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As Gold Xero Partners we are a BIG fan of this accounting software and each year our bookkeepers attend Xero Roadshows around the country. Last week the Roadshow was on the Gold Coast and we took all the best tips and info from our Gold Coast bookkeeper, Karin.

Knowing your people inside out

Did you know 7 out of 8 people don’t feel valued by their employer? This is such a disappointing statistic! Studies actually show that employees are more motivated and productive when they work in an environment where they feel comfortable, appreciated and free to be themselves. This is a big part of Xero’s culture:

“Building and maintaining an ambitious, innovative culture in a company that’s been growing as fast as we are has little to do with chance. In fact, it’s Xero’s people and culture that has propelled us from one country to more than 180, one subscriber to nearly 1.4 million, and one person’s idea to a global team of more than 2,000 people.”

When it comes to hiring, Xero will pick that person who is the best fit for their company culture. How do you define your company culture? With company values.

Values are not just words on a wall; they should influence the way your company operates on a day-to-day basis. If you need some inspiration, Xero’s values have been listed below with an explanation of the thought behind them:

1. Human – This reflects the passion, the energy and the purpose that we bring to work with us every day. We are real people.
2. Beautiful – We aren’t perfect and we’ll never please everyone. But we deliver as many beautiful experiences as we can.
3. Challenge – Traditional thinking is not going to keep a firm profitable and competitive in this new world. It’s our job to challenge the traditional norms and challenge our partners to try new things.
4. Champion – Here at Xero we champion small business. We are leading an industry, and with that comes a huge amount of responsibility.
5. Ownership – We love this value because it keeps everyone accountable. Inside Xero, we take ownership of our individual roles. Helping partners become modern, connected advisors gets us up in the morning and gives us purpose.

You can find our BookSitters values here.

Harnessing Hubdoc and Xero as One

One of the biggest opportunities Xero sees in development is machine learning. This technology will dramatically cut the time needed for paperwork and admin.

This is what drove Xero’s acquisition of Hubdoc, which captures information from bills and receipts, reduces manual data entry, and makes bank reconciliation easier in Xero. Hubdoc’s machine learning technology automatically extracts key data from documents when scanned, emailed or sent in via a smartphone. The documents are securely stored online, and are automatically filed and searchable.

From 18 March 2020 Xero are adding more value to their plans by putting Hubdoc into the hands of anyone that subscribes to Starter, Standard and Premium plans. By integrating directly into Xero, Hubdoc turns bills and receipts into accurately coded transactions. From there the transactions are ready for one click bank reconciliation.

As a result of this change, from 18 March 2020, the price of Xero Starter, Standard and Premium plans is increasing by $2 a month in Australia.

Becoming the Architect of your Platform

What apps do you use on a daily basis to streamline your business? Are you using any apps at all? If there’s one thing to learn from this year’s Roadshow it’s to jump on the “app-train” because there are millions of apps out there (over 800 of which integrate with Xero!); each offering different ways to make your business run smoother.

We’d be lying if we said we weren’t overwhelmed by how many apps are available. But a key piece of Xero advice was to become the architect of your platform – think about what apps might make your life easier and test them!

With most apps offering a 7-day free trial, it’s a great idea to take it one app, one week at a time.

Single Touch Payroll

Over 195,000 of Xero’s users are using the platform for payroll purposes. So we were absolutely amazed to hear that 263,000 businesses are still not set up with Single Touch Payroll!

This had us thinking – are people afraid of change? Are they overwhelmed? Are they aware of the benefits of Single Touch Payroll?

We agree change can be scary BUT Single Touch Payroll will actually make payroll much quicker & smoother for your business (plus it is an ATO requirement!)

Xero have provided some great resources here on the topic and of course, you can always contact us with questions.

Over 500 people attended this year’s Gold Coast Xero Roadshow; we look forward to seeing what new technologies and exciting developments we’ll see next year.

Are you a Xero user? Need assistance with Xero bookkeeping?