I was lucky enough to get the chance to attend the recent Xero Roadshow event in Hamilton with Sonja. An afternoon out of the office was just what we needed, combined with a chance to get a sneak peek at some of Xero’s future plans, sounded like the perfect afternoon.
Here’s a kind of mind-boggling fact to get you started: “4 million bills are processed in Xero in New Zealand every month, totaling more than $11 Billion.”
As the roadshow is focused on Xero Partners (us Accountants and Bookkeepers) there was a mix of things to get us excited and also some insights on what’s coming out for clients.
One of the biggest updates is around Xero Payroll and some big changes they are making to better align with the Holidays Act legislation. These changes include Recording Annual Leave in weeks, and other leave in days as well as the ability to load varied work patterns (it's great to see Xero understanding that not everyone works Monday – Friday). We will share more details as they are released. If this seems confusing and you aren’t sure what these changes mean for your payroll, reach out to see how we can help.
AI is a hot subject on everyone’s lips at present and Xero is no different. Have you heard of JAX? JAX (Just Ask Xero) is Xero’s new AI assistant which will be releasing soon. Helping speed up day to day tasks in a conversational way right from your phone. The demos for this were pretty cool and I can see tradies utilizing this to update quotes on the fly, create invoices based off quotes, follow up overdue invoices and more. You will want to be watching this space as JAX is releasing soon. AI can help small businesses improve their efficiency in so many ways. Xero even wrote a handy guide just for small businesses to get you thinking about how you might be able to harness the power of AI in your business. Check it out here.
The other biggest discussion that will affect clients, is the upcoming changes to Xero’s Plans. Pricing changes and new plan names. The biggest change with this, is the bundling of features into the plans rather than being specific add-ons. New plans are available from 12th September. Those on existing plans will be moved over the next few months and the team at Varntige can help make sure you move to the right plan for you, once these changes start migrating over.
Some of the other cool stuff covered is around partner tools for us Xero Partners and how these can help us better serve you, our clients. Including a cool new dashboard where we can view a number of key client insights across all clients in our practice – meaning we can identify potential issues sooner and provide better support and guidance to our clients.
We finished the afternoon with a quick knowledge check, and this is where my competitive streak came out. We covered questions from what was covered today, and I was so close to that top spot but ended up finishing 3rd place from all the attendees. Then, it was off for some networking and drinks to finish the night. As always, a fantastic afternoon with lots of exciting new insights.
