FINANCE

The independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users 

ISSUE 

10 

magazine 

ON DEMAND 

BUSINESS 

FINANCE 

Satago (Latin): to satisfy/pay a creditor 

ISSN 2054-7226 

9 772054 722009 

10 

COVER STORY 

Satago’s Steven Renwick explains how 

the Financial Web is transforming the 

traditional lending landscape 

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Issue 10 / 1 

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30+ 

Integrations 

ALL-IN-ONE 

PROJECT 

MANAGEMENT 

SOFTWARE 

Powerful Job 

Mobile 

app 

workflowmax.com/xero 

2 / Issue 10 XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com 


Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine Issue 10 / 3

magazine 

The independent magazine 

for Xero users, by Xero users 

Issue 10 

CEO: David Hassall (Co-Founder) 

Managing Editor: Wesley Cornell 

(Co-Founder) 

Strategic Partnerships: Alex Newson 

Staff Writer: Bethany Cox 

Editorial/News Submissions: 

If you have any editorial content (news, 

comment, tutorials etc.) that you would 

like us to consider for inclusion in the next 

edition of XU Magazine, please email us 

at editorial@xumagazine.com 

Advertising: 

advertising@xumagazine.com 

T: +44 (0)116 298 60 80 

E: hello@xumagazine.com 

W: www.xumagazine.com 

‘Xero’ is a trademark of Xero Limited (New 

Zealand). 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 2014-2017. All rights 

reserved. No part of this magazine may 

be used or reproduced without the 

written permission of the publisher. XU 

Magazine is published by XU Magazine 

Ltd (08811842), registered in England and 

Wales. Registered office: 12 Jordan Street, 

Liverpool, L1 0BP, United Kingdom. All 

information contained in this magazine 

is for information only and is, as far 

as we are aware, correct at the time of 

going to press. XU Magazine cannot 

accept any responsibility for errors or 

inaccuracies in such information. If 

you submit unsolicited material to us, 

you automatically grant XU Magazine 

a licence to publish your submission in 

whole or in part in all/any editions of 

the magazine, 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 nor its employees, 

agents or subcontractors shall be liable 

for loss or damage. The views expressed 

in XU Magazine are not necessarily the 

views of XU Magazine Ltd, its editors or its 

contributors. 

Welcome to issue 10... 

6 / 2017 Up and Coming Tech 

8 / Explained: Xero Partner Program 

Points 

9 / TUTORIAL - Provide 

Management Reports to Clients 

Without Breaking a Sweat 

10 / FEATURE - On the back of a 

beer mat: XU Magazine from start 

to Issue 10 

14 / Top tips for setting up your own 

cloud business software advisory 

service 

16 / INTERVIEW - Q&A with Michael 

Wood from Receipt Bank 

20 / COVER STORY - How the 

Financial Web is transforming the 

traditional lending landscape 

22 / From rock music photographer 

to helping businesses develop 

24 / Why philanthropy matters: 

your small business guide to giving 

28 / COMPARED - Time & 

attendance App comparison 

30 / TUTORIAL - Streamline your 

invoicing with WorkflowMax… and 

get paid faster 

32 / 5 silly excuses we give for not 

going paperless 

34 / TUTORIAL - How to: using 

reports in ApprovalMax 

36 / New business in the UK 

reaches record high 

38 / Move to high-tech, high touch 

and watch your billable hours grow 

40 / A systems-based approach to 

delivering client work 

42 / ANNOUNCEMENT - Accountex 

returns 

44 / TUTORIAL - How to use 

MinuteDock for time billing with 

Xero 

46 / CASE STUDY - How simple 

process automation helped 

increase efficiency & growth 

50 / A new year, a new global 

economy, and what that means to 

the Xero community 

55 / TIMELINE - Innovations to help 

you thrive in 2017 

62 / The ideal client: choosing the 

right clients and delivering valuable 

customer service 

66 / TUTORIAL - Dryrun: help your 

clients build a powerful recurring 

budget… 

70 / The all-new Xero HQ 

72 / Small business expansion: how 

to ensure compliance in Africa 

74 / Forget me not: the automated 

“Make Accessing your cash short flow term with finance Satago, to your bridge all-in-one 

cashflow gaps 

cashflow can be difficult soluuon. as Spend a small less business. me chasing I needed customers 

a way to 

with access our the automated money locked invoice up reminder in my unpaid system. 

invoices. 

Try Then invoice I found reminders invoice at finance satago.com 

from 

Xero feature that’ll get you paid on 

time 

76 / TUTORIAL - AutoEntry: 

advanced, feature-rich automation 

of data entry to Xero 

82 / Introducing mTrio 

84 / Mindset over money: why 

spending more on marketing is not 

the answer 

86 / INTERVIEW - Q&A with Will 

Lovegrove from pensionsync 

90 / Reconciling various customer 

payment methods: get organised by 

separating your deposits 

92 / Alleviating reconciliation 

ailments 

94 / Does your accountancy firm 

serve others or does it serve you? 

The 7 systems that are changing the 

game 

98 / Top tips for Xero users: Budget 

Manager 

100 / Mitigating risk and making 

data security a top priority 

102 / NEW RELEASES - Updates 

and new releases: from the Xero 

App Marketplace 

106 / Taking the ‘auto-magical’ to 

the next level 

108 / Get ready, set, go! The 

importance of a good set-up 

110 / APP DIRECTORY - App/ 

Service Directory 

118 / Apple Pay is here! 

“ 

Complete Cashflow Confidence 




017 

Up and coming tech 

So what are the up-and-coming technologies of 2017? 

Accountants and small businesses, listen up for tech trends 

according to Xero! 

S 

mall businesses have the 

flexibility and creativity 

to take advantage of the power 

technology holds to make our lives 

easier. They can quickly adapt to 

use new technology by staying 

lean and agile. If they are savvy 

enough, they can make the best 

of technology whilst averting the 

associated risks by adopting early 

but being cautiously observant. 

Here’s are the trends to look out 

for... 

Chatbots, AI and Machine Learning 

Artificial Intelligence in not, by all 

means, new this year but it is being 

used in new and exciting ways. 

AI is the simulation of intelligent 

behaviour in computers, and its 

ability to think for itself. Machine 

Learning is a type of AI, involving 

computers learning without being 

explicitly programmed. Chatbots 

are designed to use this to make 

intelligent conversation. 

This is already being implemented 

in apps such as Slack, where users 

can interact with Slackbot. You 

should look to use apps that use 

AI to organise content, data and 

products. 

BYOD and MDM 

The International Data Corporation 

has forecasted that in 2020, almost 

75% of the workforce will be 

mobile. The knock-on effects can be 

hugely beneficial for companies but 

may also increase vulnerable data 

(like sensitive and private customer 

information) for those who have a 

bring-your-own-device (or BYOD) 

policy. 

Having one device that is stolen 

may put huge amounts of company 

data and security under threat. 

Data silos are the solution to this 

increasing problem. They are a 

data segregation fix; a separate 

database to the business-wide 

system. Data for each department 

or employee is isolated from the 

rest of the company. 

Mobile devices are commonly 

used alongside mobile device 

management (MDM) in businesses. 

These systems work alongside 

company policy to enforce security 

and activity management of 

employees. MDM is starting to 

appear as an intrinsic part of some 

apps, for example Safari allows you 

to bookmark URLs that require you 

to access them through a VPN. 

Despite thinking that this is a large 

company-only problem, small 

businesses are those who cannot 

afford the dangers of security risks. 

Remote offices 

We’ve all heard of the stereotype of 

remote workers of participating in 

video calls in a shirt, tie and pyjama 

bottoms, but other than comfort, 

why are remote offices catching on 

for workers and employers? Whilst 

some may say lack of routine is the 

downfall of remote working, the 

increased flexibility is the perfect 

starting point for some to thrive. 

Some people just work better when 

they have the freedom to manage 

their own schedule, and are 

working at a pace set by them. 

We can’t ignore the cost impact 

remote offices have on both 

staff and companies. Despite 

there usually being some initial 

setup costs, your company saves 

money on real estate in the long 

term; money that can be spent 

on expanding your borders 

geographically. Your employees 

save time and monetary costs of 

commuting, and buying lunch and 

coffee and that expensive businesscasual 

wardrobe. 

It has been shown that fewer sick 

days are taken by those who work 

from home. How often are you sent 

home by a sore throat or something 

that doesn’t necessarily limit your 

ability to work but means you can’t 

be in the office? 

So why is this something to 

consider now? Well, technology 

is better than ever and allows 

effective communication 

between off and on-site workers. 

Collaborating live on shared 

documents, high-speed internet, 

and even doing more with your 

good old email. Technological 

advances make so much more 

possible. 

Plus, no distractions of colleagues 

and cake means no more 

interruptions so you can get your 

work done on time. 

E-commerce 

With projections for E-commerce 

sales in 2020 of $4 trillion, small 

businesses need to jump on this 

bandwagon if they see a future for 

their company. 

Quicker searching, one-click 

transactions, next-day delivery, not 

even having to leave your home 

once. It all comes down to time, 

for both business and consumer. 

Increasingly, buyers are looking to 

only purchase products that can be 

delivered, so put your products out 

Forecast Cash Flow, 

Budget & 

Sales Scenarios 

there on your site. 

Connection-as-a-Service 

The past few decades have seen 

servitisation become the businessmodel 

of envy. More and more 

companies are transforming and 

developing their systems to include 

services that complement and even 

supplement the products they offer, 

moving from a product-centred to 

customer-focussed approach. 

This values the customer and their 

needs, giving businesses who 

have adopted this approach the 

competitive edge against rivals. 

Small businesses should take 

advantage of this by embracing 

XU Readers: We’ll add an extra 30 days to your free trial! 

Sign up today at dryrun.com/xu 

partnership with connection 

services to boost accessibility of 

their products to customers. 

Subscription-based business 

Subscriptions are another win-win 

that are taking over in all kinds of 

industries. Customers have an easy 

way to renew services or products 

orders and know consistency. 

Having recurring monthly income 

helps businesses budget, project 

and report more easily. 

This model is at its best when 

partnered with e-commerce and 

automated payments. You can 

almost certainly combine these in 

your business. 

Influencer marketing 

With the swell in social media, 

instead of looking to companies, 

consumers look to their peers 

to apprise decisions of product 

purchase. Famous personalities on 

media platforms now command the 

opinions of their followers, making 

them the big target for advertising 

products and services. Your 

customers want to feel talked to 

rather than at, being fully informed 

and educated about your product. 

Companies the world over have 

increased budgets specifically for 

social media for this year...perhaps 

it’s time for you to as well! 




Explained: Xero Partner 

Program points 

The new and improved Partner Program, launched in 

November 2016, is Xero’s points-based system for 

awarding recognition to Xero Partners. 

M 

ost of you by now will be 

familiar with some aspects 

of the program, but if you’re 

searching for the basics, look no 

further. 

Provide Management 

Reports to Clients 

Without Breaking a Sweat 

ProfitSee provides the tools that give accountants and bookkeepers the 

ability to easily automate and grow their advisory services. 

IT ALL STARTS WITH REPORTING 

Tutorial 

Reporting is an important function of accounting. The value of the reports comes 

from the advice you provide from the financials. Do you ever find yourself scrambling 

to prepare your clients reports and thinking, “there has to be an easier way to get these 

done,”? Let ProfitSee save you time so you can provide the strategic advice that truly 

impacts your clients’ businesses. 

If you are using Xero, you will have 

already been notified of your Xero 

Partner status. For some, your 

status will have already improved, 

and for others you will be looking at 

what you can do to reach the next 

level. The program is created with 

the view to make your business a 

success, based on what success 

means to your business. 

Each month, you will be notified 

with your status, number of 

points, certifications, distinctions 

and benefits calculated from the 

previous month. 

Benefits 

The Partner Program offers many 

benefits to it’s users. Alongside the 

enriched education resources, Xero 

shop, available practice tools and 

profile in the Advisory Directory on 

offer, Xero Partners benefit from the 

following: 

• Access to Xero HQ - for managing 

clients 

• 1 subscription to Xero - for 

internal use by your business 

• Access to Partner-only info and 

support from a Xero Account 

Manager 

Xero Champions 

Xero Champions add an extra 

distinction to Partners with the title. 

The criteria for Bronze Champion 

status are as follows: 

• Bronze Partner status level 

• Earned 10 more points in the past 

12 months 

• At least two Xero-certified staff 

• Those for Silver, Gold and 

Platinum Champion statuses are: 

• Silver, Gold or Platinum status 

level 

The number of points required to be awarded each status 

• Earned 20 more points in the past 

12 months 

• At least three Xero-certified staff 

UK and NZ - points awarded for each activity 

AU - points awarded for each activity 

01 ADD YOUR LOGO 

Upload your firm’s logo to instantly provide client dashboards and reports that 

match your practice’s brand! Keep the focus on the advice you’re providing, 

rather than the software you’re using! 

02 CREATE CUSTOM TEMPLATES & SCHEDULES 

Some clients benefit from shorter, more frequent reports, but also still require 

in-depth quarterly information. Others might want monthly management 

reports. With ProfitSee we simplify the reporting process by giving you an easy 

way to create custom report templates, and set automated reporting 

schedules, so you don’t have to think twice about it! 

03 RELAX, REVIEW, & SEND! 

You can set the reports to send directly to your client, but we recommend 

having them sent directly to your inbox. This gives you the ability to review 

them, add any needed commentary, and send them off. Giving you more time 

to do the advising, while ProfitSee does the tedious work for you. 

Start 

SERIOUSLY, IT’S THAT EASY 

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In three simple steps you can create white-labeled 

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Feature 

Feature 

On the back of a beer mat: 

XU Magazine from start to issue 10 

Like all good ideas, it started between the two brothers in 

a pub back in December 2013. David and Wesley had been 

chatting about Xero and how all the guides and information 

were scattered across the web, meaning users had to go and 

dig around to find everything. It made perfect sense to us to 

pull as much of this information as possible into one platform. 

X 

ero has many different 

features, and there is a 

wealth of information out there 

available to its users including 

blogs, forums, and articles, as 

well as the ever-increasing pool 

of Xero’s own resources. As Xero 

Users ourselves, we didn’t always 

have time to go and search through 

this supply. 

And so we knew exactly what 

we wanted to create. Our goal 

was to be informative, topical 

and impartial, bringing all of the 

valuable information out there 

into one place, to save Xero users 

treasured time and effort. 

The initial campaign began on 

Indiegogo, a crowdfunding site for 

entrepreneurial ideas...perfect for 

us! This was the start of our journey 

to equip the Xero community and 

draw it together. Our aim was 

simple: to create a magazine for 

Founders David Hassall and Wesley Cornell 

Xero Users, by Xero Users. 

XU Magazine CEO, David Hassall: 

Both myself and Wesley are avid 

readers of user magazines for 

various other platforms, so the 

idea was born. Why don’t we do a 

user magazine for Xero users? With 

neither of us having publishing 

experience we dived straight into 

Google. As soon as we had built an 

original concept of what we wanted 

from the magazine, we decided the 

best platform to launch this would 

be via crowdfunding as we needed 

both cash and visibility of the 

product. 

A few days into the campaign we 

knew the idea was a winner and 

that really encouraged us. It was a 

long slog as we worked full time on 

the campaign, keeping up with 4 

time zones as well as our day jobs! 

Once we had funding and a great 

following we then took to Google 

again: how do you actually make 

and design a magazine? After 

numerous YouTube tutorials, and 

friendly people helping us out, 

Issue 01 was born. It was much 

harder than either of us ever 

realised it would be but we were so 

glad when we got there. The icing 

on the cake was Chris Ridd inviting 

us to launch at Xerocon over in 

Australia. 

Since that initial pub talk, we’ve 

come far. Along the way, we’ve 

made mistakes but have learnt a 

mountain of lessons to take forward 

with us. 

Our independence from Xero and its 

Add-ons (now Apps) ordained that 

we would become the unbiased 

information source for all with a 

login to Xero. But although we’re 

independant, Xero have been an 

amazing support and sounding 

board for us, so a big shout out 

goes to all of their staff who have 

helped us on our journey...we of 

course wouldn’t be here without 

Xero in the first place! 

XU Magazine Editor, Wesley 

Cornell: Some of the biggest 

releases from us have been in the 

past few months. Our digital reader 

and subscription system have gone 

hand-in-hand in bringing the mag 

to a larger audience. Together they 

mean that anyone can sign in and 

be welcomed into our community, 

with full access to all content from 

print, and more. And all for free! 

There are lots of ways we’re looking 

into growing this in the near future. 

We have some other really exciting 

developments coming up over the 

next year for XU Magazine...so 

watch this space! 

XU Magazine Head of Advertising 

and New Business, Alex Newson: 

We’ve been learning a lot of new 

stuff, so it’s almost like working on 

Issue 01 again. The fact that we’re 

now on Issue 10 is staggering. We 

want to say a big thank you to all 

our contributors and advertisers for 

getting us here. As always, we value 

the honest and reliable feedback 

from the awesome Xero community. 

Let’s keep building it together! 

We’re delighted to be exhibiting at 

all Xerocons over the coming year. 

Keep a look out for us there, we 

look forward to seeing you. 

Certain Apps that connect to Xero 

have been an integral part of our 

journey and we want to recognise 

and celebrate the friendships we 

have formed with them. From the 

outset, TidyWork have connected 

with us. We asked them to share 

more about how we started out 

together. 

Kevin Mann and some of the Tidy team 

appeared in XU Magazine Issue 06 

Kevin Mann at Tidywork: “What 

amazing vision!” we at Tidy thought 

when Wesley told us about starting 

XU Magazine. We instinctively knew 

Tidy had to support it. Xero and 

the Add-on community had grown 

so much, it was great to see a 

publication representing the stories 

of this exciting cloud ecosystem. 

We felt he must really believe in the 

future of Xero and others like Tidy 

building connected cloud products. 

It meant a lot to us at Tidy that 

someone in the UK, miles away 

from the birthplace of Xero would 

start a global publication like XU. 

A printed publication in a cloud 

world? We thought most global 

users were not (yet) cloud converts, 

so needed an offline medium. 

In less than 5 minutes Tidy 

confirmed we’d take out a full-page 

advert and help XU with welldeserved 

financial support. We’re 

privileged that Tidy has continued 

to travel with XU in all ten brilliant 

issues. 

Profitsee have supported us right 

from the word go. We’ve spent time 

with them at various conferences, 

and even visited a zoo together! 

Brooke tells us more... 

Team ProfitSee with XU Magazine enjoying 

Accountex 2014 

Brooke Roberts at Profitsee: 

ProfitSee has worked with XU 

Magazine since it’s first edition. 

We were so excited to learn about 

it through their funding campaign, 

that we couldn’t wait to get 

involved. Over the past few years, 

I have worked closely with the 

XU Magazine team, and they are 

great partners to work with. From 

article submissions to artwork 

suggestions, they have been 

responsive and helpful. 

Each issue seems to top the last, 

and we’ve really enjoyed their 

platform as a resource to help 

educate Xero users about changes 

in the global accounting industry. 

One of our highlights has been 

getting to know the team at Minute 

Dock over the past couple of years. 

We’ve done some really cool stuff 

together, from watching the rugby 

to visiting a Koala Sanctuary! 

David and Jared at the Koala Sanctuary after 

Xerocon South 2016 

Jared Armstrong at Minute Dock: 

I saw their original crowdfunding 

campaign and thought it was an 

interesting idea. I reached out to 

them to write an article for their 

very first issue and they’ve been 

awesome at including MinuteDock 

since then. We had a blast travelling 

to the various Xerocons last year 

and catching up with their team at 

each one. Seeing how passionate 

they are about providing a really 

great publication for Xero users is 

really inspiring. I love reading every 

issue and keeping up to date with 

the Xero community. 

Deputy is a big name in the 

business and they have been right 

alongside us since Issue 01. We 

asked them to tell you about our 

relationship. 

At Accountex 2014 with Deputy 

Kristen Harris at Deputy: The Xero 

partner eco-system is one we value 

highly at Deputy so when we first 

saw XU Magazine emerge with their 

cheeky crowd-sourcing venture 

we were happy to jump in and 

support them. That experience has 

resulted in a consistent, reliable 

and professional relationship, one 

we know we can trust for great 

content and good reach amongst 

the members. I look forward to our 

relationship continuing for many 

years. 

A really valuable link for us is with 

the Receipt Bank crew. They’ve 

given us some great experiences 

when we’ve met up including 

celebrations in London, a hog roast 

on a barge, and a rooftop party in 

Brisbane. Michael talks about their 

journey with us so far... 

Michael Wood at Receipt Bank: 

The success of XU Magazine 

demonstrates the unique passion 

of the global Xero community. As 

huge Xero fans ourselves, it’s been 

a pleasure to take the journey with 

the team, whether it was racing to 

grab the latest copy at a Xerocon, or 

my taking part in my first ever cover 

story. Standing beside Colin Hewitt 

from Float and Steve Renwick 

from Satago, all in our kilts, it was 

clear that the XU team were onto 

something special and we’ve loved 

being a part of it. 




Feature 

Cover stars of Issue 02: 

Michael Wood (Receipt Bank), Colin Hewitt (Float), Steven Renwick (Satago) 

Do you remember fruit and veg 

featuring on our front cover? The XU 

team had a fun time shooting for 

the cover of Issue 07 with Advance 

Track, and having lunch together. 

More recently, we have worked 

closely with AppsForOpps and are 

thoroughly enjoying the partnership 

that is forming between the teams. 

approved to get listed on the 

Xero add-on App Marketplace we 

decided to sign up to exhibit at 

Xerocon San Francisco and Xerocon 

South. Alex saw that AppsForOps 

was attending Xerocon South 

and reached out with a simple 

Tweet introducing himself and 

XU Magazine. The rest they say is 

history: from a double page advert 

in Issue 08, to the front cover on 

Issue 09 and many exciting things 

planned for Issue 10 and beyond. 

We love working with the team at 

XU Magazine. 

We as a team have wholly loved 

reflecting on where we started and 

are so proud of how far we’ve come 

since. XU Magazine are so thankful 

to all those who have supported 

us so far and continue to do so. 

There is so much more coming up: 

brand-new segments, ingenious 

tech and fresh ideas. We can’t wait 

to see where the next 10 issues take 

WOULD YOU KNOW 

A GOOD IDEA IF IT 

SMACKED YOU 

IN THE FACE? 

HERE’S A GREAT IDEA. 

Find everything you need for your business and 

professional development at Australia’s biggest, 

free-to-attend, independently run, business exhibition 

for accountants, bookkeepers and finance leaders. 

YOUR CUSTOMERS DEMANDS ARE CHANGING - ARE YOU? LEARN HOW TO ADAPT AND SUCCEED AT ACCOUNTING BUSINESS EXPO 2017 

Vipul Sheth, cover star of Issue 07 

Vipul Sheth at Advance Track: We 

are delighted to have been involved 

with the XU team almost from 

the start of their journey. Xero is 

changing the way accountants work 

and XU are part of that community. 

We have enjoyed working with 

XU, including a fun photoshoot in 

Leicester Market holding bowls 

of veg a few days after Leicester 

won the Premiership. This took me 

back to my days of working on a 

leather stall on markets as a boy. At 

least the sun was shining that day 

compared to my distant memories 

of markets! Many congratulations 

to the XU team and keep up the 

good work. 

David and Alex at breakfast in Brisbane with Shaun and Hennie from AppsForOps 

Shaun Leisegang at AppsForOps: 

It all started with a simple Tweet. 

Very soon after AppsForOps got 

us. Our pink team will keep flying 

around the world to bring XU to the 

Xero community! 

INNOVATION FOR EVERY CHALLENGE. 

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smarter, evolve your business, win new customers and make 

more money? 

Find your answers at Accounting Business Expo, a two-day 

blizzard of new ideas, problem solving solutions, cost-saving 

resources, quality learning and networking. 

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• Learn from 120+ authoritative speakers 

• Choose your favourite topics across 6 theatres 

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• Experience non-stop technology demonstrations 

• Discover the latest technology for your business 

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21-22 MARCH 2017 

ICC SYDNEY EXHIBITION CENTRE 

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Top tips for setting up 

your own cloud business 

software advisory service 

raditional Accountancy 

training continues to fall 

short of addressing the diverse 

role accountants will be required 

to fulfill as clients become more 

aware of the efficiencies cloud 

systems offer. With companies 

like WorkflowMax and Cin7 

advertising directly to the end 

user, Xero accountants are finding 

themselves struggling to meet 

client expectations as they come 

looking for advice on operational 

apps. 

Although some Xero practices are 

seeing the opportunity to offer a 

business systems advisory service, 

many are struggling to get to grips 

with the world of apps. This is 

no surprise as it takes time and 

research to understand the nuances 

of competing apps and have the 

confidence to recommend one over 

another. 

Having spoken to many practices 

around the country, from top 50 

firms to the local specialist, the 

problems are often the same. 

So how do you overcome these 

challenges, netting new Xero clients 

and expanding your offer as other 

practices fail to embrace the cloud? 

1) Getting started 

Many practices are overwhelmed 

by the Xero ecosystem. There are 

simply so many apps that the 

task of finding the right one to 

recommend seems enormous. 

2) Managing change 

@Blue_Hub 

Plenty of accountants are reluctant 

to make recommendations due 

to the potential impact (both 

positive and negative) new system 

Matt Flanagan, Co-Founder, BlueHub 

Matt is an industry-renowned cloud 

business systems specialist, working 

in close partnership with forward 

thinking companies, Xero and 

Receipt Bank. Matt has over 15 years’ 

experience in business systems, 

focusing on change management for 

organisations such as HMRC and the 

NHS. 

The world of accounting is a changing landscape, shifting 

from bags of receipts and unfilled invoices to automation and 

artificial intelligence. For those firms that are tackling the 

change head-on, the Xero ecosystem has an overwhelming 

range of add-on Apps. 

T 

TOP TIP 

Reduce the number of apps by identifying 

your niche. Being a specialist in a 

particular area, like hospitality or retailing 

is the best way to create your business 

systems advisory service. You cannot 

understand all the apps for all the clients 

and keep your knowledge current as 

updates are released so regularly. 

You may identify a sector by reviewing 

your existing client base. If not, spend 

some time identifying your practice’s 

strengths and experience so you can 

choose one that reflects your existing 

skill set. 

implementations have on their 

clients’ businesses – and for good 

reason. With tech moving so 

fast, it is difficult to maintain the 

knowledge to confidently provide 

advice. 

TOP TIP 

The nature of cloud accounting is so 

different to traditional methods that 

people and internal processes will need 

to change in line with the new systems 

and ways of working. This is true of the 

function they perform and their mindset 

towards it. Practices are having trouble 

managing change within their teams, as 

the industry has seen little change for 

such a long time. 

If you are unable to find suitable 

advocates within your team, it may be 

necessary to recruit new members who 

are already aware and keen to embrace 

cloud technology. Their mindset needs 

to be suited to a higher degree of risk, 

operational priorities of clients and be 

comfortable giving advice in a fast moving 

environment. 

3) Building a different client 

relationship 

Accountants haven’t really needed 

to explain themselves in their 

marketing activities before, for the 

most part, businesses know what 

services are on offer, they just 

need to know you’re there. When 

launching a new revenue stream in 

business systems advice, it is vital 

to understand how you will market 

and work with your Xero clients. z 

TOP TIP 

You will need to carry out a ‘fact find’ 

to gather information on your client’s 

business activities and processes. This is 

a whole business review, looking closely 

at the way the business operates, the 

current systems they have (whether 

electronic or manual) and who does what. 

This is where you gain the insight to 

offer Apps that will enhance productivity 

but that can be integrated with existing 

systems and that will tick all the 

requirements for the client now and in the 

foreseeable future. 

Marketing is also benefitted from niching 

down (tip 1), as these pre-selected Apps 

can be marketed to both new and existing 

clients, allowing practices to get the most 

use out of the time they have invested in 

learning these new systems. 

4) Balancing App research with fee 

earning responsibilities 

Launching in the business software 

advisory market takes commitment. 

The requirement to complete fee 

earning work often overrides the 

set-up phase and change projects 

stall. 

TOP TIP 

Like any new business, the investment at 

the start makes a difference. Being able 

to give it your undivided attention, or at 

least a significant chunk of your week, is 

essential to put in place the processes 

and research the market. 

If you are unable to persuade practice 

partners to release time to establishing 

the revenue stream, it may be better 

to partner with an advisory service like 

ourselves who can be your port of call 

when you need expert knowledge to solve 

a client’s question. 

You can gain the knowledge of the Xero 

ecosystem while earning from business 

process reviews for your clients. 

Because so many firms are 

experiencing these challenges when 

launching this new revenue stream, 

we created the BlueHub CSR (or 

the less catchy- Cloud Services 

Retainer). This service is ideal for 

firms who are providing (or looking 

to provide) an in-house software 

advisory service for Xero Apps. 

It allows accountants to move 

along a learning pathway to build 

strong relationships with their Xero 

clients, gaining knowledge about 

the ecosystem and having the 

confidence to offer advice without 

needing to pass the client to an 

external company. This allows 

firms to fulfill a fee earning role 

while moving their practice into the 

future. 

The CSR has three tiers to 

accommodate for firms of all sizes. 

Each includes consultancy time with 

our experienced cloud team, access 

to a bank of educational resources 

to support your cloud journey, 

along with regular meetings and 

exclusive member-only events. 




Interview 

Interview 

Q & A 

Michael Wood 

from Receipt Bank 

XU: 

It’s great to be joined 

by Michael Wood, the 

Director of Receipt Bank. The last 

time we spoke to Michael was in 

Issue 02, so we’re delighted to 

be catching up with him again. 

Michael, could you start by telling 

us a bit about Receipt Bank’s 

journey to where you are now? 

MW: 

I have the advantage 

of being one of the 

first people in the world to use 

cloud accounting. So in around 

2007, I had a limited company and I 

was using cloud accounting. I didn’t 

know I was one of the first, I wasn’t 

doing it to be enthusiastic, I was 

actually doing it because I’d made 

such a mess of my accounts that my 

accountants had taken my existing 

package away and said, “try this, 

you’re less likely to muck it up”. 

And so I started using cloud 

accounting very early. And having 

used it for sort of 1 year, 2 years, 

3 years, I really loved the whole 

thing. But I just realised that there 

were a few problems. One of the 

big problems was that suddenly, 

it had become very ambiguous 

as to who was doing my daily 

bookkeeping. So I decided to use 

my influences and look around for 

a software solution that could help 

me deal with the accounts payable 

expenses. 

I came across a service called 

Receipt Farm. It was a postal 

service at the time in 2010 and what 

they said was “post us your receipts 

and your invoices and we will scan 

them and extract the data for you”. 

So I thought, ‘well that sounds 

really good and will really help’ and 

so I started the free trial. I really 

enjoyed the service but it had two 

key problems. The first was that my 

accountant couldn’t access my data 

and therefore be an administrator 

of the account. And equally it didn’t 

send the data straight into my cloud 

accounting package. 

I wrote into the customer service 

guys to say “I love what you’re 

doing but these are the two issues 

I’ve got”. They came back to me to 

say ,“Mr Wood, thank you for your 

feedback but unfortunately we’re 

closing down today”. 

So I wrote straight back to say, “can 

I buy the service?” and that’s how 

Receipt Bank started! 

XU: 

That’s interesting that 

it was the day that 

you rang up that they were closing 

down... 

MW: 

Well exactly, and 

the background to 

that was that I’d helped to build 

a significant accounting package 

in the past and I’d run other 

businesses so I knew the small 

business accounting process and 

business really well, and I saw how 

big and important cloud accounting 

was going to become, and actually 

realised that automation was going 

to become a huge part of that and 

so we started Receipt Bank to help 

accountants and bookkeepers to 

help automate bits of the process. 

XU: 

A lot of Receipt Bank’s 

journey links in with 

the advancement in the Fin Tech 

industry. How has this advancement 

helped Receipt Bank grow? 

MW: 

Absolutely hugely, 

the first key 

technology advance that has 

changed the power of our service 

is actually smart phones in Receipt 

Farm as it started out as a postal 

service. So suddenly the popularity 

of the iPhone and Android allowing 

people to take photos of receipts 

there and then made a huge 

difference. Receipt Bank also was 

a very early investor in AI, and 

our data extraction technology is 

heavily AI-based. 

There still are some humans 

supervising the most difficult of 

invoices, but primarily it’s an AI 

service, so that’s been a huge 

benefit. And there’s various others. 

As I say, our job is to provide 

automation and so there’s various 

trends we have served. 

XU: 

In contrast, has Receipt 

Bank helped the Fin 

Tech industry grow? 

MW: 

I don’t think we 

have yet, what’s 

happening is a lot of people in 

financial services are excited about 

the cloud accounting industry 

because it makes this incredibly 

important data set more available. 

Now whether that’s more available 

to the bank, whether that’s more 

available to the lender or insurer 

or whoever it may be, there’s some 

fantastic data that’s been made 

available by cloud accounting. 

Of course for that data set to be 

valuable, it’s got to be up to date. 

And that’s where Receipt Bank is 

absolutely key because Receipt 

Bank is the key software out there 

that is used by accountants and 

bookkeepers and small businesses 

to make sure their data is up to 

date. And the more up to date it is, 

the more valuable it is. So that’s the 

way that we will contribute to that. 

XU: 

Definitely, and Receipt 

Bank and Xero come 

hand-in-hand from my experience. 

So over the next few years what 

shifts do you think we will see in 

the current trends of technology in 

the Fin Tech industry? Do you see 

any patterns emerging? 

MW: 

What I expect to see 

is the emergence of 

what I call “accounting centaurs”. 

And I do mean centaurs as in Harry 

Potter, mythical creature, halfhorse, 

half-man! There’s a really 

interesting story I think is useful for 

all accountants and bookkeepers 

to be aware of. I think everyone has 

heard about IBM software, Deep 

Blue beating Garry Kasparov at 

chess in 1997. It was really famous 

and made headlines all around the 

world: a computer’s AI beating a 

man in a really key way, and that 

was the headline everyone took 

from it: AI beats very clever man. 

Now what everyone missed is 

actually what happened afterwards. 

Garry Kasparov recognised that 

although he lost to the Deep Blue 

computer, the Deep Blue computer 

wasn’t just artificial intelligence; 

it had a database of chess moves. 

It had all sorts of other computer 

advantages attached to it. And 

afterwards he created a new type 

of chess called “centaur chess”, 

and the whole point of centaur 

chess is that you and I might be 

playing each other and as we play 




Interview 

Interview 

each other, we have computer 

assistance. 

So I may be thinking of moving my 

pawn to there and the computer 

says, “actually if you do that, you 

could do this”. It gives all sorts 

of suggestions and tests your 

thinking, and so you as the human 

player are still in control but you 

have the ability of the computer 

to help you to make the best 

decisions. 

So the Kasparov vs. IBM game was 

portrayed as a triumph of machine 

over man, when actually what came 

out the back of this was that the 

best result was a combination of 

machine and man. 

Where I think it’s really exciting 

now is we’re beginning to enter 

the era of “centaur accounting”: 

the accountant or bookkeeper is 

taking advantage of all these new AI 

technologies. There will basically be 

three options: 

Ignoring the new technologies 

which would give a bad result for 

the firm or individual involved 

because it will not be as cost 

effective, it won’t be as efficient, 

they won’t actually be as good at 

their job. In the way that Kasparov 

was a better chess player by having 

the computer next to him, the 

accountant or bookkeeper who 

takes advantage of these new AI 

technologies, will be better at their 

job, so to ignore this would be a 

bad thing. 

Equally, for the small businesses to 

conclude right now, “oh there’s all 

these new technologies, I no longer 

need a human looking at my books 

or accounts” would be premature. 

So the best result for everyone is… 

The accountant or bookkeepers 

powered by the new technology, 

just as it has been in chess and 

other areas. 

So what will be really interesting 

is the rise of these “centaur 

accountants”. 

XU: 

So then how do you 

think the rise of 

“centaur accountants” will benefit 

Receipt Bank? 

MW: 

It benefits Receipt 

Bank in that we are 

unquestionably the leading vendor 

of AI technology. I get up in the 

morning because I think we’re doing 

something that’s really powerful 

and really useful to an awful lot of 

people. It’s beneficial to us because 

this is our moment to shine. We’ve 

been doing it for a long time and 

getting better and better at it, and 

we’re able to help more and more 

people every day; Receipt Bank has 

more than 100,000 users in the Xero 

community. This is our moment to 

keep getting better and better. 

I think there’s a challenge in our 

opportunity, because we have 

to be as good as we can be, but 

hopefully we can help all these 

small businesses, accountants and 

bookkeepers to make the most of 

the data they have. 

XU: 

And how do you feel 

the Making Tax Digital 

(MTD) movement by HMRC will 

affect the UK Fin Tech industry? 

MW: 

The trouble with 

MTD is it’s got a bad 

title, because it suggests that HMRC 

are making tax digital. The reality 

is they are recognising that tax is 

digital. So all these transactions, 

the bank fees, the data in Xero, 

the digitised items from Receipt 

Bank, the data from the POS system 

etc., it’s all digital today. So even 

though they say they’re making tax 

digital, they’re not making it digital 

they’re just recognising that all the 

transactions nowadays are digital 

and therefore it makes sense for 

them to deal with them in a digital 

way. 

What it means in the UK, because 

HMRC have been one of the first tax 

authorities to recognise this and 

respond, by no means are they the 

only one. Some of the debate in the 

UK is that even though HMRC are 

doing something outlandish and 

different, there are actually many 

tax authorities around the world 

looking at this and trying to move in 

the same direction. 

But because HMRC have set out 

such a clear timeline, is means that 

the UK is going to be quite in the 

vanguard of this and there’s also 2 

or 3 other regulations in the UK that 

will be a vanguard for Fin Tech - one 

of which is the insistence of all UK 

banks having API which means 

much better quality bank feeds, as 

well as many other ramifications. 

So the UK government has done 

2 or 3 things to make sure UK 

businesses are at the forefront of 

getting access to their data and 

being able to use their financial 

data. 

XU: 

Last year we reported 

that Receipt Bank 

managed to secure a cash 

investment, how has this helped 

Receipt Bank grow? 

MW: 

It was really 

important for us 

to take investment on. Growing a 

company that grows as fast as ours 

is an expensive business, the way 

that Xero shareholders invested a 

lot of money in Xero to grow: it’s an 

expensive business. 

hey key thing for us is we are one 

of the largest AI teams working 

in accountancy software anyway 

around the world. And to have that 

working day-to-day on all sorts of 

bookkeeping workflows to help our 

partners and our clients has been 

fantastic. 

XU: 

Receipt Bank has a 

worldwide presence 

and we’ve had the pleasure 

of meeting your teams from 

various places. What are the 

main challenges of having a team 

working across the globe? 

MW: 

The odd thing is we 

are symptomatic of 

a new type of international global 

business. If we think back to our 

childhood, a global business means 

something like Coca Cola or Ford; a 

global business means something 

like tens of thousands of employees 

and every office is huge. 

Whereas now tech has meant, to 

become global, each business 

in some way is not that large. 

It might be 20 people in one 

country, ten people in another… 

so the challenges we had were 

combining relatively quite small, 

local teams with a global footprint 

and that comes up with all sorts of 

challenges of internal processing, 

HR, finance, marketing. It’s the 

newer type of footprint that we and 

others are having to learn. 

XU: 

And on the flip side, 

what are the benefits of 

having a team working worldwide? 

MW: 

It has been 

absolutely key 

for us. I remember when we first 

started out in the UK and I started 

getting all these enquiries from 

Australia, New Zealand, America, 

Canada, Singapore, everywhere 

that Xero is. We were getting 

phone calls from accountants and 

bookkeepers saying, “we’d love to 

use your service”. And to be honest 

there were only so many calls I 

could do at midnight and 5am and 

6am before we realised we needed 

to have a local presence. So it was 

very exciting to be taking these 

phone calls and very interesting, 

but at the end of the day if you want 

to have a world-class product, you 

need to have people locally. 

XU: 

And from meeting your 

teams from around the 

world, they are definitely a credit to 

you! One thing I’m sure a lot of our 

subscribers are wanting to know is 

what new and exciting plans Receipt 

Bank have planned for 2017? 

MW: 

We do have lots 

coming up. We are 

really excited about our road map. 

We’ve tried to work really hard at 

Receipt Bank on ‘what does an 

accounting firm look like in 2025, 

or around 5 years time from now?’ 

and ‘what makes an accounting firm 

successful and a winner in 5 years 

time?’. 

We’re working really hard on the 

software solutions that enable our 

partners to be one of those winners. 

What accounting firms can be really 

encouraged by is that we are doing 

this, and Xero is doing the same… 

spending a lot of time on ‘what does 

a successful firm look like in 2025 

and what do they need to have?’ 

and we’re starting to build that 

today. And then we work out what 

to release this year and next year 

and in 2020. 

So rather than focussing on one 

thing, that’s what excites me. We’re 

thinking about the problems that 

firms are going to hit and make 

sure we have the solution ready for 

them. 

XU: 

That’s really exciting 

and a great way to look 

at it. Now, Receipt Bank manage 

to stand out at every event, not 

just with there great staff but their 

choice of colour. The big question I 

need to ask is: why orange?! 

MW: 

I can tell you the 

exact answer to 

this because it was my choice! 

I am a scientist by background, 

and we attended several Xerocons 

and roadshows and it was really 

obvious that Xero was blue, Vend 

was green, Unleashed was red, and 

no one had taken orange. And so 

Receipt Bank became orange, and 

that is the honest reason! 

XU: 

MW: 

That’s pretty similar to 

why we’re pink! 

We literally just 

wanted to make 

sure we were distinct at Xerocons 

and that’s why we chose orange. 

XU: 

And I know that, as 

the App eco-system 

expands, some new apps have 

chosen orange and others have 

rebranded to it… do you foresee 

changing from this colour at Receipt 

Bank? 

MW: 

about hugely. 

XU: 

I don’t know, it’s not 

something I think 

And it’s good for you, 

because a lot of people 

associate the colour orange with 

Receipt Bank and so if someone 

is seen walking around with an 

orange t shirt at Xerocon, it’s 

presumed that they’re with you! 

MW: Exactly! 




Cover Story 

Cover Story 

How the Financial Web is 

transforming the traditional 

lending landscape 

Steven Renwick, CEO of business finance firm Satago, one of 

Xero’s first financial services partners in the UK, explains how 

a new breed of FinTechs has emerged to transform the SME 

funding landscape... 

D 

isruptive innovation 

designed to break 

the stranglehold of dominant 

business models shows no signs 

of abating. Netflix, Amazon, Uber 

and Airbnb are the doyens of 

the on-demand economy as we 

know it today, inspiring entire 

generations of technologydriven 

businesses to challenge 

established models and strategies. 

Indeed Xero itself allows business 

owners on-demand access to 

financial information that would 

previously have been siloed within 

inaccessible desktop accounting 

software. 

However, the financial services 

industry, long overdue radical 

transformation, has been slow 

to embrace (or arguably quick 

to resist) this form of disruptive 

thinking. 

When I started to look at the 

SME finance market, I was 

pretty shocked at how little the 

commercial finance industry had 

changed. Traditional lenders may 

now offer multi-channel delivery, 

including mobile, tablet, instant 

messaging and webchat, but when 

you peel away the veneer of digital 

@SatagoHQ 

delivery, the products haven’t 

altered fundamentally for decades. 

SAP’s Digitalist Magazine recently 

said: “There is a lot of talk about 

digital transformation by banks, 

but the reality is that – despite 

what they say – they are not 

doing it. What the vast majority of 

banks are actually doing is digital 

enablement. They are simply using 

digital technologies to do what they 

are doing today, only slightly better. 

There is nothing transformational 

about what they are doing.” 

The key imperative to market 

disruption is to re-imagine a new 

ecosystem that meets the needs 

of the customer, not the lender. 

Critical to the development of this 

new ecosystem is the access to 

data afforded by cloud-accounting 

software, such as Xero. 

For far too long the focus has 

drifted the other way, fostering 

an environment in which big bank 

rules have prevailed unchallenged 

and facility limits and ceilings have 

continued to restrict the growth of 

SME businesses. 

Steven Renwick, Founder and CEO, 

Satago 

Steven founded Satago after 

experiencing late-payment in his 

family business in the construction 

sector in Scotland. In a previous life 

he was a research scientist with a PhD 

in Genetics. 

Selectivity is the key 

Traditionally, banks have been 

the primary source of working 

capital funding for SMEs. However, 

regulation has meant that 

increasingly these large financial 

institutions have to be very 

selective in terms of the companies 

to which they will provide funding, 

regrettably leading to the exclusion 

of many small businesses. Basel III 

regulation is putting banks under 

growing pressure to maintain higher 

capital ratios as they look to rebuild 

their capital bases and de-risk their 

balance sheets, making lending to 

small businesses far less attractive 

to them. 

This enforced reticence to lend to 

SMEs is causing huge cash flow 

headaches for small businesses, 

especially those that have relied 

upon bank financing in the past to 

plug short-term funding gaps. 

Ironically, this selectivity in terms 

of underwriting from the large 

market incumbents has created an 

even greater choice for SMEs than 

ever before – in the form of a new 

wave of nimble, digitally driven 

alternative financiers, such as 

Satago. 

By leveraging cloud technology, 

real-time data and analytics tools, 

these new FinTechs are able to 

provide businesses with fast, 

flexible and frictionless funding on 

a scale hitherto unimagined. 

Here, selectivity has a positive part 

to play. For many years, the only 

invoice finance options available 

to businesses have been based 

on a ‘whole sales ledger facility’, 

in which they are locked into a 

contract and the attendant fees 

– which can prove a very costly 

form of working capital indeed. 

Today, through leveraging cloud 

technology, business owners are 

able to obtain access to cash 

(previously tied up in approved 

invoices) instantly on demand – on 

a selective basis. Unlike before, 

they are now completely free to 

decide when and how much they 

borrow, and for how long; giving 

them greater oversight of costs 

and far more control over their 

borrowing. 

The Financial Web 

The game-changing technological 

advancement that has driven this 

level of finance innovation has 

been termed the “Financial Web”. 

In summary it is the ability for 

finance providers to seamlessly 

integrate their applications with 

leading business accounting 

packages, such as Xero. Small 

business owners can now authorise 

and securely share their financial 

reports with business lenders, such 

as Satago. Connect, click, cash: It 

really is that easy for businesses 

to access the working capital SMEs 

need instantly, 24/7. Thanks to 

the Financial Web they can simply 

choose the invoices they want 

to finance and they are paid on 

demand. 

Try Then invoice I found reminders credit reports at satago.com 

from 

Harnessing cloud technology to 

improve financial health 

Funding on demand is not the only 

digitally-driven transformation on 

offer. Alternative financiers are 

also harnessing cloud technology 

to give smaller businesses tools 

that will help them get paid on 

time. Satago’s enhanced credit 

management tools are already 

succeeding in improving the 

financial health of small businesses, 

reducing the time they spend on 

credit control by up to 80%. 

This provides the same level of 

sophisticated credit management 

and dashboards to SMEs as their 

far larger competitors, effectively 

levelling the playing field. It allows 

for real-time cash flow monitoring 

at a glance, as well as greater risk 

“Make I recently your lost cash money flow with when Satago, a customer your all-in-one 

went into 

cashflow administraaon. soluuon. It Spend dawned less on me chasing that I'd never customers 

really 

with known our who automated I was doing invoice business reminder with. 

system. 

oversight and management. 

When you consider that the deaths 

of 50,000 businesses in the UK 

through late payment could be 

avoided every year – this is a vital 

innovation. 

“ 

In the face of falling access to 

traditional lending, SMEs can be 

assured that there are now better 

alternatives; agile FinTech-based 

options designed to offer business 

owners flexibility and control 

without the overbearing constraints 

of their predecessors. 

Now on-demand business finance is 

a reality, business owners can focus 

their energies on what is most 

important in their lives – fulfilling 

their business ambitions. 





From rock music 

@I_am_wordstruck 

Michelle Nicol, Freelance Writer, 

Wordstruck Writing and Training 

Michelle is a freelance writer, trainer 

and tone of voice consultant who 

helps businesses tell their story 

using words that connect with their 

customers. A former BBC journalist, 

she also provides business and 

creative writing workshops. 

be doing because they won’t make 

money.” 

Working in the cloud 

Because David’s consultancy takes 

him to customer sites all over the 

UK, he understands the flexible 

advantage that cloud-based 

working offers to businesses, 

including his own. 

photographer to helping 

businesses develop 

Life on the road with David Lloyd 

Williams of Principality Consulting... 

“ 

Years ago, when I was an 

apprentice, I used to take 

my camera and take photographs 

of the big bands that came to the 

North Wales theatres. It was all 

in black and white and I used to 

develop it myself and send the 

bands some pictures. Eventually I 

took a photograph of Queen, sent it 

to Brian May and he stuck it on his 

website. I was pretty pleased with 

that.” 

These days, David Lloyd Williams 

has turned the keen eye that 

once photographed travelling 

rock guitarists towards helping 

businesses run more efficiently. As 

Managing Director of Principality 

Consulting, he helps companies 

find IT solutions that will improve 

their businesses. 

Finding efficiencies to support 

business success 

“I enjoy finding a business, applying 

some lean principles… improving 

the way that business works, and 

locking in the improvements we find 

with some software which can make 

sure that the gains we find can be 

sustained throughout the life of the 

business,” David explains. 

His consultancy services cover 

everything from accounting 

and financial systems, to fully 

integrated ERP systems for larger 

companies. 

The lean principles that David 

talks about apply to a method of 

business improvement originally 

invented by Toyota in Japan. The 

method has spread from the 

automotive to the manufacturing 

industry and is now used by many 

kinds of business to drive efficiency. 

company in Holyhead, North Wales. 

The company was set up following 

redundancies at the aluminium 

smelter in the town, where David 

himself used to work. 

“I went off and started my 

own business, and one of my 

colleagues, Martin Davies, 

started his own business, in metal 

fabrication. We came together again 

at a meeting, and it seemed I could 

help him improve his systems. I 

mapped his work process, looked 

at what he did, what he needed 

and then came up with a number of 

recommendations.” 

With help from former owners of 

Rio Tinto, three former employees 

of the smelting plant, including 

Martin Davies, set up metal 

fabrication company PFS Ltd. They 

now work out of the old engineering 

workshop that used to serve the 

plant and employ 16 people. 

Recommended software 

After looking at all the different 

processes within the business and 

assessing its needs, 

David recommended that PFS 

Ltd use cloud-based project 

management software TidyWork. 

This solution gives the company 

greater visibility of the profitability 

of their different projects and 

integrates with Xero to provide the 

lowdown on their financial figures. 

Although still in the early days of 

implementation, the software is 

already having a positive impact, 

as David explains: “They’re already 

seeing a number of improvements. 

Martin can see now what projects 

are making a profit, what projects 

are not making a profit. Previously 

although he had a gut feel, he 

couldn’t put a figure to it.” 

“All the time expended on any 

project, all the materials being 

expended on a project, everything 

goes into the project on TidyWork, 

so there’s a figure for everything,” 

he continues. “He’s now starting to 

make business decisions on some 

projects, that maybe they shouldn’t 

“Cloud has changed everything,” 

he says. “Principality don’t have 

an office anymore. We just have 

cloud-based systems. We share 

information using the cloud. It’s 

meant that we’ve reduced our fixed 

costs because we don’t have offices 

and we’re able to get out a lot more 

and meet more customers.” 

Life on the road 

Visiting customer sites and offering 

advice and consultancy takes 

David from Fort William in Scotland 

to South Wales and many places 

in between. As well as helping 

businesses work more efficiently, 

travelling by rail and road does 

occasionally allow him to indulge 

his love of photography: “As I’m 

travelling, I might see a nice picture 

and stop to take it. Phones these 

days are fantastic. You have your 

phone with you wherever you go 

and they take fantastic pictures. So, 

not so much band photography any 

more, but I do still take pictures.” 

In his role as a consultant, David 

has found lean methodology very 

effective: “We tend to find that for 

every pound of consultancy that we 

give a business, we can save them 

£10 a year in efficiency savings.” 

Bringing a redundant site back to 

life 

One of the companies that 

David works with is Professional 

Fabrication Services (PFS Ltd), 

an engineering and fabrication 




Why philanthropy matters: 

your small business guide 

to giving 

Social responsibility initiatives offer profound benefits for small 

businesses and the communities they care about. Better yet, 

they don’t have to cost a fortune. Caitlin Sisley explores some 

budget friendly possibilities, and the positive flow-on effects of 

inspiring a ‘culture of giving’ within your business... 

2 

016 was a strange and 

unsettling year. 

As a global community we were 

brought to our knees by shocking 

political events, civil unrest, 

extreme earthquakes and the 

devastating crisis in Syria. We 

wept as many of our beloved 

musical icons passed away - 

including Bowie, Prince and 

Leonard Cohen. 

The year as a whole left many of 

us feeling shaken, in need of a hug 

and a stiff drink. 

In the wake of this turmoil and 

sadness, how we treat our fellow 

humans in 2017 seems more 

important than ever. I hope we see 

a renewed focus on community and 

caring. I hope more people start 

embracing humanitarian ideals on 

both a personal and professional 

level. 

It’s time to bring compassion, 

empathy and generosity back into 

our daily lives; and small business 

@WorkflowMax 

has an important role to play. 

Corporate Social Responsibility 

We’ve all heard of Corporate 

Social Responsibility (CSR), or a 

regime of corporate contributions 

intended to improve the wellbeing 

of communities. The term is usually 

reserved for big entities with 

loads of cash and entire marketing 

divisions, performing grand 

charitable gestures to boost their 

profile and impress stakeholders. 

But as a small business, CSR 

doesn’t apply to you, right? You 

simply don’t have the same 

resources as a corporate entity. 

You’re strapped for time every day 

as you juggle family commitments 

and entrepreneurship. Every 

expense - financial or otherwise - 

needs to be justified. 

How can you commit to charitable 

giving and social responsibility 

when you barely have time to pay 

taxes? 

Caitlin Sisley, Marketing Content 

Writer, WorkflowMax 

Caitlin has over six years of experience 

in the digital content world and has 

worked on social media campaigns, 

SEO blogs, press releases and creative 

copy for a large number of New 

Zealand businesses. With a Master’s 

Degree in Human Rights, she is not 

only passionate about business but 

also corporate responsibility, ethics 

and humanitarian issues. 

The Small Business Advantage 

Funnily enough, there are 

actually several advantages small 

businesses have when it comes 

to corporate social responsibility. 

Firstly, as a small business you’re 

flexible. You can respond to urgent 

community needs or perform 

spontaneous charitable actions 

without getting embroiled in miles 

of red tape. You don’t answer to 

a rigid panel of stakeholders or 

figureheads. You get things done. 

Secondly, as a small business 

owner I bet you’re already 

passionate about making a positive 

impact on your community. What’s 

more, you have local connections 

and are well-informed about 

relevant issues. It won’t take as 

much research for you to pinpoint 

the areas where you can make a 

difference - and the local issues you 

choose will be close to your heart. 

With that in mind, here are some 

budget-friendly suggestions 

to get you started on a social 

responsibility plan. It’s by no means 

an exhaustive list, but more of a 

starting point to get your creative 

juices flowing. 

• Offer Free Marketing. Aside from 

direct donations, free marketing 

is one of the simplest ways 

to support a local charitable 

organisation. However, poorly 

selected campaigns can appear 

superficial and opportunistic - so 

it’s important to choose a charity 

that genuinely aligns with your 

company values. Offer them 

marketing space on your website, 

email newsletter promotions, 

or even your pro bono services. 

Over time you should be able to 

cultivate a mutually beneficial 

partnership. 

• Give Blood as a Team. Encourage 

your staff to participate in the 

essential, life-saving activity of 

donating blood. Most services 

(including NZ Blood and 

Australian Red Cross) will visit 

your workplace if enough staff 

members sign up. You may even 

be notified when your blood 

is used to save a life. A single 

donation can save the lives of up 

to 3 people, and you can donate 

every 3 months (or 2-3 weeks for 

plasma donations). Imagine the 

potential impact your company 

could have just by implementing 

a quarterly donation scheme. 

• Support Your Local Refugee 

Centre. There are many ways 

small businesses can help 

refugee centres, aside from direct 

donations. You could organise 

a regular donation drive for 

employees to bring in clothing, 

books or unwanted gifts. Some 

companies choose to lend 

their office space after-hours 

for refugee language classes 

and employment training. It’s a 

powerful way to help those less 

fortunate than us to build better 

lives, and in turn give back to the 

community themselves. 

• Host a ‘Buy 1, Give 1’ Lunch. 

Here in New Zealand there’s 

a wonderful social enterprise 

called Eat My Lunch, which 

operates on the ‘buy one, give 

one’ philosophy. For each packed 

lunch you buy, they’ll donate 

a meal to a local school so an 

underprivileged child doesn’t 

go hungry. It’s an inspiring 

business model. Consider using 

their service the next time you 

facilitate a staff lunch, or adopt 

your own ‘buy 1, give 1’ approach 

to catering. 

• Enter a Sports Event. There are 

many opportunities to make a 

difference by entering your staff 

in sporting events like Oxfam 

Trailwalker, the London Marathon 

or Auckland’s Round the Bays. 

You can maximise their impact by 

matching fundraising efforts or 

making product donations in your 

company name. Last year several 

Xero employees entered the BDO 

Wellington to Auckland Cycle 

Challenge, riding their bikes for 

seven straight days and travelling 

almost 800km! 

• Give Back to the Environment. 

Businesses of all sizes leave a 

bigger carbon footprint than 

individuals, but at least you 

can minimise the damage. 

There are thousands of ways 

your company can show its 

commitment to ‘going green’. 

You could implement a companywide 

recycling policy, source 

your materials from local and 

sustainable producers, or 

participate in power-saving 

regimes. Staff volunteer days like 

native tree planting double as 

excellent team building activities. 

• Support Local Youth. Young 




people are the future, and 

Generation Z will face unique 

challenges in their lifetimes. It’s 

important that we support their 

development and encourage 

them to become changemakers 

and innovators. You could 

arrange mentorship for young 

leaders in your business field or 

create a rewarding internship 

program for students. Often 

these partnerships will offer 

mutually beneficial marketing 

opportunities. 

• Have Paid Volunteer Days. A 

powerful way of motivating 

employees is offering them 

optional paid days off to 

volunteer at charitable 

organisations of their choice. This 

is usually done on a quarterly 

or annual basis. Not only does 

it show your commitment to 

supporting your community, it 

also helps to empower staff by 

allowing them to engage with 

causes they are passionate 

about. Often they will learn 

valuable soft skills in the process. 

The secret to making these 

initiatives a success is perseverance 

and consistency. Be selective 

with causes, choose a niche that 

fuels your passion (and that of 

your employees). Then stick to a 

schedule. A once-off good deed will 

quickly vanish from memory, but if 

you work regular commitments into 

your business model you’ll soon 

see rewards. 

The Flow-On Effects 

You might be cynical enough to ask, 

“what’s in it for me?” 

In this era of social media, 

reputation spreads fast, and 

companies that are perceived as 

humanitarian or environmentally 

sustainable will quickly earn the 

loyalty of discerning consumers 

while differentiating themselves 

from competitors. 

In fact, making social responsibility 

part of your mission statement can 

boost your brand trustworthiness, 

increase sales and improve 

customer retention rates. You may 

even attract the attention of likeminded 

investors. 

And of course, charitable donations 

are often tax deductible at the end 

of the financial year. Speak with 

your Xero certified accountant 

to learn more about claiming tax 

rebates or credits. 

A Culture of Giving 

Today’s workforce are no longer 

driven simply by paychecks. 

Increasingly, employees want to 

do work they perceive as having a 

positive impact upon the world, or 

at least their local community and 

environment. And philanthropy 

tends to be highly contagious. 

Implementing social responsibility 

initiatives from above usually has 

a trickle down effect, and over time 

can foster a ‘culture of giving’ at 

every level of your business. 

This culture of giving means staff 

are more likely to offer their time 

willingly, take pride in their work, 

share skills, and be generous 

and helpful towards colleagues. 

The nature of striving towards a 

shared social cause encourages 

collaborative work, leadership and 

innovation. 

Job + project + 

stock management 

“ 

TidyEnterprise 

POWERFUL SOFTWARE 

DELIGHTFULLY SIMPLE 

Tidy helps streamline manufacturing: 

is making the running of my business something 

that’s visible and measurable, which before wasn’t always the 

case. TidyEnterprise gives me data and transparency on two key 

areas - money that’s being spent and what people are doing. 

It shows me graphically and with clear data, where we’re being 

productive, and where we’re not. 

Martin Davies, Manging Director, Professional Fabrication Services, UK 

Users of 

” 

Not only does philanthropy feel 

good, your business can benefit 

from a number of flow-on effects 

when you adopt a robust social 

responsibility plan. 

Perhaps the most compelling 

secondary impact of social 

responsibility is the culture it 

creates within your company ranks. 

In short, everyone wins. And a little 

humanity is something we could all 

use more of in 2017. 

JOB 

MANAGEMENT 

STOCK 

MANAGEMENT 

CONSTRUCTION 

MANAGEMENT 

MANUFACTURING 

turn to page 46 

Try free 

tidyinternational.com 




Apps Compared 

Apps Compared 

Compared: 

Time & attendance App comparison 

For more information, please visit: 

TSheets - tsheets.com 

Deputy - deputy.com 

Zuus - zuusworkforce.com 

MinuteDock - minutedock.com 

Core Functionality 

TSheets Deputy Zuus MinuteDock 

Time Tracking ü ü ü ü 

Scheduling & Rostering ü ü ü - 

Award Interpretation - ü ü - 

Invoicing within the App ü - - ü 

Time Tracking 

Start and stop timesheet on App ü ü ü ü 

Track time for multiple locations/stores ü ü ü ü 

Track budgets, targets & hourly retainers - - ü ü 

GPS Location Tracking ü ü ü - 

Start and Stop Shifts via Text Message ü ü - - 

Scheduling & Rostering 

Drag & Drop Scheduling ü ü ü - 

Copy previous schedule ü ü ü - 

Schedule by Job or Task ü ü ü - 

Allocate employees to teams for team scheduling ü ü ü - 

Calculate expected & actual cost per employee - ü ü - 

Schedule based on skill/role - ü ü - 

Employees can swap shifts with App - ü ü - 

Employees can self manage their leave & 

unavailability 

Reporting 

ü ü ü - 

Customisable Reports ü - ü ü 

Save Report Templates - - ü ü 

Graph wages against expected sales - ü ü - 

Client view - - ü ü 

TSheets Deputy Zuus MinuteDock 

Mobile App 

iOS ü ü ü ü 

Android ü ü ü ü 

Accounting Integrations 

Xero ü ü ü ü 

MYOB - ü ü ü 

QuickBooks Online ü ü - ü 

Xero Integration 

Integration to Xero Payroll ü ü ü - 

Post to Tracking Category/Group Level (Payroll) ü ü ü - 

Manual Import Timesheets to Xero - - ü - 

Automatically Import Timesheets to Xero ü ü ü - 

Employee Information Synced with Xero ü ü ü - 

Integration to Xero Invoicing ü ü - ü 

Send time billed to invoice in Xero ü ü - ü 

Post to Tracking Category/Group Level (Invoicing) - - - ü 

Payroll Integrations 

Gusto (US) ü ü - - 

iPayroll (NZ) / CloudPayroll (AU) - ü - - 

MyPaye (UK) - ü - - 

WageEasy (AU) - ü ü - 

Other Integrations 

Vend - ü - - 

Kounta - ü - - 

Square ü ü - - 

Revel Systems - ü ü - 

Google Calendar ü ü - - 

Microsoft Outlook ü ü - - 

This information was true and correct at the time of publishing. Releases happen all the time. Please contact the App for the latest release information. 

Compiled by Jeri Murphy, Co-Founder of WhichAddOn.com 




Tutorial 

Tutorial 

Streamline your invoicing 

with WorkflowMax... and 

get paid faster 

Invoicing is one of the best parts of doing business - the part 

where you get paid. But a clunky system can cause massive 

headaches and hours of time lost on administration. With 

WorkflowMax you can create beautiful, customised invoices 

and push them through to Xero seamlessly. Follow these steps 

to streamline your entire invoicing process and get paid faster... 

W 

orkflowMax - a Xero owned 

product - is a powerful allin-one 

system for job management, 

time tracking, quoting, reporting 

and invoicing. Our cloud based 

software integrates seamlessly with 

Xero, creating a complete end-toend 

business solution. Invoicing 

with WorkflowMax has a number of 

benefits for users. You can manage 

your invoices from one central 

place, get a detailed snapshot of 

how your cashflow is looking and 

instantly see which clients owe you 

money. You have the freedom to 

invoice based on actual time and 

costs or quoted amounts. Combine 

this power and flexibility with our 

beautiful branding options and 

you’ll soon find out that invoicing 

doesn’t have to be a chore. 

Step 1: Choose Your Invoice Type 

WorkflowMax presents you with 

several options for calculating 

invoices. This lets you tailor each 

invoice to suit your business needs. 

@WorkflowMax 

• Actual time and costs 

Pull through data from 

WorkflowMax timesheets for 

accurate time and cost billing. 

• Quoted/estimated time and 

costs 

Use your quotes to generate 

invoices based on estimated time 

and costs. 

• Percentage of quoted value 

Invoice based on a percentage of 

your quoted job value. 

• Progress amount / deposit 

Split jobs into progress payments 

Caitlin Sisley, Marketing Content 

Writer, WorkflowMax 

Caitlin has over six years of experience 

in the digital content world and has 

worked on social media campaigns, 

SEO blogs, press releases and creative 

copy for a large number of New 

Zealand businesses. With a Master’s 

Degree in Human Rights, she is not 

only passionate about business but 

also corporate responsibility, ethics 

and humanitarian issues. 

for the work completed to date. 

Track payments. 

Step 2: Create Custom Rates 

It’s likely that you have projects or 

clients where you need different 

rates for each staff member at a 

task or job level - for example, you 

might have a standard rate and an 

overtime rate that you want to use 

on the same job. 

By setting up custom billing rates 

you can save yourself hours of 

complex timesheet calculations. 

Custom rates can be applied to 

team members, tasks within a job, 

or even clients. 

Step 3: Adjust Your Invoices 

Sometimes you’ll want to adjust 

time or costs before sending an 

invoice. Maybe your staff took too 

long on a job and you need to write 

off time. Or perhaps you underquoted 

and need to add costs. No 

problem! 

WorkflowMax gives you complete 

control of your invoices, allowing 

you to edit details before sending. 

Use override rates to change the 

amount charged for tasks, clients or 

jobs as needed. 

Step 4: Make it Beautiful 

Professionalism, branding and 

consistency are important - that’s 

why we offer fully customisable 

templates to create invoices that 

look exactly the way you want. 

Use our custom template builder 

to add your own logo, branding, 

payment terms and optional extras. 

Save custom templates for future 

use, then send beautiful invoices in 

a matter of minutes. 

Step 5: Integrate With Xero 

If you haven’t already, make sure 

you connect WorkflowMax to your 

Xero account. By integrating the 

two systems you’ll avoid double 

handling of invoices - saving 

yourself even more time. 

Sales invoices can be automatically 

pushed from WorkflowMax to 

Xero after approval. Payments 

in Xero will be synced with 

the corresponding invoice in 

WorkflowMax, giving you an 

accurate picture of profitability 

per job. It’s a powerful, end-to-end 

solution. 

Step 6: Generate Detailed Reports 

WorkflowMax lets you generate a 

range of comprehensive invoice 

reports. Get a monthly overview of 

the money you’ve generated this 

month, or see an instant snapshot 

of billable jobs. Export a list of 

unpaid invoices so you can follow 

up with late clients. 

Our powerful invoicing reports are 

designed to give you full visibility 

of your business, help you improve 

cashflow and get paid faster. 

Key Benefits of Invoicing with WorkflowMax & Xero: 

• Seamless Integration. Push invoices 

from WorkflowMax through to Xero at the 

click of a button. Payments in Xero are 

signed off in WorkflowMax automatically. 

• Flexibility. Choose from a wide range of 

options in WorkflowMax to determine 

how invoices are calculated. Edit staff, 

job and task rates as needed. 

• The Brand Factor. Get your invoice 

looking exactly the way you want in 

WorkflowMax - add your logo, payment 

terms or any optional extras. 

• Powerful Insights. Get an accurate view 

of your business profitability as purchase 

orders, invoices, and payments move 

between Xero and WorkflowMax. 




@notchabovebas 

Jac Gallagher, Xero Certified 

Advisor & Accountant, Notch Above 

Bookkeeping 

Jac uses her Xero expertise to build 

systems that simplify workflows and 

the lives of small business owners. As 

a wife, a mum to three kids, and also 

a business owner, she knows how 

busy life can get and understands the 

pressures of small business. In her 

spare time you will find Jac outdoors 

enjoying the beach or a bush walk. 

5 silly excuses we give 

a file could easily happen. But 

the possibility of losing all your 

digital documents stored in a cloud 

system? Is unheard of. Remember, 

you always have backups even if it 

did occur. 

Think of storing your documents 

in the cloud as a form of business 

insurance, in case the worst 

happens. You wouldn’t travel 

anywhere or do anything without 

insurance. So why risk your source 

of income? 

for not going paperless 

Excuse #3: “I don’t know where to 

start. There are too many options 

out there.” 

After years of handling clients’ data, I’ve found that a lot of 

businesses are still clinging on to a paper-based system. It’s such 

a shame because there are massive benefits when you store your 

documents digitally, especially your invoices and receipts... 

Any bookkeeper worth their salt 

will be able to help you organize 

your documents digitally. All it 

takes is careful planning and some 

time set aside weekly. Most cloud 

accounting systems now give 

allowance for file storage. 

T 

his is why Xero’s latest 

survey failed to surprise 

me. Here are the facts: 

• 65% of small businesses in 

Australia store some of their 

receipts and invoices in boxes or 

files. 

• Over 50% of respondents admit 

their filing system isn’t very 

organised. 

• Less than 4% do not have any 

system for storing receipts and 

invoices. 

I know it’s not easy to commit to 

going paperless. It’s a lot of work. 

While I understand their concerns 

and fears, I want to show that the 

benefits far outweigh the initial 

investment and work. These are 5 

common excuses I’ve heard over 

the years. 

Excuse #1: “I know where 

everything is and I can easily find 

the document I want quickly” 

In fact, you can work anywhere 

when everything is stored online. 

Sit on a park bench and enjoy the 

fresh air. Type away in a café and 

smell the morning coffee. Work 

from home while minding the 

kids. You’re no longer tied to a 

physical space. You can pull up your 

documents instantly from the cloud 

and get cracking. 

We’ve all heard the saying: If it isn’t 

broke, don’t fix it. The problem with 

having everything on paper is that 

your business is not disaster proof. 

All it takes is a momentary lapse 

of judgement and all hell could 

break loose. It could be as simple 

as a coffee spill or as tragic as a fire 

in the office. Think of what would 

Xero allows you to attach files 

with your transactions. I can’t tell 

you how practical and useful this 

feature is because you can organise 

all your documents on the spot, 

rather than leaving them to pile up 

on your desk so you can sort it out 

one fine day. 

There is also software that can scan 

your documents and extract all the 

important information into your 

accounting system so you don’t 

have to flip through them one by 

one. Take a look at Receipt Bank, 

which integrates beautifully with 

Xero. 

Digital storage also means using 

less physical space in your office, 

helping you reduce clutter. Who 

wouldn’t love to start work every 

day on a clean desk? Before you’d 

know it, you will be fully loving your 

digital filing system and wondering 

how on earth did you manage to do 

without it. 

Excuse #4: “My accounts guy likes 

to work with paper.” 

What if you need to collaborate 

with people? What about the rest 

of your team? It may be okay for a 

few, but others might find it difficult 

and tedious to work with paper. In 

a cloud system, all the documents 

can be easily accessed and edited 

by team members. 

Your team can now collaborate 

easier and get the job done quickly 

without physically sitting next 

to each other while poring over 

documents. This is a simple way to 

increase productivity in the office. 

Then again, who says you need to 

be in the office to work? 

Excuse #5: “The current system 

in place needs a signature so 

someone has to sign on paper.” 

There are plenty of options when 

it comes to electronic signatures. 

Electronic signatures also reduce 

processing time as everything 

can be emailed through quickly, 

without having to fax and wait for 

a response. As a business, your 

customers will love the reduced 

processing time. 

Xero has plenty of add-ons for 

electronic signatures such as 

RightSignature and DocuSign. In 

fact, you can sign digitally when you 

do your tax returns with Xero Tax. 

So there you have it. I would even 

go as far as saying that going 

paperless is life-changing for your 

business. Try it and I promise you 

won’t regret it. 

How about when you are on a 

holiday or off-site? If an emergency 

pops up, there is no way you can 

get back to your office to grab your 

documents in time. Using a cloud 

system means you can access your 

documents anytime and anywhere. 

“Wouldn’t you want to work from here?” 

Excuse #2: “It’s always been done 

this way. It would take too much 

time and energy to learn and train 

my staff” 

happen to your business if all your 

receipts and invoices are gone? 

Scary, isn’t it? 

An employee misplacing or losing 

“Make Accessing your cash short flow term with finance Satago, to your bridge all-in-one 

cashflow gaps 

cashflow can be difficult soluuon. as Spend a small less business. me chasing I needed customers 

a way to 

with access our the automated money locked invoice up reminder in my unpaid system. 

invoices. 

Try Then invoice I found reminders invoice at finance satago.com 

from 

“ 





Tutorial 

Tutorial 

How to: using reports in 

ApprovalMax 

@ApprovalMax 

Konstantin Bredyuk, CEO and Co- 

Founder, ApprovalMax 

As an experienced BPM expert, 

Konstantin has a strong focus on 

design and development of Business 

Applications which support Human 

Workflows. He is Co-Founder and CEO 

at ApprovalMax, known for simple and 

easy to configure approval workflows 

in finance. 

Finance operations require different views on approval-related data; 

for example, all documents pending approval, a historic view on 

all performed approvals, or an overview on the current approval 

status to determine approval process efficiency. The extensive 

ApprovalMax reporting capability delivers fully on this. 

Setting up a Filter 

A filter defines what documents 

you will see in the report. To set or 

change the filter, click the green 

“Edit filter” button while in the 

report. 

Examples of filters include: “Status 

is Approved”, “Date is later than 

December 10th”, or “Supplier is 

ABC”. Filters can also be combined 

in order to get a more granular 

report. 

The filter capability also allows 

the selection of fields that will be 

shown in the report by clicking the 

“Eye” button. 

Selected Reporting Scenarios 

R 

eporting in ApprovalMax 

allows Finance Managers, 

Operations Managers, and 

Auditors to get finance data 

snapshots and approval process 

status views tailored to their 

specific purposes. This way, 

ApprovalMax compliments both 

Xero’s and specialised plug-ins’ 

reporting capabilities with the 

reporting and filtering of data 

related to the approval process 

and documents. 

Default reports are available 

for a quick start and a custom 

report configuration is enabled to 

ensure the application fully meets 

the individual business process 

specifics. Default reports include: 

“Bills pending approval”, “Purchase 

Orders pending approval”, 

“Bills approved this month” and 

“Purchase Orders approved this 

month”, as well as many more. 

New and custom reports are 

created by clicking the “Create 

report” button and setting up filters 

with criteria specifically required 

for your finance process, such as 

“Supplier is ABC” or “Bill status is 

approved”. Creating a new report is 

easy and intuitive - no technical or 

programming skills are required. 

A few selected reporting scenarios supported by ApprovalMax for illustration: 

Scenario 1: “Waiting for approval”. This report provides a 

summary of all Bills pending approval and shows the names of 

Managers whose approval decision we are waiting for. To get 

such a report, please set the filters “Workflow is Bill” and “Status 

is Open”, and make the “Waiting for approval” column visible. 

Scenario 2: “Bills approved in Xero”. This report provides a 

selection of all documents that were approved in Xero – outside 

of the ApprovalMax approval matrix and, therefore, without the 

predefined approval workflow. To get this report, please set 

the filters “Status is Approved”, “Decision origin is “Directly in 

Xero””, and “Workflow is Bill”. 

Scenario 3: “POs approved automatically”. This report provides 

all Purchase Orders approved automatically as defined in 

the approval matrix. To get this report, please set the filters 

“Status is Approved”, “Decision origin is “Auto-approved””, and 

“Workflow is Purchase Order”. 

Scenario 4: “Forced by Administrator”. This report delivers 

a view on all documents with the approval performed by an 

Administrator outside of the defined workflow. To get this report, 

please set the filters “Status is Approved” and “Decision origin 

is “Forced by Administrator””. Make sure you switch on the 

“Approved by” column to see who forced the decision. 

How it works 

Creating a New Report 

To access the reporting feature, 

navigate to the menu in the top lefthand 

corner and select ‘Reports’ 

under the Company name. Please 

note that reports are available for 

Administrators and Auditors only. 

You will then be greeted with the 

option to select one of the default 

reports that ApprovalMax provides 

for you or to create a new report 

from scratch. 

Export and Printing 

ApprovalMax allows saving and 

downloading reports as a printready 

document. Such a document 

can then be printed or shared as a 

PDF file. 

ApprovalMax also supports the 

export of reports to the CSV format. 

A CSV file can then be imported in 

Microsoft Excel for further analytics. 

When creating a new report, the 

first step is naming it by filling 

in the ‘Report name’ field. In the 

next step you can select and apply 

relevant filters to your report. 




Henry Catchpole, Founder and CEO, 

Inform Direct 

@informdirect 

A solicitor by training, Henry has a 

wealth of legal knowledge, coupled 

with a passion to cut through 

unnecessary complexity, helping 

business owners to make sense of 

legislation. Previously, Henry was CEO 

of pensions specialist Suffolk Life, 

where he built the team from 8 to 200, 

and assets under management from 

£3m to £3.5bn. 

New business in the UK 

reaches record high 

5.4% more companies in the UK in 2016 compared to 2015. 

Brexit has not significantly affected the rate of company 

formations in the UK. 

N 

ew figures show that the 

number of companies 

formed in the UK reached a record 

high in 2016. 

Across the UK as a whole, there 

were a record-breaking 664,720 

companies formed – up from 

612,565 in 2015. 

Of the 601,418 formations in 

England, 209,869 were in London. 

35,502 companies were formed 

in Scotland, 15,795 in Wales and 

7,389 in Northern Ireland. 

Overall 664,720 companies 

were formed and 468,435 were 

dissolved. 

Over 95.1% of the companies 

formed in 2016 (or 632,233 

companies) were Private Limited 

Companies. Of the 4.9% (or 32,487 

companies) that were not Limited 

by Shares, Companies Limited 

by Guarantee comprised 35.5%, 

Limited Liability Partnerships 

34.5%, Limited Partnerships 18.1%, 

Community Interest Company’s 

7.3% and Public Limited Companies 

1.3%. 

The number of companies formed 

throughout 2016 month by month 

(see fig. 1), remained remarkably 

steady and obeyed the usual 

seasonal variations despite the 

seismic political events in the UK 

last year. 

Perhaps inevitably, London heads 

the UK league table and there are 

now over a million registered and 

active companies in the capital. 

Greater Manchester is second with 

167,797 with West Midlands, Essex 

and West Yorkshire third, fourth and 

fifth. 

The UK average for companies per 

1000 people stands at 62.6% with 

England above the average (66.4%) 

followed by Scotland (42.5%), 

Wales (34.3%) and N. Ireland 

(30.4%). 

Overall, the rate of rise of “net” 

company formations in the UK has 

remained steady over the past five 

years (see fig. 2) as new companies 

have been formed and existing 

companies have been dissolved. 

On this metric, it is Northern Ireland 

who heads the 5 year growth figure 

(2016 compared with 2011) with a 

43.1% increase, Scotland is second 

with 43%, followed by England 

(37.9%) and Wales (32.2%). 

The number of UK companies now 

stands at 3,962,909. 

Henry Catchpole, CEO at 

Inform Direct said: “These 

figures underline the positive 

Fig. 1 

entrepreneurial culture that fosters 

new company formations and drives 

economic growth. So far, at least, 

we’re not seeing evidence that the 

Brexit vote has dented confidence 

among those considering starting 

up in business. 

“The UK again delivered an 

impressive number of new 

companies in 2016, demonstrating 

that it offers a fertile environment 

for new businesses to spring up and 

prosper.” 

The statistics come from the Inform 

Direct Review of UK Company 

Formations, using data from 

Companies House and the Office of 

National Statistics. 

The survey can be accessed for free 

by visiting 

informdirect.co.uk/companyformations-2016 

and there are codes available to 

enable business owners to embed 

useful infographics on their website 

and provide relevant content for 

their users. 

This dynamic web-based survey 

enables users to drill down to 

specific local areas of the UK. So, 

for example, fig. 3. shows how 

many companies were formed in 

each London borough. 

Inform Direct is a company 

formation specialist, offering a 

comprehensive range of online 

packages to help those starting a 

new business. Its award-winning 

company secretarial software, 

which helps users throughout the 

life of their business, currently 

supports 50,000 companies. 

Fig. 2 

Fig. 3 




Move to high-tech, high 

touch and watch your 

billable hours grow 

Accountants are sitting on a powerful engine of evidencebased 

financial strategies. Leveraging Xero and its library of 

connected apps can help you move easily into a strategy-based 

business approach and effortlessly increase your billable hours... 

I 

was recently at an 

accounting conference 

where the most-attended seminar 

dealt with building and tending 

client relationships. The speaker 

was an accountant who told a 

breathless audience that her 

key tactics for managing client 

relationships were handed down 

from her boss and revolved around 

the distribution of promotional 

items - cards, calendars, pens, and 

similar consumable ‘stuff’. The 

presentation was full to capacity 

and advocating yesterday’s advice: 

that we market ourselves in the 

most static, low-yield way possible. 

It was like witnessing a replay of 

that old story about the young 

woman who makes her roast beef 

by cutting off the ends - just as 

her parents and grandparents 

always did. It’s only later that she 

discovers that the family ‘tradition’ 

came into practice because the 

roasts that Grandma bought were 

always too big for her pan. 

What does this analogy have to do 

with outbound marketing for your 

accounting business? 

The speaker blindly follows her 

mentor’s formulaic and outdated 

approach to client touch, and just 

like throwing away the ends of 

the roast, these touches cost her 

money. 

You likely have your own figures 

generated for the total cost of 

promotional materials. Did they 

actually generate new business? 

When was the last time you earned 

a new client from a calendar 

contact or a promotional pen? Has 

a promotional item ever halted or 

turned the tide of client churn? 

Reaching out to your existing and 

potential clients in a cost-effective 

way that brings or builds your value 

through innovation, charisma, and 

your area of expertise is a highyield, 

highly effective strategy. 

While most accountants stop their 

marketing train at promos, how 

much is it worth to you to turn that 

equation around? 

The ideal client touch 

@mydryrun 

The ideal client touch benefits both 

you and your clients by: 

Barb Easter, Manager of Customer 

Engagement, Dryrun 

Involved in business development 

and growth for the past decade, 

Barb’s experience includes successes 

across various industries in customer 

engagement, marketing, and 

entrepreneurship. Today, Barb helps 

Dryrun users reduce their financial 

hurdles and grow their business. 

• Enhancing your personal 

relationship with your client 

• Honing your strategic abilities by 

guiding clients to action items 

that rely on your client knowledge 

coupled with your subject matter 

expertise 

• Almost effortlessly giving you 

insight into client business 

hurdles 

• Increasing your billable hours 

and perceived value 

• ...for the lowest cost to you. 

Shift your perspective on how, 

when, and why you’re reaching out 

to your clients and you’ll see what I 

mean almost instantly. 

Reasons NOT to follow the pack 

While promotional distribution is 

not offensive, neither is it effective. 

Upon receiving your calendar, did 

your clients call you up begging 

for more billable hours, stay with 

your firm when they had wanted to 

leave, or start a thought-provoking 

conversation with you? For that 

matter, if you entered your clients’ 

office, would you even find your 

calendar on the wall? 

The ‘number one trick’ for building 

value with clients 

There is one key action you need to 

take to create dynamic and valuable 

relationships - something that 

promotional materials will never 

be able to do. It’s timeless, it’s 

cheap, and it’s incredibly effective 

for boosting your clientele’s 

satisfaction and billable hours while 

reducing turnover. 

Communicate how you can help 

them 

Use face-to-face meetings, phone, 

and email regularly to stay in touch 

and offer value to your customers. 

Build solid, lasting relationships by 

showing them the following: 

• Your interest by asking about 

them and knowing their business. 

• Your value to them through your 

expertise and insights. 

• Your strategic perspective and 

guidance by finding additional 

services that your client will love. 

Communication represents 

excellent value to your client, rather 

than an empty reminder that you 

haven’t retired yet. Every time you 

speak with them, you’re reinforcing 

the relationship you already have, 

shoring up gaps in your personal 

network and each other’s mutual 

knowledge, and building bridges to 

future experiences. 

Better yet, the means of 

communication are billable and 

so is the time that you spend 

communicating with clients. 

Since you’re reading this, I assume 

you’re already part way to a great 

communication solution. Xero is 

designed to meet your needs as 

a professional and provide you 

with reams of information that can 

help you understand your clients, 

diagnose their pinch points, and 

then work on communicating clearly 

with them. 

Build Billable Communication: 

Action Plan 

You’re probably thinking that this 

is all well and good and matches 

what you learned in Marketing for 

Accountants class, but how exactly 

do these types of relationships 

form and grow? And how can we 

turn a pleasant relationship into 

profit without seeming salesy, or 

greedy? 

It all comes down to helpfulness. 

With Xero’s powerful reporting in 

your arsenal, you have a broad 

range of information available to 

discuss with clients. The goal is 

to shift from a reactive, once-ayear 

billing model to a system of 

valuable professional contact that 

clients are happy to pay for. This is 

what your process will look like: 

• Clear some time each week to 

become knowledgeable about 

each client’s’ pinch points - what 

risks do they see in their business 

and what barriers to growth and 

communication are present? You 

can ask them directly, review their 

file, or ask others in the industry 

to lend their perspective while 

preserving confidentiality. 

• Visit Xero’s App Marketplace and 

figure out how Xero, coupled 

with the perfect connected 

App, can help them. Become 

knowledgeable so that you’re 

comfortable with the software 

and can clearly articulate the 

benefit to your client. 

• Call them up, send an email or 

set a meeting to communicate 

the system you’ve chosen and 

now recommend, and the benefits 

that they can expect by adopting 

new technology that addresses a 

problem they’re experiencing. 

• Set up the system or help them 

get it running in good order; 

remind them that the point is 

that you’re moving to a proactive 

model of assistance. 

• Set a regular time for contact and 

checking in. 

• Explain the benefit of the 

communication; be prepared to 

explain value of your ongoing 

knowledge as compared to 

ongoing cost. Keep it simple: tell 

your clients in clear terms how 

extra billable hours to you – a 

loss for them each month – will 

result in a net gain for their 

business. 

Build Billable Communication: 

Sample Case Study 

A client has difficulty staying ahead 

of big expenses and is strapped 

for time to boot - just like all of 

us. With that in mind, scan Xero’s 

App Library to find an app that will 

connect with Xero and connect YOU 

with your client. Pick a cloud tool 

that allows client data to be easily 

and visually displayed so that you 

can build and share information 

with your clients. Then instead of 

a pen that says, “Stolen from the 

office of B.D. Moneybags, CPA” to 

promote yourself, call them up and 

tell them how they could overcome 

their pinch points using your 

expertise, Xero, and the connected 

app. More than likely they’d be 

interested in knowing your opinion 

on how they can: 

• Reduce their business expenses. 

• Manage their cash flow. 

• Accelerate their growth, mitigate 

their risks, or fill their sales 

pipeline. 

• Increase their financial returns. 

When the connected app has an 

easy enough Xero integration 

and learning curve, you’re ideally 

positioned to help your client. 

If you want more information to 

increase the value of your client 

touches by using Xero and its 

connected apps, check our tutorial 

that’ll get you off the ground. Using 

Xero and Dryrun, you’ll be able to 

help your clients quickly build a 

recurring budget, then import data 

from Xero to make a highly flexible 

forecast that is as functional and 

collaborative as it is beautiful. 

Using Xero’s connected Apps to 

create consultative opportunities 

to help strategize around clients’ 

unique financial situation is a 

great way to accelerate your own 

business and billables in 2017. 




A systems-based approach to 

delivering client work 

I 

have had the good fortune 

to work for some great 

professional firms and people in 

my professional career. In building 

the AdvanceTrack business, I have 

taken the good things that I have 

learnt from these firms (and learnt 

from some that are not so good!). 

My early professional career, 

especially my training firm showed 

me the need to document the 

work performed, so that, whatever 

happened afterwards, there was 

a good audit trail showing any 

person how we arrived at the 

numbers. 

The biggest lesson that I learnt, 

@AdvanceTrack 

especially in my career with two 

of the Big Four firms that I worked 

with, was the need to systemise the 

business. I used to recall how often, 

the partners in such firms were 

rarely at the “coalface”, yet the 

delivery to clients happened apace 

with the many good people in these 

firms. 

The key thing however was that, in 

many ways, it didn’t matter which 

individual it was. It mattered more 

that the people in the organisation 

knew what they were required to 

do. There were many times when 

colleagues left the firm and the 

team left behind thought it would 

Vipul Sheth ACA CTA, Founder and 

Managing Director, AdvanceTrack 

Outsourcing 

Vipul Sheth is a UK based ICAEW 

Chartered Accountant and Chartered 

Tax Advisor. Vipul trained with a 

regional UK firm before moving 

to Ernst & Young and KPMG. 

AdvanceTrack is a UK Headquartered 

Accountancy Outsourcing Company 

with offshore operational centres, 

delivering services around the globe. 

be difficult to replace them. The 

team however, continued the 

good work, so it was very rare that 

clients moved firms following a key 

departure. This was solely down to 

a very robust process throughout 

the organisation. 

So how do firms achieve this? 

Whilst there are many things we 

could discuss, I will discuss 3 key 

elements 

Induction and Training 

It cannot be stressed how important 

this is in your own office or a 3rd 

party outsourcing provider like 

AdvanceTrack in ensuring that the 

final outputs are more consistent. 

We have all experienced in various 

arenas, how improved training 

delivers better results. Our 

profession is no different, so it is 

extremely important. Consider your 

own teams and ensure for example, 

that if you offer Xero to ensure all 

staff working with Xero clients are 

Xero certified. 

Strong Management Protocol 

If you consider the most successful 

business models around the 

world, whether in professional 

services, such as the Big Four in 

Accountancy, the Magic Circle in 

Law, or even McDonalds, the key 

to them all is their consistency of 

process, wherever they are in the 

world. 

Using a single platform such as 

Xero that allows firms to use the 

same accounting software, but 

with the numerous Apps, enables 

a standardised approach to service 

delivery across a wide range of 

clients and industries. 

Technology 

All of the businesses above have 

used technology to drive efficiency 

and consistency through their 

businesses across the world. 

Technology is a great enabler 

and cloud technology is making 

it easier for businesses in many 

sectors to operate in the same way 

as global businesses, such as Big 

Four accountancy firms or fast food 

chains. 

The Xero ecosystem is about 

enabling businesses to run their 

business, not just their finances. 

Cloud Technology is also seen as a 

challenge to the traditional role of 

the accountant. It shouldn’t be. 

It is a great enabler for firms to 

build a stronger relationship. 

Accountancy firms have traditionally 

finished the bookkeeping when 

preparing the year end accounts. By 

clients using technology better, the 

value clients will place on putting 

together that final set of accounts is 

likely to be that much lower. 

As a result, you can see how more 

technologically agile firms (such 

as the Big Four) have moved up 

the advisory chain for many years. 

That capability moved onto the high 

street, brings greater challenges to 

the ”local” accountancy firm. 

The key going forwards for 

Try Then invoice I found reminders debtor at chasing satago.com 

from 

accountancy firms will be to 

embrace the technology and to 

offer a more inclusive service. Using 

Xero and the ecosystem that this 

enables will allow the accountant 

to bring not only financial input 

to the business, but warrants the 

business to operate more efficiently 

and more like the global businesses 

mentioned above have done for 

many years. 

What does that mean in practice? 

• Firms need to offer a cloud-based 

accounting and business solution 

like Xero to clients. 

• Firms should offer a full 

bookkeeping service to their 

client base using technology like 

Xero and an OCR type solution 

such as Receipt Bank. 

• Offering the full bookkeeping 

service allows firms to sell the 

additional consulting services 

that regular insight from the 

bookkeeping provides. This then 

allows you to use tools such as 

Futrli, Spotlight Reporting and 

Fathom to share information with 

clients. 

• Give consideration to whether 

such a service is delivered 

in-house or outsourced to a 

professional outsourcing provider 

like AdvanceTrack. 

• Firms need to consider bringing 

in a specialist or to train one 

of the team to have a broader 

understanding of the Xero 

Ecosystem so that they can 

recommend an appropriate 

business App. 

• Having access to the data from 

“Make your cash flow with Satago, your all-in-one 

cashflow 

I struggled soluuon. 

with late-paying Spend less customers. me chasing All customers 

my 

business needed was an add-on to help me get 

with paid our faster. 

automated invoice reminder system. 

“Make I recently your lost cash money flow with when Satago, a customer your all-in-one 

went into 

cashflow administraaon. soluuon. It Spend dawned less on me chasing that I'd never customers 

really 

with known our who automated I was doing invoice business reminder with. 

system. 

Try Then invoice I found reminders credit reports at satago.com 

from 

Xero and the Apps will place 

the accountant into that trusted 

advisor space, but also more 

able to fulfil local obligations 

for digital submissions of tax 

information that are increasingly 

common around the world. 

Can AdvanceTrack help 

Accountancy firms deliver the 

service to clients? 

• AdvanceTrack are a 

technologically advanced 

outsourcing business, so they 

can help firms use their systems 

to deliver an efficient costeffective 

bookkeeping service. 

AdvanceTrack refer to this as 

their #seamlessbookkeeping 

service. 

• This same technology enables 

firms to keep their clients 

compliant with the Digital Tax 

regime when it is brought in. 

• As a result of using AdvanceTrack 

services, firms will be more 

streamlined in the way that they 

capture and process financial 

information. 

• All of these are delivered at 

lower cost using technology and 

offshore delivery centres. 

If your firm wants to lead the way 

in which it delivers a cost-effective 

proactive service to clients, then 

it needs to review what services it 

offers and how it delivers them. If 

you see growth opportunities going 

forwards and are questioning how 

to meet them, the AdvanceTrack 

team would love to talk to you. 

“ 

“ 






Announcement 

Announcement 

steering committee formed by 

strong influencers in the accounting 

profession. New theatres for 2017 

include the Digital Innovation & 

Technology Theatre, Future & 

Growth Theatre, Accountants in 

Practice Theatre and The Finance 

Director’s Forum, all boasting 

increased capacity for 2017. 

Don’t miss XU Magazine CEO/Co- 

Founder, David Hassall, speaking 

on Thursday 11th May. Xero will also 

be back in 2017 with a breakfast 

briefing on Thursday. The full 

programme will be unveiled over 

the next few months, with a host 

of high-profile brands and industry 

experts from across the accounting 

sector set to be announced. 

Accountex returns for the 8th year 

The UK’s No.1 event dedicated to Accountancy 

Professionals... 

A 

s the flagship event in the 

accounting calendar, over 

6,500 visitors will return to London 

ExCeL on 10th-11th May 2017. With 

200+ exhibiting companies and 

150+ CPD accredited Keynotes, 

seminars, panel sessions and 

interactive workshops, Accountex 

is an essential event for anyone in 

the Accounting profession. 

All the latest innovations, 

services and solutions will be 

on show – covering everything 

from accounting software, tax, 

technology, training, cloud, 

pensions, and payroll, to money 

laundering, auto enrolment, 

government updates, and every 

other subject relevant to the 

modern accountant. 

New exhibitors in 2017 include XU 

Magazine, Prosper, KPMG, Onkho, 

HiBob, Mydocsafe, PG Mutual and 

many more. They join returning 

big names like Xero, Intuit, Sage, 

Thomson Reuters, Iris, Taxcalc, and 

Exact. 

89% of visitors rated their 

experience of Accountex as 

excellent/good, here’s what a few 

of them said: 

“First time attending. Excellent 

exhibition and will definitely 

attend next year to keep up to date 

with the fast moving advances 

in technology for our industry” 

- Managing Director, Cornish 

Accounting 

“If you want to keep your practice 

at the leading edge you need to be 

there” - CEO, Strategic Action 

“Accountex 2016 was excellent. It 

enabled me to meet my existing 

suppliers and software providers 

plus see potential new ones - all 

under one roof and on the same 

day!” - Director, Tyle-Waddington 

Ltd 

Running alongside the exhibition, 

is Accountex’s comprehensive, free, 

multi-theatre seminar programme. 

A fresh new programme is currently 

being developed by a dedicated 

FREE TICKETS 

For more information and to register for 

free tickets to Accountex 2017 visit 

www.accountex.co.uk 




Tutorial 

Tutorial 

How to use MinuteDock for 

time billing with Xero 

M 

inuteDock is smarter time tracking software for professional services. If you’re like most people, you probably 

hate tracking your time. Luckily MinuteDock has a unique diary-like approach that makes it feel natural. We also 

automate away most of the busy work of the Xero invoice creation, so you can have your bills out to clients instead of 

spending time setting invoice options. 

Rather than a traditional timesheet, MinuteDock is a log of your work. 

Simply enter your notes and press log! 

Connect MinuteDock and Xero 

We walk you through it on signup, or 

you can do it later by visiting 

minutedock.com/integrations/xero and 

clicking ‘Connect with Xero’. 

Import your contacts 

MinuteDock will automatically sync contacts 

from your “Customers” group in Xero. To 

sync a specific group, go to ‘Sync Settings’ in 

your MinuteDock Xero settings. 

Tracking time in MinuteDock 

Running timers can be started by clicking the clock. You can also just type your time, 

eg. “2 hours” instead of using a timer. 

Automate assignment of your 

Ledger Accounts, Taxes, Tracking 

Categories, and more when billing 

Assigning a client for your work is easy. Type @ and 

the client’s name (just like Facebook and Twitter). 

Same with Project or Task - press # and type the name. 

Just like a hashtag. 

Speed up your invoicing process by letting 

MinuteDock work out these fields for you. 

You can set this up under the Xero Invoicing 

Options for each User, Contact, Project and 

Task. 

Get your invoices into Xero to send 

off to the client. 

MinuteDock will generate your line items 

and create a Draft invoice in your Xero 

account. There you can approve and send 

it directly from Xero. Easy! 

Need to add time for previous days? Type a date in brackets to backdate a time entry, eg. (yesterday) or (oct 3). 

MinuteDock is smart at understanding what you mean. 




Case Study 

Case Study 

@JustDevelopIt 

Tom Barrett, Chief Financial Officer, 

Just Develop It 

Tom looks after the pennies while 

everyone else is focused on the 

pounds. He works diligently 

to oversee the accounts for all 

companies within Just Develop It. 

possible use case and handle all 

the requirements of companies of 

various sizes and verticals. 

To that end, the App ecosystem 

was incredibly beneficial in 

complementing the processes 

we’ve built around Xero. 

How simple process automation 

helped increase efficiency & growth 

Reviewing the effective productivity solution for the shared 

accounting services of a growing investment company... 

T 

he brainchild of Chris 

Phillips and Brooke Bryan, 

Just Develop It was launched in 

early 2008. 

Today, we specialise in building, 

developing, and investing in 

companies across a wide range 

of industries, including property, 

technology, and online solutions. 

However, when we first started we 

had just one company to our name: 

Intellichat. 

Admittedly, this was quickly 

followed by a second, Just Host, 

and from that point on we’ve grown 

to encompass a number of marketleading 

companies under the Just 

Develop It banner. 

But this growth hasn’t been without 

its challenges. 

Scaling without bursting at the 

seams 

In addition to investing in and 

establishing companies, we also 

operate a shared service centre, 

providing corporate functions such 

as Accounting, HR Management, 

Marketing, and other businessrelated 

services to over 30 group 

member companies. 

Our centralised accounting service 

in particular has become crucial to 

the success of these companies. 

It helps manage and control 

spending, with the aim of keeping 

an eye on business performance. 

In essence our accounting team 

exists as an in-house practice for 

each company. 

So, as Just Develop It continues 

to grow and invest in more and 

more businesses, we were tasked 

with helping our accounting team 

deal with the increased workload 

without adding new personnel each 

and every time a new investment 

was made. 

We therefore needed a solution that 

would help boost the productivity 

of our existing team, while also 

improving the efficiency of our 

overall accounting process. 

This was inline with a wider 

company push to standardise 

processes across a broad range of 

services with the end goal of cutting 

an incrementally growing paper 

trail, and ensuring everything was 

streamlined and accountable. 

As if that wasn’t challenging 

enough, we also had to deal with 

the geographical distribution of 

our businesses. With multiple 

geographically distributed offices, 

we wanted to introduce the ability 

for our Accounting team to remotely 

process purchase orders, invoices, 

and employee expenses so as to 

avoid costly bottlenecks. 

Finally, it was crucial that the 

software solution we selected was 

cloud-based, could easily integrate 

with our accounting platform of 

choice (Xero), and could be set 

up and operated by non-technical 

users. 

A simple formula for a fully digital 

& automated process for bills and 

expenses 

In the end, it was a rather simple 

formula that came to our rescue. 

Datamolino + Xero + ApprovalMax = 

Fully Digital and End-to-End Process 

Automation. 

Just as we seek to add value to 

the businesses we invest in and 

operate - hopefully plugging a few 

gaps and improving performance in 

the process - we knew we needed 

something that would help us 

get more out of Xero. These two 

Xero-connected apps - Datamolino 

for its invoice data capture, and 

ApprovalMax for its multi-step and 

role-based approval workflows - 

helped us do just that. 

The integrated Apps meant we 

could implement an automated and 

fully digital end-to-end process, 

from invoice data capture to 

approval workflows for invoices, 

purchase orders, and employee 

expenses. 

Xero is great, but... 

We know that Xero is brilliant 

at handling its core function of 

accounting. However, it was not 

designed to cover every single 

So, how exactly did this 

combination of just two integrated 

Apps help us increase efficiency 

and process more without 

increasing personnel? Well, here’s 

our workflow in all its glory: 

Firstly, different sources of bills - 

PDF, paper, and even photographed 

receipts collected via the mobile 

app - are all fed into Datamolino. 

Either single documents are 

submitted as they arrive or invoices 

are batch-scanned at scheduled 

periods of time. 

Datamolino then finds and extracts 

the useful accounting data from 

the images. We love that it not only 

recognises the totals, but goes 

down to line item level. 

Finally, the batch of bills and 

receipts create new records in 

Xero, before being sent on to 

ApprovalMax, ready for the next 

step in the process. 

Once this information reaches the 

ApprovalMax platform, the bills 

can be approved by the relevant 

approver, no matter the location or 

time zone in which they operate. 

Notifications are sent via email, 

or via push notifications on the 

approver’s smartphone, meaning 

the approvers do not need to 

constantly check for new approval 

requests. 

Using ApprovalMax means we can 

make sure only those bills, invoices, 

expense requests, and purchase 

orders are sent to the appropriate 

approver which matters to them. 

We can also automate the chasing 

up of approvers, set achievable 

deadlines for approvals, avoid 

costly miscommunication, and 

ensure all approvals are performed 

in full accordance with company 

financial policies. 

In the end, we’re left with happy 

suppliers who get paid on time; a 

process that is fully compliant to 

our internal control standards; and 

access to easy-to-understand audit 

trails. 

And once ApprovalMax has done 

its thing, the authorised document 

is automatically ready to be 

processed for payment in Xero or a 

connected payment app. 

In a nutshell: Datamolino allowed 

us to considerably reduce the paper 

trail by digitising and delivering 

data from our invoices directly to 

Xero. And ApprovalMax allowed us 

to automate the approval process 




Case Study 

by establishing approval workflows 

based upon specific criteria for 

each member company. This way 

the accounting process is fully 

digitalised and automated end-toend. 

Easy to set up, easy to use 

Both ApprovalMax and Datamolino 

are pre-integrated with Xero, so 

setting up the end-to-end process 

was exceptionally quick and easy. 

Our non-technical accounting 

team were able to create a unified 

approval process for all of our 

businesses, which in turn provided 

the required remote approval 

process and workflow automation 

we desired. 

What’s more, the approvals of 

invoices and purchase orders were 

made available outside of Xero 

and did not require our business 

managers to log into the Xero 

platform whenever an approval 

request came through. 

Each request came with the 

necessary background information 

required to make an approval 

decision, and they could be 

reviewed and actioned via the 

ApprovalMax platform, email, 

or on the handy and easy to use 

smartphone app. 

And by eliminating the unwieldy 

paper trails and email chains, the 

approvals became accountable 

thanks to the option to run audit 

reports which clearly outlined when 

an invoice or purchase order was 

approved, and by whom. 

The results of this integration 

Once the ApprovalMax and 

Datamolino Apps were up and 

running, the benefits were clear. 

As a team we have been able to 

significantly improve speed, scale, 

and transparency of our accounting 

processes. The processing of 

invoices and purchase orders 

became faster and more efficient. 

This was thanks in large part due to 

the minimised paperwork and the 

availability of approval requests for 

our business managers, regardless 

of whether they were in their office 

or travelling. 

Also, we could now operate our 

accounting team at scale, without 

the need to add more bodies. 

The onus was on productivity and 

efficiency as a means of supporting 

the growth of Just Develop It. 

Finally, with the option to audit 

this fully digital process - and 

by centralising the data - the 

entire financial workflow of the 

managed businesses became 

more transparent, accurate, and 

controlled. 

The best bit was we achieved this 

level of automation with very little 

in the way of training or consulting. 

It really was that simple to setup 

and use. 

Just Develop It, and our centralised 

accounting team, are now better 

placed to manage the growth 

and development of the company 

thanks to the automated endto-end 

approval process made 

possible by ApprovalMax and 

Datamolino. 

ALL-IN-ONE 

ECOMMERCE, 

POINT OF SALE & 

INVENTORY 

REFER A CLIENT 

AND EARN $500* 

Neto is a leading cloud-based commerce platform designed for growing retailers. 

Our scalable solution offers inbuilt integrations with leading accounting, shipping, 

inventory, CRM, and analytics systems as well as enabling customers to sell online, in 

store, and on eBay. 

Automated daily syncing 

Sync payments, customers, 

invoices, and products 

directly with Xero. 

Batch processing 

Automatically batch over 

1,000 invoices, payments, and 

credit notes at a time. 

Pre-configured workflows 

Get set up quickly and 

easily and ensure accurate 

processing. 

Your Complete Payroll Solution 

Premier Cloud Services Since 2001 

• All sizes of businesses 

• 50+ reports, helpdesk support, feature rich 

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Status updates 

Access updates on 

transactions and items that 

have not yet been exported. 

Detailed logs 

Invoices, customers, 

payments, and credit notes 

are all recorded in the logs. 

Import from Xero 

Xero pushes accounts, 

tax rates, customers, and 

products directly to Neto. 

Free trial and no obligation demo 

*Commissions are payable via PayPal, after referral has accepted a subscription and gone live on the Neto platform. 

Referrals must be submitted via the form on neto.com.au/xero. Referrals by telephone or email will not be accepted. 

New Zealand 

www.ipayroll.co.nz | sales@ipayroll.co.nz 

Australia 

www.cloudpayroll.com.au | sales@c 

loudpayroll.com.au 

WELLINGTON | AUCKLAND | HAMILTON | CHRISTCHURCH | SYDNEY | MELBOURNE 

CALL +61 7 3077 9679 

www.neto.com.au/xero 




Peter Vessenes, Founder and CEO, 

ProfitSee 

@MyProfitSee 

With over 30 years experience in the 

financial industry, Peter is the CEO 

of ProfitSee, an all-in-one financial 

analysis and budgeting software 

that helps business owners and 

financial advisors alike gain powerful 

insights to manage cash flow, grow 

profitability and increase valuation. 

A new year, a new global 

economy, and what that means 

to the Xero community 

“The times they are a-changing.” 

T 

he past year has shown the 

most profound shift in the 

free marketplace globally since the 

early 1980’s. Among the largest 

changes? 

• The United Kingdom leaving 

the European Economic Union 

(BREXIT) 

• The continuing bad news coming 

from many members of the EEC, 

including Greece and Italy 

• The rise of populism against 

globalism 

• The continuing success of 

populism in national elections 

• The election of Donald J. Trump 

to President of the United States 

along with conservative control 

of the U.S. Senate, U.S. House 

of Representatives, and the 

legislatures and governorships in 

forty-five of the fifty States 

• The continuing rise of terrorism 

from radicals in Europe, the 

United States, and in other 

nations around the world 

The combination of these factors 

has a more profound impact than 

most realize. In many ways, it is 

great news for SMEs, and from 

that, great news for the financial 

potential for the Xero community. 

Understanding it is the key to the 

next steps in the coming years. 

This article is NOT about politics or 

what you (or I) might believe about 

governance. It is about economics, 

its driving forces, and how it truly 

works. It may be contrary to what 

some of us may have been taught 

in MBA programs, but historical 

evidence, real-time activities, and 

most importantly, the impact of 

cloud technology upon it, remain 

undeniable. 

There are three major factors that 

help get a clearer picture of what 

lays ahead. These are Globalism, 

Nationalism, and The “Powers That 

Be”. 

Globalism has been around for 

over 100 years under many different 

labels. It has been known as One 

World Government, The Illuminati, 

The League of Nations, and later, 

The United Nations. But in fact, it 

has never come close to the level 

of control that survivalists and 

strong believers in “Armageddon” 

and “World War III” have shaped 

their personal lives around. In 

today’s version, Globalism has 

taken on slightly different sets of 

presumptions than before cloud 

based technology, social media, and 

instantaneous world-wide news. 

What are these presumptions? 

1. Open Borders 

The Internet has changed many 

factors in traditional standards 

of immigration and international 

travel. In the past, face-to-face 

communication with a colleague 

in a different country required 

taking a long sea journey or a 

flight across the ocean. Video 

conferencing has replaced a 

significant percentage of this 

international travel. Technology 

has increased our ability to work 

beyond borders. 

Besides the technological 

standpoint of globalism, there is 

a commonly held belief that every 

individual across the world is 

“part of the global community”. 

Educational systems at nearly 

every level perpetuate this 

teaching. In many cases, those 

who speak out against it are 

punished. 

These teachings are accompanied 

by a prevailing thought that 

those who have lived in less 

fortunate circumstances, either 

as a minority or from under 




developed nations, should be 

seen as “victims”. The cultural 

impact of this is an underlying 

sense of guilt in the “privileged,” 

particularly among those that 

have been born since 1975. 

These circumstances have 

created a curious phenomenon. 

In the US, illegal immigration by 

passing borders without a visa or 

passport has become common. 

In the UK, much of the BREXIT 

vote stemmed from the Open 

Borders issues in the EU. In many 

European countries, terrorism 

has spread, and the Open 

Borders policies are pointed to as 

a cause. 

Globalism tends to think that 

Open Borders are the future of 

the world… 

2. Open Trade & Expanding 3rd 

World Economies 

An unbiased look at international 

trade over the past few centuries 

shows the stark reality that 

many of the “empires of the 

world” engaged in trade that 

was not a win-win for all the 

trading partners. This came 

from leaders of the empires not 

understanding how to create 

prosperous trades for all. Bad 

trade was perpetuated through 

a variety of strategies, but 

primarily through mercantilism. 

Mercantilism (defined in simple 

terms) means that preferred 

import/export companies, 

banks, and manufacturers are 

given preference by people 

in high levels of government. 

In exchange, these preferred 

organizations make sure those 

people in political power are kept 

in power. 

The American Revolution against 

King George was a revolt against 

mercantilism. Better trading, 

despite many flawed cultural 

practices and beliefs in the USA 

still generated the wealthiest 

nation in the world while 

assisting other nations to prosper 

as well. This was evidenced after 

World War II through the Marshall 

Plan, and many other economic 

policies of the United States. 

Not all nations practice trade 

in a way that is best for all 

parties. OPEC in collusions 

with Progressives in the U.S. 

had manipulated oil prices for 

decades. China has used currency 

manipulation and a “forced topdown 

control” of their economy 

to gain financial power in the 

world, to the detriment of many 

trading partners. There are many 

other global examples. 

Globalists believe that the 

“disadvantaged peoples” 

should be preferred in trade 

negotiations, and that the demise 

of “oppressive nations” (such as 

the USA) is only fair. The result 

of this perpetuated ideology 

is predictable: governance 

should include policies that 

are “politically correct” and 

punishes those who do not agree 

with this belief. In the US these 

are programs that have been 

perpetuated by both Democrats 

and Republicans since the late 

1980s. 

As so often happens, the best 

of intentions tends to build 

a highway to h*ll. A simple 

example? In the United States, 

the increase in environmental 

and regulatory laws over the 

past 12 years has driven up the 

cost of fulfilling these edicts to 

approximately 17% of breakeven 

of a company’s revenue. 

Considering that these levels had 

averaged below 6% since 1950, 

this is a huge impact. 

These costs are not eaten by the 

company that is required to pay 

them. They, in turn, pass these 

added costs onto customers. 

The net result? Large companies 

rarely suffer the financial 

consequences. 

The impact is most greatly 

felt by SMEs. They lack the 

financial resources to bridge 

through money challenges. The 

bad effects are passed down 

to the middle class. There is 

a measureable reduction in 

disposable income, earnings, and 

in many cases, a complete loss 

of jobs. 

The bottom line? Globalism’s 

control of major economic policies 

over the past 20 years have flaws 

that resulted in today’s emergence 

of Nationalism. 

Nationalism is not a new idea. The 

entire history of nations is based 

on national heritage. Whether one 

is from Korea, Japan, China, Iran, 

Egypt, Germany, England, France, or 

Italy, national customs and cultures 

sustain themselves over many 

generations, even after relocating 

into a cultural melting pot like the 

EU or the United States. 

In the United States, nationalism 

has taken on a different flavor 

outside of ethnic and racial origins. 

The country has evolved into 

regional “zones” that are defined 

both culturally and economically. 

There are five zones with great 

economic strength and commitment 

to globalism. These are New 

England, New York/New Jersey, 

Washington DC and surrounding 

states, California, and the Pacific 

Northwest. They have two things in 

common: they are located on the 

coasts and until now, made up the 

“ruling elite” of the country. 

What about the rest of the country? 

The area that is referred to as 

“fly over country” has taken on a 

distinct role in the new economy. 

The South, the Midwest, the Great 

Plains, and most of the states 

on the Gulf of Mexico have been 

crushed economically by globalism. 

The trade treaties with China and 

NAFTA brought about the death 

of over 70,000 manufacturing 

companies over the past 16 years. 

Over 94 million Americans are 

unemployed in a country with just 

under 400 million legal citizens. 

The middle class was being ignored 

by the Democratic Party, while 

only being given lip service by 

Republicans. 

What a difference the information of 

the world-wide web let loose! 

The traditional campaign strategies 

of the Democratic Party were 

destroyed in the 2016 presidential 

campaign. As people discovered 

the real levels of corruption through 

+more 




Timeline 

Wiki Leaks, the middle class was 

no longer able to be appeased. It 

was apparent that the traditional 

candidates in both parties were not 

resonating with those in fly over 

country. 

The election of Donald Trump was 

a loud outcry of the middle class 

against the traditional “powers that 

be”. Fundamentally, surviving in the 

world happens through trade. No 

one is an island unto themselves. 

Everyone must trade their own 

efforts, talents, and abilities to find 

quality of life in the world. 

So, who are the “Powers That 

Be”? My assessment is that global 

leadership believe they fall into 

three distinct entities: 

• Political Powers 

• Multinational Corporations 

• Global Banks 

The ability to manipulate global 

economics is so vast that these 

three can sustain their powers for 

many decades. Unfortunately, the 

“powers that be” neglected the two 

entities that ultimately DO control 

global economics: 

SMEs and the Middle Class 

Why do these two groups have the 

ability to be more powerful? The 

reasons are simple... 

• SMEs account for well over 60% 

of Global Domestic Product. 

Most of the world’s money flows 

through SMEs. 

• The middle class pays the 

majority of taxes. As we said 

before, companies will pass 

their tax obligations onto their 

customers. The only customer 

who cannot continue to pass on 

the cost is the consumer. The 

size of the middle class is so 

large that governments can only 

survive through the taxes that are 

collected from them. 

In both the United States and 

the UK, the middle class had had 

enough. The results are in, and the 

shock to globalists is still not over. 

Again, this article is not about 

politics. It IS about economic 

policies that are about to occur 

globally. These spell great things 

for Xero, the SME marketplace, and 

the opportunities for accountants, 

bookkeepers, and app developers. 

Why do I think the events of the 

past six months will bring about 

these drastic results? Let’s read the 

news... 

• The stock market is reaching 

historical highs 

• Great Britain is in its strongest 

economic position in decades 

• Donald Trump has brought about 

a revival of manufacturing in the 

USA even before he had taken 

office. 

• Growth in the SME sector in the 

USA has begun after eight years 

of shrinkage 

• GDP growth in the USA is already 

being predicted at 4% compared 

to 1.8% or less under the Obama 

Administration. 

How could Donald Trump even 

know how to bring about these 

changes in economy? Why would he 

want to leave his globalist past to 

become a nationalist? 

The answer is simpler than one 

would expect. To make a lot of 

money, one must play by the rules 

of those that control the money. 

This means that if globalists are in 

political power, they make the rules. 

The collusion of the mainstream 

media then works its messaging to 

shape personal beliefs. Everyone is 

forced into “political correctness” 

or there is a price to be paid. 

Donald Trump has made enough 

money to not have to play by the 

political globalist rules for his own 

survival. His experience as a real 

estate developer showed him what 

a critical role the small businesses 

and middle class make in growing 

wealth for everyone. His direct, 

New York style of communication 

allowed him to say what many felt 

but were afraid to express. 

In the private sector, inefficiency 

and incompetence lead to 

bankruptcy and poverty. In the 

public sector, those qualities have 

been a normal day’s work. This is 

what Trump stood against. 

Consider the other side of this 

economic model. The EEC was 

formed to align many nations 

around a common currency to 

strengthen each of the nations in 

trade. The basic premise had the 

best of intentions. Why are the 

results proving a disaster? 

You cannot dictate monetary policy 

while letting each member country 

determine economic policy. Some, 

like Greece, will grow so far into 

debt that it exceeds the nation’s 

entire annual GDP. Others, such 

as Germany, will do a great job 

in trade, strengthen themselves 

financially, but end up having to 

support others to avoid a total 

economic collapse. 

Global economics are being 

defined. The nationalist explosion 

seen in the UK and USA is quickly 

spreading to France and Italy. 

Great news is ahead for the SME 

marketplace in Australia, the 

UK, New Zealand, Canada, and 

the USA. Europe will have some 

great challenges. All of this is 

complicated by global threats of 

terrorism. 

The answer? 

Protect the borders. Protect 

the trade. 

Fiscal management is the key. The 

greatest growth is coming to SMEs. 

Will you be part of the professional 

organizations that help them build, 

grow, and protect their wealth? 

We are on the brink of the largest 

economic boom since the 1980s. 

New jobs will help more than just 

the middle class. They will create 

opportunities for the young, poor, 

and those that had lost hope. 

Those who had been neglected 

have spoken. Much of the world has 

listened. 

Let’s commit ourselves to 

Rebuilding the Global Economy, 

One Small Business at a Time. 

Innovations to help you thrive in 

2017 

START 

Take a look at all of the tools you could be using with Xero to grow your business in 2017. 

With a whopping 62 new key 

features released by Xero over the 

past year, you’re sure to find your 

business benefitting. Here are some 

of our favourites: 

Payroll expansion - as Payroll 

expands to cover even more of 

the globe, increasing numbers of 

businesses can pay their employees 

with Xero. 

Reports - whether it’s a new type of 

report you’re looking for, even more 

beautiful templates, or creating 

your own...Xero has it all! 

Xero HQ - even more ways to 

connect with potential clients and 

get insights on your current clients. 

Apple and Android - advances to 

using Xero in both of these apps 

is sure to streamline the way 

you work. 2016 saw Apple Pay 

integration with Xero, new mobile 

invoicing on iOS, viewing quotes 

and searching for contacts in My 

Xero on Android, and fingerprint 

security for both Android and Apple 

users. 

We can’t wait to see what the next 

year brings! 




Timeline 

Timeline 

Business Activity Statement enhancements 

Assurance 

Dashboard 

Allows advisors to monitor the 

integrity of financial data in Xero. 

ANZ Feed for credit card accounts 

Bank statement 

view and search 

Search across the key fields and 

results appear quickly. 

BAS enhanced in Xero Tax, plus businesses 

can now sign off their BAS electronically 

IRAS registration for Singapore 

Xero TaxTouch launched 

Direct bank feeds added ANZ credit 

card accounts. 

Auto Employment 

Allowance Payroll 

Journals 

Employment allowances now 

automatically update to the 

general ledger. 

Xero is registered with the Inland 

Revenue Authority of Singapore 

1st 

February 

Payment Services updates 

Xero Me mobile app for employees 

Mobile app for payroll for leave/time 

off requests and viewing pay history. 

9th February 

4th February 

17th February 

Mobile app for contractors and freelancers 

to track business expenses. 

22nd 

February 

3rd 

March 

4th 

March 

Microsoft Office 365 

email integration 

See live email from Office 

365 in Xero, giving a full 

view of your relationship. 

8th 

March 

8th April 

12th April 

15th April 

26th 

April 

6th May 

10th May 

Report filters 

Report filters are great for small business owners who need to 

monitor and focus on specific areas in their growing business. 

Payroll for Ohio 

11th May 

Android mobile app with fingerprint 

security 

Fingerprint login for Xero for Android 

to keep your information more 

secure 

24th May 

31st May 

4th June 

8th June 

Set up direct feeds with CBA online 

CBA customers with a NetBank 

login can now set up their direct 

feeds online. 

12th June 

24th June 

4th July 

One click set up and more payment options 

allow businesses to get paid faster. 

Auto Enrolment in Payroll 

Payment for Pennsylvania 

Small businesses in Ohio can now 

pay their employees with Xero. 

Small businesses in Ohio can now 

pay their employees using Xero. 

Payroll reports 

New reports: Employee remuneration, 

employee contact details, annual earnings 

certificates, leave balances and requests. 

Automatically assess your employees, enrol 

into the scheme and calculate contributions. 

Online payments 

with Braintree 

Get paid faster with online 

invoicing and Braintree. 

Cloud Software 

Authorisation and 

Authentication 

(CAA) 

Registered agents can 

quickly, easily and 

more securely lodge 

tax return forms. 

Xero Me Timesheets 

Payroll updates W1 and W2 fields 

Payroll automatically updates W1 and W2 

fields in Activity Statements. 

Payroll for Arizona 

Small businesses in Arizona can now pay 

their employees using Xero. 

Uncoded Statement line report 

Export a list of uncoded 

statement lines across bank 

accounts for clients to work 

with offline. 

Timesheets on your mobile, with our latest 

update within Xero Me (payroll App). 




Timeline 

Timeline 

File GST and provisional income tax return online 

File GST and provisional income tax return online directly 

with the IRD. 

Manage PayPal and Stripe 

transaction fees automatically 

Payroll for 

Wisconsin 

Small businesses 

in Wisconsin can 

now pay their employees 

with Xero. 

Manage PayPal and Stripe 

transaction fees automatically 

New mobile 

invoicing on 

iOS devices 

Payroll for 

Oklahoma 

New mobile invoicing and 

support for contact and 

invoice defaults. 

Small businesses in 

Oklahoma can now pay their 

employees with Xero. 

Contact Transaction 

Cash Report 

Report for a specific 

contact detailing all 

spend and receive 

money transactions. 

Contact Transactions 

Summary Report 


contact summarising 

receivables, payables 

and cash 

ransactions. 

22nd July 

United Overseas Bank (UOB) direct feed 

New direct bank feeds for United Overseas 

Bank customers in Singapore 

26th July 

2nd 

August 

Payroll for South 

Carolina 


in South Carolina 

can now pay their 

employees with 

Xero. 

14th September 

Payroll for 

Michigan 


in Michigan can 

now pay their 

employees with 

Xero. 

27th September 

Payroll for 

Louisiana 

Small businesses in 

Louisiana can now pay their 

employees with Xero. 

11th 

October 

Report Templates 

Generate beautiful reports in less 

time from bespoke templates that 

you can use across your whole 

practice. 

18th 

October 

Contact Transactions 

Receivables Report 


contact deialing all 

receivable transactions. 

Option to 

include prepayments. 

26th October 

Contact Transaction 

Payables Report 


contact detailing all 

payable transactions. 

Option to display 

prepayments. 

31st 

October 

30th August 

22nd September 

4th October 

17th October 

24th October 

Leave improvements in Payroll 

E-sign for New Zealand Tax 

Ability to show annual leave available to take in advance 

and auto calculation of annual leave entitlements. 

CBA business and corporate 

credit card feed 

Accept electronic signatures for tax 

returns from Xero Practice Manager. 

Wells Fargo 

direct bank 

feed 

New direct bank 

feeds for Wells 

Fargo customers 

New Commonwealth Bank business 

and corporate credit card 

accounts bank feed. 

Report Templates 

Generate beautiful 

reports in less 

time from bespoke 

templates that you 

can use across your 

whole practice. 

New layout editor 

for financial reports 

Improved report 

editor with the ability 

to add custom date, 

budget and formula 

columns. 

New report centre 

Ability to search, favourite 

new reports 

and save multiple 

versions of a report 

to the new Custom 

tab. 

Contact 

Search in Xero 

for Android 

Search for organisations 

from the 

My Xero screen in 

Xero for Android 

Tracking columns in financial reports 

Ability to add your own tracking columns to new 

financial reports using the layout editor 

Reverse Pay 

Run 

Payroll for 

Kentucky 

Reverse pay run simplifies the 

process of backing out US pay runs 

and eliminates manual data entry. 

Small businesses in Kentucky can 

now pay their employess using 

Xero. 




Timeline 

Payroll for 

Alabama 

Payroll for 

Arkansas 

Payroll for 

Mississippi 

Businesses in 

Alabama can now 

pay their employees 

using Xero. 

Businesses in 

Arkansas can now 


using Xero. 

Businesses in 

Mississippi can now 


using Xero. 

‘Hey Xero’ 

Messenger bot 

New advisor 

directory 

SMSF import for Australian Tax 

Available for 2015 and 2016 from 

BGL, Class and superMate 

Payroll for Nebraska 

Businesses in Nebraska can now 

pay their employees using Xero. 

Find a Xerocertified 

advisor near 

you with the 

‘Hey Xero’ 

Facebook 

Messenger bot. 

Helping connect 

Xero-certified 

partners with 

small 

businesses 

searching for an 

advisor. 

2nd November 

14th November 

7th December 

7th November 

28th 

November 

1st 

December 

23rd 

December 

Xero HQ: Activity 

Feed 

Designed to improve 

your visibility 

of information and 

tasks across all of 

your Xero clients. 

Xero HQ: Explorer 

Get insights across 

your clients for the 

apps they use and 

the industries they 

operate in. 

6th 

December 

Xero HQ: Client 

List 

See and maintain 

your entire list of 

clients in the Xero 

HQ client tab. 

Running 

Balance 

on Account 

Transactions 

The account 

transactions running 

balance will let them 

know their cash 

position on the Account 

Transations page. 

Updated Xero Dashboard 

New look and feel for the main 

Xero Dashboard making it faster 

to load and easier to read. 

Pay invoices with 

Apple Pay 

View Quotes on 

Android 

Pay invoices directly 

on your phone with 

Apple Pay. 

View detailed quotes 

on Android for Xero. 




The ideal client: choosing the 

right clients and delivering 

valuable customer service 

Every Xero adviser aims to deliver the best possible customer service 

to its clients – but have you ever stopped to consider what your ‘ideal 

client’ actually looks like? Nicola Anderson, from GoCardless, takes us 

through the importance of adding genuine value for clients, and making 

sure this is a two-way relationship that also adds value for your firm. 

4 

8% of the UK’s small and 

medium-sized businesses 

name their accountant as their 

most trusted business adviser. As a 

cloud-based accountant, your Xero 

practice undoubtedly takes pride 

in delivering the best possible 

service to every client. 

But have you ever thought about 

whether the businesses you work 

with are the most valuable clients 

for the long-term success and 

profitability of your firm? 

It can be counter-productive to 

work with clients who aren’t a good 

fit, such as demanding business 

owners who eat into your feeearning 

time. Sometimes there’s 

more value in focusing on the right 

client type and pouring your energy 

into a more productive working 

relationship. 

Working with the right clients 

Every firm will have good and bad 

clients – what’s important is getting 

the balance right. 

• There will be clients who log 

in to Xero regularly, complete 

@GoCardless 

their bookkeeping to the agreed 

deadlines and listen to the advice 

you give based on their Xero 

numbers. 

• And there will also be clients 

who fail to embrace the Xero way 

of working, are late with their 

submissions, disorganised with 

their data and documents and 

who fail to act when you point out 

potential issues. 

As a general rule, 80% of your 

positive results will come from the 

‘good’ 20% of your client base. 

If you have two clients on the same 

fixed-fee package (one good and 

one bad) it’s clear why spending 

hours sorting out the demanding 

client’s issues is a bad use of your 

time and resources in the longterm. 

The key to success for your firm is 

to lose those bad clients – and to 

put some real focus into attracting 

the good clients and building 

productive working relationships 

with them. 

Nicola Anderson, VP of Marketing, 

GoCardless 

Nicola is VP of Marketing at 

GoCardless, the cloud-based Direct 

Debit payment solution. GoCardless 

works with its accounting partners 

to help improve payment, cash-flow 

processes and wider practice systems. 

Knowing what your ideal client 

looks like 

But how do you know what a good 

client looks like? And how do you 

replace those bad clients with your 

ideal ones? 

As a Xero Adviser, locating the 

perfect client isn’t easy – clients 

change over time, after all. But one 

way is to crystallise a concept of 

what your ‘ideal client’ looks like 

– and use this benchmark model 

as a blueprint when taking on new 

business. 

When talking to a prospect, ask 

yourself if they have the following 

attributes: 

• Familiar with Xero and the 

ecosystem – as a cloud-based 

practice, it’s important that 

your clients are tech-savvy 

and comfortable with working 

with Xero and the wider Xero 

ecosystem of cloud Apps 

and tools. You won’t feel the 

efficiencies if they’re luddites. 

• Organised and timely – when 

clients use Xero and Apps such 

as Receipt Bank to meet their 

submission dates without being 

chased, there’s more time to get 

on with the important valueadding 

work. Disorganised or 

lazy clients eat into your working 

week, distracting you from 

higher-level advisory work. 

• Pay you on time, every time – 

when clients fail to meet invoice 

terms and need chasing for 

payment, it’s bad for productivity 

and cash flow. On the other hand, 

clients that are comfortable with 

modern Xero-integrated payment 

gateways will pay on time, 

keeping the cash flowing in. 

• Open to new ideas – a business 

owner who listens to your ideas 

for deeper Xero integration and 

revised processes will get far 

more value from your services. 

When clients are stuck in their 

ways, you’ll enter into a battle of 

wills and won’t move forward. 

• Share your mindset – it may 

seem obvious, but you’ll work 

more productively with people 

you get along with and who share 

your mindset. Clients whose 

personalities clash with your own 

are unlikely to become valued 

long-term customers. 

• Value what you do for them – 

When a business owner truly 

values the service and advice you 

give, your working relationship 

will be more fruitful. If clients see 

you as a mere ‘beancounter’, it’s 

time to sack them and move on. 

Retain your clients with valuable 

customer service 

Business clients want value from 

their accountant – and not just in 

the monetary sense. They want 

to feel you’re helping them move 

forward, that they’re getting real, 

personalised service and that 

there’s a productive and valued 

working relationship between you – 

and there are plenty of ways to add 

this perceived value. 

When you deliver on these 

expectations, embrace the full 

potential of Xero as a platform, 

and give the right clients the best 

possible customer service, you’ll 

see the impact on your client 

retention stats. 

• Listen to their goals and 

business needs – one key way 

to help clients is to truly listen 

to them. Never assume; always 

take the time to understand their 

specific business goals and look 

for proactive ways to help them 

get there. 

• Be open to client feedback 

– Ask clients for frequent 

feedback, send out surveys 

after each project and have 

regular review sessions. Using a 

customer service Xero app, like 

CustomerSure, gets you honest 

and constructive feedback, so 

you can service your clients 

better and tailor your advice 

to their needs. Using the net 

promoter score (NPS) approach 

– and asking clients how likely 

they’d be to recommend you and 

your services – is also a great 

way to monitor scoring over time 

and to ensure quality, service and 

engagement are kept high. 

• Make it simple to work with 

you – Xero helps you to 

streamline much of the more 

time-consuming data-entry work. 

Onboarding clients using the free 

Xero U training helps both parties 

gain more from the potential 

efficiencies of working online. 

Hands-on training, practical 

guides and helpful educational 

materials get clients up to speed 

and helps them feel the benefits 

of your services. 

• Be flexible with your support 

– don’t forget to embrace the 

flexibility that tech offers. 

With instant cloud access to 

client accounts in Xero and 

communication tools, such as 

Skype, you can offer support and 

advice through virtual meetings, 

or out-of-hours phone calls – 

adding to the client’s perceptions 

of value. 

• Add genuine value for their 

business – The simplicity of Xero 

has allowed business owners to 

carry out much of the accounting 

basics themselves. What they 

want from you is the highervalue 

advice, data analysis and 

strategic thinking that will help 

them to make the right business 

decisions and secure their 

financial stability. For example, 

evaluation of a client’s historic 

numbers may shows a trend for 

significant dips in cash flow at 

the same point each year. Your 

role is to identify why – could 

it be seasonal drops in sales, 

overspending on raw materials, 

or increased payroll spend? – and 

to take action that boosts the 

cash pipeline, lowers costs and 

reduces any negative impact. 

• Make it easier to pay you – a 

fixed-fee package model means 

clients always know exactly 




what they’re paying each month, 

removing the worry of additional 

bills. Using an online Direct Debit 

solution that plugs straight into 

Xero, such as GoCardless, makes 

it even easier for clients to pay 

by automating your whole feecollection 

process. 

Attract the right clients to your 

services 

To move your client base forwards, 

and bring the right business owners 

onboard, you’ll need a direct focus 

on attracting new clients and 

expanding the reach of your sales 

and marketing. 

• Improve and update your 

website – a great website is a 

vital asset for the firm. It’s a shop 

window that lays out the services 

you offer, the value you add 

and aims to position you as the 

number one Xero adviser in your 

chosen specialism or industry 

niche. Your website is also the 

hub for your content marketing, 

so it’s vital that it’s mobileoptimised, 

regularly updated and 

clearly explains why a business 

owner should choose your firm. 

• Ask for client testimonials – 

business owners place great 

value on testimonials. Case 

studies, quotes from client 

feedback and endorsements 

from satisfied clients all serve to 

highlight the quality of your work 

and the value you could deliver to 

a new client. 

• Start a client referral programme 

– a referral is the best kind of new 

business to aim for, coming from 

a satisfied advocate for your firm. 

Putting a referral programme 

in place, with rewards for 

referrers, adds a real incentive 

for clients and brings like-minded 

businesses to your door. 

• Make your pricing attractive – 

price isn’t the sole deciding factor 

for potential clients. But choosing 

a price point that’s appealing, 

offers the right value and creates 

the best margin for the firm is 

central to how attractive the firm 

looks in the marketplace. 

The perfect client relationship for 

your firm 

Being a trusted adviser for your 

business clients is the aim of any 

modern Xero accountant. And that 

level of trust and perceived value 

will increase significantly when 

you take direct steps to work with 

your ideal clients – and improve 

your client service levels as a direct 

consequence. 

Helping clients as they face the 

opportunities and pitfalls of the 

business journey is no short-term 

fix. What’s needed is a long-term 

focus on adopting the advantages 

of Xero as a platform, providing 

the very best service and adding 

the level of value that tech-savvy, 

cloud-advocate business owners 

now demand. 

Keeping clients happy and fulfilled 

is good news for your customer 

retention figures, your job 

satisfaction, your revenue pipeline 

and the ultimate profits of your Xero 

practice as a whole. 

Find out more about how using 

Direct Debit via GoCardless speeds 

up the payment process. 

BlueHub 

CLOUD BUSINESS SOFTWARE EXPERTS 

Learn how to boost cloud 

growth in our free webinars 

Join our free webinar 5 Steps to Add-on selection 

for your clients showing how we approach Add-on 

selection, plus some hints and tips for success. 

In Building a software advisory service in your 

practice, we talk through the processes you need 

to put in place to make your new revenue stream 

a success. 

www.bluehub.co.uk/connect/webinars.cfm 




Tutorial 

Tutorial 

@mydryrun 

Blaine Bertsch, CEO & Co-Founder, 

Dryrun 

After 15 years as a business owner 

and designer, Blaine Bertsch started 

Dryrun to help small businesses bring 

clarity to their numbers. A leader in 

the industry, Dryrun helps businesses 

across the globe forecast their cash 

flow, budget and sales pipeline to 

create strategic business growth. 

Individual items (see fig. 3) can 

also be edited (or deleted) with the 

ability to change a single instance, 

Once the Xero account has been 

connected to Dryrun, you can 

choose the specific Scenario in 

which you would like to import bills 

and invoices, month start bank 

Dryrun: help your clients build 

a powerful recurring budget... 

Fig. 4 

...and import data from Xero to make a highly flexible forecast 

B 

udgeting and forecasting 

are two of the most 

important aspects of maintaining 

healthy cash flow in your client’s 

business. This tutorial will show 

you how to use some of Dryrun’s 

core features to maximise 

communication with your client in 

a highly effective and collaborative 

way. 

Build a Recurring Budget 

A recurring budget isolates your 

client’s regular, repeating expenses 

from variable expenses and income 

so that you can quickly scan 

through and identify important 

aspects. 

Work with your client to separate 

their monthly bills such as office 

rent, utilities, loans, payroll, 

equipment, and any fees or services 

so you can easily visualise their 

regular monthly spending. 

This is a step that takes time and 

organisation, but is a powerful 

reminder of the bottom line of the 

business and the basic inflows 

and outflows of cash that involved 

parties should be aware of to make 

important decisions. Plus it only 

needs to be done once! 

Adding a new Item & Category: 

1. Hover over the month that you’d 

like to enter details into. A grey 

arrow will appear to the left of the 

month and, when selected, will 

allow you to access the Recurring, 

Payables and Receivables area of 

Dryrun. 

2. Select the grey arrow to the left 

of Recurring to add new Items and 

Categories (see fig. 1). 

3. Under the Recurring area, tap 

Add Item. 

From here you can create a new 

Category or choose an existing one. 

You can also customise individual 

items to reflect the pay frequency 

(weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, 

quarterly, annually and others), 

start and end dates, or auto-repeat 

forever, and any other necessary 

information. 

Recurring budget items repeat 

forever unless you choose specific 

end dates for each item, so your 

recurring budget serves as a 

powerful forecasting tool that 

requires little effort to maintain. 

Each category will either be 

considered an Expense (in red) or 

Income (in green) for easy visibility. 

An example of a recurring income 

might be subletting a portion of 

your office space or expecting a 

fixed client retainer. 

When finished, hit Save (see fig. 2). 

Use Dryrun’s flexibility to build in 

as much detail as you or your client 

needs. You can always update your 

budget with more information later 

as necessary. 

Fig. 1 

Fig. 2 

Fig. 3 

all instances past and future, or just 

instances going forward - all within 

the same menu. 

Once you have created the recurring 

budget, it’s important to add the 

variable Bills and Invoices from 

your client’s Xero account. This will 

allow you to see what is coming 

down the pipeline and will assist 

you with forecasting and short-term 

decision-making. 

It’s important to choose a starting 

date for both the recurring budget 

and the Xero import date. We 

suggest using the beginning of your 

current fiscal year, or the beginning 

of the previous fiscal year if you 

have just begun anew. 

It’s useful to have a moderate 

amount of historical data to ensure 

you are seeing a clear cash flow 

picture but it isn’t necessary to 

import years of data. Dryrun’s 

strength is to help clients focus on 

forecasting and future business 

growth. 

4. Connect Dryrun to your client’s 

Xero account. 

First, ensure the correct Xero 

account is connected to your 

client’s Dryrun account via the 

Integrations screen. 

Simply click on Xero Connect 

icon (see fig. 4) and enter your 

credentials. There are also video 

instructions to walk you through 

the process to connect. 

balance, or any combination of the 

three. 

5. Import Invoices and Bills from 

your client’s Xero account. 

In the Forecast, hover over the 

Scenario title you wish to import 

Xero data into and select the gear 

icon to the right of the Scenario 

title. At the bottom of this menu, 

select the Xero icon (see fig. 5) to 

reveal a menu in which you can 

adjust your import settings. 

Import your client’s Xero Invoices to 

Receivables and Bills to Payables. 

Remember to choose a date range 

(see fig. 6) that provides you with 

adequate historical data without 

overdoing it. The beginning of your 

most recent fiscal year would be an 

ideal place to start. 

After the data has been imported, 

the Xero logo will appear next to 

the Scenario title indicating that 

you’ve successfully connected and 

imported data into the Scenario. 

Fig. 5 

Fig. 6 




Tutorial 

You can now click on the Xero 

logo to access the settings for 

the Scenario if you’d like to make 

changes or remove data. 

5. Change settings or disconnect 

Selecting Disconnect can remove 

all of the data you’ve previously 

imported, or it can simply stop 

bringing in new data (be sure to 

toggle “Remove all imported bills/ 

invoices” to ‘on’ if you choose to 

remove some data but want to 

leave other data intact). 

6. Never miss a due date 

Bills and Invoices are imported 

from Xero by due date, but we 

recommend both using and 

honouring Xero invoice’s Expected 

Dates and bill’s Planned Dates 

which can give you a more realistic 

look at your cash flow. They are 

categorised by company and named 

by invoice. 

Dryrun flags due and overdue 

items as well as splitting up 

partial payments right so you can 

quickly see what issues need to be 

addressed. 

Note that updates made in Dryrun 

will never make changes to your 

Xero account. 

Any changes made in Xero will be 

reflected the next time you select 

Refresh in green at the top right of 

the Forecast screen. We recommend 

refreshing often to ensure you are 

seeing the most up-to-date cash 

flow picture. 

Dryrun also has a feature to “Bump 

overdue items to today” so you 

never miss critical payments or 

invoices. You can turn this function 

on in your Dryrun settings. 

7. Collaborate with Dryrun and Xero 

Dryrun’s highly visual forecasting 

tools are easily shareable between 

you and your client (see fig. 7). 

Forecasts can be shared between 

Dryrun users so that everyone can 

collaborate on the decision-making 

process. Dryrun can link easily 

to Xero to create stunning visual 

graphs, simple to view Excel files 

and as many scenarios as needed 

to create forecasts that will help 

you both make plans for growth! 

Fig. 7 

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The all-new Xero HQ 

Beautiful accounting that gives you beautiful rewards... 

T 

he recent unveiling at 

Xerocon South of the 

enhanced Xero partner program 

is stirring up renewed excitement 

in the accounting industry. The 

expansion serves to improve 

interaction of partners with Xero 

and to reward individual companies 

successes. The four key aspects are 

the brand new advisor directory, 

enriched education, enhanced 

practice tools, and even more 

rewards and recognition than 

before. 

Advisor Directory 

Xero currently connects 89% of 

all small businesses using Xero 

to an advisor, and are pushing for 

100%. The new Advisor Directory 

is fundamental to this. All Xero 

Partners are listed in the directory 

and are visible to potential new 

clients. 

The directory has been taken to a 

new level with the ability to base 

searches around multiple criteria. 

Clients can search based on 

location, to find advisors nearby or 

in a particular area. They can search 

for practices that deal in a particular 

industry, so they find one that best 

suits not only their expertise, but 

business and accounting needs too. 

This is a symbiotic relationship: 

clients have visibility of suitable 

accountants and ease of finding 

them, and accountants have better 

access to clients based on a variety 

of factors, for example apps and 

banking relationships. 

ChatBot is a feature that integrates 

directly with Facebook messenger 

that allows partners to interact with 

potential clients using social media 

- another platform allowing them to 

be better connected. 

Enriched education 

Xero has created a more advanced 

education program that is created 

in a way that recognises all partners 

are different and is tailored to each 

one. 

It’s a fact: the more staff you 

have certified with Xero, the more 

success your practice has. After 

listening to what Partners want, 

the curriculum is more flexible, 

comprehensive and personalised 

so it’s easier for your staff to be 

certified with Xero. 

The new curriculum means learning 

has never been easier, with a reallife 

modular approach where users 

take 4 core modules, and select 4 

elective modules which the most 

relevant content. Xero You achieves 

tailored and interactive education 

sessions, giving you the resources, 

tools and support you need to 

grow your practice, provide more 

services, be better connected and 

to serve and equip your clients 

best, whether you have 2 or 200. 

Enhanced practice tools 

Xero HQ is the updated My Xero. it 

is an open platform that allows you 

to choose the apps and practice 

tools suited to you. In Xero HQ, you 

can edit your own profile which is 

seen by potential new clients. Here 

are the new features: 

Activity Feed: see and search 

all of your client activity in one, 

personalised, customisable place 

and find the information you need, 

when you need it. This draws your 

attention to activity which is most 

pressing. 

Explorer: this original tool helps 

you to better understand your 

clients and client demographics. 

You can see which clients are the 

most popular, their industry, which 

apps they are using, the banks they 

are with...the list goes on! Know 

which Apps to learn in order to help 

your clients, and showcase which 

industries you are experts in. 

Client Management: view all of 

your clients, even those not using 

Xero. Filter to see particular types 

of clients, or search for a particular 

one. 

Advisor Directory: Add information 

about your practice and customise 

what potential new clients see 

about you. Showcase your talents 

and achievements here. People 

can search for you by using the 

filters and searches, including by 

name, size of practice, location and 

industry. 

Reporting: a key tool for your 

business, and this is the fastest of 

it’s kind. 

To get started, login to My Xero and 

click Try Xero HQ. Xero HQ will then 

become your default login page. 

Rewards and recognition 

In the past, the system for partners 

lacked incentives for Silver and 

Gold Partners to develop tehir 

relationship with Xero. There 

are now even more ways to ear 

recognition within Xero. 

Back in 2014, when there was 

first talk of this new Partnership 

program, Chris Ridd who was Xero 

Managing Director at the time said, 

“Every now and then a partner gets 

to a certain level and they might 

have staff leave and they don’t 

recertify or they stop coming to 

events and that’s a problem for us. 

You could be gold [status] and own 

120 organisations and be on the top 

of the directory and do nothing else. 

That’s not fair for a bookkeeper who 

is doing a whole lot more”. 

The new program is based around 

earning points to earn a higher 

status, from engaging with Xero 

rather than just meeting arbitrary 

targets. For example, practices 

can now earn points on years of 

Partnership, by attending XeroCon, 

and having continual training and 

certification, where before it may 

have revolved only around number 

of clients and sales targets. 

Like the advanced education 

program, this reward scheme has 

an emphasis on personalisation. 

Goals and rewards will vary for 

different practices, with the aim of 

making practices more successful, 

not matter how success is defined 

for that individual practice. 

Staff earn badges that can be 

viewed on their Xero HQ profile 

and seen by potential new 

clients scouring for an advisor. 

These badges are based on their 

certification, the specialised 

services they contribute and their 

continued relationship with Xero. 

It’s an ongoing cycle: passionate, 

engaged accountants and 

bookkeepers are more committed 

Partners, who have happier clients, 

whose clients stick, making them 

better Partners. 

And then there is the Xero 

Champion... 

Try Then invoice I found reminders debtor at chasing satago.com 

from 

The Xero Champion is a Partner who 

goes above and beyond. They are 

really growing, they are committed 

to their relationship with Xero, they 

continually invest in developing 

their staff. Xero wants to give extra 

recognition to these Partners, so 

they will try to introduce customers 

who don’t have an advisor to a 

Xero Champion, and these elite 

Champions will have that further 

distinction and add increased 

“Make your cash flow with Satago, your all-in-one 

cashflow 

I struggled soluuon. 

with late-paying Spend less customers. me chasing All customers 

my 

business needed was an add-on to help me get 

with paid our faster. 

automated invoice reminder system. 

differentiation within the Advisor 

Directory. 

The Monthly Xero Partner Update is 

sent to all Partners, notifying them 

on their progress. It allows Partners 

to track points and development 

and see how close they are to 

acheivin Champion status. 

One more thing... 

Xero store offers brand new 

merchandise, and makes it even 

easier to claim benefits, order 

products, and get exclusive 

marketing resources that are soon 

to be launched! 

“ 





Bruce van Wyk, Sales and Marketing 

Director, PaySpace 

@PaySpace 

As one of the founding members 

of PaySpace, Bruce has over 16 

years of experience in designing, 

conceptualising and implementing 

functional payroll and HR solutions 

for various local, multinational and 

blue-chip organisations. Bruce 

heads up the Finance and Sales 

departments at PaySpace with a love 

for entrepreneurship. 

Small business expansion: how 

to ensure compliance in Africa 

A 

frica presents an increasing 

number of opportunities for 

businesses of all sizes. Between 

now and 2020, the continent 

will become the second fastest 

developing region after Asia. This 

economic potential is underpinned 

by a surge in mobile technology, 

connecting communities, cities and 

countries with each other and the 

wider world. 

The advent of online marketplaces, 

e-commerce, mobile money, remote 

working and cloud accounting, as 

provided by Xero, means that any 

company can establish a presence 

in places that were previously 

inaccessible. Technology has 

essentially connected Africa to the 

‘global village’, opening up new 

terrain for small business owners 

who want to expand into lucrative 

foreign markets. 

Of course, no rewards are achieved 

without some risk. Your expansion 

plans need to consider your payroll 

needs as you move into unfamiliar 

territories - and pay attention to 

local legislation in each country 

you operate in. Or, your fledgling 

business could unknowingly 

transgress laws and face crippling 

penalties. 

Here are four tips to help you avoid 

any payroll issues as you embark 

on new business opportunities in 

Africa. 

1) Know the lay of the land 

Africa is a continent of 54 countries 

and approximately 2000 local 

languages. There are some cultural 

similarities between regional 

neighbours but no two countries 

are the same. Geographical borders 

aside, each country is a mix of 

various tribal groups, religions and 

ethnicities that create a complex 

combination of customs and 

colloquialisms. 

When it comes to the nuts and 

bolts of business, don’t assume 

that what works in one country 

will work in another. Do your 

research thoroughly, work with 

a local partner who can help you 

navigate languages, traditions and 

legislation, and show absolute 

respect at all times. Too many 

foreign businesses behave 

arrogantly which can anger local 

authorities and lead to bureaucratic 

delays that will frustrate your 

expansion plans. 

2) Avoid ill-gotten gains 

You don’t have to pay a bribe 

to do business in Africa. In fact, 

corruption is not nearly as allpervasive 

as you might think and 

more often than not, is initiated by 

international companies rather than 

locals. The problem is primarily a 

lack of patience and preparation. 

Remember, you’re no longer in your 

home country. There are different 

laws, registration processes and 

timelines to follow. If you don’t 

plan properly, then you’ll start off 

on the back foot and watch your 

competitors racing ahead of you. 

At this point, some businesses 

may panic and try to bribe their 

way back up the food chain. Don’t. 

Cultural misunderstandings can 

quickly become insults and before 

you know it, you’re faced with a fine 

or worse. Rather, join forces with 

a local partner who can guide you 

through this minefield and watch 

where you step. 

3) Follow the letter of the law 

It can be tricky navigating a very 

different set of rules and standards 

that don’t necessarily match your 

business needs or expectations. 

This can be further complicated by 

sudden legislative changes that 

could impact your payroll limits and 

statutory calculations overnight. 

It’s important to always look a 

little closer as some legislative 

committees don’t actually exist yet 

and others are continually in the 

process of promulgating new laws. 

The timing is not always clearly 

defined and in some cases, there 

are retrospective implications that 

you ideally want to avoid. The best 

approach you can take to ensure 

your company’s compliance is to 

subscribe to the globally permissive 

phrase: “taking all reasonable 

methods”. 

It’s also very likely that you’ll come 

across a situation in which you 

witness an alternative approach to 

a law in practice. Before you follow 

suit, try and get approval in writing 

from the relevant authorities. 

4) Set-up a cross-border payroll 

solution 

A new office in a new country will 

need staff. You’ll probably send 

someone out from your current 

office to help establish the new 

hub. This makes them expat 

employees with specific home and 

host country tax implications. You 

may need to gross their salaries up 

to make sure that they don’t earn 

less – which in turn, could then put 

them in a different tax bracket. 

An expat employee has to be 

legislatively compliant in both 

their home and host countries. 

You’ll need to provide them with 

the relevant tax certificates in the 

correct currencies, and ensure 

that their take-home remains 

unaffected. For a small business 

with limited resources, this 

can become an administrative 

nightmare. 

Cloud-based software can take 

the pressure off and manage 

your cross-border payroll across 

Africa seamlessly. It can access 

important in-country information, 

update legislative requirements 

automatically and calculate the 

various regulatory factors that 

affect expat employee earnings. 

To manage your staff payments with 

even greater ease, opt for payroll 

software that integrates with your 

accounting software. For example, 

PaySpace integrates with Xero, 

providing users with increased 

efficiency as they no longer have to 

enter account numbers manually. 

The advancement of technology 

in Africa is not just opening up 

new markets for small businesses, 

it’s also providing new ways for 

you to take advantage of these 

opportunities. With the right 

software and support on your side, 

your payroll administration will be 

taken care of – helping you avoid 

the risks and reap the rewards. 




Forget me not: 

the automated Xero feature that’ll get 

you paid on time 

H 

ow many times have you 

found your cash flow 

stalling because a client has missed 

a payment deadline? How many 

hours have you spent emailing, 

texting, calling and Skyping late 

payers, chasing up their rogue 

invoices? It’s perhaps one of the 

most familiar – and frustrating – 

aspects of being a business owner, 

and at some point we all go through 

it. 

For business owners who are 

using Xero to keep on top of their 

accounts, however, there’s a notso-secret 

weapon ready for you to 

use to combat these late payers 

and deadline-dodgers: automated 

invoice reminders. Rejoice! 

Automate Your Struggles 

@MyAccountancyPl 

As many of you will be aware, 

automation became increasingly 

popular with small businesses 

in 2016. Owners from a range 

of industries started opting to 

automate smaller, recurring tasks 

to relieve the pressure on client 

relationships and to give their 

teams back the time they need to 

be a more successful business. 

If you’ve started venturing into 

automation, or it’s something you’re 

considering for 2017, then start 

simply with Xero invoice reminders. 

Rather than concerning yourself 

with whether or not a client knows 

Joe Stevenson, Marketing Manager, 

My Accountancy Place 

Joe is a copywriter and marketing 

collaborator, frequently working 

across a number of industries - 

including accounting and cloud 

technology. As a lover of writing, Joe is 

often found in his spare time working 

on a collection of articles and fiction - 

preferably with a large cup of chai tea 

and a few biscuits to help the process 

along. 

their money is due in two days’ 

time, or checking your inbox for 

a response to the pleading email 

you sent, you can let Xero do the 

legwork for you, whilst you spend 

more time on valuable work. 

What’s more, if you’re concerned 

about reacting emotionally to a 

situation which can understandably 

become testing over time, then 

this is particularly advantageous. 

After all, there’s no requirement to 

directly intervene with the matter 

until more forceful action needs to 

be taken, because the system is 

talking to them instead. Consider 

your client relationship preserved! 

Simple Brilliance 

At its heart, the invoice reminder 

tool is a simple concept, but one 

which could make huge differences 

to how your business is run, and 

how your clients interact with you. 

Keeping with the theme of 

simplicity, it’s also an incredibly 

straightforward feature to activate. 

Xero have put together a handy 

guide to setting up and managing 

your invoice reminders, including 

covering how to ensure either all or 

only select clients are getting the 

messages. 

We recommend reading the guide in 

full, but if you want to dive straight 

in with an example, follow these 

steps: 

1. In the Accounts menu, select 

Sales 

2. Click the Awaiting Payment panel 

3. By the clock icon, click Invoice 

Reminders Off to show the 

Invoice Reminders screen 

4. (Optional) Select the Email 

customers when an invoice is 

checkbox 

5. (Optional) Edit or delete the 

default reminders from here, or 

create your own 

6. (Optional) Select the Don’t send 

reminders for amounts owing 

on an invoice under checkbox, 

then enter an amount to filter out 

smaller invoices, if you wish 

7. Click Save 

The Habit Maker 

Of course, if your client has paid 

and they receive a reminder telling 

them their invoice is overdue, 

there’s going to be a little bit of 

awkwardness between you both. 

That’s why it’s important to both 

customise your reminders to your 

clients, and to reconcile your 

transactions as you go. If the latter 

is something you struggle with, 

turning on automated invoice 

reminders is the perfect way to 

build the habit. 

Regularly checking what’s coming 

into the business and reconciling 

those payments is going to not 

only save you a headache when it’s 

time to get your Xero ready for your 

accountant, but also ensures your 

client relationships are maintained 

and you know exactly where the 

business is at any time. 

For regular late payers, these 

invoice reminders help them to get 

into the rhythm of understanding 

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when their invoices are due – and 

when they’re late. The invoice 

reminders can even be set before 

the due date to ensure they’re 

up to speed on when to pay a bill 

ahead of time, so there really are no 

excuses! 

With proper, dedicated use of this 

feature, client habits are likely 

to change as a result, all without 

you having to getting emotionally 

involved – and without you losing 

out on what’s due. Once you’ve got 

your 2017 automation journey off to 

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a simple yet effective start, there’ll 

be no limit to where you can go this 

year! 

So what are you waiting for? Make 

sure you get paid on time and don’t 

spend valuable time chasing late 

payers with one of Xero’s most 

useful built in features. 




Tutorial 

Tutorial 

AutoEntry: advanced, featurerich 

automation of data entry 

to Xero 

T 

1) Inviting your client(s) to 

AutoEntry 

Once you have set up a company 

on AutoEntry, you will need to invite 

your client or colleagues to the 

company to allow them upload and 

process documents. 

From the People tab (1.1) use the 

Add People button (1.2). 

Then enter their email address (1.3) 

and confirm the company you wish 

to invite them to. 

Your client will soon receive an 

email invitation containing a link 

for them to follow to complete their 

registration on AutoEntry.com (1.4). 

his tutorial will quickly demonstrate why you might just fall in love with AutoEntry given its ability to not 

only capture invoices and receipts to a basic level, but also capture invoice line items, match invoices to 

purchase orders, capture sales invoices and even bank and card statements. 

Whether you’re an accountant, bookkeeper or business user of Xero, being able to simply snap a pic of all of 

those documents on your phone and to have them automatically publishing to Xero has got to be a no-brainer. 

For this example we’ll assume the 

role of a bookkeeper processing 

purchase invoices or receipts, but 

the steps and benefits are similar 

for all Xero users and document 

types. 

As an accountant or bookkeeper, by 

empowering your clients to submit 

documents directly as and when 

they receive them, AutoEntry can 

@OCRexSoftware 

help deliver your services more 

quickly while also creating a steady, 

manageable flow of work for you or 

your team. While reviewing 

the processed results on AutoEntry, 

you can choose to accept and 

remember any matches we detect 

between the Vendor/Supplier and 

your existing Xero contacts, or 

create a new contact, along with 

associated nominal and tax codes. 

Brendan Woods, founder and CEO of 

OCREX - the company that developed 

AutoEntry 

Originally a software developer in 

the hedge fund space, he quit his 

job and started AutoEntry. AutoEntry 

supplies to over 2000 accounting 

firms and automates data entry of 

purchase and sales invoices, receipts, 

bank statements and more, providing 

significant time and cost savings. 

Setting up these rules as you go will 

bring real time savings to you and 

your team as subsequent uploads 

to this Company that meet the same 

criteria can be set to automatically 

publish to Xero as soon as we’ve 

completed data extraction and 

verification. 

2) Uploading Purchases Invoices 

There are several methods for 

adding documents to a company in 

AutoEntry. While the most extensive 

upload options are available via 

the AutoEntry website, your clients 

may find Email or Mobile uploading 

more convenient. 

Upload via Web: 

• Tap the Upload button for the 

Purchases folder (2.1) to bring up 

its upload window 

• If you wish to upload a batch of 

invoices, choose “Auto” (2.2) 

and AutoEntry will cleverly split 

the batch into individual invoices 

whether they be multi page, 

single page, or a mix. 

• Select the check box on the 

Capture Line Items option to 

instruct AutoEntry to capture all 

line items from a given batch of 

invoices (2.3). 

• To apply a given Xero tracking 

category to a given invoice or to 

all invoices within a batch upload, 

choose the tracking category here 

(2.4). 

Submitting via Email: 

• Each company is also set up 

with a unique email address so 

that invoices can be submitted 

or forwarded to AutoEntry from 

you, the client, or their suppliers. 

Simply email the invoice as an 

attachment to the designated 

email address (2.5) and 

AutoEntry will do the rest. 

Snap and upload on Mobile: 

• The AutoEntry iOS or Android 

mobile app couldn’t be easier. 

Simply snap an invoice or receipt 

(2.6) and quickly append pages. 

• Apply Tracking Categories and 

Payment Account before upload. 

• While your clients will only see 

their own company to upload to, 

you and your team can access 

your full list of Companies from 

within the app should you find it 

more convenient than using an 

office scanner. 




Tutorial 

3) Monitor Progress in Inbox 

Your Purchase Inbox will show you a list of all of the invoices that AutoEntry has processed and which are ready to to publish into 

Xero. This will show you key fields from each invoice and let you choose/change the selected expense categories and tax codes 

(where relevant) (3.1). 

Job + project + 

stock management 

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Tidy helps streamline inventory: 

By this point AutoEntry has already performed: 

1. Arithmetic validation to safeguard against incorrect 

figures being published to Xero. 

2. Intelligent matching the supplier name captured from 

the invoice to your existing Xero contacts. It looks 

for acronyms of the full name and other common 

variants so as not to prevent duplicate supplier 

accounts being created. 

3. Having learned from previous occasions and/or any 

defaults already set up in Xero itself, AutoEntry will 

apply the appropriate expense categories and tax 

codes automatically. Of course, you can overwrite 

and update the rule as you go if you need to. 

4. Duplicates have been identified and marked as 

Rejected to prevent publication to Xero. 

“ 

I 

can’t imagine life without TidyStock. Every day we use 

TidyStock - it’s the hub of everything that we do. We could do 

without some of the other packages and still be able to run the 

business quite efficiently. Without TidyStock we wouldn’t go 

anywhere. We wouldn’t be able to run the business. 

Steve Bennett, Managing Director and Founder, Woof & Brew, UK 

Users of 

” 

Mobile List View: 

Within the app, all of your items will be listed in order 

along with their current status. 

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Tutorial 

4) Detailed Review 

Selecting an item in the Inbox list 

will bring you to its Invoice View 

where you can review and edit 

all its fields in either the header 

(4.1) or line items (4.2) next to the 

invoice image. 

You can even match the invoice to a 

Purchase Order, though AutoEntry 

will likely have this done for you 

automatically if the value or the 

PO is the same as the total on the 

invoice. 

You can share a link to this invoice 

with colleagues or others perhaps 

to check if it is approved for 

payment (4.3). 

Once you are satisfied with the 

invoice and line items details, 

simply hit Publish (4.4) to send it 

to Xero and move on to the next 

invoice in your Inbox. 

This also moves the invoice to the 

Archived tab so your Inbox stays 

focused on items that require your 

attention (4.5). 

At the heart of 

automatic enrolment, 

connecting payroll 

to pensions 

One really nice gismo we add to 

these published items is the ability 

to be able to click on the “View in 

Xero” badge (4.6). 

When viewing these invoices in 

Xero you will also see a useful 

link back (4.7) to the item here in 

AutoEntry. 

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pensionsync delivers data to NEST, Aviva, 

Legal & General, The People’s Pension, 

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Visit www.pensions.market for up to 

date information on which pension providers 

are available within Xero 

Do your clients need help selecting an 

autoenrolment pension provider? 

www.pensions.market 

A free autoenrolment comparison website 


www.pensionsync.com Have you subscribed? Go to subscriptions.xumagazine.com 

@pensionsync hello@pensionsync.com Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine 0845 053 Issue 2975 10 / 81

Introducing mTrio 

It seems that most months a new competitor joins the cloud 

practice race for accountants. On 1st November 2016 it was 

the turn of “Most Inspiring Accountant” Jessica Pillow of 

Pillow May to join the party with the excellently designed 

mTrio automated CRM Practice Management solution... 

T 

heir exciting new cloud 

software is mTrio. 

The program is built on the 

@pillowmay 

Jessica devised the system with 

the help of a couple of Salesforce 

developer clients – Simon Goodyear 

(a Salesforce developer voted one 

Jessica Pillow, Managing Director, 

Pillow May Chartered Accountants 

Jessica is well known in the industry 

with a great network within the 

accounting space, as well as 

technology providers such as 

Thomson Reuters Digita and Xero. 

Jessica has a wealth of technical 

knowledge gained whilst bringing her 

practice to the cloud and pushing the 

boundaries of the technology that is 

currently available. 

Layton (a Salesforce consultant 

with over 10 year’s experience in 

financial services). Now, after nearly 

two years of development work, she 

has set up a brand new separate 

entity with Simon and Ross to bring 

the software to market to help 

other forward-thinking accountancy 

practices. 

accountant gets the software it is 

built to their own specification as 

part of the package. 

The software does more than your 

average Practice Management 

solution and incorporates some 

very useful tools that has allowed 

Jessica to ditch some of the older 

packages that she had been using. 

The mTrio software will appeal to 

practices of all sizes as it is easy 

to use but built on such a robust 

backbone it can be adapted to work 

in all conditions. It is well priced 

to become a strong proposition 

for the smaller practices to move 

from spreadsheets to a fully grown 

CRM solution. With the automation 

and integrations, the return on 

investment means that mTrio can 

easily pay for itself many times over 

because of the time that it saves. 

One of mTrio’s early adopters, Della 

Hudson, of Nailsea-based Hudson 

Associates has this to say: “After 

a year of searching, and not quite 

finding what I wanted, it was a relief 

to discover mTrio which will replace 

3 existing systems and should allow 

me to step further away from the 

day-to-day running of the business. 

I’m going to use the new freedom to 

train for an Ironman Triathlon.” 

Currently the mTrio software 

connects to Xero to save Jessica 

and her team from having to 

set up the client initially within 

Xero. The process involves the 

client being created within her 

compliance software and then, 

with a few clicks, the client is then 

automatically set up within Xero 

and her document management 

system. It will automatically send 

an SMS text message from differing 

defined triggers and can also do 

the same thing with emails. You can 

use a bank of email templates to 

help save time and have them sent 

out automatically, much like using 

an online shopping experience, for 

great customer service. 

Within the software, mTrio have 

also delivered tools for the 

easy creation and sending of 

engagement letters. This was a 

process that took Jessica and her 

team a large proportion of their 

client on-boarding time. These 

tools also link with the creation of 

client folders within their document 

management software. 

Whilst creating the client, mTrio 

is also setting them up within the 

practice’s Xero environment and is 

able to build an invoice based upon 

a subscription model within the 

software, thus saving more time. 

mTrio software sits at the heart of 

your practice to link your favourite 

packages together and help with 

sharing data across platforms to 

save time and mitigate risk. In 

the future it will not matter what 

software you wish to use, you can 

pick the best of breed that works 

for you and spend the time saved 

on giving great customer service 

and increasing fees with a more 

consultative advisory approach. 

BOOK A DEMO 

For more information or to book a demo, 

please visit: 

www.mtrio.io 

Jessica ended up developing 

software as a by-product of her 

failed search for quality software. 

She needed a solution for Practice 

Management that would also 

integrate with Dropbox, Xero, Digita 

and all the other products they 

used. They also needed a central 

database and something that 

would enable better marketing and 

automated workflow. 

By building the software on 

the tried and tested Salesforce 

platform, Jessica is standing on 

the shoulders of giants and can 

enter the software market by 

being able to tick the boxes for 

scalability, security and reliability. 

As Salesforce develops there are 

other exciting areas coming to the 

fore with additions such as Artificial 

Intelligence coming on line. 

Salesforce CRM platform that 

Pillow May already uses internally. 

of Salesforce’s exceptional MVPs 

for the past four years) and Ross 

The mTrio database allows Jessica 

to build a ready-made solution 

for fellow accountants, and the 

customisation and implementation 

is carried out by the Mint Trio 

team to ensure that when a new 



Follow us on Twitter: @xumagazine Issue 10 / 83 

WWW.PAYSPACE.COM

Mindset over money: why 

spending more on marketing 

is not the answer 

A fascinating development for me as I work with accountants all over 

the world is discovering those who are more than ready to spend money 

– serious money, big money even – on their marketing….and yet these 

accountants could still be setting themselves up for a big fall... 

H 

ow could that be? Isn’t 

the biggest hurdle for 

accountants to overcome that of 

being ready to big-scale invest in 

their marketing? 

Nope. 

I would argue that the biggest 

hurdle accountants are facing today 

is that of changing your mindset 

entirely. 

When you approach marketing with 

a personal, interested, involved 

attitude, it will revolutionise your 

results. 

Accountants are often given quite 

a hard time about marketing. 

They’re told that they are not good 

at marketing (or design, or writing 

content, or social media). If you’re 

an accountant, it’s likely you tell 

yourself that on a regular basis. 

And it seems that the solution is 

to hire someone else to do it. An 

agency, an intern, a marketing 

manager for your firm. 

Outsourcing is often a wise choice. 

All the firms we work with are 

outsourcing at least some of their 

marketing to us. But I would only 

@ProfitableFirm 

encourage that if you have the 

right mindset: if you are setting 

your mind to being personally 

involved and invested in your own 

marketing. 

It’s time to think like your 

entrepreneurial clients. The ones 

who wake up in the early hours of 

the morning with a brilliant idea 

about their product or for their 

customers. The ones who figure 

out Instagram and Snapchat and 

live Facebook video on their own. 

Who write their own blog posts, and 

publish them even though they’re 

not perfect. 

Naturally, investment of some kind 

will absolutely be involved. This 

is not your excuse to get out of 

spending anything on marketing. 

And if you can outsource the 

repetitive, or the aspects of 

marketing that are not your area 

of expertise, definitely do that. 

But if you’re missing the personal 

connection, I guarantee your future 

clients are missing it too – so you’re 

missing out on new business. 

It’s tempting to look at other 

accountancy firms and want to 

copy their marketing and branding. 

“They have a video on the 

Karen Rayburn, The Profitable Firm 

Karen is a creative-minded individual 

who specialises in online marketing 

for accountancy firms. A former 

accountant, Karen set up The 

Profitable Firm to work exclusively 

with modern, digitally minded 

accountants all over the globe who 

want to use online marketing to their 

best advantage. 

homepage of their site…I better get 

one too.” “I like what they’re doing 

on social media – can we do the 

same thing?” “That firm is running 

webinars: I’d like to run those too.” 

But what you love about those 

accountancy firms’ websites and 

marketing and brand and videos 

is not those things in and of 

themselves: it’s the mindset behind 

them. The enthusiasm and passion 

that cares first and foremost about 

being world class when it comes 

to delivering good accountancy 

services in their area. 

There are accountants I’ve spoken 

to who are ready with finger poised 

over the payment link, willing 

to spend thousands or tens of 

thousands or even hundreds of 

thousands so they can get the 

results others have gotten. 

But without the mindset, you can 

spend millions and not see even 

a small portion of the potential 

results available. 

The marketing mindset is both 

incredibly easy, and incredibly hard, 

to cultivate. 

Here’s why it’s easy: 

• It doesn’t cost a dime. This is a 

mental shift, not a financial one. 

• You can start today. Instantly. 

Now, whilst reading this. There’s 

no delay. 

• You have literally thousands 

of examples around the world 

of people who approach their 

marketing in this way. You’re far 

from alone. 

• You’re already a business owner, 

so you’re halfway there. 

And here’s why it’s incredibly hard: 

• It requires accepting that there’s 

more to change, and more to do. 

Many accountants I talk to are 

weary of this already. 

• You’ve got to lead your entire 

team, and keep their spirits up 

even when yours fail. 

• There will be some hard times 

ahead. Days when you don’t think 

this will work, and others seem 

to be succeeding with little to no 

effort. 

• It works best when you are 

incredibly responsive to change 

(and even love it). Daily change 

will be your constant companion 

from this point onwards. 

• You need to blur the line between 

business and personal – perhaps 

even wipe it out entirely. This is 

an aspect of the true marketing 

mindset that will get results like 

you’ve never seen: and it’s very 

hard for accountants to do. 

So how do you do it? 

First, learn about what works. 

Get educated about what works 

– not just for accountants, but for 

professional service businesses. 

We’ve created unique Content 

Marketer and Social Marketer 

programmes exclusively for 

accountants, but there are many 

others out there as well! 

Second, connect yourself with other 

business owners. There’s a lot of 

good in connecting to other high 

performing accountants. But you 

need to start thinking like the young 

hungry business owner – perhaps 

even the freelancer – if you’re going 

to see the powerful kind of results 

you want. 

Third, keep going. Press on, do 

not give up, and ask for help when 

you need it. Once you set foot on 

this road, it will absolutely deliver 

results. 

And only when you have all three of 

those do you spend the money. 

That’s when the results come. 

Because... 

• You’re not only on social media, 

you’re engaging personally with 

prospects (for larger firms, your 

team are doing this too). 

• Your website reflects who your 

firm actually is, not merely a fresh 

modern wash on the old you. 

• The content your firm is 

generating comes directly from 

your own head (and that of your 

team). 

• When you have ideas, they get 

actioned straight away. You don’t 

have to watch other accountants 

doing what you thought of three 

years ago. 

• You’re taking ideas from what 

your clients and prospects are 

struggling with (or excited by) 

and integrating them into your 

marketing: so you’re appealing to 

more prospects who are the right 

kind of people. 

• You are enthusiastic and 

passionate, and people respond 

very well to that. 

It’s not about getting results like 

other firms. It’s about getting 

results like yours. And that ROI will 

be better than anything you’ve ever 

seen. 

Receipt Bank and Xero. 

Go further. Grow faster. 




Interview 

Interview 

Q & A 

Will Lovegrove 

from pensionsync 

XU: 

I am really happy to 

be able to speak to 

Will Lovegrove from pensionsync 

today. Will, can you tell us 

what pensionsync is and how it 

integrates with Xero? 

WL: 

pensionsync is a 

software-as-a-service 

which Xero uses to securely send 

their customers payroll data to any 

one of six UK pension providers. 

We’re part of Xero’s solution for 

automatic enrolment, which is 

sort of like the US’s 401k. Every UK 

Employer has to open a pension 

scheme for their employees, and 

then make payments into that 

scheme. pensionsync helps lower 

the admin burden of running a 

pension scheme. 

XU: 

Will, can you give us 

an update on what’s 

changed at pensionsync in the 

last year since we met at Xerocon 

London? 

WL: 

It’s been a massive 

year for our company. 

This time last year, pensionsync 

was connected with just 2 

providers: Legal & General and 

The People’s Pension. In the last 

12 months we have powered 

forward and connected to NEST, 

Smart Pension, Aviva and NOW: 

Pensions. This means pensionsync 

can offer its customers real choice 

in the market. To help Employers 

make their choice we then built a 

free ‘pension provider comparison 

website’: http://www.pensions. 

market. Amazingly this was the 

first time in the UK that anyone 

had built a workplace pension 

comparison site. Watching my team 

put pensions.market together, and 

seeing it grow to over 1,000 visits 

a day in a short period of time was 

very special. 

XU: 

What, in 2017, is exciting 

about pensionsync? 

Will: 2017 is a really special year 

for payroll, pensions and small 

businesses in the UK. This is the 

year when over 750,000 businesses 

will set-up a scheme for the first 

time. 2017 is what automatic 

enrolment is all about, in my 

opinion. And it’s what we built 

pensionsync for. 

XU: 

Tell us why you decided 

to team up with Xero 

and how it has helped to grow 

pensionsync? 

WL: 

Well, we use Xero 

inside pensionsync to 

run our accounts and our payroll! 

And we will use Xero to make sure 

our company complies with autoenrolment. 

So we just had to make 

sure Xero was using pensionsync 

(otherwise we’d be in the 

embarrassing position of owning 

pensionsync but not using our own 

technology to help run our own 

pension!). In fact, it’s been amazing 

to work with the Xero team both in 

the UK and the US. Xero engineers 

are committed to making Xero an 

amazing software experience for 

their users. And I think that focus is 

shared by my team in our work. We 

want to make pensions as smooth 

as possible for Xero customers. 

XU: 

Tell me more about 

your plans to launch 

into the online employee benefits 

market. 

WL: 

This is our new 

initiative: we’re 

going to help smaller employers 

get access to the best possible 

employee benefit deals, available 

from the new website we’re 

building called www.benefits. 

market. We think there’s a lot of 

room for technical and commercial 

innovation in the employee benefits 

market. So many benefit processes 

are done manually, slowly and 

inefficiently. We think we have the 

technology to join up the market, 

automate data flow, deploy “roboadvisers” 

and cut out costs. 

XU: 

How does Autoenrolment 

help or 

change pensionsync? 

WL: 

pensionsync was 

purpose built for 

auto-enrolment. We knew the 

payroll market wanted a simpler, 

automated, solution to the problem 

their clients faced when it came 

to administering their pension 

schemes. Exporting data from 

payroll and loading it into pension 

providers is such a drain on time, 

and yet it has to be done every 

time an Employer pays their staff. 

I suppose it’s obvious, but I think 

pensionsync will just grow and 

grow in popularity over time as 

everyone drops CSV data exports 

and switches to electronic uploads. 

I think pension CSVs will be extinct 

within the next 5 years. Xero’s 

helping us make that vision a 

reality. 

XU: 

In recent years there 

hasn’t always been 

the best press for pensions. Why 

should our readers invest in a 

pension and what benefits does it 

have for them? 

WL: 

I would always 

recommend to 

anyone they take up the offer 

of a workplace pension. Its free 

money, after all. It’s the only 

savings account which boosts your 

money immediately (because your 

contributions are topped by further 

contributions from your Employer). 

I understand the comment about 

pensions getting a bad press. But 

I think in the future we will see 

pensions becoming more “open”, 

more “transparent”, and using 

technology in different ways to 

our benefit. Our pensions are just 

too important for our future. UK 

Government is lighting the right 

kind of fires in the right places 

to make things happen. Autoenrolment 

is a good thing, pensions 

dashboard is a good thing. 

XU: 

It’s great to see you have 

created a Pension and 

Payroll comparison site. Why did 

you decide to do this and how will it 

help our readers? 

WL: 

My team and I 

just thought it 

was incredible that there was 

no pension comparison site in 

place already, despite automatic 

enrolment effectively being a 

compulsory purchase of a complex 

and important financial product. 

Its really difficult for Employers 

to get access to trustworthy free 

advice on the differences between 

pension providers. Accountants, 

Bookkeepers and Payroll Bureaus 

are quite rightly worried about 




Interview 

commenting on a subject they are 

not qualified in. So we built www. 

pensions.market specifically so 

that the Accounting and Payroll 

community would have something 

they could direct their clients to 

and say “take a look at this - it’s 

a free pension comparison site 

which will help you with automatic 

enrolment”. 

We also compare leading payroll 

software tools in the site because 

we wanted to highlight who was 

making the best job of simplifying 

automatic enrolment. Picking 

the right payroll tool makes all 

the difference when it comes to 

automatic enrolment. I’m pleased to 

say Xero’s scoring highly. 

XU: 

I know you have made 

some very creative 

out-of-the-box videos. Do you think 

being able to think outside the box 

has helped you grow pensionsync? 

WL: 

I guess you are talking 

about our “downfall 

of automatic enrolment Hitler” 

video! Yes, that was fun to make, 

and provocative. We built that video 

to use humour and satire to turn 

heads in the payroll and pension 

industry as we were just starting 

out. It worked! 

We’ve also used videos to help 

explain what our platform does in 

technical detail. I signed off a trip to 

the Alps last year specifically to film 

a bunch of “explainer videos” while 

Snowboarding in the mountains 

(because automatic enrolment 

is often compared to “climbing a 

mountain”). They worked really well 

and we use them to this day in our 

platforms “developer portal”. 

We’ve also used “grumpy animal” 

internet memes on Social Media 

to help speak to payroll workers 

who may be frustrated at having to 

handle manual CSV files, each time 

they process a payroll, forever... 

I guess thinking out of the box has 

helped us get a higher profile. But 

in fact the common theme is using 

humour. We’re known for bringing 

an element of humour into our 

marketing work. It’s something I’d 

like to continue. We’re not trying 

to trivialise an important job. 

We’re just trying to bring a smile to 

people’s faces. 

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connected with GoCardless 

“The GoCardless for Xero app is an 

awesome combination. It saves us 

loads of time each month – no more 

tedious reconciliation! This is simpler 

for our customers, reduces admin 

to a minimum and helps us get 

paid faster!” 

Jonathan Hutchings, Mobo Innovations 

“We highly recommend using 

The GoCardless for Xero app to take 

control of your payments. It takes just 

minutes to set up, improves cashflow 

and reduces admin with the automatic 

reconciliation allowing our clients to 

focus on growing their business” 

Peter Czapp, Co-Founder, The Wow Company 

Sign up now: gocardless.com/xero 




Reconciling various customer 

payment methods: 

get organised by separating your deposits 

Business owners who are also their company’s bookkeepers 

often struggle to reconcile their bank account when they 

receive money from their customers in a variety of ways, 

such as electronic funds transfer (EFT), credit card, direct 

debit, cash, cheque, PayPal, Stripe or eWay. Carmen Morris 

explains how best to set up a Xero data file and enter 

transactions to manage these... 

D 

eposits arrive in company 

bank accounts via many 

different payment methods. In 

this article I will explain different 

types of payments, grouped by 

the recommended approach for 

processing their receipts (or 

‘payments’, as you might be used 

to calling them). 

Electronic Funds Transfer 

In Australia, EFT is the most 

common customer payment method 

for the majority of businesses. 

Hopefully your customer is sending 

you a remittance advice explaining 

which invoices they are paying, 

or including a bank statement 

reference clearly identifying the 

invoice number(s) they’re paying. 

The absence of this information 

can make reconciling this type 

of transaction a little bit trickier, 

especially if there are multiple open 

sales invoices that the receipt could 

potentially belong to. This issue 

aside, this is typically the easiest 

type of deposit to reconcile. It’s a 

@otmbookkeeping 

case of clicking on the Match tab in 

the Xero bank reconciliation screen 

and navigating to the relevant 

sales invoice based on a customer 

name, amount or invoice reference 

number (if Xero hasn’t already 

made a suggestion for you). 

PayPal 

With the introduction of Xero’s 

integration with PayPal, this 

payment method has become easier 

to reconcile 1 . This integration forms 

two functions. First, it allows your 

customers to click on a link in your 

online invoice when they receive it 

via email, which allows them to pay 

via PayPal with a minimal number of 

clicks. Second, your sales invoices 

in Xero will show a receipt applied 

to them as soon as your customer 

has paid via PayPal. In addition, the 

Xero/PayPal integration will enter 

a Spend Money transaction for the 

fees associated with this receipt at 

the same time. 

So, how do you set this up? It’s 

Carmen Morris, Founder and Director, 

On The Money Bookkeeping 

Carmen Morris is the founder 

and Director of On The Money 

Bookkeeping, based in Melbourne, 

Australia specialising in Xero. She 

is passionate about technology and 

accounting, and her organisation 

offers business keeping, not just 

bookkeeping. 

really simple. 

1. Settings > General Settings > 

Invoice Settings 

2. Click on Payment Services 

3. Click Add Payment Service 

4. Make sure that you select the 

relevant PayPal bank account in 

Xero from the Payment Account 

drop-down menu. If you want 

to offer this for your invoices in 

different currencies, you’ll need 

to set up a payment service for 

each PayPal currency. 

5. Link the relevant Fees Account 

from the last drop-down list. This 

could be a bank fees account or 

a special account you’ve set up 

to specifically track your PayPal 

fees. 

When it’s time to reconcile your 

PayPal bank feed, you’ll see lots of 

green auto suggestions down the 

right side of your screen. If you’ve 

received multiple deposits on the 

same day for the same amount, 

double-check that they’re matched 

correctly before clicking OK. 

Credit Card, Direct Debit, Stripe, 

eWay, Cash & Cheques 

I’ve grouped these payment types 

together because they have the 

following in common: 

Their settlement (or deposit) date 

typically differs from the date that 

the customer actually made the 

payment. 

The bank deposit often refers to 

receipts from multiple customers 

and multiple invoices all at the 

same time. It can mean that one 

bank deposit potentially refers to 

hundreds of different sales invoices! 

A best practice bookkeeping 

principle is to separate these into 

different accounts for each type. It 

makes it easier to figure out why 

something won’t reconcile. It also 

means that your bank accounts will 

more accurately reflect their correct 

balance. Undeposited funds will 

show in separate accounts with 

their respective balances. 

To set this up, go to: 

1. Settings > General Settings > 

Chart of Accounts 

2. Click Add Account 

3. From the Account Type dropdown 

list select Current Asset 

4. Give your account a number and 

a name such as Clearing Account 

– Direct Debit 

5. From the Tax drop-down list 

select BAS Excluded 

6. Also, tick Enable payments to this 

account 

7. I would also recommend ticking 

Show on Dashboard Watchlist 

8. Repeat this process for each 

receipt type. 

When a sales invoice is paid by a 

customer, navigate to it in Xero and 

then, at the bottom in the Receive a 

payment section, enter the relevant 

payment details. From 

the Paid To drop-down 

list, make sure that 

you select the relevant, 

newly created clearing 

account. 

Next up you need 

to account for the 

transaction fees. 

Merchant fees are 

typically charged to 

your bank account 

on a separate bank 

feed line, so you don’t 

need to treat these 

any differently. For 

direct debit, where 

the service provider 

withholds a fee from 

the deposit, fees need 

to be entered so that 

your deposit balances 

to your clearing account. When 

entering your receipts for a given 

day, look up the fees on the direct 

debit provider’s website and enter 

a Bill transaction for these. Apply a 

payment at the bottom, choosing 

the relevant clearing account from 

the Paid To drop-down list. 

On the day that you that you 

reconcile the bank deposit, check 

your clearing account. To do this, 

go to: 

1. Reports > All Reports > 

Account Transactions 

2. I recommend clicking the star 

next to this report so that it 

shows as a favourite, creating a 

shortcut on your Reports menu 

3. Choose the clearing account and 

the relevant date range and check 

that your closing balance at the 

bottom is zero. If not, narrow the 

date range until you find the day 

that it went out of balance. This 

will help you pinpoint exactly 

where things went wrong, and 

you won’t be looking for a needle 

in a haystack. 

1 

However, this method is not to be confused with PayPal bank feeds. These already need to be in place, one for each currency that you deal with. This can 

mean that you have quite a few bank accounts on your dashboard, as these PayPal accounts will be in addition to your regular bank accounts. 




Alleviating reconciliation ailments 

Compiled by 

Kirsten Hawke, 

Head Nurse of 

Number Nurses 

@NumberNurses 

The joy of using Xero is that it makes bookkeeping tasks pain-free and 

ensures your business accounts stay fit and healthy all year round.... 

I 

nvariably, a late night or 

exposure to some bug 

when defences are weakened can 

cause an unexplained ailment that 

you may not know is lurking in the 

depths of your Xero account. 

We’re talking about an unhealthy 

statement reconciliation report. 

In the same way your blood 

pressure should be regularly 

checked – you should regularly 

check the reconciliation report. 

It’s a good habit to review it each 

time a compliance return is made, 

for example a GST, VAT or BAS 

report, depending on where you 

operate your business. 

You’ll find a tab to the right of 

the page where you reconcile 

bank statement lines to the Xero 

transactions. 

If you still have transactions to 

tick off, they will show up on the 

reconciliation statement so shoot 

back to the previous page and 

check off those transactions. 

When you revisit the reconciliation 

report, the balance in Xero should 

match the bank statement balance. 

Some credit cards and Yodlee 

feeds don’t provide a balance and 

you’ll need to go to the individual 

accounts to check that they are the 

same. 

If they don’t balance, relax and be 

assured that there is a remedy for 

all bookkeeping dis-ease. 

Start out correctly 

First of all, check the conversion 

balance that was entered when 

you opened your Xero account is 

correct. 

This could be the closing balance 

of your company’s accounts the 

day before you started using Xero, 

the balance from the bank account 

or zero, if the business was just 

starting out. 

Xero gives step by step instructions 

for entering your conversion 

balances or you can call on a 

Number Nurse to quickly fix the 

problem. 

If the conversion balance is sorted 

and the numbers still don’t match, 

it is time to roll up your sleeves 

and start diagnosing where a 

transaction has gone wrong. 

Missing in action 

Xero can work wonders but it 

needs a good dose of healthy input 

from you to ensure it is operating 

correctly. 

If you have overlooked entering an 

invoice that was paid, Xero can get 

a bit flustered. 

This is as easily fixed as mopping 

up a little spill. Enter the invoice, 

give it the all clear and hey presto 

– you can match it with a bank 

statement line. 

If you have entered the invoice 

but it is nowhere to be seen, it 

has possibly been allocated to an 

incorrect payment transaction. 

You’ll need to hit the miracle cure, 

remove and redo and check it off 

(code it) correctly. 

Every now and then some lines in a 

bank statement seem to vanish. 

The mystery of cyberspace 

can’t be held accountable for all 

disappearing acts and sometimes 

you may have accidentally thought 

the easiest way to remove some 

irritating transaction was to simply 

delete it. 

Good try but treating the symptom 

has simply resulted in the problem 

popping up somewhere else – that 

pesky reconciliation report. 

In your Xero bank reconciliation, 

track down the statement 

exceptions tab and this may identify 

where there is a problem. 

Once diagnosed, you can restore a 

bank statement line and then code 

the transaction correctly. 

A common complaint is a missing 

transfer leg. Far from being an 

amputation, this is when money 

was moved from one account to 

another and it has probably not 

been coded in both accounts. 

If it was incorrectly coded to the 

wrong account, then go to the 

turn to page 106 

account transactions report, click 

on the offending transaction, 

then remove and redo and code it 

correctly. 

Using a sticking plaster 

When we are in a hurry or feeling 

flummoxed it can be tempting to 

take the easy 

option rather 

than fully 

investigating a 

problem. 

You may have 

been tempted to 

put a quick-fix 

sticking plaster 

over a receipt 

or payment 

by line coding 

it rather than 

taking a longterm 

approach 

and fully 

investigating the troublesome 

transaction. 

Don’t worry, Number Nurses have 

seen it all before and plenty of 

people have overridden allocations 

or done some weird and wonderful 

things with Xero. 

We know it seemed like a good idea 

to enter a completely new line but 

that reconciliation report will catch 

you out. 

Once again the remedy lies 

in tracking down the woeful 

transaction in the bank statement in 

Xero, clicking on it to identify how 

it was coded and submit it to the 

mercy of remove and redo. 

The correct bank statement 

transaction will also need to be 

located and re-coded. 

Wrong bank account 

When you operate more than one 

bank account it is as common as 

having a cold to incorrectly enter a 

payment to the wrong account. 

The assigned bank account is stuck 

like a pea up a toddler’s nose but 

the transaction can be removed and 

re-done to correctly reconcile the 

account. 

Technical difficulties 

Even the healthiest of individuals 

can be struck down by 

unidentifiable bugs and every now 

and then something odd can occur 

with Xero. 

Occasionally, there can be double 

up of transactions or some never 

show up at all and this is where the 

real fun starts. 

You will need to check Xero entries 

against your bank statements to 

find the errors and manually remove 

and redo. 

Seek support 

Trying to treat your own Xero 

ailments and going it alone can be 

slow and unproductive, and you will 

invariably be better off with expert 

assistance. 

Number Nurses know a problem 

that has been niggling you for ages 

can usually be easily cured with a 

quick consultation. 

Xero should be painless, fun and 

effective so don’t be shy if you think 

you have an embarrassing condition 

that you are afraid to expose. 

Your back-up bookkeeping expert is 

there to make it all better again. 




Does your accountancy firm serve 

others or does it serve you? 

D 

eciding to be an Accountant 

is one thing. Deciding 

to run an accountancy firm is 

completely different. And making 

this transition is tough. In this 

article, James Ashford outlines 

the 7 key systems that a thriving 

accountancy firm needs, the 

mistakes to avoid and real reason 

for doing it... 

When you first decided to become 

an accountant, was it because you 

were motivated by the purpose of 

“wanting to help people”? 

If so, you’re not alone, that’s what 

most accountants say. They’re all 

about providing outstanding value 

and serving their clients. 

But here’s the thing… 

Deciding to be an accountant 

is one thing. Deciding to run an 

Accountancy Firm - to become a 

business owner - is completely 

different. 

Why? 

Because being an accountant is 

about the people YOU SERVE. 

Running an accountancy firm, is 

all about creating something that 

SERVES YOU; your family, your 

lifestyle and your financial goals. 

The Tough Transition 

@THEJamesAshford 

And so as you transition from 

accountant to business owner, 

you are thrust into a new world 

that poses a whole new set of 

challenges; challenges you haven’t 

been fully told about and so haven’t 

been able to prepare for. 

So as any intelligent person would, 

you look for answers. 

You seek advice from experts, read 

books, attend conferences, invest in 

software, basically anything to get 

the answers. 

James Ashford, Founder, GoProposal 

James Ashford works exclusively 

with leading firms of accountants 

from around the world, helping them 

to systemize their firms so they can 

deliver maximum value and incredible 

experiences to their clients. He is 

author of “Selling to Serve” and 

writes a successful business blog at 

www.JamesAshford.com, where he 

continually shares his best content. 

systems that are 

changing the game 

I remember when I set up my first 

business, frantically devouring 

E-Myth Revisited by Richard Gerber, 

and learning about systems and 

building the franchisable model of 

my business. 

It sounded so exciting and I felt 

that I’d discovered the answers I 

needed. 

The reality of going from that to 

actually implementing robust 

systems however, is a different 

matter. And the journey that took 

me on, has taken the last ten years 

as I’ve been seeking the answers. 

You see, you’re told that you need 

systems, but you’re not told which 

ones. 

And when you finally discovered the 

ones that are essential in running a 

profitable firm, you’re not told how 

to create them in such a way, that 

there are no cracks in them. 

And then if you’re able to figure that 

one out, few people are ever told 

why we really create systems in our 

business. Sure it creates scalability, 

and consistency and frees up your 

time and increases the value of the 

firm, but there’s another, far more 

important reason. 

And then let’s say you are in fact 

part of the 1% of the 1% who figure 

all of this out, only 1% of those ever 

find the time, the technology or 

the tenacity to actually implement 

these crack-free systems…properly. 

And this is the reason why I end up 

speaking to firms of accountants, 

who have been around for literally, 

over 100 years, with thousands 

of clients and they are STILL 

serving people, rather than having 

transitioned into having a business, 

which serves them. 

The 7 Key Systems 

So these are the 7 Systems that a 

thriving accountancy firm needs. 

These are taken from my book 

“Selling to Serve”. 

1. The Attraction System 

This is where you identify your 

DREAM prospects and ATTRACT 

them in their highest quantity 

and quality into your firm. If you 

don’t know WHO you want, you 

can’t really complain when you 

don’t get them. 

2. The Nurture System 

This is where you connect with 

those prospects and nurture 

them over time to the point where 

they make it clear that they want 

your services. This is rarely in 

place and a huge sinkhole of lost 

opportunities for most firms. 

3. The Sales System 

This is where you define the 

relationship you intend to have 

with this prospect, wean out 

the time wasters, agree fees, 

produce a stunning proposal, 

auto-generate your letter of 

engagement and convert the 

prospect into your dream client… 

on the spot. But that doesn’t 

even scratch the surface of this 

complex system. 

This is always the place to 

start because this is where we 

determine what we’re selling and 

therefore what value we aim to 

deliver to our clients. 

4. The Onboarding System 

This is where you wow your 

new clients by making it super 

smooth to onboard them with 

minimal pain for them and you. 

This is their first interaction with 

your practice and so it’s vitally 

important that you nail it. If you 

have cracks in this system, the 

next system will fall down. 

5. The Delivery System 

This is where you maximise 

the lifetime value you provide 

to your clients. It’s where you 

put all of the low level activities 

on autopilot and free up your 

accountants to work on their 

highest and best use activities, 

with mind-blowing turnaround 

times and levels of value that 

are off the scale. Get this right 

and you will form deep and 

meaningful partnerships with 

your client, where you’re an 

intrinsic part of their success…. 

for life. 

6. The Finance System 

This is where you continually 

maximise your profits with 

THE most robust system that 

automates the flow of cash from 

your clients to you. 

Now most forward thinking 

accountants have this nailed. 

You will be using Xero and have it 

synced up with Receipt Bank and 

a payment collection system like 

GoCardless. 

As an accountant, this is the ONE 

system you need to have in place. 

7. The Staffing System 

This is where you attract, recruit 

and grow the best people that 

perfectly fit your culture and your 

aspirations. You can’t grow your 

business, all you can do is grow 

your people and THEY will grow 

your business. This only works if 

you have the robust systems in 

the first place with NO CRACKS 

and a clearly defined set of 

USEFUL core values. 

Until you have these 7 systems 

in place, your accountancy firm is 

probably not serving you as well 

as it could. Very often, accountants 

believe they have these systems in 

place, until I point out the cracks. 

And it’s in identifying and sealing 

these cracks, where you win. 

Xero Changed The Game 

So up until 2006, Accountants 

could get away with average or 

even poor systems. 

Why? Because so long as you were 

getting Year End Accounts, VAT 

Returns and Payroll out before the 

deadline, your client was happy. 

And they were happy because you 

were able to do something that 

they no idea how to do themselves. 

You were therefore the valued 

expert. 

Then Xero came along and 

changed the rules of the game for 

accountants forever, because they 

placed the power into your clients 

hands. They showed business 

owners how easy it was to perform 

the compliance tasks. 

They were kind of like the masked 

magician who revealed how the 

trick was being done. And what did 

magicians do when the masked 

magician revealed the secrets of 

their tricks? They either retired 

or…… they raised their game. They 

learnt new tricks; better tricks. 

And the tricks had to be better 

because the audience was better 

informed. 

This is why the likes of David Blain 

or Dynamo’s tricks are so amazing. 

It’s because the masked magician 

showed everyone how Paul Daniels 

did his tricks. 

Xero isn’t the next level. Xero is the 

gateway into the next level and has 

allowed accountants to provide 

greater value than ever before. 

You see, your clients never wanted 

you to do their accounts. They 

wanted you to help them to grow a 

more profitable business. 

And Xero has now made this 

possible if….. IF……. you have the 

systems in place, that allow you 

to operate at that level; robust 

systems with no cracks in them. 

Sealing The Cracks 

So many accountants install what 




they believe are robust systems. 

But the cracks quickly appear with 

this one question: “What if…?” 

What if that prospect doesn’t 

answer the phone? 

What if they don’t sign off their 

proposal? 

What if the client doesn’t reconcile 

their accounts on time? 

What if their payment fails? 

What if we lose that member of 

staff…. today? 

What if we lost our most profitable 

client? 

Sealing the cracks is all about 

considering all outcomes and 

having the processes and the 

technology in place that accounts 

for them. 

Very often, accountants have failed 

to nail the process and are sold on 

the idea that technology will help 

to seal the cracks, but it doesn’t, it 

makes them worse. 

The technology they are sold, has 

all the fancy bells and whistles, 

which sound great, but because 

the cracks were never sealed in the 

first place, they just become costly 

trinkets that produce no meaningful 

results. 

The problem is rarely the 

technology and nearly always a 

flawed process. 

The challenge is that sometimes 

you can be too close to the 

business to see what needs to 

be done. Sometimes you need 

someone from outside your 

business to see the way through. 

The Real Reason For Systems 

So most people know that you need 

systems to control the chaos, scale 

your firm, remove the overwhelm, 

reduce your vulnerabilities, 

maximise the value you provide and 

ultimately make your practice more 

saleable. 

But there’s a bigger reason that is 

always overlooked. 

And that is, to free up your own and 

your staff’s mental capacity to be 

able to provide incredible, worldclass 

EXPERIENCES for your clients. 

You see, the game’s changed. 

The bar has been raised. 

Your competition is no longer other 

accountants. Your competition is 

anyone I choose to compare you 

too, whether that’s Amazon or 

Virgin. 

If you can’t send me a proposal 

within 24 hours of meeting you, but 

Amazon can get me a crate of beer 

within an hour…. ON A SUNDAY….. 

then that’s your competition 

because that’s who I’m comparing 

you to. 

While you’re struggling to fully 

systemise your firm and are losing 

prospects, clients, jobs and staff 

down cracks, you’re unable to play 

at this higher-level and will always 

be SERVING OTHERS. 

But if you’re able to transition to 

this higher-level of systemisation, 

where you deliver wow, on 

autopilot, with no cracks… then you 

maximise the value you provide, 

are more profitable, provide world 

class experiences, have more fun 

and more importantly… you have 

created something, which SERVES 

YOU. 

“ 

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alongside growth. A fantastic entry and a package that 

practitioners need – but might not know that they need yet 

” 

Judge’s comments, British Accountancy Awards, 29th November 2016 

British Accountancy Awards 

Practice Software 

Product of the Year 

Visit informdirect.co.uk to register and claim your 28 day free trial 

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SOFTWARE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 

Five star service rating 




Top tips for Xero users: 

Budget Manager 

Compiled by: Spofforths Chartered 

Accountants (spofforths.co.uk) 

Creating a budget in Xero allows you to compare 

actual income and expenditure throughout the 

year. If you use tracking, you can also set 

up budgets for tracking categories... 

TOP TIP 

You cannot copy 

a budget however 

they can be 

exported and 

reimported with 

another name. 

You use the Budget Manager 

worksheet, found under Reports 

> Budget Manager, to set up your 

overall budget. You can also edit an 

overall budget; however it cannot 

be renamed, copied or deleted. You 

can create numerous budgets but 

you cannot have two budgets 

with the same name. 

• You can set the name or choose 

Overall Budget. 

• Select your start date. 

• To compare with actuals, set how 

far back you want to view (3, 6, 12 

months) or select ‘None’ if you do 

not want to view actuals. 

• Select the period you want to 

cover. You can choose 3, 6, 12 or 

24 months. 

• Then click Update to filter the 

budget by your selections. 

month 

• Adjust by percentage each month 

to increase by a certain percent 

each 

month. 

Then click Apply to update the 

worksheet. 

Apply a formula to all accounts 

To apply a formula to all accounts, 

then start using this to compare 

your actual data with the budget. 

When you run the Profit & Loss 

report 

choose the format ‘Actual vs Overall 

budget’. You can then choose the 

date range you want to look at. 

If you have set up a tracking 

category budget you can choose 

which budget to compare with 

TOP TIP 

Save your budget 

regularly to 

avoid losing your 

updates. 

Fill out rows using simple formulas 

You can fill out rows automatically 

using a simple formula. Click into 

the box you want to base a formula 

on, and then click the green arrow 

to start. 

click on the green arrow next to a 

month name in the header. From 

here, you can have the same 

under the Compare Periods tab. 

Then 

choose More Options to set the 

actuals to show the same tracking 

category. 

The report will then show you the 

actual and budgeted figures for the 

date range chosen, the variance in 

GBP and in %. The year-to-date 

figures are also shown so you can 

easily see the overall position. 

The options to choose from are: 

• Apply fixed amount to each month 

to fill other boxes with the same 

amount 

• Adjust by amount each month 

to increase by that amount each 

formula options as before, which 

you can now apply to the entire 

worksheet. In addition you can also 

clear all months from that 

point on. 

Once the budget is set up you can 




Brendan Woods, Founder and CEO of 

OCREX - the company that developed 

AutoEntry 

@OCRexSoftware 

Originally a software developer in 

the hedge fund space, he quit his 

job and started AutoEntry. AutoEntry 

supplies to over 2000 accounting 

firms and automates data entry of 

purchase and sales invoices, receipts, 

bank statements and more, providing 

significant time and cost savings. 

Mitigating risk and making 

data security a top priority 

As technology evolves and becomes more sophisticated, so too do 

viruses, malware and hackers, and their means to violate protective 

barriers in order to infiltrate sensitive data and information... 

A 

ccording to PwC’s 2016 

Global Economic Crime 

report, cyber crime affect almost 

one in three organisations (32%), 

with the financial services industry 

the ‘most threatened’ by economic 

crime. As accountancy practices 

handle sensitive personal and 

financial data for their customers, 

the ramifications of a hack can 

be devastating, resulting in 

identity theft, loss of intellectual 

property, and irrevocable damage 

to brand reputation. In fact, a 

single incident can cost a small 

business upwards of £75,000 in 

terms of lost revenue, recovery of 

assets and fines. With that in mind, 

accountancy practices must adopt 

a risk-averse mindset, making 

data security a top priority for their 

business and their clients. But 

where to start? And how to sustain 

change for the long term? 

A cultural shift 

When considering a long term 

security strategy, start by 

evaluating your people and 

processes. Despite the perception 

that the majority of threats stem 

from outside an organisation, 

risk can be found much closer to 

home. According to recent business 

research commissioned by the UK 

government, employees are one 

of the main sources of security 

breaches, with 48% of respondents 

citing human error, and 33% 

claiming lack of ‘staff awareness’ as 

major contributing factors of cyber 

attacks within both large and small 

organisations. 

In order to address these 

challenges and implement a 

culture of change, it will be critical 

for businesses to set appropriate 

guidelines as well as up-skilling 

their employees. For instance, 

running training programmes on 

common phishing attacks and 

email scams can go a long way to 

reducing clicks on infected links. 

Elsewhere, setting standards for 

complex password combinations, 

and monitoring the use of personal 

mobile devices to access corporate 

files is advisable. By taking these 

types of preventative measures, 

businesses will ensure their 

employees are better informed and 

able to work as a team to tackle 

external threats. 

Using technology to get ahead 

Increasingly, accountancy practices 

are using data document capture 

and workflow management 

solutions such as AutoEntry, a 

Xero add-on App, to improve 

accuracy, reduce costs and 

speed up processes associated 

with traditional bookkeeping 

and manual data entry. It just so 

happens that Apps like AutoEntry 

have the convenient side-effect 

of also improving your practice’s 

security risk. 

AutoEntry captures and analyses 

scanned and photographed 

purchase and sales invoices, 

receipts, bank and card statements, 

automating your data entry to Xero. 

Clearly popular with over 10,000 

companies using it just a year after 

its release, many accountants and 

bookkeepers find its flexible pricing 

structure, ease of use and quality of 

features outshine other solutions in 

this space. For instance, AutoEntry 

captures tax summaries by default 

and if requested, full line item 

details including description, 

quantity and unit price. AutoEntry 

also remembers how you categorise 

your expenses such as the relevant 

supplier account, nominal account 

and tax code without ever creating 

duplicate supplier accounts or 

posting duplicate invoices in Xero. 

In addition, AutoEntry even matches 

invoices to purchase orders. 

While the adoption of cloud-based 

computing, and use of tools like 

AutoEntry, has risen in recent years, 

concerns over privacy and security 

remain a concern for some. Many 

perceive that housing data on a 

physical desktop is safer, yet the 

opposite is true. Cloud solution 

providers like Xero and AutoEntry 

which adhere to strict legislation on 

data policy and whose reputation 

depend on it most, leverage their 

technical expertise to implement 

multiple layers of advanced 

security protection which smaller 

organisations simply can’t emulate 

on premise. 

For those that decide to simplify 

processes and boost productivity 

with third party technologies, 

there are some security standards 

to check for before you press 

‘download’. The cloud isn’t more 

vulnerable than any other physical 

or internet-connected systems; 

however, the required security 

policies are sometimes overlooked 

which can make it highly vulnerable 

to hackers. As you might expect 

as a Xero App, AutoEntry protects 

users with essential protocols 

including: 

• SSL encryption: An encrypted 

communication link which 

allows private information to be 

transmitted securely between 

two parties. 

• Brute force detection: Alarm 

CRM & Donor 

Management for Charities 

Manage Donations, receipts, rosters 

Store Names, address, notes 

Connect People, groups, communicate 

Track Assets, donor profile, attendance 

raised should there be multiple 

failed authentication attempts 

are being made from a given 

source or to a given resource. 

• Network intrusion detection: 

Strategically placed sensors 

which monitor traffic between 

network devices - alerting IT 

professionals if a malicious 

presence is identified. 

• Host intrusion detection: A 

method of monitoring intrusion 

on an operating system. 

• Real-time backups: The backup 

and memory of critical datasets 

in real-time, allowing users to 

restore information on demand. 

Using Xero Apps like AutoEntry will 

enable firms to cast off outdated 

and unprofitable practices, such as 

those associated with traditional 

bookkeeping and manual data 

entry. There is clear business sense 

in reducing labour spent manually 

logging data from paper documents 

and redirecting this resource into 

more lucrative revenue streams, 

such as advisory services. As we 

move ahead in this digital age it 

will increasingly be the approach 

forward-thinking accountancy 

practices adopt. 

It will be critical however for these 

same firms to keep their business 

secure from threat, deploying 

solutions which offer robust data 

protection, user authorisation 

and authentication. As well as 

driving considerable operational 

efficiencies for accountants, 

AutoEntry is programmed to 

efficiently disable security threats 

and enable businesses to operate 

with confidence. 

www.infoodle.com 

Telephone NZ +64 7 579 3085 USA +1 415 231 0023 




New Releases 

New Releases 

Updates and new releases: 

from the Xero App Marketplace 

New feature 

shout-out 

Are you a Xeroconnected 

App? 

Got a new feature 

or update you’d 

like to share with 

the Xero User 

community? 

Email alex@ 

xumagazine.com 

Account Kit 

account-kit.com 

Key updates for AccountKit have 

been focussed around tightening 

up the integration with XPM, 

automating the equipment 

finance posting into Xero, and 

optimisations and refinements 

to the usability of the business 

structure diagram editor. 

ApprovalMax 

approvalmax.com 

We brought several significant 

product enhancements to 

ApprovalMax, including the 

newly available Reporting, Fraud 

Prevention, and Bill Editing & 

Coding capabilities. 

The Reporting feature addresses 

the basic need for providing 

aggregated views on the approval 

progress by Approver, supplier, due 

date, and other selected criteria. 

Reporting enhancements include 

the ability to set the Planned 

Payment date as well as track the 

duration of the approval process. 

The Fraud Prevention feature allows 

notifying the Administrator about 

finance documents being approved 

outside of the predefined approval 

workflow set in ApprovalMax; for 

example, in case of an automatic 

approval in Xero. It enables you to 

filter out such documents and have 

them routed to ApprovalMax for 

approval, if this is required. 

The Bill Editing & Coding 

feature facilitates coding of the 

captured Bills in ApprovalMax, 

which includes entering tracking 

categories and splitting line items. 

AutoEntry 

autoentry.com 

AutoEntry, the simple way to 

capture and upload purchase 

invoices and receipts, is now 

available for download on both 

Apple and Android devices. 

AutoEntry allows users to capture 

key invoice information, including 

tax summaries and full line item 

detail on demand. 

AutoEntry can now match invoices 

to purchase orders for companies 

integrated with Xero. 

Chargify 

chargify.com 

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) 

is one of the most important bottom 

line metrics for any subscriptionbased 

businesses. Chargify’s 

recently released MRR analytics 

give businesses a crystal clear 

view into net MRR growth and the 

composition of MRR movements. 

And since Chargify is the direct link 

between subscribers and revenue 

related events, they’re uniquely 

advantaged to understand when, 

what, and why revenue changes are 

happening, even for complex MRR 

use cases. The result is beautiful, 

accurate insights that businesses 

can rely on. 

CIN7 

cin7.com 

Cin7 continues adding integrations 

to make it easier for customers 

to manage inventory in a single 

comprehensive cloud based 

solution, no matter where or how a 

company sells. Cin7 now integrates 

with more than 100 (and counting) 

retailers, eCommerce platforms, 

third-party logistics providers, 

customer relationship management 

software and accounting solutions 

like Xero. 

Cin7 is now the only cloud based 

inventory management solution 

to integrate with all four Amazon 

sales channels. Cin7 customers can 

instantly manage their inventory 

when they become an Amazon 

Seller or an Amazon Vendor. And 

they can manage inventory and get 

automatic cost updates when they 

use Fulfillment by Amazon. Finally, 

they don’t have to go through 

third-party EDI testing, integration 

or management if they use Amazon 

Dropship. 

On top of all that, Cin7 has made 

it much easier to activate new 

integrations. With Cin7’s new 

App Store, customers can add 

integrations with a click of a button. 

Deputy 

deputy.com/xero 

• Monthly and Employee: Centric 

Schedule Views - Now you can 

schedule by individual employee, 

or by using a monthly view of 

your workplace. 

• Improved Multi-tasking: Switch 

between multiple reports with 

ease. Deputy saves and neatly 

stores your session so you can 

jump between actions quickly. 

• Schedule Templates: Perfect for 

busy or holiday periods. Now you 

can save different schedules to 

use at a later date. 

• Two Factor Authentication: 

Deputy is the first and only cloudbased 

workforce management 

solution to offer Two Step 

Verification, along with Single 

Sign On, and Mobile Device 

Management. 

• New Enterprise Platform with 

consumer-grade interface, apps, 

and social features. Accurate 

costed scheduling with flexible 

options for salaried employees. 

• Custom Pay Rates: We provide 

you with real-time cost 

calculations as you schedule your 

staff. 

• Completely new iPhone App 

• Completely new Android App with 

Management functionality 

ExpenseCheck 

www.expensecheck.com.au 

Advisors now receive weekly 

updates on all their businesses 

statuses with single click to send 

information to clients. 

Fooman 

fooman.co.nz 

Fooman Connect: Xero (Magento- 

Xero integration) is now available 

on the the Magento 2 platform. 

Developed by Fooman (official 

Xero App Partner and Magento 

Technology Partner), the integration 

automatically exports Magento 

data to Xero. 

FUTRLI 

futrli.com 

FUTRLI is cloud software that 

gives businesses, accountants 

and advisors tomorrow’s insights, 

today. The only all-in-one advisory 

platform in Xero’s ecosystem, it 

integrates Forecasting, Dashboards, 

KPIs, Alerts, Business Monitoring 

and Consolidation. In January, 

along with a name change from 

CrunchBoards, it launched white 

labelling. Amy Harris, Founder, said: 

“We don’t want our partners to be 

resellers of our product, we want to 

help them deliver a better service. If 

you want to differentiate, this is the 

game changer.” 

GoCardless 

gocardless.com 

Announcing the launch of 

GoCardless Plus... 

GoCardless, the UK’s leading 

Direct Debit provider, is excited to 

announce the launch of their new 

Plus plan. GoCardless Plus enables 

you to have your own Service 

User Number (SUN) which means 

your customers will always see 

your business name on their bank 

statements every time a payment is 

collected from their account on your 

behalf. GoCardless Plus is available 

on the Xero integration so you can 

also automatically take payments 

and reconcile invoices within your 

Xero account. 

Jet Convert 

jetconvert.com.au 

Making the move to Xero for you 

and your clients is getting easier 

and irresistible with Jet Convert. 

We now provide Partner support 

packages in addition to the 

basic Xero sponsored free data 

conversion service. Designed to 

make the conversion process hassle 

free for you they include conversion 

file fixes, additional history and a 

personal conversion concierge at 

your beck and call. 

These packages are ideal for 

Accountants and Bookkeepers that 

have a number of clients to move 

to Xero. We will oversee every 

conversion in detail, saving you 

the usual demands and minutiae 

associated with the basic service. 

You choose. We deliver. 

MinuteDock 

minutedock.com 

• Expenses – in beta: Track 

expenses for a contact or project, 

and seamlessly add them to your 

invoices. You can create items to 

make entering common expenses 

faster, or enter a one-off expense 

to bill to the client. 

• New reporting shortcuts: We’ve 

added a new feature to Contacts 

& Projects to help you run reports 

quicker, just click the button 

to run a report directly from a 

specific contact or project. 

• Summary invoice grouping: We’ve 

added a new grouping option for 

your invoices. To combine all your 

time entries into one line and just 

show an invoice total, use the 

new ‘Summary’ grouping option. 

• Zapier Integration – in beta: We 

now integrate with Zapier giving 

you the opportunity to integrate 

MinuteDock with the other apps 

you use. 

Moula 

moula.com.au/flex 

Introducing MOULA Flex. A brand 




New Releases 

New Releases 

new flexible line of credit for 

strong SMEs operating for over 

24 months, that from time to time 

need access to funding. Minimum 

$20,000 - Maximum $100,000. No 

fees to set up or on prepayments. 

Interest 1.0% per fortnight AND only 

charged on utilised amount. Draw 

down and repay, at any time. 

PaySpace 

payspace.com 

PaySpace are excited to announce 

that we are launching a new 

Employee Self Service (ESS) portal 

on 1st February 2017. The two 

major enhancements included in 

the new release are the any device, 

multi-language features. The portal 

dynamically adapts to any device 

including a smartphone, tablet, 

laptop or desktop. Secondly, users 

will have the ability to select a 

language preference other than 

English. We are launching with 

Portuguese as an additional 

language option and plan to add 

more prevalent languages on the 

African continent soon! 

Preno 

prenohq.com 

Preno integrates with Kounta: Preno 

hotel management system releases 

their integration with Kounta’s cloud 

based POS system. The integration 

enables hoteliers to provide a 

seamless experience for their 

guests. Kounta and Preno will allow 

guests to ‘bill to room’ when dining 

at the restaurant. The restaurant 

charges will automatically be sent 

to the guest’s booking, and they can 

pay for everything upon checkout. 

When both Preno and Kounta 

are connected to Xero, all of the 

accounting entries will be pushed to 

their relevant chart of accounts for 

the same streamlined accounting 

experience! 

Primaseller 

primaseller.com 

• Shipper integrations with USPS, 

UPS, UPS Mail Innovations, DHL 

Express, DHL Global Mail, DHL 

International, FedEx, Royal Mail, 

Canada Post, Australia Post. 

• New, improved, and more 

detailed order details screen. 

• Configurable rounding logic for 

invoices. 

• Integration with eBay Europe 

(Italy, France, UK, Germany), 

Australia, Singapore, Malaysia. 

• Integration with Amazon Europe 

(Italy, France, UK, Germany, 

Spain). 

• Integration with Magento 2.x 

• Integration with WooCommerce. 

• Introducing Variation Products: 

Enter variants of products based 

on size, weight, color, etc. 

ProfitSee 

myprofitsee.com 

We pride ourselves on our ability 

to quickly update our tools and 

features to help you automate and 

simplify your advisory services. 

We’re very excited to announce that 

we are revamping our Scenarios 

tool. Thanks to feedback from our 

users we are updating the design 

to make it even more user-friendly, 

and adding new Scenario variations 

to make it even easier to create 

great strategic business plans for 

your clients. Learn more about our 

Scenarios at: 

www.myprofitsee.com/features and 

if you have any requests, send your 

ideas to: 

partnersuccess@myprofitsee.com! 

Quotient 

quotientapp.com 

Our latest arrival: Imports for Items 

and Contacts. If you’re just starting 

out with Quotient, or you’ve been 

using it for a while, Imports now 

make it easy to get your data into 

Quotient. 

https://www.quotientapp.com/ 

blog/import-items-and-contacts 

It’s time to give back, introducing 

Quotient referrals. Give 1 month 

free. Get $50/£30 credit. You can 

now share Quotient with your 

friends to earn credit on your 

account. 

https://www.quotientapp.com/ 

blog/introducing-quotient-referrals 

Spotlight 

spotlightreporting.com 

Major consolidations update 

including automated intercompany 

eliminations and new FX options: 

You can now tag accounts as 

intercompany accounts and 

Spotlight will automatically 

eliminate these every month. Just 

click the Eliminate Accounts button 

on the Group Customise Data tab 

and specify the intercompany 

account(s) in each entity. If there 

are any FX differences that arise 

from the elimination, these will 

be journaled into a FX adjustment 

row in the reports. We’ve added 

a number of new FX options. 

You can now view the FX rates 

used in Spotlight by clicking the 

Edit Exchange Rates button on 

the Group Settings page. When 

converting profit & loss values, you 

can choose between using the ‘Xe. 

com’ month-end rate, the monthly 

average rate, or you can enter your 

own rate. 

https://vimeo.com/176252271 

Six industry templates: Our new 

six industry templates take the 

effort out of creating tailored 

reports. Each template is built 

with your business in mind and 

displays the key metrics you 

should consider. The pre-built 

charts will work straight out of 

the box. No more fiddling around 

trying to figure out how to create 

formulas. Alternatively, if you want 

to customise the charts for your 

unique setup, use the formula 

builder option in the chart to view 

and edit the formulas. Industries 

include SaaS, Professional 

Services, Retail, Agriculture - 

Dairy, Agriculture - Livestock and 

Hospitality. 


New formula gallery: This new 

feature will allow administrators 

to create formulas which all users 

can access and use. This means 

many accounting firms will save 

time as users will be able to reuse 

formulas rather than re-creating 

them. It will also reduce errors or 

inconsistencies that previously 

occurred because not everyone was 

using the same formula or didn’t 

re-enter formula correctly. 


New P&L reporting options and 

cash flow statement: We added six 

new reporting options for the profit 

and loss report. Users will now 

be able to compare a two-month 

period or quarter against budget or 

last year. In addition, we’ve added 

rolling twelve month and current 

financial year options as well. We’ve 

also released a highly requested 

feature from users. A new cash flow 

statement page has been released 

to report on the movements in a 

more tabular format. It will enable 

advisors and businesses to track 

cash movements throughout the 

year and ensure they maintain good 

control of spending. 


Taxify 

taxify.co 

New ‘Automated Sales Tax 

Dashboard’: Taxify offers small 

and midsize businesses an easy 

way to automate sales tax filings 

everywhere in the United States. 

They recently released a new 

dashboard to give accountants a 

clear look at sales tax risks on a 

state-by-state basis, and to help 

them decide where to collect and 

remit sales tax. They have also 

made it easier for accountants to 

understand how sales tax impacts 

monthly cash flows. You can 

start a free trial of Taxify on their 

site:http://www.taxify.co 




Taking the ‘auto-magical’ 

to the next level 

EntryRocket saves time and money in ways 

you could never imagine... 

DID YOU 

KNOW... 

If you create 

your purchase 

orders in another 

system, you can’t 

import them into 

Xero… unless you 

use EntryRocket. 

Invoices, 

bills, bank 

transactions, 

payments, 

purchase orders, 

contacts, manual 

journals are some 

of the things that 

EntryRocket can 

import into Xero 

for you. 

A 

uto-magical. Bringing 

auto-imagination to life. 

Whatever you want to call it. 

EntryRocket (formerly known as 

CSV2Cloud) is the automation 

engine that is changing lives 

around the world. 

You may not know them by name, 

but rest assured, there are two 

humble, hard working European 

gentlemen programming away, 

working long nights and early 

mornings, creating automation 

magic for Xero users just like you. 

Whether you want to get 

information into Xero fast or get 

it out fast, EntryRocket has you 

covered. It is the piece of the 

puzzle that fits in perfect place for 

you when nothing else does. It’s 

the gap-filler you won’t ever want 

to let go of. 

EntryRocket does two very complex 

things very well: 1) gets any data 

into Xero fast, data that you would 

usually have to enter or import 

manually, and 2) exports data out of 

Xero - in any way that you need it. 

In order to explain how EntryRocket 

makes the complex simple, let me 

give you some real life scenarios to 

paint a picture. 

Imagine this scenario, your 

business or your client have a 

@jeri_murph 

Jeri Murphy, Co-Founder, 

WhichAddOn.com 

Jeri is one of the world’s top cloud 

integrators helping businesses 

and their advisors move into and 

maximise the cloud. As an ecosystem 

expert trainer and cloud integration 

specialist, Jeri spends her time 

discovering hidden Add-ons and Apps 

that make a difference in the world 

and bringing them to light. 

finance team where one member 

enters in all the fuel mileage 

records and fuel bills for the 

previous month, breaking them 

down by vehicle, cost centre and 

entering in all the different charges 

to different accounts. There are 

120 employees worth of fuel cards 

to enter. This process takes her 

around 10 hours per month - the 

best part of two days. 

With EntryRocket, this entire 

process could be complete in under 

5 minutes. Let’s say that employee 

costs you $25 per hour - that’s $250 

per month spent minimum. Once 

everything is set up, for a scenario 

like this, which would include say 

5 bills total - one per cost center, 

EntryRocket would cost $25 per 

month. That’s a saving of $225 on 

just one process. 

Let’s take another example. Bill is 

a retail shop owner. He has three 

stores in the US - one in New York 

City, one in Los Angeles and another 

in Denver. Bill has been using his 

favorite point of sale (POS) system 

in his business for the last 10 years 

as his business has grown from just 

one New York city store, to the three 

stores he has now. His accountant 

has tried to convince him to move 

to a more modern cloud based POS 

system so Bill can see what’s going 

on in real time in all his stores, but 

Bill is stubborn and is not changing 

his mind. 

Each night, when Bill gets home, he 

prints out his end-of-day cash-up 

sheets and leaves them for his wife 

to enter into Xero the next day. If 

she doesn’t get a chance to do it, 

which is often, she emails them 

onto the accountant who has to 

have his junior accountant enter 

them into Xero once every week. 

EntryRocket could save this family 

time, money and relieve their stress 

of all these incomplete tasks. 

Another side benefit is 0 errors, 

which are to be expected from time 

to time with manual data entry. 

As a first step, instead of printing 

off his end-of-day cash-up sheet, 

Bill would simply download it 

as a CSV file and forward it to 

the EntryRocket team. They will 

review the file and work with Bill to 

confirm that they understand the 

information within the exported 

CSV file and what needs to be 

imported into Xero. EntryRocket 

then builds a parser - think little 

piece of customised software - that 

will read that CSV file each time it is 

sent and in this case, automatically 

convert it into an invoice in Xero. 

That’s it! If Bill’s system could 

automatically generate the end-ofday 

report as a CSV file and email 

it to his designated EntryRocket 

Recently, I met with Vlad and Nemanja from 

EntryRocket to get some answers to the 

questions I know you are going to have. 

JM: What types of files can EntryRocket 

accept to import into Xero? 

V: Most common file types we process are 

CSV, Excel, XML, JSON, TXT and IIF files. We 

process PDF files as well, unless they’re 

scanned copies of paper documents. 

JM: How do you get started with 

EntryRocket? 

N: All you need to do is email your 

sample file to help@entryrocket.com 

with a brief explanation of what you need 

and we’ll be in touch to arrange a short 

meeting, if needed. Or you can just start 

chatting directly with us on our website at 

entryrocket.com. 

JM: How much is EntryRocket? 

N: The process of reviewing your sample 

file and understanding your process is 

free. Once you are happy that we can give 

email address, then he wouldn’t 

have to do a thing! That information 

would auto-magically appear in 

Xero. No printing for Bill. No stress 

for his wife. No extra bills from the 

accountant for Bill. 

Can you see now why Entry Rocket 

is taking the auto-magical to the 

next level? 

Your questions answered by the Founders... 

FROM A 

HAPPY 

CUSTOMER 

“Hours of manual 

work on a weekly 

basis is done in 

seconds!! Thank 

you so much to 

the EntryRocket 

Team.” 

Irma Bantjes, 

Stratus Financial 

Group, Australia 

you the result you want and you can see 

the money and time savings, we will start 

building the parser for you. The cost of the 

setup starts at $99 and usually takes 2-3 

days depending on how quickly we can get 

answers to a few short questions from you. 

Monthly subscription starts at just $25 and 

depends on how many invoices, bills, bank 

transactions, etc. we create for you in Xero. 

You can see all our prices at entryrocket. 

com 

JM: What else can you tell me about 

EntryRocket that you want XU Magazine 

readers to know? 

V: We believe anything is possible. 

We don’t think about EntryRocket as 

just another cloud app. It’s more like a 

combination of an IT agency and a cloud 

app, just at a fraction of the cost of hiring 

an IT agency. We can do very complex and 

customised things, but also save time on 

simple things that you might not even think 

we can help you with. Get in touch with 

us and we’ll give you a straight answer, 

usually right away, on our online chat. 




Get ready, set, go! 

the importance of a good set-up 

Aleisha Fletcher, Manager, Williams 

Giles Chartered Accountants 

Aleisha is a manager at Williams Giles 

Chartered Accountants specialising 

in Xero. Aleisha not only deals with 

accounts and bookkeeping, but 

also runs workshops, training and 

Spotlight Events with Xero Partners in 

order to spread the word about cloud 

accounting. 

So you’ve seen the demo, watched the videos, been won 

over by the impressive design and are ready to take the 

leap and move your business across to Xero….but what 

next? Where do you begin? Aleisha explains why it is so 

important to get your Xero setup and conversion right, 

along with some hints and tips along the way... 

W 

hy is the Xero set up so 

important? 

One of the best pieces of advice 

we give to our clients is that you 

will get out of Xero what you 

invest into it. Be it a new company 

starting from the beginning, or 

conversion of an existing company 

from different accounting software, 

the first big step, and perhaps the 

most important, is the setup of Xero 

itself. 

It is from this point that your 

records will be built, and like 

building a house, your foundations 

are key. 

With a good setup and 

understanding of the software, 

you will reap all the rewards of 

automation and self-reconciliation 

that Xero has to offer. We would 

therefore always advise investing 

the time at the beginning and 

enlisting the help of a Xero certified 

advisor. 

Get Ready! 

Company Details - The first step of 

any Xero set up is the input of the 

company information, so ensure 

that you have all information to 

hand, including the Company No. 

and VAT details (where relevant) 

before you begin. Entering this 

information now will save you 

having to go back at a later date 

and fill in any gaps. 

User details - A great feature of Xero 

is the ability to have an unlimited 

number of users, and customise the 

permissions and access that each 

user has depending on their job 

role within your company. Users can 

be added and customised once the 

initial setup is complete, however 

Xero will also give you the option 

at this point to invite another user, 

such as your Xero Advisor, to allow 

you to get some help with the 

following, more technical steps. 

Chart of Accounts - Xero does have 

a default chart of accounts, and this 

may provide ample information for 

a new start-up company. However, 

if you want to report in some 

detail, or are converting from other 

accounting software, now is a great 

time to think about exactly what 

information you would like Xero 

to show, and customise your chart 

of accounts accordingly, giving 

you a great platform from the very 

beginning. 

• Are there additional nominal 

codes that you would like to have 

within your chart of accounts? 

• Would you like to be able to 

split your sales income into 

categories? 

• Would you like to breakdown 

your direct expenses into details 

to be able to see exactly where 

your main costs lie? 

• Will you be moving across from 

different accounting software and 

want to keep your current chart 

of accounts and codes the same? 

If any of these are the case, it is 

at the setup stage that you can 

import a customised chart of 

accounts, specifically tailoring 

this to your company, and taking 

your preferences into account. 

Xero does at this stage provide a 

template for you to use should you 

wish to import your own chart, or 

edit the Xero default chart. 

These points really need some 

thought and discussion with 

your accountant as they are the 

foundations of your accounting 

system. 

Get Set! 

Invoice templates - Businesses are 

driven by sales, so getting the sales 

invoice template setup is always a 

priority. 

As with the Chart of Accounts, Xero 

does have a default template that 

will pull in your company details 

and logo, however you can also 

import or create a more customised 

design using the template 

download. This is really useful if 

you would like the invoice designed 

a set way, to be more customised, 

or if you are trying to recreate to 

match an existing invoice template. 

This can be a bit fiddly, however 

within Xero Help is a summary of all 

place holders that can be used. 

If using the customise option, I 

would always recommend posting 

a dummy sales invoice and using 

this to check how your template is 

looking, re-running, and using trial 

and error if necessary until you are 

happy with how your invoice looks. 

Converting from other software? - 

Tips and tricks 

Where the company is already 

established, entering the 

conversion balances correctly goes 

hand-in-hand with the setup itself, 

and is key to ensure a smooth 

transition of record keeping and 

reliability of the company ledgers. 

A few points to consider when 

entering your conversion balances 

from previous software: 

1. Lock down old software’s 

posting dates 

Ensuring all reconciliations work 

and records are complete - this 

then makes sure that the opening 

balances in Xero will be correct 

and final. 

2. Export a full TB for balances (not 

just balance sheet codes) 

This will ensure that your Xero 

has full comparative figures for 

both income and expenditure, as 

well as your profit and loss codes 

3. Bank balance 

The bank balance in the 

conversion TB should be the 

bank statement balance as 

at the conversion date, with 

any outstanding lodgements 

and payments etc. posted to 

a suspense code to be netted 

off as they actually clear the 

bank (as these will have already 

been included in the previous 

accounts). This will not only 

ensure that no transactions are 

replicated in the changeover but 

also that going forward your bank 

reconciliation will work. 

4. Export the contact list for both 

customers and suppliers 

Using the import templates within 

Xero can save time and enable 

you to import a lot of data in one 

hit. These can be done together 

as one import - see template 

within Xero. 

5. Run and import detailed Debtors 

and Creditors reports 

Make sure the current VAT 

scheme is taken into account 

(if on cash scheme, these will 

need to have the VAT included 

so that it can be pulled onto the 

Xero VAT returns as payments 

are received). These should tie 

up exactly to the conversion 

balances on aged receivables 

and payables. As with the bank, 

ensuring this initial setup is 

done correctly will save a big 

reconciliation headache down the 

line! 

6. VAT 

To ensure a smooth conversion 

with no differences or errors 

pulled into the VAT reconciliation 

report, the VAT balance can be 

dealt with in much the same 

way as the bank account. 

The outstanding VAT return 

figure should be posted as the 

conversion balance and any 

adjustments not yet accounted 

for, posted to a VAT suspense 

account, allowing these to be 

correctly cleared and dealt with 

through a clearing account 

without your conversion balances 

changing and causing errors 

within the VAT reconciliation in 

Xero. 

The VAT reconciliation report is 

an extremely useful report which, 

when set up correctly will fully 

reconcile your VAT, showing the 

breakdown of VAT on payables/ 

receivables, VAT owed to HMRC 

and VAT un-submitted. This 

report will only be accurate 

however, if the conversion VAT 

balances are entered correctly 

and so it is important to ensure 

these are dealt with properly on 

set up. 

Any differences not yet included 

or accounted for on a VAT return 

should then be corrected on the 

first day of the financial year in 

Xero to ensure they are dealt with 

on the next VAT return. 

7. Finally 

It is important that lock dates are 

used, not only on your old system 

to ensure nothing is changed 

but also in Xero, to ensure that 

your conversion balances aren’t 

accidentally amended. 

Bank feed set up 

Once all of your historic data 

is correct in Xero, you will be 

ready and able to get your bank 

transactions for the current 

year uploaded to Xero, in order 

to start bookkeeping from the 

solid foundations of your setup. 

It is always best practice to get 

your direct bank feed installed, 

which can be backdated to your 

conversion date. 

Go! 

With the setup and conversion 

balances firmly under your belt, 

you are ready to start inputting 

data and explore all Xero has to 

offer with regard to its processing 

and reporting capabilities, in the 

knowledge that your records and 

ledgers are accurate and complete. 




App Directory 

App Directory 

App/Service Directory 

To advertise, please email the team at: advertising@xumagazine.com 

OVER 

500 

APPS 

Xploite | @xploiteapp 

xploite.com 

Zendesk by Cloud Elements | 

@CloudElements 

cloud-elements.com 

Zendesk by Zapier 

zapier.com/zapbook/xero/zendesk 

Web Industries 

webindustries.co.nz 

DEBTOR Debtor Tracking TRACKING 

Chaser | @chaser_io 

chaser.io 

Vision6 | @vision6 

vision6.com.au 

XO Cashflow | @xocashflow 

xocashflow.com 

DOCUMENTS 

Documents 

Boxkite | @getboxkite 

Magento by Unleashed | @unleashedteam 

unleashedsoftware.com 

Magento by Zapier | @zapier 

zapier.com 

Magento Integration (Fooman) | @foomanNZ 

xero.fooman.co.nz 

Bills & Expenses 

AutoEntry | @OCRexSoftware 

MP Travel | @MPTravelPtyLtd 

mptravel.com.au 

Nexonia | @nexonia 

MMC Convert | @mmcconvert 

mmcconvert.com 

CustomerSure | @CustomerSure 

customersure.com 

Exsalerate | @exsalerate 

BESPOKE Bespoke Integration 

INTEGRATION 

3Bit Solutions 

getboxkite.com 

DiGA - Xero Excel Reporting | 

@BiznizBackbone 

autoentry.com 

nexonia.com 

exsalerate.com 

3bit.com 

businessbackbone.co.uk 

Intelligently Capture 

Invoices and Receipts 

straight into 

Xero 

PocketSmith | @PocketSmith 

pocketsmith.com 

Receipt Bank | @ReceiptBank 

receipt-bank.com 

Global Leader in 

Data Conversion 

Fuseboard 

fuseboardapp.com 

Highrise Connector By Xero 

help.xero.com/Network_Highrise 

Infoodle | @infoodle 

infoodle.com 

Infusionsoft By Zapier | @zapier 

zapier.com 

Axis Direct | @NZAxisDirect 

axisdirect.nz 

Custom D | @customdhq 

customd.com 

Databuzz | @databuzz 

databuzz.com.au 

Digital Fusion 

teamdf.com 

Your invoices paid 

on time, automatically 

www.chaser.io 

Check Business 

check-business.co.uk 

CreditorWatch | @creditorwatch 

Evernote by Zapier | @zapier 

zapier.com 

Formitize | @Formitize 

formitize.com/en 

Google Docs by Zapier | @zapier 

zapier.com 

Hubdoc | @Hubdoc 

hubdoc.com 

Magento by Carry The One 

carrytheone.co.uk 

Insightly For Xero | @insightlyapp 

Dynamic Solutions Ltd 

creditorwatch.com.au 

Qwilr | @Qwilr 

MINDBODY | @mindbodyonline 

.com 

XpressConvert 

insightly.com 

dynamic-solutions.co.nz 

Debtograph | @Debtograph 

qwilr.com 

partner.mindbodyonline.com 

xpressconvert.com.au 

JunariCRM+ | @JunariCRMplus 

EndGame | @GoEndGame 

debtograph.com 

Webrecs | @Webrecs 

Neto | @netoecommerce 

Abacus | @abacus 

abacus.com 

ABUKAI Expenses | @abukai_news 

abukai.com 

CRM 

24SevenOffice | @24SOSupport 

24sevenoffice.com/uk 

junaricrmplus.com 

Legrand CRM | @Legrand 

legrandcloudcrm.com/home 

Magnetism 

end-game.com/xero 

ExcluServ | @ExcluServ 

excluserv.co.uk 

Foundation Data 

Debtor Daddy | @debtordaddy 

debtordaddy.com 

EzyCollect | @ezyCollect 

ezycollect.com.au 

webrecs.com.au 

eCommerce 

eCommerce 

A2X Accounting | @a2xaccounting 

neto.com.au 

OneSaas for Opencart | @onesaas 

onesaas.com 

OneSaas for WooCommerce | @onesaas 

ApprovalMax | @ApprovalMax 

Scan2Invoice 

ACT! Link by Xact Software | @Xactsoftware 

magnetismsolutions.com 

foundationdata.co.nz 

Funding Gates | @fundinggates 

a2xaccounting.com 

onesaas.com 

approvalmax.com 

scan2invoice.com 

xactsoftware.co.nz 

Mailchimp by OneSaas | @onesaas 

Harmonic New Media 

fundinggates.com 

Airsquare | @airsquare 

Opencart by Carry The One 

senddr | @senddirect 

AffinityLive | @affinitylive 

onesaas.com/integrate 

harmonicnewmedia.com 

InvoiceSherpa | @invoicesherpa 

airsquare.com 


senddr.com 

affinitylive.com 

MailSync | @MailSync 

Hashbang | @hashbangnz 

invoicesherpa.com 

Amazon.com by Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs 

osCommerce by Carry The One 

Shoeboxed | @Shoeboxed 

Agile CRM | @agilecrm 

mailsyncapp.com 

hashbang.co.nz 

IODM | @IODM_Software 

stitchlabs.com 


shoeboxed.com 

agilecrm.com 

Ninjodo | @Ninjodo 

Infopower 

iodm.com.au 

Bigcommerce by Carry The One 

PayPal by Zapier | @zapier 

Tallie | @UseTallie 

Arlo 

ninjodo.com 

customintegration.co.nz 

Late Fee Manager | @LateFeeManager1 


zapier.com 

tallie.com 

arlo.co 

OnePage CRM | @OnePageCRM 

Interlockit.com 

latefeemanager.com 

Bigcommerce by OneSaas | @onesaas 

Pepperi 

Tripcatcher | @Tripcatcher 

Base CRM | @getbase 

welcome.onepagecrm.com 

interlockit.com 

LedgerLive 

onesaas.com 

pepperi.com 

tripcatcherapp.com 

getbase.com 

OneSaas for Salesforce | @onesaas 

iSOS 

ledgerlive.com 

Bigcommerce by Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs 

PrestaShop by Carry The One 

Trippeo | @trippeo 

Batchbook | @batchbook 

onesaas.com 

isos.com 

Mentio | @mentiohq 



trippeo.com 

batchbook.com 

OneSaas for Zoho CRM | @onesaas 

NetEngine | @Net_Engine 

mentio.ca 

Carry The One 

Rocketspark | @Rocketspark 

webexpenses | @webexpenses 

Breadwinner 

onesaas.com/integrate 

netengine.com.au 

ONECLICK Cash Collection | 


rocketspark.com 

Automatic Mileage Expensing | 

webexpenses.com 

breadwinnerhq.com 

Pepperi 

Numernet | @numernet 

@ONECLICK_Apps 

Checkfront | @Checkfront 

@automatic 

Webrecs | @Webrecs 

CallPro CRM | @callprocrm 

pepperi.com 

numernet.com 

oneclickcashcollection.co.uk 

checkfront.com 

automatic.com 

webrecs.com.au 

callprocrm.com/eur 

PropertySuite | @PropertySuite 

nuSoftware | @nu_Software 

Promptly | @Paid_Promptly 

CS Cart by 4Sprung | @cscart 

Bill.com | @billcom 

Xpenditure | @Xpenditure 

CapsuleCRM | @CapsuleCRM 

propertysuite.co.nz 

nusoftware.com 

paidpromptly.com 

marketplace.cs-cart.com 

bill.com 

xpenditure.com/en 

capsulecrm.com 

QikBizCRM | @QikBizNZ 

Open Sauce Systems | 

Satago | @SatagoHQ 

Dremus | @dremus 

Datamolino | @datamolino 

datamolino.com 

Entryless | @Entryless 

CONVERSIONS 

Conversions 

Click 2 Convert | @C2Convert 

Carry The One For Salesforce 


ClickDesk Live Chat | @ClickDesk 

qikbizcrm.com 

Quick Win Development | @quickwindev 

quickwindevelopment.com 

@OpenSauceSystem 

opensauce.systems 

Red Arc Systems 

satago.com 

dremus.com 

eBay by OneSaas | @onesaas 

onesaas.com 

entryless.com 

c2convert.com 

clickdesk.com 

Really Simple Systems | @ReallySimpleSys 

redarc.systems 

eBay by Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs 

ExpenseMagic | @ExpenseMagic 

cloudconvert | @CloudconvertSa 

Collabspot | @collabspot 

reallysimplesystems.com/uk 

Red Jungle Limited | @redjungle 


expensemagic.com 

Expensify | @expensify 

use.expensify.com/xero 

Hubdoc | @Hubdoc 

cloudconvert.co.za 

ConvertworX | @ConvertworX 

convertworx.com.au 

FITmyBooks 

collabspot.com 

Client Heartbeat | @ClientHeartbeat 

clientheartbeat.com 

ClubHub | @ClubHubSSL 

SalesSeek | @SalesSeek 

salesseek.net 

Solve CRM | @solve360 

redjungle.com 

Sixtree | @sixtreeau 

sixtree.com.au 

Smudge | @smudgeio 

Complete Cashflow 

Confidence 

eCC Cloud | @webgility 

webgility.com 

ecwid by Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs 


Sendle | @sendle 

sendle.com 

Shopify | @Shopify 

hubdoc.com 

inSTREAM | @celaton 

fitmybooks.co.za 

JetConvert | @JetConvert 

clubhub.co.nz/ 

commonsku | @commonsku 

solve360.com 

SugarCRM Klix Connector | @klix_media 

smudge.io 

Southgate Labs | @SouthgateLabs 

www.satago.com 

Expandly | @expandly 

expandly.com 

shopify.com 

Shopify by Carry The One 

celaton.com/instream 

jetconvert.com.au 

commonsku.com 

webdatadesign.com.au 

southgatelabs.com 

ezimerchant | @ezimerchant 


InvoiceSmash | @invoicesmash 

Movemybooks | @movemybooks 

Communigator 

SyncApps by Cazoomi | @Cazoomi 

The Logic Studio 

Sky Collect | @SkyCollect 

ezimerchant.com 

Shopify by Pipemonk | @pipe_monk 

invoicesmash.com 

movemybooks.co.uk 

communigator.co.nz 

cazoomi.com 

logicstudio.nz 

skycollect.com 

Intellibook | @intellibookapp 

pipemonk.com 

iqBoxy Receipts | @IQBoxy 

ConstantContact | @ConstantContact 

Vision6 | @vision6 

Trineo | @trineoltd 

smartAR | @getpaidontime 

intellibook.co 

Shopify By Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs 

iqboxy.com 

constantcontact.com 

vision6.com.au 

trineo.co.nz 

smartar.co.nz 

Loaded Commerce by Carry The One 


Keebo | @KeeboUK 

CRM Online 

WORK[etc] CRM | @WORKetc_support 

Trio Technology | @Trio_Tech 

SMS My Debtors | @smsmydebtors 


Shopify By Tradevine | @TradevineTeam 

keebo.com 

crmonline.com.au 

worketc.com 

triotech.co.nz 

smsmydebtors.com 

Magento by OneSaas | @onesaas 

tradevine.com 

onesaas.com 




App Directory 

App Directory 

Squarespace | @squarespace 

Current RMS | @currentrms 

aXcelerate | @aXcelerate 

iTrade 

Qwilr | @Qwilr 

TimeCamp | @timecamp 

EntryRocket | @csv2cloud 

pensionsync | @pensionsync 

squarespace.com 

current-rms.com 

axcelerate.com 

itrade.net 

qwilr.com 

timecamp.com 

entryrocket.com 

pensionsync.com 

Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs 

DEAR Inventory | @DearInventory 

BookingBug | @bookingbug 

JobAdder | @jobadder 

RepairShopr | @RepairShopr 

Tomahawk / Resbook | @TomahawkNZ 


dearsystems.com 

bookingbug.com 

jobadder.com 

repairshopr.com 

tomahawk.co.nz 

Storbie | @storbiecommerce 

storbie.com 

Synergy 8 | @SynergyEight 

synergy8.com 

TaxJar | @TaxJar 

Expandly | @expandly 

expandly.com 

Farmflo | @farmflo 

farmflo.com 

Fishbowl Manufacturing and Warehouse 

briefcase 

getbriefcase.net 

BuilderTREND | @BuilderTREND 

buildertrend.com 

buildXACT 

JobPro Central 

jobprocentral.com 

JobReady | @JobReadyNSW 

jobready.com.au 

Jobsheet | @jobsheet 

Senddr | @senddirect 

senddr.com 

ServiceM8 | @ServiceM8 

servicem8.com 

Simple Salon | @SimpleSalon 

Total Synergy | @totalsynergy 

totalsynergy.com 

Tradify | @tradifyhq 

tradifyhq.com 

TriggerApp | @triggerapp 

at the heart of 

autoenrolment 

connecting payroll 

to pensions 

taxjar.com 

@fishbowl | fishbowlinventory.com 

buildxact.com.au 

jobsheetapp.com 

simplesalon.com 

triggerapp.com 

TradeGecko | @tradegecko 

tradegecko.com 

Manu Online Ltd | @ManuOnlineLtd 

manuonline.com 

CheckVault | @CheckVault 

checkvault.com.au 

LEAP | @LEAP4SmallFirms 

leap.co.uk 

simPRO | @simprosoftware 

simprogroup.com 

Union Square | @unionsquareltd 

unionsquaresoftware.com 

www.pensionsync.com 

Tradevine | @TradevineTeam 

MRPEasy | @mrpeasy 

Clarizen by Sixtree | @sixtreeau 

Manu Online Ltd | @ManuOnlineLtd 

Smart Reports 

Vinosmith | @thevinosmith 

tradevine.com 

mrpeasy.com 


manuonline.com 

smartreports.com.au 

vinosmith.com 

ePrint MIS | @eprintmis 

PocketRent | @PocketRent 

Veeqo | @Veeqo 

OrderHarmony | @orderharmony 

Cliniko | @Cliniko 

MechanicDesk | @mechanicdesk 

SmartTrade | @SmartTradeSW 

Vinsight | @VinsightSW 

eprintmis.com 

pocketrent.com 

veeqo.com 

orderharmony.com 

cliniko.com 

mechanicdesk.com.au 

smarttrade.biz 

vinsight.net 

Eventbrite by OneSaas | @onesaas 

PocketSmith | @PocketSmith 

Vextras - Kiwi | @vextras 

RentalSaaS.com | @rentalsasa 

Clio | @goclio 

Mindbody by QSSConnect | @QuoteStockSell 

SmartBiller | @smartbiller 

VINx2 | @vinx2 

onesaas.com 

pocketsmith.com 

vextras.com 

rentalsaas.com 

goclio.com 

quotestocksell.com 

smartbiller.co.nz 

vinx2.com 

Eventbrite by Zapier | @zapier 

Podio by Phases 

Volusion by Vextras | @vextras 

RepairShopr | @RepairShopr 

Co-construct 

MinuteDock | @minutedock 

Socket | @socketapp 

vWork | @vWorkApp 

zapier.com 

xepod.net 

vextras.com 

repairshopr.com 

global.co-construct.com 


socketapp.com 

vworkapp.com 

Expense Check | @expensecheck 

Podio by Zapier | @zapier 

Web Widgets 

simPRO | @simprosoftware 

commonsku | @commonsku 

Sohnar Limited / TrafficLive | @TrafficLIVE 

Web EDI | @webedi 

expensecheck.com.au 

zapier.com 

websitebuilder.nz 

simprogroup.com 

commonsku.com 

trafficlive.com 

webedi.co.uk 

ezyVet | @ezyvet 

Progressclaim.com | @progressclaim 

Zeald | @zeald 

StarShipIt | @ShipITclick 

ConnectWise by Wise-Sync | @wisesync 

SpannerPlanner | @spannerplanner 

WHMCS for Xero | @edgehosting 

ezyvet.com 

progressclaim.com 

zeald.com 

starshipit.com 

wise-sync.com 

spannerplanner.com 

edgehosting.co.uk 

Farmflo | @farmflo 

PropertyTree | @PropertyTree 

Zen Cart by Carry The One 

Stitch Labs | @StitchLabs 

Copper | @copperproject 

Streamtime | @streamtime 

Work[etc] CRM | @WORKetc_support 

farmflo.com 

propertytree.com 



copperproject.com 

streamtime.net 

worketc.com 

Flowrev | @flowrev 

Re-leased | @re_leased 

FINANCIAL Financial Services SERVICES 

BizFi | @Bizfinyc 

TidyBuild | @TidyBuild 

tidybuild.com 

TidyStock | @TidyStock 

Corecon | @Corecon 

corecon.com 

coreplus | @Intracore 

Synchroteam | @synchroteam 

synchroteam.com 

Synergist | @Synerg1st 

WorkflowMax | @WorkflowMax 

workflowmax.com 

flowrev.com 

Google Calender By Zapier | @zapier 

zapier.com 

re-leased.com 

Re-View | @Re_viewsoftware 

re-view.com 

bizfi.com 

BlueVine | @BluevineCapital 

tidystock.com 

coreplus.com.au 

CurrentRMS | @currentrms 

synergist.co.uk 

The Service Manager | @theservicemgr 

It’s a match made in heaven. 

Imporex 

imporex.com.au 

Real Estate Investar | @reiaustraila 

realestateinvestar.com.au 

bluevine.com 

current-rms.com 

Mobileezy | @MobileezyAust 

theservicemanager.com 

JobReady | @JobReadyNSW 

Rerun | @Rerunapp 

BodeTree | @BodeTree 

EMAC | @EMACsoftware 

mobileezy.com 

TidyBuild | @TidyBuild 

jobready.com.au 

rerunapp.com 

bodetree.com 

emac.com.au 

MyTrucking | @MyTrucking 

tidybuild.com 

JobSync | @jobsyncapp 

RightSignature | @RightSignature 

Everline | @everline 

ePrint MIS | @eprintmis 

mytrucking.co.nz 

jobsync.com.au 

rightsignature.com 

everline.com 

Financiery | @financiery 

financiery.com 

Fundbox | @fundbox 

fundbox.com 

Fundera | @fundera 

fundera.com 

Funding Options | @FundingOptions 

fundingoptions.com 

GetCapital | @Get_Capital 

getcapital.com.au 

STOCK 

MANAGEMENT 

TradeGecko | @tradegecko 

tradegecko.com 

tidystock com 

Unleashed Software | @unleashedteam 

unleashedsoftware.com 

Veeqo | @Veeqo 

eprintmis.com 

EService | @ECONZNewZealand 

econz.co.nz 

etz Technologies | @etzTechnologies 

etztec.com 

Fergus | @FergusApp 

fergusapp.com 

Fleetmatics WORK | @fleetmatics 

fleetmatics.com.au 

Formitize | @Formitize 

formitize.com 

NextMinute | @NextMinuteApp 

nextminute.com 

Ninjodo | @Ninjodo 

ninjodo.com 

Nucleus Logic | @NucleusLogic 

nucleuslogic.com 

pay RIGHT AWAY | @PayRIGHTAWAY 

payrightaway.com.au 

Progressclaim.com | @progressclaim 

progressclaim.com 

Proposify | @proposify 

CONSTRUCTION 

MANAGEMENT 

TidyEnterprise | @TidyInt 

tidybuild com 

Start your FREE trial: 

workflowmax.com/xero 

Workshop Software | @workshoponline 

workshopsoftware.com.au 

ZeroTime 

zerotime.io 

Other Other 

A2X Accounting | @a2xaccounting 

LEAP | @LEAP4SmallFirms 

leap.co.uk 

LedgerBackup 

ledgerbackup.com 

MailSync | @MailSync 

mailsyncapp.com 

MRPEasy | @mrpeasy 

mrpeasy.com 

MyDesktop | @MyDesktopAPI 

mydesktop.com.au 

MyFirmsApp | @MyFirmsApp 

SafeGuard My | @safeguardmy 

safeguardmy.com 

SAT FXOnline | @satworldwide 

satfxonline.co.uk 

Sendle | @sendle 

sendle.com 

Sharesight | @Sharesight 

sharesight.com 

Sharesight Pro | @Sharesight 

pro.sharesight.com.au 

Stryke Tax | @stryketax 

Kabbage | @KabbageInc 

veeqo.com 

FreshBooks | @freshbooks 

proposify.biz 

tidyenterprise.com 

a2xaccounting.com 

myfirmsapp.com 

stryke.com.au 

kabbage.com 

Vinsight | @VinsightSW 

help.xero.com 

ProWorkflow | @ProWorkflow 

Ag Profit | @AgProfitAus 

OneSaas | @onesaas 

Synergy 8 | @SynergyEight 

MarketInvoice | @MarketInvoice 

vinsight.net 

GeoOp | @GeoOp 

proworkflow.com 

agprofit.com.au 

onesaas.com 

synergy8.com 

marketinvoice.com 

Moula | @MoulaMoney 

moula.com.au 

INVOICING Invoicing & Jobs JOBS 

ActionStep | @Actionstep 

geoop.com 

Harvest | @harvest 

getharvest.com 

Quotient | @QuotientApp 

quotientapp.com 

Arlo 

arlo.co 

Avalara | @avalara 

Onsight | @Onsight_App 

onsightapp.com 

OzBiz Solutions | @OzBizSolutions 

Tax1099 | @efile1099 

tax1099.com 

Track1099 | @Track_1099 

SmartBiz Loans | @SmartBizLoans 

actionstep.com 

Houston Medical 

trustfile.avalara.com 

ozbizsolutions.com.au 

track1099.com 

smartbizloans.com 

Waddle | @getwaddle 

waddle.com.au 

INVENTORY 

Inventory 

24SevenOffice | @24SOSupport 

Active Collab By Trio | @Trio_Tech 

triotech.co.nz 

Acuity Scheduling | @AcuitySchedulin 

acuityscheduling.com 

AffinityLive | @affinitylive 

affinitylive.com 

houstonmedical.net 

iCOS LIVE | @iCOSLIVE 

icoslive.com 

inForm | @getinformapp 

getinform.com 

Intellibook | @intellibookapp 

MANUFACTURING 

tidyenterprise com 

TidyWork | @TidyWork 

Boxkite | @getboxkite 

getboxkite.com 

Business Oxygen Lite 

businessoxygen.com.au 

ClubHub | @ClubHubSSL 

clubhub.co.nz 

PennyPipe | @PennyPipe 

pennypipe.com 

TransferMate | @TransferMate 

transfermateonline.com 

Trustworks | @trustworksnz 

trustworks.co.nz 

Vinosmith | @thevinosmith 

vinosmith.com 

24sevenoffice.com 

AroFlo | @aro_flo 

intellibook.co 

tidywork.com 

CoverKit by NZI 

VINx2 | @vinx2 

CIN7 | @Cin7online 

aroflo.com 

invoiceASAP | @invoiceASAP 

Time Tracker by eBillity | @eBillity 

nzi.co.nz 

vinx2.com 

cin7.com 

Autotask by My Accounting Toolbox 

manage.invoiceasap.com 

ebillity.com 

Wise.NET | @WisenetLRM 

myaccountingtoolbox.com 

wisenet.co 




App Directory 

App Directory 

Workshop Software | @workshoponline 

workshopsoftware.com.au 

Wufoo by Zapier | @zapier 

Payment Express | @PaymentExpress 

paymentexpress.com 

PayPal | @PayPal 

Deputy | @deputyapp 

deputy.com 

Employment Hero | @EmploymentHero 

Web Payroll | @WEB_Payroll 

webpayroll.com.au 

Workforce Guardian | @workforceguard 

Asset Guru | @Asset_Guru 

asset.guru 

Benchmarking.com.au 

Infoodle | @infoodle 

infoodle.com 

TIME Time TRACKING Tracking 

ActionStep | @Actionstep 

ProWorkflow | @ProWorkflow 

proworkflow.com 

Roll | @rollhq 

zapier.com 

paypal.com 

employmenthero.com 

workforceguardian.com.au 

benchmarking.com.au 

actionstep.com 

rollhq.com 

Zapier | @zapier 

PayPal by Zapier | @zapier 

enableHR | @enableHR 

ZUUS Workforce | @zuusworkforce 

Bizeo | @bizeo 

briefcase 

SmartBiller | @smartbiller 

zapier.com 

zapier.com 

enablehr.com.au 

zuusworkforce.com 

bizeo.com.au 

getbriefcase.net 

smartbiller.co.nz 

Zendesk by Zapier | @zapier 

zapier.com 

Zenoti | @ZenotiSoftware 

zenoti.com 

PennyPipe | @PennyPipe 

pennypipe.com 

Pin Payments | @PinPayments 

pin.net.au 

Ento | @entohq 

ento.com 

ePayroll | @ePayrollAus 

epayroll.com.au 

POINT Point of OF Sale SALE 

CIN7 | @Cin7online 

cin7.com 

Blink Reports 

blinkreports.com 

Bode Tree | @BodeTree 

bodetree.com 

CRM & Donor 

Management Software 

CaseFox | @CaseFoxOnline 

casefox.com 

Chrometa | @Chrometa 

chrometa.com 

Sohnar Limited / TrafficLive | @TrafficLIVE 

trafficlive.com 

Streamtime | @streamtime 

streamtime.net 

Payments 

PAYMENTS 

Acuity Scheduling | @AcuitySchedulin 

Plooto | @PlootoInc 

app.plooto.co 

POLi Payments | @POLiPayments 

Flexitime | @FlexiTimeTeam 

flexitime.co.nz 

Gusto | @GustoHQ 

ClickPOS | @ClickPOS_Online 

clickpos.com 

Clover by Commerce Sync | 

BPM 

bpmglobal.com 

Bstar | @BstarAustralia 

CHARITIES CHURCHES COMMUNITY GROUPS 

www.infoodle.com 

Clarizen by Sixtree | @sixtreeau 


Copper | @copperproject 

Synergist | @Synerg1st 

synergist.co.uk 

Tanda | @TandaHQ 

acuityscheduling.com 

polipayments.com 

zenpayroll.com 

@commercesync 

bstar.com.au 

Klipfolio Dashboard | @klipfolio 

copperproject.com 

tanda.co 

Authorize.Net | @AuthorizeNet 

Promptly | @Paid_Promptly 

HR Partner | @HRPartnerApp 

commercesync.com 

Calxa | @calxa 

klipfolio.com 

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Temponia | @temponia 

reseller.authorize.net 

paidpromptly.com 

hrpartner.io 

Epos Now | @EposNow 

calxa.com 

LivePlan | @liveplan 

deputy.com 

temponia.com 

Bill and Pay | @BillandPay 

Rerun | @Rerunapp 

IMS Payroll 

eposnow.com 

Carbon Analytics | @co2analytics 

scoreboard.liveplan.com 

Ento | @entohq 

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billandpay.com 

rerunapp.com 

imspayroll.co.nz 

Evopos | @evoposdms 

co2analytics.com 

Mentio: Business Mentor | @mentiohq 

ento.com 

tidywork.com 

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SAT FXOnline | @satworldwide 

Intertec TimePro 

evopos.com 

Cash Flow Story 

mentio.ca 

Everhour | @everhour 

bill.com 

satfxonline.co.uk 

timesheets.com.au 

Infinity RMS | @InfinityRMS 

cashflowstory.com 

Momentum 

everhour.com 

Chargify | @Chargify 

Stripe | @stripe 

iPayroll 

infinityrms.com 

Checkmybooks | @checkmybooks 

atsora.com 

etz Technologies | @etzTechnologies 

chargify.com 

stripe.com 

ipayroll.co.nz 

iZettle | @iZettle 

checkmybooks.co.uk 

Moxy Cloud Reporting 

etztec.com 

Checkeeper | @Checkeeper 

Stripe by Commerce Sync | 

KeyPay | @KeyPayApp 

izettle.com 

Cyfe | @Cyfe 

moxyreports.com 

Flexitime | @FlexiTimeTeam 

checkeeper.com/xero 

CheckVault | @CheckVault 

checkvault.com.au 

Directli | @Directli 

directli.co.uk 

DPS Payment Express | @PaymentExpress 

@commercesync 

commercesync.com 

Stripe (Canada) | @stripe 

stripe.com 

Stripe (IE) | @stripe 

stripe.com 

keypay.com.au 

MyPAYE | @MyPAYE 

mypaye.co.uk 

Payescape 

payescape.com 

Payment Evolution | @payevo 

Kounta | @kounta 

kounta.com 

MINDBODY | @mindbodyonline 

partner.mindbodyonline.com 

Possboss | @posbosshq 

posbosshq.com 

cyfe.com 

DataDear | @DataDearApp 

datadear.com 

DiGA | @BiznizBackbone 

businessbackbone.co.uk 

Dryrun | @Mydryrun 

My Own CFO | @myown_cfo 

myown-cfo.com 

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neatly.io 

Panalitix | @panalitix 

panalitix.com 

flexitime.co.nz 

Freshdesk | @freshdesk 

freshdesk.com 

GeoOp | @GeoOp 

geoop.com 

Google Calender by Zapier | @zapier 

JOB 

MANAGEMENT 

tidywork com 

paymentexpress.co.uk 

Square | @Square 

paymentevolution.com 

Retail Express | @RetailExpress01 

dryrun.com 

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zapier.com 

Time Tracker by eBillity | @eBillity 

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squareup.com 

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retailexpress.com.au 

myprofitsee.com 

Harvest | @harvest 

ebillity.com 

eazycollect.co.uk 

Sush.io | @sushio 

paysonline.com.au 

rPOS by RPG | @RobotPubGroup 

getharvest.com 

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eWay | @eWAY_ 

eway.io 

Ezidebit | @Ezidebit 

ezidebit.com.au 

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sush.io 

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swipehq.co.nz 

Transfer Mate | @TransferMate 

transfermateonline.com 

PaySpace | @PaySpace 

payspace.com 

robotpubgroup.com 

Shogo 

shogo.io 

Shopify | @Shopify 

shopify.com 

Forecast your 

Cash Flow, Budget 

& Sales Scenarios 

iCOS LIVE - Online Transport 

Management | @iCOSLIVE 

icoslive.com 

IMS Service Track 

i-man.com.au 

timecamp.com 

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gettimely.com 

Timestamp | @timestamphq 

timestamphq.com 

gocardless.com 

TransferWise | @TransferWise 

Simple Salon | @SimpleSalon 

Intertec TimePro 

Total Synergy | @totalsynergy 

transferwise.com 

uCollect | @ucollect_biz 

ucollect.biz 

simplesalon.com 

Square | @Square 

squareup.com 

dryrun.com 

timesheets.com.au 

JobPro Central | @JobProCentral 

jobprocentral.com 

totalsynergy.com.au 

Tradify | @tradifyhq 

tradifyhq.com 

Make sure you get 

paid on time, every time 

with the GoCardless 

for Xero app 

gocardless.com/xero 

PAYROLL Payroll && HR HR 

Automated Data Processing Inc. | @ADP 

adp.com 

Boomr - Employee Time Clock | 

@BoomrApps 

Simplepay.ca | @simplepaycanada 

simplepay.ca 

C 

M 

Y 

Tower Systems | @TowerSystems 

towersystems.com.au 

Excel Int. Tools - QWD | @quickwindev 


Fathom | @fathomhq 

fathomhq.com 

Figured | @figuredapp 

figured.com 

QVinci | @Qvinci 

qvinci.com 

Ranqx 

ranqx.com 

RESULTS.com | @RESULTSdotcom 

KeyPay | @KeyPayApp 

keypay.com.au 

MinuteDock | @minutedock 


TriggerApp | @triggerapp 

triggerapp.com 

TSheets | @tsheets 

tsheets.com 

Tymwise | @kapaitymwise 

tymwise.com 

IntegraPay | @IntegraPay 

boomr.com 

CloudPayroll 

cloudpayroll.com.au 

SimplePay.co.za 

simplepay.co.za 

SimplePay.com.sg 

CM 

MY 

Financial Driver | @FinancialDriver 

financialdriver.com 

Float | @FloatApp 

results.com 

Saasabi | @Saasabi 

saasabi.com 

vWork | @vWorkApp 

vworkapp.com 

WorkflowMax | @WorkflowMax 

integrapay.com.au 

simplepay.com.sg 

CY 

floatapp.com 

SeederBoard | @seederboard 

workflowmax.com 

InvoiceSherpa | @invoicesherpa 

Smart Payroll | @smartpayroll 

CMY 

Futrli | @Futrli 

seederboard.com 

ZeroTime 

invoicesherpa.com 

iZettle | @iZettle 

izettle.com 

Kwanji | @KwanjiX 

kwanji.com 

Midpoint | @MidpointLtd 

midpoint.com 

OzForex | @ozforex 

ozforex.com.au 

New Zealand 

www.ipayroll.co.nz 

sales@ipayroll.co.nz 

Australia 

www.cloudpayroll.com.au 

sales@cloudpayroll.com.au 

smartpayroll.com.au 

SurePayroll | @SurePayroll 

lps.surepayroll.com 

Talenox | @Talenox 

talenox.com 

Tanda | @TandaHQ 

tanda.co 

Thankyou Payroll | @ThankyouPayroll 

thankyoupayroll.co.nz 

K 

Vend | @vendhq 

vendhq.com 

Zilch Consulting | @zilchconsulting 

zilchconsulting.com 

Reporting 

Ag Profit | @AgProfitAus 

futrli.com 

Grappster | @grappster 

grappster.com 

Simply Cashflow | @simplycashflow 

simplycashflow.com 

Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep 


Unleash 

unleash.us 

Vistr | @VistrTeam 

vistr.co 

Wink Reports ;) | @WinkReports 

Nexonia | @nexonia 

nexonia.com 

NextMinute | @NextMinuteApp 

nextminute.com 

Outlook Int.Tools - QWD | @quickwindev 

zerotime.io 

ZUUS Workforce | @zuusworkforce 

zuusworkforce.com 

PRACTICE Xero Practice MANAGER Manager 

AccountKit | @AccountKit 

account-kit.com 

Class Super | @ClassSuper 

class.com.au 

Pay RIGHT AWAY | @PayRIGHTAWAY 

Crystal Payroll 

The Payroll Site | @ThePayrollSite 

agprofit.com.au 

winkreports.com 


DataDear | @DataDearApp 

payrightaway.com.au 

crystalpayroll.com 

thepayrollsite.co.uk 

datadear.com 




• 

Excel Int. Tools - QWD | @quickwindev 


Exsalerate | @exsalerate 

exsalerate.com 

FORMbasic | @formbasic 

formbasic.com.au 

Mogul 

mogul.nz 

Practice Ignition | @ignitionapp 

practiceignition.com 

Receipt Bank | @ReceiptBank 

receipt-bank.com 

Spotlight Reporting | @spotlightrep 


Stryke Tax | @stryketax 

stryke.com.au 

Time Tracker by EndGame | @GoEndGame 

end-game.com 

Trustworks | @trustworksnz 

trustworks.co.nz 

Xero Workpapers | @Xero 

xero.com 

App Directory 

PROFESSIONAL Professional Services SERVICES 

AppsForOps | @AppsForOps 

appsforops.com 

• 

TIMESHEET 

• 

TRAVEL REQUEST 

TIME OFF 

• 

• 

EXPENSE CLAIM • 

www.AppsForOps.com 

SCHEDULER 

• 

RECEIPT & BILL 

EXPENSE PRE-APPROVAL 

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bglcorp.com 

Founding Supporters: XU Magazine’s Patrons 

• 

INVOICE 

Inform Direct Direct | @InformDirect directory advert_Layout 1 Cloud 2 Integrator/Outsourcing 

Integration/Outsourcing 

informdirect.co.uk 

Award-winning 

Company Secretarial 

Software 

Visit informdirect.co.uk 

and register to claim your 

28 day free trial 

Smart Assistant 

smartassistant.co.nz 

Between 23rd March and 14th April 2014, we launched our campaign to raise 

US$25,000 to fund the magazine on Indiegogo, one of the world’s largest 

crowdfunding websites. Amongst those of you who supported the magazine 

are our Patrons, listed below: 

5mc | Melbourne, AU 

accountantshub.com.au | AU 

Account Wise | Auckland, NZ 

Accounting Buddy | Adelaide, AU 

Accounting To You Pty Ltd | 

Melbourne, AU 

accounts2u | Wellington, NZ 

AccountsConnect | Sydney, AU 

Active Admin Ltd | Upper Hutt, NZ 

Adam Ramage | Melbourne, AU 

Adaptive Advisers | Melbourne, AU 

Addept Pty Ltd | Adelaide, AU 

Addflow | Melbourne, AU 

Admin Happy | Melbourne, AU 

All Round Accounting | Port 

Macquarie, AU 

Ashton Wheelans Limited | 

Christchurch, NZ 

Axis CPA Group | Connecticut, US 

Bach & Company Chartered 

Accountants | Indooroopilly, 

Queensland, AU 

Barcant Beardon | London, UK 

Basis 365 Accounting | US 

BBS Partners Business Hub | 

Brisbane, AU 

Beacon Bookkeeping & Accountancy 

Ltd | UK 

Bette Hochberger CPA, CGMA | US 

Biscuit Bookkeeping | Geelong, 

Victoria, AU 

Bitcoin Investment Group | 

Wellington, NZ 

BizFitness Limited | Nelson, NZ 

Bollands Chartered Accountants | 

Alcester, Warwickshire, UK 

Bookkeeping With Zero Effort | 

Melbourne, AU 

Books & BAS | Canberra, AU 

Books In Shape | Melbourne, AU 

Boost Bookkeeping | Brisbane, AU 

Btom | Pyrmont, NSW, AU 

Carey V. Downing, CPA, PLLC | 

Fayetteville, North Carolina, US 

Chaser | Global 

Cloud 9 Accountants | Auckland, NZ 

Cloud Accountants | NZ 

Cloud Accounting | Oregon, US 

CNJ Accounting | Edinburgh, 

Scotland, UK 

Coastal Bookkeeping For You | AU 

Concept Bookkeeping | Wagga 

Wagga, AU 

Connected Accountants | Global 

Consult to you | Melbourne, AU 

D J Ramey & Associates, PC - CPA’s | 

Brookfield, Connecticut, US 

Dailey Bookkeeping Services | 

Southfield, Michigan, US 

Daily Balance | Elk Grove, California, 

US 

Diablo Management | Auckland, NZ 

DJA Capital Pty Ltd | Melbourne, AU 

Elite Bookkeeping Solutions | 

Kirrawee, AU 

Engine Room CA Limited | Pukekohe 

& Tauranga, NZ 

Expert Cloud Accounts | Melbourne, 

AU 

Fax n Figures Bookkeeping | 

Canberra, AU 

Figurit Bookkeeping Pty Ltd | 

Mooloolaba Queensland, AU 

Finance On Demand | Seattle, 

Washington, US 

First Class Accounts - Ballarat | 

Ballarat, AU 

Francis Handcock | Wollongong, AU 

Fullstop Accounts | Cardiff, Wales, 

UK 

Futurebooks | Asia 

Generate Accounting Group Limited | 

Auckland, NZ 

Get A Life Accounting Solutions | Far 

North Qld, AU 

Gill McKerrow | Brisbane, AU 

Green Cloud Bookkeeping | Idaho, 

US 

Heather Smith, author of Xero for 

Dummies | Brisbane, AU 

i-Accounting & Tax Limited | 

Auckland, NZ 

Institute of Certified Bookkeepers | 

Melbourne, AU 

Integrate in the Cloud | Perth, AU 

Intersect Bookkeeping Services | 

Perth/Albany, West Australia, AU 

Island Accounting Solutions | US 

Jill Of All Trades | Gold Coast, 

Queensland, AU 

Johns Creek Professional 

Bookkeeping | Johns Creek, Georgia, 

US 

Joshua Lance CPA, LLC | Chicago, 

Illinois, US 

Julie Russell Bookkeeping | 

Auckland, NZ 

Justin Cooper | Melbourne, AU 

Advance Track | @AdvanceTrack 

advancetrack.com 

BlueHub | @Blue_Hub 

bluehub.co.uk 

Add-on App selection 

App Implementation 

Custom Integrations 

Xero Accountant Support 

www.bluehub.co.uk 

Funded on: 

Katalyst Office Management Ltd | NZ 

Kinder Pocock | UK 

Laurus Bookkeeping | Brisbane, AU 

& Global 

Nexus Bookkeeping Systems | 

Margaret River, West Australia, AU 

NQ PRO Bookkeeping Solutions | 

Townsville, Queensland, AU 

Number Nurses | Global 

Nuvem 9 Ltd | Northern Ireland, UK 

Orbit Accounts | Melbourne, AU 

Pavilion Accountancy | Ramsey, UK 

Quick Win Development | Global 

Rebecca Pizzi | Perth, AU 

Redman Tax & Consulting, LLC | 

Durham, North Carolina, US 

Robin M Wentzel, LLC | Honolulu, 

Hawaii, US 

Russells Ca | Bay of Plenty, NZ 

Spotlight Reporting | Global 

Star Strategies Bookkeeping | 

Melbourne, AU 

Stratus Online | Southern UK 

Tally Accounting, LLC | Greenville, 

South Carolina, US 

Titanium Accountants Ltd | 

Birmingham, England, UK 

Total Accounts | Perth, AU 

TradiePad Pty Ltd | AU 

Verte Consulting | San Francisco, 

California, US 

Whitehead & Aldrich Chartered 

Accountants | Preston, Lancashire, 

UK 

xerousers.com | Global 

Your Business Accounts | Sydney, AU 

DON’T MISS... 

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YOURSELF 




...and Finally 

Apple Pay is here! 

Xero users can now use Apple Pay through Stripe... 

A 

s of December 2016, 

businesses using Xero can 

offer their customers the option 

of paying for goods and services 

using Apple Pay. How has this 

been made possible, you might 

ask. Through partnership with 

Stripe. 

Cristina Cordova, Head of Business 

Development at Stripe, says, “We’re 

excited to work closely with Xero 

to help hundreds of thousands of 

businesses use Apple Pay to get 

their invoices paid with little more 

than a fingerprint”. Stripe, which 

operates in 25 countries, is an 

eCommerce platform that has been 

integrated with Xero for years, but 

this most recent advance means 

businesses using Apple Pay can see 

payments automatically matched 

with invoices in Xero, eliminating 

manual reconciliation. 

The service is already automatically 

available to all of you subscribed to 

Xero who offer Stripe as a payment 

service. Apple Pay is enabled on 

your invoices so you simply have to 

do...nothing! Your customers will be 

prompted to confirm their details 

with Touch ID, so they don’t even 

have to fill in card details. 

Xero highlighted 3 main reasons 

why Xero users should embrace 

contactless payments (taken from 

Xero blog): 

1. Speed and convenience: faster 

transactions means better 

customer satisfaction 

2. Sell goods quicker: quicker 

payments and shorter queues 

increase sales 

3. Better branding: offering a wider 

variety of payment methods 

boosts the image of businesses 

as progressive and high-tech 

Apple Pay is just one of these 

payment methods that can better 

your business. 

According to Xero data, over 

60% of the invoices businesses 

send end up overdue. Xero’s CTO, 

Craig Walker, explained, “Mobile 

payments are the way of the 

future. Attaching a payment option 

to online invoices helps Xero 

customers get paid almost 80% 

faster than invoices that don’t use 

a payment service - so they spend 

less time chasing unpaid invoices 

for a more productive and cash 

healthy business.” 

“By enabling these connections 

with payment services, small 

businesses are able to offer 

multiple payment options on an 

invoice, giving them and their 

customers choice of payment and 

also the ability to pay the invoice as 

soon as it arrives, ensuring they get 

paid faster.” 

Apps to automate your business 

operations. Run a better business 

today. 

One platform. One login. Multiple apps. 

Powerful workflow enabled apps that are smart alone, or brilliant 

together. 

A high priority for Xero is online 

security. Apple Pay launched in 

the US in 2014, and expanded 

to web-based purchases back in 

September. Alongside Stripe, an 

extra level of surveillance is added, 

with all transactions being verified 

using Touch ID, Apple’s fingerprint 

recognition tech. The result is peace 

of mind knowing that payments 

are authenticated with decreased 

risk of fraud, and chargebacks from 

banks! 

From Xero: “Stripe and Apple Pay 

are available in the United States, 

United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, 

Singapore and Ireland. From 

January 2017 Stripe will be available 

in NZ so Xero customers can take 

advantage of Apple Pay.” 

www.AppsForOps.com 




We live in an on demand world... 

How Satago works 

• Simply select the individual invoices to finance. 

• We advance up to 85% of the invoice value to you in less than 24 hours. No need to wait for 

your customer to pay you. 

• You finance an invoice worth £1,000, 10 days after it was issued to your customer. 

• We pay you £850 instantly. 

• Now, let’s assume that your customer pays us 40 days later. We would then pay you £150 and 

our fee would be £23. It couldn’t be easier. 

Register for FREE 

Over 1,000 UK business owners already use 

Satago and one of our clients recently called us 

‘world changing’. 

• Quick and easy to set-up and use 

• Automated and pre-approved 

• Totally transparent 

• No set-up fees 

satago.com 

One click integration 

with Xero 

120 / Issue 10 XU Magazine - the independent magazine for Xero users, by Xero users. Find us online at: xumagazine.com

FINANCE

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