XU Biweekly - Issue 54 - 6 May 2023

TOP 50 WOMEN IN ACCOUNTING FOR 2023

ROLL, PLEASE! INTRODUCING THE TOP 50 WOMEN IN ACCOUNTING FOR 2023!.

Here, we celebrate the success and confidence of women in accounting and bookkeeping from around the world who are making a significant impact in the accounting industry. This year, we received a whopping 1,292 nominations from 14 countries, with 939 unique nominees! From this impressive pool, our esteemed judging panel has selected 50 exceptional accounting women who are true leaders in their field.

The Top 50 Women in Accounting program is more than just a celebration of these accomplished women accountants; it’s a testament to the progress taking place towards creating a more diverse and inclusive industry. Our winners come from all corners of the globe, and they are using their leadership and mentorship to inspire and elevate the next generation of female accountants and accounting professionals as a whole.

We want to extend our sincerest thanks to each and every one of our nominees and Top 50 for participating in this year's awards.

Your work and dedication to the accounting industry are influencing change that will last for generations to come. The community is grateful for your contributions and for the positive waves you’re making in the industry.

This year's awards theme, ‘sparking lasting confidence’, is particularly apt. We know that recognizing a woman's achievements can ignite real change in confidence, both in herself and in those around her. As we celebrate the success of our Top 50 Women in Accounting, we hope to inspire women everywhere to feel confident in their abilities, their leadership, and their potential to make a difference.

Whether it's having the confidence to run a business in times of uncertainty, building self-assurance as a leader, instilling confidence in others through mentorship, or providing equal opportunities to all, we know that confident women leaders have a positive influence on both profitability and productivity. And as we celebrate the Top 50 Women in Accounting for 2023, we know that these women in accounting are leading the way for a more confident, diverse, and inclusive industry.

So, without further ado, we invite you to join us in giving a huge round of applause to the Top 50 Women in Accounting for 2023. These remarkable female accountants are breaking barriers, creating opportunities, and changing the face of the accounting industry. Let their achievements inspire us all to strive for greater success, confidence, and inclusion in our work and in our lives.

From the judging panel

Rebecca Mihalic - Head of Accounting (APAC) at Ignition and Director @ businessDEPOT

“What was particularly inspiring this year was the diversity of roles represented in all the submissions. There were women from all facets of accounting going out of their way to invest in the next generation of accountants – everything from tax accountants, bookkeepers… women in public practice and women in C-suite roles.”

Charlene Rhinehart - Founder @ Wealthy Women Daily...

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Karbon Launches Accounting Practice Management AI Tool

KARBON TODAY ANNOUNCED KARBON AI, A GPT-POWERED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL EMBEDDED WITHIN THE INDUSTRY-LEADING ACCOUNTING PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE USED BY OVER 3,000 ACCOUNTING FIRMS GLOBALLY. KARBON AI WILL INITIALLY HAVE A BETA RELEASE BEFORE BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL CUSTOMERS.

Karbon AI will initially focus on making accountants more efficient with their email while improving the client experience they offer. Functionality includes the ability to summarize long email conversations and in-

Saturday 6th May 2023

ternal discussions, adjust the tone of email, assess the priority of inbox emails, and compose email drafts based on prompts and from within workflow tasks.

Karbon Chief Executive Officer, Mary Delaney, said that Karbon’s collaborative practice management software is uniquely placed to help accountants unlock the benefits of artificial intelligence to increase productivity.

“Artificial intelligence and GPT technology are most useful when integrated into the tools that you already work with,” said Delaney.

“When artificial intelligence is in the context of your workflow, it can be prompted

by your existing data without relinquishing privacy or security. As a truly connected practice management solution, Karbon is home to more context than any other tool in an accounting firm’s workflow, and is open to vast possibilities with AI. It’s where client management, communication, collaboration, work, and planning all take place.”

Karbon Chief Product Officer, Sara Goepel, said that the email management enhancements Karbon AI offers at launch are an important first step, but there is much more planned.

“Large parts of an accountant’s day are...

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TODAY, XBERT ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF ITS INNOVATIVE AI-POWERED ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE SOLUTION IN SOUTH AFRICA.

This platform will help businesses of all sizes stay compliant with VAT regulations, prevent costly accounting errors and reduce the risk of fraud.

The founders of XBert, Troy Brown and Aaron Wittman, have firsthand experience with the financial impact of accounting errors and fraud in their previous business ventures.

They created XBert with the vision of empowering businesses and accounting professionals to automate their accounting processes, streamline compliance, and stay ahead of potential problems with real-time alerts.

"XBert is designed to be the ultimate solution for businesses looking to improve accuracy, reduce fraud, and stay compliant with VAT regulations," said Troy Brown, Founder of XBert.

"Our advanced machine learning algorithms detect anomalies, discrepancies, and potential fraud in real-time, before they become bigger problems. Plus, our centralized dashboard streamlines workflow and simplifies compliance, making XBert the ultimate tool for managing VAT regulations and keeping your business running smoothly."

XBert integrates seamlessly with top accounting software platforms like Xero, QuickBooks, and MYOB, making it accessible to businesses regardless of what software they use. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, and XBert's team of experts is always available to provide world-class support and guidance.

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The independent user news source for accounting apps and their ecosystems

DRUM

New Apps & Updates

ClockOn's Partnership with Flare to Streamline Employee Onboarding and Benefits

CLOCKON AUSTRALIA HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH FLARE THAT WILL ALLOW CLOCKON TO OFFER EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING AND BENEFITS TO ALL ITS CUSTOMERS. THIS COLLABORATION AIMS TO STREAMLINE THE ONBOARDING PROCESS FOR NEW EMPLOYEES WHILE ALSO PROVIDING A RANGE OF BENEFITS TO EXISTING EMPLOYEES. WITH THIS PARTNERSHIP, CLOCKON AUSTRALIA HOPES TO PROVIDE ITS CUSTOMERS WITH A MORE COMPREHENSIVE HR SOLUTION THAT MEETS ALL THEIR NEEDS.

ClockOn CEO, David

XU BIWEEKLY - No. 54

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

Design & Communications

Manager: Bethany Fulks

Creative Assistants: Hebe Vermeulen, Robyn Consterdine

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 2014-2023. 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.

Mylne, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating: "We are very proud to partner with Flare HR, and we believe this integration will be a significant and long-term benefit to our Online customers. This partnership is a testament to ClockOn's commitment to delivering innovative solutions that help businesses manage their workforce more efficiently."

As part of the partnership, ClockOn Online users will now have free, integrated access to Flare's added products and services, including digital staff onboarding, employee wellbeing programs, novated car leasing programs, and staff benefits and discounts with

leading retailers.

ClockOn Online users are encouraged to utilize the digital employee onboarding feature to benefit from 85% greater onboarding efficiency. The software delivers a compliant paperless onboarding experience that simplifies the entire process down to a few minutes, without the need for paperwork or manual HR admin.

We are excited to partner with ClockOn Australia and provide our added services to their customers," said Flare Head of Partnerships, Janine Fry. "Our digital staff onboarding feature will greatly benefit ClockOn...

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Software company launches ‘game changing’ app for accountants and their clients

WE KNOW YOU LOVE THE TIME SAVING THAT CREDITORWATCH COLLECT’S AUTOMATION OFFERS. NOW, WE’RE GIVING YOUR EFFICIENCY ANOTHER BOOST WITH OUR NEW EMAIL STATUS FEATURE.

Small but nifty, this new feature lets you see if a follow-up reminder email has been sent. And once sent, the status of that email. With a glance, see if your email has been delivered, if it’s bounced or if, and when, the customer has opened it.

This new feature has been automatically rolled out to all CreditorWatch Collect customers. Jump onto the app now to see how it helps you:

• Quickly identify account contacts that need to be removed or updated

• Make more informed decisions about next steps when chasing customers

• Have more efficient phone calls with customers

ENSURE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS ARE RECEIVED

If you’ve had no traction following reminder emails, this is a simple yet effective way of having confidence that...

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Pixie Leverages AutoGPT to Create AI-Powered Practice Management

PIXIE, THE UK-BASED ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE COMPANY, IS PREVIEWING ITS LATEST FEATURE DESIGNED TO STREAMLINE ACCOUNTING PROCESSES USING AI AUTOGPT. PIXIE CO-PILOT, CREATED USING THE LATEST IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGY, IS SET TO REVOLUTIONISE HOW ACCOUNTANTS MANAGE THEIR DAILY WORK AND COMMUNICATE WITH CLIENTS.

Leveraging GPT-4, a powerful language model developed by OpenAI, the co-pilot tool can process and understand client queries and prepare responses for user review in real-time. This means that accountants will no longer have to spend hours trawling through complex accounting software, as the co-pilot tool is able to quickly and easily retrieve the information they need and prepare an accurate re-

sponse for them.

"Accountants have told us one of their top client management challenges is dealing with the huge variation of client queries. These can range from simple tax return requests to double-taxation rules. In 90% of these requests, collecting information and preparing a good response is quite time-consuming. Our co-pilot feature will change the game for accountants," said Pixie CEO Celso Pinto.

"It processes these inbound client queries and leverages the data inside Pixie to provide accurate responses in an instant. It’ll then ask the accountant to review the response for accuracy before sending it to their clients. It even picks up the tone of voice of the particular user when generating the replies. We're thrilled to raise the bar for practice management software...

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THE LATEST ONCORD UPDATE INCLUDES THE ADDITION OF DRAGAND-DROP ROTATORS AND BANNERS, A DOMAIN HEALTH CHECKER TO ENHANCE EMAIL DELIVERABILITY, THE ABILITY TO BULK REMOVE CONTACTS FROM GROUPS, AND INTEGRATION WITH EVENTBRITE. ADDITIONALLY, THE EVENTS RSVP SYSTEM HAS BEEN IMPROVED, AND WE'VE ADDED NEW NOTIFICATION OPTIONS AND AUTOMATIONS FOR RECURRING SALES.

Drag-and-drop Rotators / Banners

A new drag-and-drop rotator element has been added to the visual page editor, making it easy to add dynamic banners and sliders to your pages without any coding experience.

With a range of customization options available, you can control the speed, direction, and auto-rotate timing of banners, as well as choose from a variety of transition animations including fade, slide, and instant. Configure the color and style of the rotator controls to match your brand.

To try the new Rotator element now:

1. Edit a website page, via Dashboard > Website > Pages.

(or, click here to access a demo)

2. Click "Insert" in the left panel, to reveal the library of drag-and-drop elements.

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CHANNEL ISLANDS BASED SOFTWARE COMPANY, CLIENTWINDOW, HAS LAUNCHED AN INNOVATIVE APP THAT ADDRESSES A CHALLENGE FACED BY ACCOUNTANTS ON A DAILY BASIS. THE APP ALLOWS ACCOUNTANTS TO CONVENIENTLY INTERACT WITH THEIR CLIENTS, WHILE ALSO ENSURING THEY MAINTAIN THE NECESSARY LEVELS OF COMPLIANCE AND SECURITY.

The ClientWindow app was designed by Chartered Accountants, David Moehle and Tim Zeale, who are both partners at Channel Islands based Chartered Accountancy practice, PKF bba. Tim and David recognised that interaction via convenient messaging tools (such as WhatsApp because it is quick and convenient) and any-time access to information via smartphone apps is becoming both essential and the norm for increasingly digital savvy clients, but also poses problems for regulated businesses such as accountants. The ClientWindow app combines...

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NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS!

AU - Simplify and standardise the complex and boring admin tasks with Nimble by Voltex's community-inspired app for electricians in Australia. Making life easier for electricians so they can spend more time focusing on their customers.

OYSTER

GLOBAL - A global employment platform for people-centric companies to confidently hire, pay, and retain the best talent across 180+ countries. Oyster's deep local guidance and people-first experiences has built a thriving global workforce to help businesses grow with ease.

BATCHPAY

AU & NZ - Allows accounts payable team members to pay more than 200 bills in a single batch. BatchPay exports your payment file (eg. aba file), emails remittances and produces a batch summary report of all transactions paid, before syncing back into Xero to keep your creditor ledger live.

NIMBLE PROPTE

AU - Export multiple Xero Companies' data into a single CSV file with one click through Propte's Xero API integration, directly into Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Save time, reduce error and automate. Includes all journals to build any report including GL, BS and PnL.

PLANDAY HAS ARRIVED IN AUSTRALIA. IS IT RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

MANAGING PEOPLE IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACED BY SMALL BUSINESSES. THE COMPLEXITY OF PAYROLL OBLIGATIONS MAKES THIS EVEN MORE OF A BURDEN. IN FACT, LAST YEAR WE SURVEYED SMALL BUSINESSES ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND FOUND THAT 37% WERE WORRIED THEY WOULD ACCIDENTALLY PAY THEIR STAFF INCORRECTLY.

To ease the burden on employers, we’ve introduced an online workforce solution: Planday. This is part of our suite of employee management tools available in Aus-

tralia, helping employers and employees connect in real time.

Not sure if Planday is right for you or your clients? Here are four ways it can help make employee management easier.

1. Streamline time tracking, rostering and communications

For those using spreadsheets and manual rosters, Planday completely digitises the process, moving all the time tracking, rostering and communications into the...

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Flowlens Product Updates –March/April 2023

All the latest updates and bug fixes to Flowlens.

AS ALWAYS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES ABOUT ANY OF THESE UPDATES, PLEASE CONTACT OUR CUSTOMER SUCCESS TEAM VIA SUPPORT@FLOWLENS.COM.

Flowlens Task Templates – Projects

An update was made to include the ability to create a task template against Projects so every time a Project is made, a task is created and assigned to a specific user. This can be done by going to Settings > Task Templates > + New Task Template, and selecting ‘Projects’ from the ‘Task Model’ dropdown.

Addition of ‘Project

citrus HR and Xledger join forces

OUR LATEST UPDATES MAKE IT EASIER TO SET UP AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS AND RESPOND TO SCOPE OF WORK CHANGES AT ANY STAGE OF THE CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.

In February 2023, we celebrated 10 years of Ignition. While we’re proud of reaching this milestone and the impact we've made to date, we’re even more excited by what comes next.

If 10 years has taught us anything, it’s that your client relationships are continually evolving and provide multiple opportunities to grow, engage clients and get paid. This year we’re focused on expanding our platform capabilities so you can leverage more automation throughout the entirety of your client interactions.

Here’s how we’ve started 2023.

Requesting individual or bulk client payment methods

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New for Fathom: Enhanced Analysis for Consolidated Groups and Divisions

GET UP TO SPEED WITH THE LATEST FATHOM PRODUCT NEWS. HERE’S A QUICK WRAP-UP OF THE FEATURES WE’VE RECENTLY RELEASED.

Comparing to prior periods or budget in the Breakdown tool

Breakdown tool

• Compare financial results for each company in a consolidated group to the individual companies’ budgets or a prior period

• Compare financial results for each division to a prior period

WE LOVE HELPING SMALL BUSINESSES ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS, AND WE DO THIS THROUGH SUPPORTING BUSINESS OWNERS WITH HR SUPPORT AND PROVIDING HR SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO MAKE LIFE AS EASY AS POSSIBLE.

Many small business owners tell us that having easy access to important data is key to their day-to-day success, but it’s not always easy. That’s why we work closely with many cloud-software providers, creating integrations to improve the way you work.

Which is why we are thrilled to launch our brand-new HR software integration with cloud-based finance software solution, Xledger.

Who

are Xledger?

Xledger is built with ambitious companies in mind. With over 10,000 customers worldwide, they are designed to empower fast-growing businesses to bring automation to their finances.

Much like citrus HR, Xledger’s comprehensive cloud financial software solution is designed to be easy to implement, configure, and update. They also offer a consultative...

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Manager’

filter on Projects Index page

A filter for ‘Project Manager’ has been added to the Projects Index page. This enables users to quickly search for projects assigned to a specific manager.

Form templates – Parts

An enhancement has been made against form templates so they can now be used against Parts. To set up a form template for parts go to Settings > Form Templates > + New Form Template > enter a form name and check the ‘Parts’ checkbox. Once this is set up it...

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Fathom’s Breakdown tool offers valuable ways to compare and track your divisions and consolidated companies against one another. Now, we’ve enabled you to compare your entities while also tracking their performance against budget data or prior periods.

With this enhancement, you can now: • Add or remove a prior period or budget to the

Ecologi Zero™ joins the Xero App Store to support UK businesses on their net-zero journey

BIG NEWS HERE AT ECOLOGI HQ! ECOLOGI ZERO IS WORKING WITH XERO TO HELP SCALE UP NET-ZERO IN THE UK.

Our carbon footprinting tool has officially joined the Xero App Store. This joining-of-forces will give thousands of UK service-based small businesses the option to calculate their carbon footprint for free, making it much easier to take climate action and start their net-zero journey. It’s also a big step towards helping the UK decarbonise faster, so we’re really proud of it.

Unlocking carbon footprinting for small businesses

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• Compare KPI results for each entity to prior periods

• Export the comparison to PDF

When viewing the Breakdown tool in a company with divisions, simply click the ‘+’ icon to add a prior period. If you’re using the Breakdown tool for a consolidated group, you can also compare to budgets when viewing...

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Annature and Company 123

Partner to Provide a Comprehensive Solution for Business Formation and eSigning Processes in Australia

ANNATURE BRISBANE, QLD AND COMPANY 123 MELBOURNE, VICANNATURE, A LEADING PROVIDER OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE SOLUTIONS, AND COMPANY 123, A RENOWNED PROVIDER OF BUSINESS FORMATION AND ASIC REGISTRATION SERVICES, HAVE ANNOUNCED A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AIMED AT SIMPLIFYING AND ACCELERATING THE PROCESS OF STARTING AND MANAGING BUSINESSES IN AUSTRALIA.

The integration will enable entrepreneurs and business owners across Australia to benefit from a seamless, streamlined experience when it comes to forming and registering their companies, as well as signing and processing important documents electronically.

By combining Annature's cutting-edge eSigning technology with Company 123's expertise in business formation and registration, the two companies aim to offer a comprehensive and user-friendly platform that meets the needs of today's entrepreneurs.

"We are thrilled to partner with...

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BGL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS (BGL), THE WORLD'S LEADING PROVIDER OF COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, IS PROUD TO CELEBRATE THE 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF ITS COMPANY SECRETARIAL SOFTWARE SOLUTION, CAS 360 SINGAPORE.

The milestone comes just a week after BGL surpassed 800,000 companies managed by its CAS 360 software across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

"I'm incredibly proud of the BGL Team and what they have achieved over the past 12 months," said Ron Lesh, BGL's Managing Director. "The success of CAS 360 Singapore is a testament to their hard work and dedication. I also want to thank our clients for providing valuable feedback and helping drive the development of CAS 360 Singapore, which today supports over 120 firms, managing over 14,000 companies. A truly fantastic achievement by all."

Launched in late April 2022, CAS 360 Singapore is a complete company secretarial software solution and a huge time-saver for accounting firms and corporate service providers. With its powerful automation, CAS 360 provides workflows for managing common changes for companies and Annual Returns, saving clients time and increasing their productivity. In addition, CAS 360 was Singapore's first cloud-based company secretarial software to integrate with the Accounting and Corporate...

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Mayday is Xero Emerging App Partner of the Year! Expensify to Open Its First Premium Lounge in San Francisco

EXPENSIFY, A PAYMENTS SUPERAPP THAT HELPS INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES AROUND THE WORLD SIMPLIFY THE WAY THEY MANAGE MONEY, HAS TRANSFORMED ITS SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE INTO A PREMIUM LOUNGE OPEN TO ALL EXPENSIFY MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS WITH AN ANTICIPATED OPENING ON MONDAY, APRIL 24TH.

"For over a decade, we've traveled overseas as a team for a month a year. And wherever we go, we always seek out the same ideal work environment: a hip cafe with great coffee, strong cocktails, and cool strangers," says David Barrett, founder and CEO of Expensify. "But coming back to our office was always such a buzzkill… so we decided to do something about it. We renovated it to an unreasonably nice degree and added a high-end Tokyo-style espresso/ cocktail bar, on the 16th floor of the Financial District. And now we're sharing it with our customers, to work alongside us, as we try to Live Rich, Have Fun, and Save the World. You've gotta work somewhere, you might as well do it someplace awesome."

The Expensify Lounge includes exclusive perks such as lightning-fast wifi, private meeting rooms, snacks, and a full selection of craft coffee, tea, and high-end specialty cocktails. The entire experience -- from ordering a drink to recommending a hotel or booking a flight -- is handled through Expensify’s in-house, chat-based Concierge service.

Here’s what some Expensify members have to say about the lounge: " “Techstars has thoroughly enjoyed partnering with Expensify to host events for our portfolio...

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Lightyear unveils a new and enhanced Partner Program at Accountex London

MARKET-LEADING PROCURE TO PAY SOFTWARE, LIGHTYEAR IS HELPING THOUSANDS OF ACCOUNTANTS AND BOOKKEEPERS ACROSS THE GLOBE INCREASE EFFICIENCY AND PROFITABILITY WITH TIME AND COST-SAVING AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS.

LAST NIGHT MAYDAY HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING HOSTED AT THE XERO AWARDS 2023 AND WHAT A FANTASTIC EVENING IT WAS! WE ARE ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO HAVE WON THE XERO EMERGING APP PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARD. TO BE RECOGNISED IN THIS WAY FOR OUR DETERMINATION TO BUILD INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND DELIVER A FANTASTIC EXPERIENCE FOR OUR USERS IS A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT, ONE WE ARE INCREDIBLY PROUD OF.

Don’t forget, the older versions of our reports will be retired on 31 July 2023. We urge you to start using new reports now, so you have plenty of time to get used to them before the older versions are retired.

The award recognises a new app partner that has made great progress with Xero in a short space of time, providing a great user experience and making an excellent start with engaging Xero’s customer base. It acknowledges that we have delivered exceptional customer care and innovation.

Our Journey

To have won this award on the eve of our first birthday is a testament to the huge progress we have made in such a short period of time. Mayday launched on 20 April 2022 with our mission to mend month end for finance teams. We started by focusing on the pain points of having multiple entities as a business:

• Recharger automates intercompany charges of costs and revenues between related entities.

• BRAG (bank reconciliation across the group) enables the one-click matching of bank transactions in one group entity to the underlying bill or...

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HUB24 to acquire myprosperity

HUB24 LIMITED (ASX: HUB) (HUB24) AND MYPROSPERITY PTY LTD (MYPROSPERITY) HAVE TODAY ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR HUB24 TO ACQUIRE 100% OF THE ORDINARY SHARES OF MYPROSPERITY.

The acquisition is expected to deliver long term shareholder value by accelerating HUB24’s platform of the future strategy, supporting our current growth trajectory and strengthening our competitive advantage to capture market share and create new growth opportunities. The unique capability provided by myprosperity together with HUB24 will consolidate the group’s po-

sition as a leading provider of integrated platforms, technology and data solutions for financial professionals.

For further information on the benefits provided by this acquisition please refer to the investor presentation https://www.hub24.com. au/shareholder-centre/announcements/ myprosperity is a leading provider of client portals for accountants and financial advisers. Client portals with enhanced capability like myprosperity, are transforming client engagement by delivering a holistic view of household wealth, providing secure digital engagement and facilitating collaboration between clients and the fi-

As one of the Top 20 Fastest Growing Fintech companies in this year’s Financial FT 1000 and fastest-growing technology company in Northern Ireland in the Deliotte Fast 50, Lightyear is the clear choice for Accountants and Bookkeepers looking to automate their clients' finance processes.

As a Lightyear Partner, you can unlock new client opportunities, benefit from time-saving features, earn rewards, and receive collaborative marketing opportunities. With two options to choose from, Business Partner or Referral Partner, we make it easy to get the most out of your partnership and ensure we fit with your business needs.

The Lightyear Business Partner is suited for partners who offer a fully managed service to their clients and prefer one consolidated bill to cover all of their client’s Lightyear Usage. Whereby the Lightyear Referral Partner is best suited for partners who prefer for their clients to pay Lightyear directly.

Head of Strategic Partnerships, Kenny Galloway, commented, " "We are thrilled to announce the re-launch of our Partner Program at this year's Accountex London. Our...

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GLOBAL MARKET FORCES MOST INFLUENTIAL WHEN IT COMES TO SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WELLBEING

Wellington — 27 April, 2023 — Xero, the global small business platform, has today launched a report revealing overall small business owner wellbeing is currently below that of the general population, serving as a reminder of the myriad challenges small business owners are dealing with in 2023 –including high inflation, slowing economic growth, concern about staff wellbeing and general uncertainty about the future.

nancial professionals they have a relationship with.

Integration of myprosperity with HUB24 custodial and non- custodial platforms is planned initially, followed by the development of a single client portal for the entire HUB24 group portfolio of products and services. This is expected to extend HUB24’s market-leadership position and deliver both increased customer advocacy and new opportunities to further grow market share across theHUB24 group. Together with HUB24, myprosperity will provide an improved client experience, streamline service delivery, and increase productivity...

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The report, The global state of small business owner wellbeing, found that of the seven countries surveyed from November 2022 through to February 2023, only South African and Singaporean small business owners reported higher levels of wellbeing than the general population results in the 2023 World Happiness Report. New Zealand small business owners reported the highest level of life satisfaction, closely followed by South Africa and Singapore. Their United Kingdom counterparts reported the lowest level of life satisfaction.

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Xero data reveals small business owner wellbeing lags general population

Hub is now on Apple News!

Oh what a night! 2023 Xero Awards UK & Ireland

THE ANNUAL XERO AWARDS IS A PARTICULARLY SPECIAL NIGHT FOR US AT XERO.

IT’S A CHANCE FOR US TO SHOW OUR APPRECIATION AND ADMIRATION TO THE MANY INCREDIBLE ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, AND APP PARTNERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.

This year’s awards evening, which took place at Ministry Venues, Elephant & Castle, showcased the achievements of the “rockstars” of the accounting world. From the bangers played by the live band, to the face painting and photo booths, we wanted to give our community a chance to escape the office and celebrate in style.

Supporting small businesses through uncertainty

Small businesses will be at the heart of economic recovery, and the role of accountants, bookkeepers and apps is more important than ever, as economic pressures affect small businesses’ ability to plan ahead and manage costs. They’re often the only professional advisor a small business owner may have – experts at understanding the issues and hurdles that their customers face.

Many accountants and bookkeepers have been facing challenges of their own, such as attracting and retaining talent, and navigating regulatory change. With the support of a strong

community, many firms have been able to turn these challenges into opportunities.

Congratulations to our winners

There were 16 trophies up for grabs, including three new awards introduced this year – National Firm of the Year, Bookkeeping Partner of the Year and Innovative Partner of the Year.

The winners are:

UK Partner Awards

Sole Practitioner of the Year – Adams O’Rourke Accountants

Small Firm of the Year –Tennick Accountants

Mid-size Firm of the Year – Sempar Accountancy and Tax

Large Firm of the Year –Accounts and Legal

National Firm – Azets

Bookkeeping Partner of the Year – Fresh Financials

Total Xero Award – Thorne Widgery

Community Impact Award – FD Works

Innovative Partner of the Year – LJM Bookkeeping Ltd

Most Valued Professional – Lauren Harvey, Full Stop Accounts & Georgi Rollings...

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By Michael Ford

ENTREPRENEURS ARE DRIVEN BY ‘THE ITCH’. IF YOU’VE FELT IT YOURSELF, YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN. IT’S THAT INNATE GNAWING, DISCOMFORTING FEELING THAT COMES FROM A DEEP, AND OFTEN LIFELONG, CONVICTION THAT THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY. THE ITCH IS NEVER FAR AWAY - IT LIVES IN YOUR HEAD, DISTRACTS YOUR THOUGHTS, NAGS AT YOU. I’M NO PSYCHOLOGIST, BUT TO ME THE ITCH IS AS DEEP AS DNA. IT’S NOT A LEARNED BEHAVIOUR, SO IT CAN’T BE ‘UNLEARNED’. THERE IS NO ESCAPE.

Entrepreneurs start businesses because the itch gets too much. They resist it, they damp it with logic, they try to ignore it, but it never goes away. As time goes on, it intensifies. Finally, they are compelled to do something about it.

The caricature view of the entrepreneur as a risk-taking, slick-talking hustler could not be further from the truth. The real entrepreneurs, the ones that you and I work with, are just people doing everything they can

to scratch their itch. And no matter where they are in the world, no matter what industry their business serves, no matter what age, sex, creed or colour, the itch, the belief, the drive to find a better way is exactly the same.

They can see the path ahead. They can see the forks in the road, the options, the decision points. And they need help to work out which way to go.

At Castaway, every day we talk to entrepreneurs and to the accountants who look after them. Our customer base is split evenly, so we get a healthy range of views from both perspectives.

The Entrepreneurs tell us they see the services their accountants provide on 3 levels:

• They appreciate the compliance work that keeps their business on the right side of the law

• They value the work that supports and sustains the business (bank loans, grants and the like)

• They love the work that helps unlock the possibilities of the business (scratching the itch)

It should be no surprise that their level of ‘excite-

ment’ about the fees they pay follows the same order.

The Accountants we talk to tend to fit into one of 3 categories:

• A few tell us “my clients just don’t need that sort of stuff”

• Some say they build budgets and forecasts when clients ask for them

• For others, forecasting is the backbone of their advisory practice. Clients love the work they do and happily pay their fees

To the first group… who knows, they may well be correct. But if there’s even one entrepreneur on the client list, I guarantee that firm is not asking the right questions.

When we dig deeper with the second group, their focus is generally the entrepreneur’s second level of satisfaction, the sustaining and supporting work like applying for bank loans and grants, churning out annual budgets and the like. Although the demand generation is reactive, this work is useful for clients and can be readily systemised and productised into a profitable service… definitely a winwin.

The third group are different. They work differently, they think differently, they talk differently. And they get different results for clients. By different, I mean better… much better. Of course, the question of “how” they are different has a hundred answers.

One thing stands out for me. The third group have gone beyond forecasting as a maths exercise focused on putting numbers on a page. They’ve evolved to embrace the idea of forecasting as a framework for exploring what is possible. This is a big step, in both mindset and methodology. They’ve found the holy grail - a way to help their entrepreneur clients scratch the itch, a way to help those entrepreneurs unlock the possibilities in their business.

It’s a simple idea, but it’s counter-intuitive, especially for firms with strong compliance-based business models, where efficiency and capacity utilisation are the traditional optimisation tools.

But it’s also entirely intuitive. Clients perceive the greatest value when you help solve their biggest, most annoying problems.

And for an entrepreneur, the ‘itch’ is the most significant long term problem there is. And forecasting, the process of looking ahead, considering scenarios, facing realities, game-planning responses, making decisions, is the best framework I know for unlocking possibilities, for finding solutions to the itch.

So how do the third group of accountants start the conversations with their clients? How do they build the interest? How do they get the clients to happily agree to engage them?

Well, the good news is we’ve seen lots of different approaches… and they all work very well. It’s a matter of finding something that works for you. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, here’s a simple 3-step approach that involves zero selling, but is highly effective at unlocking possibilities for both you and your client.

1. Find the itch

Here’s an idea. Find a client. Take them to coffee, or to lunch, or just have a call. With genuine interest, ask 3 questions:

1. Why did you start this

business?

2. What were your dreams for the business back then?

3. How have those dreams changed?

You’re looking for the itch. Given the chance, and an engaged audience, most entrepreneurs love talking about their business. Some will open up immediately, the ideas and stories will just start flowing. For others, the conversation might take some time to get rolling.

If you’ve been in business a while, the daily grind, decision fatigue, pandemics and other challenges can wear you down … its all too easy to forget (or suppress) the original dreams for the business. In this situation, be patient and nurture the conversation. The memories will start to come back, a trickle at first and then more. Keep at it and you’ll see the imagination spring to life and the ideas start to flow. That’s the itch firing up again … it never goes away.

2. Run a Possibilities session

Find out more

By Emily Ossington, NextMinute

WE LIKE TO THINK WE KNOW OUR CLIENTS PRETTY WELL, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT ‘THEY’ SAY ABOUT ASSUMING…

As a company, we want to make sure that our customers succeed, and that our product plays an important role in helping our customers achieve their goals.

One of our team values at NextMinute is to sit alongside our customers and partners.

We also have the value proposition that we “make life easier by managing pricing, planning, people and profits.”

So, we recently put together a Customer Survey in order to get a better understanding of the needs and preferences of our customers, and to question are we delivering on what we promise?

‘They’ also say success is in the eye of the beholder, and our beholders are our customers - who are also your customers!

If you are a Trusted Advisor with clients in the Trade & Construction industry, here are some results from our Customer Survey that might help you understand the industry better.

Who are they?

Our average client is a 39 year old male builder, business owner, married with more than one child and has completed some form of tertiary education like trade school,

college or university.

What do they need?

We asked our clients, on a scale of 1 to 10 how important are the below items to their business (answers in order based on the av erage response.)

1. Profit

2. Managing their team

3. Save time

4. Consistent work

5. Scheduling work

6. More clients

This re-confirms for us that our value proposition of pricing, planning, people and profits aligns with what our customers con sider important in their businesses.

What do they want?

We asked them to rank the importance of family time on a scale of 1 - 10. It was num ber one.

Other questions around ‘hobbies and free time’ had a variety of answers, all of which included outdoor activities such as fishing, board sports, or playing sports with their family & friends.

These responses indicate that our clients value and want more time to spend...

Find out more

By Danny Bateman, SeedLegals

Want to make your accountancy practice more attractive to new and existing clients? Add more services and become a one-stop shop for startups and small businesses.

But how do you do that without hiring specialist staff? By partnering with SeedLegals, you’ll be able to offer a more comprehensive, integrated service for startups and SMEs. You do the accountancy tasks; your client uses SeedLegals for extras. You can choose to add SeedLegals as white label software to your existing digital services, or give your clients discounts for SeedLegals and claim a referral fee.

Established in 2016, SeedLegals is an online platform which combines automated legal documents with friendly, personalised help from a team of experts. Since 2020, the company has worked alongside accountants to provide clients with a seamless, affordable service.

Over 50,000 companies have used SeedLegals to grow and scale faster. As well as straightforward business legals such as employment contracts, company policies and board management, the legal-tech service helps founders and business owners with the pivotal moments that matter:

• Secure S/EIS Advance Assurance

Do S/EIS compliance

Two thirds of all SEIS and over half of all EIS Advance Assurance applications are

• Set up option schemes

Get an EMI valuation

One quarter of all UK EMI schemes are designed and managed on SeedLegals

• Do a funding round

Take an investment

SeedLegals is the UK’s number one closer of early-stage rounds in the UK with over £1 billion raised to date. The company pioneered ‘agile funding’ to help companies take one-off investments outside funding rounds.

Make clients happy - and boost profits

By partnering with SeedLegals, you have the reassurance of offering extra services via a market leader. And with a more extensive set of

Avalanche has arrived on Learn!

BRRRR, FEEL THAT CHILL? IT’S BECAUSE AVALANCHE HAS ARRIVED IN-APP!

Now, you can expand your crypto knowledge and learn about Avalanche – a platform for creating and launching decentralised applications that delivers speed, security, and is even eco-friendly!

Cryptocurrencies are volatile and not regulated or protected by investor compensation schemes –value can go down or up.

Wise partners with Frontier: accelerating permanent carbon removal

Trading may be subject to tax. Fees payable and minimum investments apply.

Introducing Avalanche and AVAX

We dive into another platform that is changing the face of blockchain and decentralised finance. And you’ll earn some of their native AVAX token when you pass the quizzes.

Dive deeper into the... Find out more

WISE IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE OUR PARTICIPATION IN FRONTIER, AN ADVANCE MARKET COMMITMENT TO ACCELERATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERMANENT CARBON REMOVAL TECHNOLOGIES. OUR PLEDGE TO PURCHASE CARBON REMOVAL DEMONSTRATES WISE’S CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO CLIMATE ACTION.

"Wise is proud to further

Introducing Crypto Transfers for Venmo Customers

our partnership with Watershed by participating in Frontier as it helps to accelerate permanent carbon removal," said Harsh Sinha, Chief Technology Officer at Wise.

"As a mission driven company, we are guided by the needs of our customers and know climate action is important to them. We look forward to supporting the transformative climate...

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New feature enables customers to transfer cryptocurrency to friends and family on Venmo or PayPal, and other wallets and exchanges in the crypto ecosystem

REVOLUT AUSTRALIA APR’23 NEW USERS CASHBACK PROMOTION

AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES OF ALL SIZES CAN ACCEPT IN-PERSON PAYMENTS

USING THE STRIPE TERMINAL SDK AND TAP TO PAY ON ANDROID OR STRIPE READERS, TO UNIFY ONLINE AND IN-PERSON COMMERCE IN A SINGLE INTEGRATION. FAST-GROWING

PLATFORM BUSINESSES

LIKE ABACUS, FAREHARBOR, AND SPLOSE ARE USING STRIPE TERMINAL TO POWER UNIFIED COMMERCE SOLUTIONS FOR THOUSANDS OF BUSINESSES IN AUSTRALIA.

Stripe, a financial infrastructure platform for businesses, announced today

that its suite of unified commerce solutions is now available in Australia, including Stripe Terminal with Tap to Pay on Android for in-person contactless payments. In Australia, over three-quarters of consumer payments are made with cards. By centralizing card payment data from all sales channels in one dashboard, Stripe’s unified commerce solutions provide businesses with a comprehensive view of sales trends and customer preferences. Businesses can use this information to improve customer experiences and increase revenue opportunities.

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WELCOME TO THE REVOLUT AUSTRALIA APRIL 2023 NEW USERS CASHBACK PROMOTION (THE “PROMOTION”), OFFERED BY REVOLUT PAYMENTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (ABN 21 634 823 180) (“REVOLUT”, “WE”, “OUR” OR “US”).

The terms and conditions of the Promotion are set out below. These terms and conditions apply in addition to any other terms and conditions that apply to you as a customer of Revolut, including the Personal Terms, and the Fees and Charges Section.

Promotion Periods

The Promotion starts on 24 April 2023 11:00am AEDT

and ends on 8 May 2023 10:59am AEDT (the “Promotion Period”).

What is the Promotion?

The Promotion is the opportunity for Eligible Customers to earn 5% cashback each week that they make at least three (3) Eligible Transactions.

The total cashback you can earn in one week is capped at $5.00 per week, and total aggregate cashback you can earn during the Promotion Period is capped at $10.00. This means that if your Revolut Card transactions made during the Promotion Period exceed $200.00, your cashback will remain capped at $10.00.

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TODAY, WE ARE TAKING STEPS TO MAKE THE MANAGEMENT AND MOVEMENT OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES (CRYPTO) FOR VENMO CUSTOMERS EASY BY INTRODUCING THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER CRYPTO TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN THE VENMO COMMUNITY. CUSTOMERS WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO TRANSFER TO A PAYPAL ACCOUNT AND TO EXTERNAL WALLETS AND EXCHANGES, DELIVERING MORE CHOICE AND FLEXIBILITY IN HOW THEY MOVE AND MANAGE THEIR CRYPTO. CRYPTO TRANSFERS WILL BE ROLLING OUT TO VENMO CUSTOMERS OVER THE COMING WEEKS STARTING IN MAY 2023.

Customers continue to turn to Venmo to help manage their crypto. More than 50% of Venmo crypto customers say they chose Venmo specifically for the safety, security and ease of use it offers,1 and over the last 12 months, more than 74% of Venmo crypto customers have continued to hold their crypto in their Venmo account.2 In addition, since the beginning of 2023, nearly 50% of cus-

tomers with existing crypto balances have added to their crypto holdings on Venmo.3

Transferring crypto on Venmo

Transferring crypto on Venmo can be done in a few simple steps. Venmo customers can navigate to the Crypto tab in the Venmo app, view their coins, then tap the Transfer arrows and choose to Send crypto – either to a Venmo account, or by entering in a recipient’s wallet address to send to PayPal or another external wallet. Any customer can also tap Receive to display their unique crypto address QR code, which can be shared with other people.

More detail on how to send or receive crypto can be found here. Customers should note that crypto transfers cannot be cancelled or reversed and should ensure the recipient’s details are correct by checking the destination address carefully.

Venmo remains committed to providing easy, quick and secure services for the Venmo community. Since introducing the...

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