NEWS AND FEATURES FROM JOIIN, INCLUDING:

• • • • •

Budget Editing Menu Design Refresh Custom Report Editing: Sticky Headers Quick Totals Multi Client Improvement

You can find out more about all of these features in our Support Centre.

Budget Editing A major new upgrade to our Budget feature: in-line budget editing. Now you can add budgets and enter budget figures directly...

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Up-to-date reconciliations are the secret to smooth sailing at EOFY. However, scrolling through a year’s worth of balance sheets just days before 30 June isn’t ideal. Instead, Natalie Furlong of Quick Smart Bookkeeping recommends getting into the habit of doing monthly reconciliations. She explains, “It’s a gigantic pitfall to leave everything to the last minute because if there’s an outlier, it takes so much time to go back and find what the problem might be. After all, no one remembers what happened 12 or even six months ago, right? Save yourself and your advisor the trouble by setting up a regular reconciliation process.”

2. Leverage tech to work smarter, not harder In order to stay on top of your books every month, you’ll need to keep neat...

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Unlock your firm’s advisory potential 65% of businesses rely on their accountant for advice about finance, growth, cashflow and planning INTRODUCING CAPITALISE

The platform that empowers you to advise and give your clients access to business performance insights, credit improvement, debt recovery and funding

Discover a healthier way to do business Get 50% off for 3 months† Visit capitalise.com/gb/attend-consultation-XU *Censuswide poll of 500 small businesses, December 2021 †T&Cs apply

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6 XU Biweekly | No. 32

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Saturday 18 June 2022

Xero Australia’s Emotional Tax Return is back for 2022!

simPRO Announces Partnership With the Brisbane Lions

IMPRO, A LEADER IN SOFTWARE-ASA-SERVICE (SAAS) SOLUTIONS FOR THE TRADES INDUSTRY, TODAY ANNOUNCED IT WILL BECOME AN OFFICIAL PARTNER OF THE BRISBANE LIONS. THE TWO ORGANISATIONS CAME TOGETHER ON THE BASIS OF THEIR SHARED VALUES, QUEENSLAND ROOTS AND STRONG LINKS TO COMMUNITY. “We’re thrilled to be an Official Partner of the Brisbane Lions,” said Sean Diljore, simPRO CEO “As a Brisbane born and bred company, it is important for us to align with, and support, other strong Brisbane brands. The Lions share many of the same values that guide our company so we consider this partnership a great match. We’re looking forward to supporting the Lions as they continue their incredible 2022 season.” Brisbane Lions CEO Greg Swann welcomed simPRO to the Brisbane Lions part...

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Welcoming our new US Xero Partner Advisory Council (XPAC) members By Latisha Carter

ERO CONTINUES TO GROW IN THE US AND CANADA, AND IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO SEEK FEEDBACK FROM OUR PARTNERS AND ADVISORS ON HOW BEST TO MEET THEIR NEEDS. WE RECENTLY HOSTED OUR US XERO PARTNER ADVISORY COUNCIL (XPAC) MEETING IN DENVER TO HEAR FROM OUR VALUED ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING PARTNERS ABOUT WHAT MATTERS MOST TO THEM.

By Joseph Lyons

T’S NO SECRET THAT THE PAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE TOUGHEST YET FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. FROM LOCKDOWNS AND RISING INFLATION TO GLOBAL AND LOCAL CRISES, DISRUPTION HAS BECOME THE NEW NORM FOR MANY.

Our XPAC members provide crucial insights and advice, and help inform us on the issues and challenges they’re seeing in the accounting industry. They help drive conversations about where Xero is going and what we can improve to better serve our partners, small businesses and...

Although we’re a nation of fighters, the ups and downs have taken a toll – especially an emotional one. So, to help small businesses in need of a little respite, we’re excited to announce that Xero’s Emotional Tax Return competition is back for 2022! Whether you’ve missed milestone parties, grown a few extra grey hairs or forgotten what a good night’s sleep feels like, we want to make it better. How? By inviting you – small business owners (that’s advisors too) – to submit an Emotional Tax Return claim. All you have to do is tell us in 75 words or less about an emotional expense you’ve...

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Decarbonisation: What’s in it for accountants and bookkeepers? By Joel Hanna

GL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PROVIDER OF SMSF, INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO AND COMPANY COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE APPOINTMENT OF CHIN TEA AS ITS NEW SIMPLE FUND 360 CONNECTED SERVICES TEAM MANAGER. “It has been a pleasure to watch Chin develop and thrive both personally and professionally during her time at BGL” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “Chin has been a valued and talented member of the BGL Team for 9 years and we could not be prouder to see her lead BGL’s Connected Services Team into the future.” A qualified CPA, Chin joined the BGL Team as a Support Consultant and Product Trainer, travelling across Australia and overseas to Singapore and Hong Kong to conduct training for BGL clients. With a wealth of knowledge on BGL’s products, a passion for leadership and Agile project management, Chin has also held positions in the Data Services Team as...

S MANY OF US CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, IT’S IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER HOW THE SMALL BUSINESS LANDSCAPE WILL CHANGE, NOT JUST FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMERS BUT OUR ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING PARTNERS TOO.

tric vehicles are now woven into conversations with colleagues and clients. While these aren’t new ideas, they are fast becoming an important consideration for small businesses. Who do small businesses go to when they have questions? In many instances it is their advisor. In a Xero study undertaken in 2021

When Xero was founded in 2006, we were just at the beginning of what was to become the new era of accounting, in the cloud. The potential benefits of the cloud were exciting and a source of much curiosity for accountants and bookkeepers. Today, it feels like we’re at a very similar stage of the adoption curve when it comes to small business sustainability. Now that many firms have embraced the cloud and are reaping the benefits, topics like carbon emissions, waste and water management, and elec-

What’s driving this? We’re seeing governments and corporations...

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By Colin Timmis

HAT AN AMAZING FEW DAYS FOR TEAM XERO IN SOUTH AFRICA. WE BROUGHT OUR ROADSHOW EVENT BACK LAST WEEK IN CAPE TOWN AND JOHANNESBURG. I LOVED SEEING ALL THE POSITIVE REACTIONS FROM THE 2,000+ ACCOUNTANTS, BOOKKEEPERS, BANKS, APPS AND OTHER INDUSTRY PARTNERS. We’ve all missed being together in person, so it was great to see our community and hear from some inspirational guest speakers. We also had some of the country’s leading apps exhibit and share more on how they are supporting the industry. Here are a few takeaways from my keynote and some of our guest speakers:

Xero’s commitment to driving the industry forward Find out more

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8 XU Biweekly | No. 32

Events & Webinars We’re back! Introducing New Zealand Roadshow – the Tiny Edition 2022

Saturday 18 June 2022

UPCOMING EVENTS

THAT’S A WRAP ON ROADSHOW AUSTRALIA 2022! By Jared Baker

HAT A HECTIC FEW YEARS WE’VE ALL GONE THROUGH, AND THE ACCOUNTING AND BOOKKEEPING COMMUNITY HAS UNDOUBTEDLY FACED SOME OF ITS TOUGHEST CHALLENGES YET. What’s more, they’ve done it largely in physical isolation, working behind a screen and over the phone to keep small businesses – and sometimes, each other – afloat. So if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that nothing beats #human connection. And what better way to celebrate the return of face-to-face interactions than with, what I like to call, a great big industry hug! That’s right – I’m talking about the incomparable Xero Roadshow 2022. Throughout April and May, the Xero crew toured 17 locations, rallying partners from major cities to regional centres across the country. It was a real thrill to meet so many new faces and reconnect with familiar ones – all 5,000 of you. For those who couldn’t be there in person, we also hosted an online session to make sure no one missed a minute of the action. Given everything that’s going on in the world, Roadshow 2022 was all about optimism, opportunity and the power of connection. As well as wrapping our arms...

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AST WEEK XU MAGAZINE EXHIBITED AT THE DIGITAL ACCOUNTANCY SHOW (DAS 2022). THIS WAS THE SECOND YEAR THIS EVENT HAD SUCCESSFULLY RUN AT THE AMAZING TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS FOOTBALL GROUND. WE TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH ALEX AND HATTY WHO REPRESENTED XU AT THE EVENT TO GET THEIR THOUGHTS, HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY INFORMATION FOR 2023. Hatty Morton, Creative Assistant, XU Magazine - ”It was great to see so many familiar and new faces at DAS. This was the second Fintech event that I have attended and it was such an amazing opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with lots of people and exploring the features of the apps. I really loved the stadium and it was such an experience to be able to look at the views. I also appreciated everyone that came along and said

hi, it's lovely to put a face to a name and I hope to see everyone again soon!” Alex Newson, Director of Strategic Partnerships, XU Magazine - “DAS finished off a run fantastic events over the last 7 weeks. I love the fact the DAS really focused on forward-thinking important topics but does this in such a to-the-point way. The event being one day really means that all delegates and exhibitors are ready and raring to go, whilst making the most of the day. Dan Cockerton who runs DAS is an amazing credit to the accounting and bookkeeping community and this event really does help both the delegates and exhibitors. The day was fast paced from start to finish. It started with a drumming band at the entrance and ended in the longest bar in Europe drinking beer and eating pizza, is there any better way to network? XU is proud to partner with DAS and the whole team. We are excited for this to

By Charlie Nicholls

E’RE HITTING THE ROAD AGAIN WITH XERO ROADSHOW 2022, BUT THIS YEAR IT’S A TINY BIT DIFFERENT. WE’RE TAKING THE XERO TINY HOME ON THE ROAD TO CONNECT WITH YOU IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES, SO IT’S THE NEW ZEALAND ROADSHOW – THE TINY EDITION 2022. The Xero team will be visiting 28 locations across the country from late June to early December 2022. We are really excited to reconnect with partners and small businesses that we’ve not been able to see for a while.

What’s on the agenda This year we have designed our Roadshow to be as flexible as possible, while

continue and to keep adding as much value as we can to this awesome community. We can’t wait for DAS 2023 (June 15th) at their new home of Evolution London at Battersea Park. Thanks for having us and an extra thank you to everyone who took the time to speak with us.” Make sure you mark next year's event in your diary and keep an eye out for when registration opens.

providing intimate opportunities for our partners and customers to reconnect with one another. Here’s what we’ve got in store.

Drop in sessions Our Xero tiny home will be parked up for a couple of days in each of our 28 towns, and will be open throughout the day for you to drop in and say “Hi”. Xero experts will be on hand at our ‘Ask Me Anything’ desk, and we’ll also be hosting education sessions for small businesses to help them get the most out of Xero.

Partner breakfasts For our partners, we’ll be hosting a breakfast at a local venue. We’d love you to join us over a coffee to chat...

MEET XU AT EVERY XEROCON THIS YEAR! LOOK OUT FOR THE GUYS IN PINK

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WATCH A FREE WEBINAR ON THE XU HUB!

OUR DAS WINNER!

A massive congratulations to the winner of our £200 giveaway at the Digital Accountancy Show, Sharon Pocock!

DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN AT XEROCON LONDON!

Features

10 XU Biweekly | No. 32

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

Saturday 18 June 2022

The independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users

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

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

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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?

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THE GREAT ACCOUNTING SHIFT Boat manufacturer with plans

What does the future of accounting look like? By Paul Lodder - Dext

S THE INDUSTRY STRIDES TOWARDS A FUTURE-PROOFED WAY OF WORKING, ACCOUNTANTS AND BOOKKEEPERS WILL CONTINUE TO DRIVE THIS CHANGE. Technology and automation is changing the way the accounting industry operates. Accountants and bookkeepers are an essential part of business digitisation, thanks to the growing number of software available to manage workflows. This represents an anticipated evolution of the accounting landscape, that’s now seeing accountants and bookkeepers shift from standard compliance to tech advisory. Here, we consider what that looks like. Let’s be clear: compliance is critical and will never go away, and advisory is something accountants have always done. But automation helps make this work easier, quicker and more accurate, which allows accountants and bookkeepers to expand advisory services and become more strategic. This extra capacity created from automation will ensure that accountants and bookkeepers can help their clients achieve their personal and business goals. The last few years have been a driver of this change. Clients who still weren’t using digital tools for their financing needs have

now realised they need to reassess how they approach processes and embrace technology. The introduction of MTD in 2019 was an initial motivator, but once the pandemic hit, accessing government funding and having up-to-date numbers to aid decision making in times of uncertainty served as the main reason for many. With potential changes to compliance being introduced in the future, such as small companies now having to file P&Ls, the filing deadline potentially being shortened from nine to six months and, of course, we also have MTD for ITSA from 2024. This is encouraging business owners to think about how they prepare and keep their accounts throughout the year – and it’s where automation comes in handy. So who are they turning to for support? Accountants and bookkeepers, of course.

From compliance to tech advisory As businesses start to reassess their systems, they initially need help figuring out which types of software are needed and how to implement them. Once comfortable with an initial set-up, they move on to exploring what else those tools can do for them: digital health checks, easier business...

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to conquer distant shores gets business in ship-shape Industry expertise combined with software solutions TidyEnterprise & Xero help float Kingfisher’s boats By Leandri Smith, Director, The Mail Room

ROM THEIR CROW’S NEST ABOVE THE FACTORY FLOOR, A TEAM TRAINED IN HIGH-QUALITY MANUFACTURING SEES A BLUE OCEAN AHEAD OF THEM. When the Mason family bought into a New Zealand-based manufacturer of catamaran-hulled boats, the business management software being used included TidyEnterprise and Xero, critical to the co-ordination and control of their production and supply. After steadily maturing the business’ workflows over the course of the year that followed the Mason family involvement, Kingfisher Boats today enjoys a software system that provides

accurate accounting, stock, and Work-in-Progress reports. There are also further developments in the works to accelerate overall business efficiency, optimise production processes, and deliver company-wide data visibility. Kingfisher Boats is both designer and builder of the Kingfisher range of quality aluminium vessels with catamaran hulls sold through an approved marine distributor network. This growing New Zealand business, with its workshop facilities based in the city of Tauranga, happens to be in the same city as Tidy’s international headquarters. Kingfisher has built up a solid range of marine-craft products for over 19 years

including commercial and recreational vessels ranging from 3m to 18m in length. Laura Mason, General Manager of the company, comments “What sets Kingfisher Boats apart is our focus on alloy catamarans. We’re unique in producing metal cats under 6 metres with a single engine – delivering a more stable platform in a compact package,”.

Situation Upon joining the business, Mason soon recognised opportunities for enhancing manufacturing processes. Applying experience she gained in the automotive industry, with its long history of process...

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XU Biweekly | No. 32

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The new capabilities have been launched as the nation faces a cost of living crisis. By arming customers with more knowledge on their spending patterns, Starling aims to empower them to make more informed spending decisions that better align with their financial goals. Personal and joint current account holders will have access to 53 spending categories in total, with many of the 36 new categories requested directly by customers. ‘DIY’ ‘hobby’ and ‘takeaway’ categories are available to those still holding on to habits formed during the Covid lockdown, while those enjoying post-lockdown freedom can categorise spend to their ‘bucket list’, ‘relationship’ date nights and ‘weddings’. Other categories have been added for essential spending, including ‘rent’, ‘medical’ and ‘groceries’, with customers given the ability to tag which categories and specific purchases are essential and non-essential. Customers can also...

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MAZON, ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD, IS GUIDED BY FOUR KEYS TO SUCCESS: CUSTOMER OBSESSION, PASSION FOR INVENTION, COMMITMENT TO OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE, AND LONGTERM THINKING. WITH THESE PRINCIPLES IN MIND, AMAZON SET OUT TO BUILD A PAYMENTS INFRASTRUCTURE THAT NOT ONLY DELIVERS AN INNOVATIVE AND PERSONALIZED CHECKOUT EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO A SET OF PAYMENTS SERVICES THAT POWER AMAZON’S PORTFOLIO OF PRODUCTS AND BUSINESSES AROUND THE WORLD.

Challenge As Amazon expanded into new geographies, it sought to bring a new level of simplicity to international payments. Ben Volk, Director of Global Payment Acceptance & Customer Experience, explains, “We’ve really been on a pretty fun international expansion journey over the past six or seven years, thinking about innovations around how we get money to a seller that’s selling cross border, how do we make that currency conversion process trivially easy for them, and how do we make sure they get paid as expected and on time. There’s a lot of complexity in that.”

Solution Amazon partnered with Stripe to streamline global payments experiences, particularly as the company looked to launch in new countries quickly. For example, when Amazon expanded into Poland, the team worked with Stripe to optimize the checkout...

HE LAND OF WAFFLES, CHOCOLATE, FRENCH FRIES (WHO KNEW?) AND NOW… THE GO-TO SPENDING SOLUTION. PLEO HAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN BELGIUM! Pleo, the solution for all of your company spending, continues their expansion across Europe, following their recent arrival in France and The Netherlands. In or around Belgium? Pleo will be at this year's TNW Conference in Amsterdam on Thursday and Friday. Come say hi!

STARLING BANK Amazon simplifies SUPERCHARGES cross-border SPENDING INSIGHTS payments with TOOL TO BOOST Stripe BUDGETING SKILLS

TARLING BANK HAS UPGRADED ITS SPENDING INSIGHTS TOOL TO HELP PEOPLE IMPROVE THEIR MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS. THIRTY-SIX NEW SPENDING CATEGORIES HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED, GIVING CUSTOMERS INSTANT ACCESS TO MONTHLY SPENDING DATA ACROSS EACH CATEGORY. STARLING IS ALSO ROLLING OUT A SEARCH CAPABILITY THAT LETS CUSTOMERS GAIN INSIGHTS ON SPECIFIC CATEGORIES, VENDORS AND PURCHASES.

PLEO LAUNCHES IN BELGIUM

STRIPE TERMINAL AVAILABLE FOR SINGAPORE Stripe Adds Support For Croatia

OK! WE'VE ADDED SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES IN CROATIA.

Stripe, the financial infrastructure platform for businesses, has now added support for businesses in Croatia.

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THE STRIPE TERMINAL IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR BUSINESSES IN SINGAPORE.

Stripe, the financial infrastructure platform for businesses, has now added Singapore to the list of countries able to use the Stripe Terminal. Build and customize in-person payments experiences for your business.

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FinTech News

12 XU Biweekly | No. 32

Saturday 18 June 2022

TANDEM BANK RECOGNISED AS ONE OF TOP 200 FEMALE-POWERED BUSINESSES IN THE UK

GoCardless: Helping businesses be more efficient

OCUSIGN IS A GLOBAL SAAS BRAND THAT HELPS BUSINESSES MANAGE ELECTRONIC AGREEMENTS, AND IS ON A MISSION TO ACCELERATE BUSINESS AND SIMPLIFY LIFE FOR COMPANIES OF ALL SIZES. With its industry-leading DocuSign Agreement Cloud, which allows organizations to automate and connect the entire agreement lifecycle, DocuSign has successfully turned a previously cumbersome process into

something more efficient and streamlined. DocuSign is trusted by more than 750,000 businesses in 180+ countries, including some of the world’s leading technology and financial services brands. GoCardless and DocuSign first began working together in April 2019. DocuSign needed a payment provider that was both reliable for recurring payments and preferred by customers in many of its key markets.

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E'RE DELIGHTED TO HAVE BEEN RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE TOP 200 FEMALE-POWERED BUSINESSES IN THE UK BY J.P. MORGAN PRIVATE BANK. The report celebrates Female Visionaries, Trailblazers & Innovators, analysing almost 40,000 companies that together form the UK's high growth ecosystem. This revealed that 10,647 businesses were female-powered, being founded, led, owned or managed by women. 9 of the businesses recognised last year have successfully exited from the private space - 3 via IPO and 6 underwent an acquisition. Here at Tandem Bank we're proud to be led by Susie Aliker as we continue our journey to become the UK's greener, fairer bank.

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Pleo wins the Danish Design Award for Employment Growth

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ESIGN IS AT THE CORE OF EVERYTHING WE DO. SO WE’RE OVER THE MOON TO HAVE WON THE DANISH DESIGN AWARD FOR EMPLOYMENT GROWTH! This award celebrates “the power of design to delight the senses”. Now, that’s a compliment. We owe a huge thank you to the jury who voted for us. Here’s our Commercial Talent Partner, Helene J. and Senior Legal Counsel Anders Flygge Juul, graciously accepting the award on behalf of the team.

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LIBERIS AND BARCLAYCARD JOIN FORCES ON INNOVATIVE CASH ADVANCE PRODUCT FOR SMES

#PayWithPride with Revolut By Emma Potter

E’RE BRINGING BACK OUR GORGEOUS RAINBOW CARD SO YOU CAN #PAYWITHPRIDE ALL YEAR LONG.

But we’re not stopping there. We want to add some new LGBTQ+ charities to Revolut Donations, so head over to our Twitter or Instagram to let us know what organisations you want to see on our app. Let’s support the community together, during Pride month and beyond! If you already have our rainbow card, you won’t be able to order another one, but you can still help by donating to ILGA-Europe. If you're in the UK or EEA and want to order your....

Stripe launches delegated authentication to improve payment conversion in Europe

TRIPE, A FINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE PLATFORM FOR BUSINESSES, TODAY ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF A DELEGATED AUTHENTICATION FEATURE TO IMPROVE PAYMENT CONVERSION RATES IN EUROPE. STRIPE BUSINESSES CAN

NOW HAVE THEIR CUSTOMERS AUTHENTICATE PURCHASES RIGHT INSIDE A CHECKOUT FLOW. Wise is the first card issuer to implement the feature. As a result, cardholders...

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IBERIS, A LEADING GLOBAL EMBEDDED BUSINESS FINANCE PLATFORM, TODAY ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAS ENTERED INTO A PARTNERSHIP WITH BARCLAYCARD TO OFFER THEIR SMALL BUSINESS CUSTOMERS ACCESS TO PERSONALISED REVENUE-BASED FINANCE. THE NEWS FOLLOWS BARCLAYS’ INVESTMENT OF £34.5 MILLION IN LIBERIS AGREED IN Q4 2021. The finance will in part help Liberis to further develop its API driven embedded finance platform, deliver innovative new products and solutions for small businesses, and continue its international expansion. Liberis has integrated its platform with over a dozen global strategic partners in 8 countries including the UK, USA, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Slovakia, and Czech Republic, and is looking to expand further into Europe. Alongside Barclays, Liberis is backed by investors including UK based venture builder Blenheim Chalcot and US based growth investor FTV Capital. Barclaycard Business Cash Advance is a brand-new solution that’s been designed to help small businesses by providing the funding needed to grow their businesses. Cash Advance is an alternative finance product where Liberis advances a sum of money to eligible merchants on the grounds that they pay the sum plus a pre-agreed fee. It offers fixed cost financing with flexible payment terms – allowing business owners to access the funds they need, when they’re needed. Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis, commented: “We are very excited to launch our finance partnership with Barclaycard to provide personalised business finance to their small business customers. This investment is a testament to our leadership position in embedded business finance and shows how banks and fintechs can create vital partnerships to help even more small businesses obtain the funding they need to grow”. Rob Cameron, CEO of Barclaycard Payments, said: “Small businesses underpin the UK economy and it’s critical that they have quick and easy access to the flexible finance products they need to support their growth...

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ANEXT Bank soft launches today as Singapore’s newest digital wholesale bank

NEXT BANK, A DIGITAL WHOLESALE BANK INCORPORATED IN SINGAPORE AND A WHOLLY-OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF ANT GROUP, ANNOUNCED ITS SOFT LAUNCH TODAY. THE SOFT LAUNCH FOLLOWS ITS RECEIPT OF MAS’ APPROVAL TO COMMENCE BUSINESS ON 2 JUNE 2022. THE SINGAPORE-BASED DIGITAL BANK WILL FOCUS ON PROVIDING DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES TO LOCAL AND REGIONAL MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES, ESPECIALLY THOSE ENGAGING IN CROSS-BORDER OPERATIONS FOR GROWTH AND GLOBAL EXPANSION. Commenting on the soft launch, Ms. Toh Su Mei, the Chief Executive Officer of ANEXT Bank and a banking industry veteran of over 20 years, said: “We believe it’s time to offer the next generation of financial services that are accessible and effortless for growing businesses. Amid rapid acceleration in the digital economy, business models are changing and pivoting to become digital-first, if not adopting a hybrid model. Financial services have to evolve and be where SMEs are doing their businesses digitally.” “We are well positioned to live up to this vision, leveraging Ant Group’s deep bench of technologies and know-how, along with our customer-obsessed local team dedicated to serving the SME community. Adopting an open and collaborative approach, we believe in joining hands with industry partners and the public sector to provide SMEs with financial services that are simpler, safer and more rewarding,” she added. The Bank’s soft launch was graced by the Chief Fintech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Mr. Sopnendu Mohanty. Mr. Mohanty said: “This marks yet another milestone in Singapore’s digital bank development journey, a strategic effort to ensure the banking sector remains progressive, globally...