XU Biweekly - Issue 5 - 17th May 2021 by XU Magazine

Monday 17 May 2021 | No. 5

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

Stripe will acquire TaxJar to help internet businesses with tax compliance S TRIPE, A GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY THAT BUILDS ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE INTERNET, TODAY ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAS ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE TAXJAR, A LEADING PROVIDER OF SALES TAX SOFTWARE FOR INTERNET BUSINESSES.

Local sales taxes applicable to online commerce have proliferated in recent years, with more than 11,000 different sales tax jurisdictions in the United States alone. For internet businesses, accurately tracking, calculating, reporting, and filing taxes is a large and growing burden. Indeed, one of the top requests from Stripe’s users over the past five years has been for assistance in navigating sales tax. “There’s a reason TaxJar has been a top choice for businesses: their software tools make it incredibly easy to handle sales tax,” said Dhivya Suryadevara, Stripe’s CFO. “With TaxJar, we will help millions of internet businesses running on Stripe with their sales tax and make it easier for them to sell internationally. And as a CFO, I’m delighted to welcome so many new colleagues who care deeply about taxes!” As economic infrastructure for the internet, Stripe’s products go far beyond payment acceptance. Stripe’s revenue platform helps internet businesses make more money

while relieving the burden of tedious, administrative tasks. Stripe’s Adaptive Acceptance feature, for example, uses machine learning to retry network declines in real time using optimized routing and ISO 8583 messages, helping improve authorization rates and recover revenue that would otherwise be lost. (With Adaptive Acceptance, Twilio achieved a 1% uplift over a 12-month period.) Similarly, Stripe Billing provides more than 100,000 businesses—including Atlassian, Slack, Smartsheet, and DoorDash—with a series of micro-optimizations that increase revenue and cash flow. By intelligently suggesting the right payment methods, including direct bank debits, Stripe Billing’s hosted invoices get paid three times faster than traditional invoices. As the latest addition to Stripe’s revenue platform, TaxJar will help businesses automate tasks such as: • Providing accurate sales tax rates at checkout, tied to the exact street address of the customer. • Automatically submitting tax returns to local jurisdictions and remitting the sales tax collected. • Producing local jurisdiction reports to show sales and sales tax collected—not only for each state, but for relevant counties, cities, and other special jurisdictions.

RELAY RAISES USD $19.4m TO INCREASE THE SUCCESS RATE OF SMALL BUSINESS By Yoseph West

ODAY, WE’RE ANNOUNCING THAT RELAY HAS RAISED A TOTAL OF USD $19.4 MILLION, INCLUDING A $15 MILLION SERIES A LED BY BAIN CAPITAL VENTURES WITH PARTICIPATION FROM BETTER TOMORROW VENTURES, GARAGE CAPITAL, TRIBE CAPITAL, PANACHE AND AMARANTHINE. We’re so proud of the work our team has put in to get here, and motivated by the vote of confidence from our investors. And most importantly, we’re excited about how this funding will

Over the last year, we’ve focused on responding to the immediate needs of our customers, continuing to introduce new products and services and executing our growth strategy, demonstrated by a significant cap-

• Total subscriber lifetime value (LTV) grew by 38% (37% in CC) to $7.65 billion • Free cash flow was $56.9 million, with total available liquid resources rising to $1.3 billion • EBITDA of $191.2 million, an increase of 39% compared to $137.7 million • Net profit of $19.8 million, an increase of $16.4 million

JOIIN'S NEW FEATURES FOR MAY 2021

WO IMPORTANT NEW FEATURES TO UPDATE YOU ON THIS MONTH, CUSTOM LOGOS IN REPORTING PACKS AND OUT NEW, STREAMLINED UI – ALL INCLUDED IN EVERY PLAN AS STANDARD.

Custom Logos on Report Packs Now you can add your own logo to a Report Pack. Simply upload your logo un-

der the Account menu and your logo will appear on the title page when you print or download your report pack. This gives you more flexibility to brand your reports to your own requirements.

New User Interface With our latest release we’re giving Joiin a makeover and moving a few things around to give it a more...

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View Your Google Calendar in the Tradify Schedule

Aussie advisors: Get EOFY ready with FY21’s key product releases

OOK JOBS SIMPLY AND EASILY WITH COMPLETE OVERSIGHT ACROSS ALL APPOINTMENTS. CONNECTING GOOGLE CALENDAR TO TRADIFY ALLOWS YOU TO VIEW EXTERNAL EVENTS DIRECTLY IN THE SCHEDULER. BY CONNECTING STAFF CALENDARS, YOU’LL ALSO BE ABLE TO CHECK YOUR EMPLOYEES' AVAILABILITY BASED ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL APPOINTMENTS. PRIVACY SETTINGS ALLOW YOU TO SPECIFY THE LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT TRADIFY PULLS THROUGH, SO APPOINTMENTS CAN JUST SHOW AS ‘BUSY’, RATHER THAN ‘OUT FISHING’.

UK - Virtual Garage Manager is a management software solution for the motor trade. It's packed with features to help you manage your garage business, from online booking and job management to customer reminders.

PRY GLOBAL - Pry is finance for founders. Pry replaces spreadsheets to help startups and SMBs manage their budgets, revenue projections, hiring plan, and cash runway. Connect your Xero account to have ccounting, financial planning and business intelligence all in one place.

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER UK - Simplify your construction and maintenance job management needs – quote, track costs, manage subcontractors/engineers and invoice, from anywhere. Save time recording and tracking your applications, retentions, maintenance contracts and profit.

BATCH2SEPA GLOBAL - Batch2sepa is a conversion tool that takes Xero batches and turns them into SEPA-compliant XML files for making payments and requesting direct debits. Convert from your books and upload them directly into their bank. Pay from just a few to a couple hundred invoices at once in an instant.

Digital Marketing Tool Saves Accountants Time and Money

EW WOLTERS KLUWER/BOMA PARTNERSHIP HELPS ACCOUNTANTS AND BOOKKEEPERS CONNECT WITH CLIENTS.

Amidst the chaos of the past 12 months, it’s possible that you may have missed some of our latest updates and new releases. Whether it’s helping sign client signatures...

Accountants and bookkeepers seeking to grow their business can access a hassle-free tool to connect with clients. A new partnership between Wolters Kluwer CCH, the world’s leading provider of tax and accounting information, and BOMA, a major force in the communication technology sector, has resulted in a powerful digital marketing platform where content is just clicks away. Sharing helpful and relevant advice at the right...

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By Jared Baker

OLLOWING THE ARRIVAL OF THE PANDEMIC, THE WAY WE LIVE AND WORK HAS CHANGED FOR GOOD. AND AFTER WHAT WAS UNDOUBTEDLY THEIR BUSIEST YEAR YET, AUSSIE ADVISORS HAVE BEEN REMINDED JUST HOW CRUCIAL IT IS TO STREAMLINE THEIR PROCESSES. IN RESPONSE, THE XERO TEAM HAS WORKED TO MEET YOU THERE, UPDATING OUR PRODUCT IN LINE WITH EVERYTHING FROM LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS TO THE NEED FOR EVEN GREATER FLEXIBILITY.

Schedule jobs with more confidence than ever and save time by avoiding calendar clashes. Let’s get started.

News

XU Biweekly | No. 5

SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS RECOVERY WITH THE LAUNCH OF XERO’S SMALL BUSINESS INDEX By Steve Vamos

ODAY, IN CONJUNCTION WITH ACCENTURE, XERO LAUNCHED A NEW SMALL BUSINESS INDEX PROVIDING A SINGLE COMPOSITE FIGURE THAT INDICATES HOW SMALL BUSINESSES ARE FARING ACROSS AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE UK. THE INDEX IS BASED ON THE FOUR KEY MEASURES OF JOBS, SALES, TIME TO BE PAID AND WAGES AND SHOWS PERFORMANCE CHANGES IN THE SHORT AND LONG TERM ACROSS THE THREE COUNTRIES CURRENTLY IN THE PROGRAM. This index, which is part of Xero’s Small Business Insights program, is a natural and significant step forward in our ability to help inform decisions in support of small business success.

LIENTS TO ACCESS SOLUTION THAT ENHANCES COMPLIANCE AND AUDIT PROCESS. TOA Global announced a partnership with Melbourne-based software and data service company BGL Corporate Solutions to automate and simplify the administration of self-managed superannuation funds (SMS-

Fs) for Australian accounting firms. BGL is a developer of Australia’s leading SMSF administration and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)company compliance software solutions. Under the new partnership, TOA’s clients can expect high quality, error-free audits with a faster turnaround time since all the necessary documents are

Monday 17 May 2021 3

within easy access. They can also remove frictions in the compliance process through a user-friendly and intelligent compliance software, thereby managing their business more effectively. In addition, clients will receive the highest level of security and data integrity, given that BGL’s suite of cloud solutions, Cas 360...

Fathom Certification enrolment tops 1000 in two months By Andrew Webb

HETHER YOU’VE BEEN USING FATHOM FOR SIX MONTHS OR SIX YEARS, FATHOM'S ADVISORY CERTIFICATION CAN HELP YOU FIND NEW FEATURES AND WAYS OF DOING THINGS, ULTIMATELY ADDING NEW SKILLS TO YOUR FIRM. IT'S COMPLETELY FREE FOR YOU AND YOUR STAFF, AND TAKES AN AVERAGE OF SIX HOURS TO COMPLETE.

SMB Banking Platform Novo Expands Leadership Team Company hires directors for banking, people, and marketing departments.

For many of us, the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown will have had a dramatic effect on our physical and mental health. If it hasn’t on yourself, then guaranteed you will know someone who has struggled. Good Health and Well-being should be a priority in our day-to-day lives, but sometimes we

Quarterly and yearly forecast views Looking to add context to your forecasted figures? Our new quarterly and yearly views on the forecast grid allow you to do just that! Quickly and easily toggle to a quarterly or yearly view, and see the aggregated totals of all actual and forecasted periods on the main grid. This allows you to get an...

“Novo recently reached an inflection point of processing more than $1 billion in transactions for small businesses, and is hiring across all departments as the company enters its next phase of growth,” said Michael Rangel, co-founder and CEO of Novo.

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forget. More than ever physical and mental health has moved up to near the top of the world’s agenda. Businesses too are beginning to recognise that they have some responsibility in looking after their employees. very employee exists somewhere on the mental health continuum, from surviving to thriving, it’s important to recognise both...

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CLOUDPAYROLL - SINGLE TOUCH PAYROLL (PHASE 2)

OVO, THE POWERFULLY SIMPLE SMALL BUSINESS BANKING PLATFORM, TODAY ANNOUNCED THAT IT HAS HIRED A SERIES OF NEW DIRECTORS TO LEAD THE COMPANY’S BANKING, PEOPLE, AND MARKETING DEPARTMENTS.

TIONAL REPORTING INFORMATION. THIS EXPANSION IS KNOWN AS STP (PHASE 2) WITH A MANDATORY START DATE FOR REPORTING FROM 1 JANUARY 2022.

HE GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED THE EXPANSION OF SINGLE TOUCH PAYROLL (STP) TO INCLUDE ADDI-

E’VE BEEN HARD AT WORK BUILDING UPDATES THAT GIVE EVEN GREATER CLARITY TO YOUR FORECASTED FIGURES AND HELP YOU DRIVE BETTER BUSINESS DECISIONS. This month we’ve introduced new functionality to allow you to customise the way you calculate, view and ultimately comprehend the data.

Global Goal of the Month: Good Health and Wellbeing

By Allanah Miller

Not yet a Fathom customer? Certification is included in your free 14-day trial. And you're you're already a Fathom customer you can start Certification directly in the app.

Not only that, but getting certified in Fathom lets you gain credit towards CPD/ CPE. The course is modular, so it can be completed at your own pace, and it covers all elements of Fathom including Analysis, Forecasting and Reporting.

UR #GLOBALGOAL OF THE MONTH FOR MAY: GOOD HEALTH AND WELLBEING.

New: Quarterly and yearly forecasting views, plus additional calculation methods from Fathom

The expansion of STP aims to reduce the reporting burden for employers who need to report information about their employees to multiple government agen-

cies. It also supports the administration of the social security system.

Key changes • Tax File Number (TFN): employee’s TFN declarations will no longer need to be sent to the ATO. However, they will still need to be kept on your...

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Features LEVERAGE THE POWER OF A SPEND CONTROL IN TRYING TIMES

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Monday 17 May 2021

How to prevent non-essential spending in a multi-entity hospitality business

FULLY-INTEGRATED POS SOLUTION FOR RESTAURANT GROWTH

By James Couch

ILLIAMS, STANLEY & CO IS A UK-BASED ACCOUNTING PRACTICE FOCUSED MAINLY ON THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, WITH 90 PERCENT OF THEIR CLIENTS BEING RESTAURANTS, BARS AND PUBS. THEY PROVIDE ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING AND BUSINESS ADVICE SERVICES.

The growing need for spend control: a case study with a hospitality business Spend control is all about getting a real-life picture of who spends what, when and why. Formal authorisation processes ensure that any spending is properly authorised by the appropriate people. Moving such

processes to a digital environment facilitates efficiency and transparency, which is not only good for all types of businesses – depending on its maturity, scale and type, every single one will experience this necessity eventually. For many hospitality businesses it became a lot more urgent to establish spend control during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bars and restaurants worldwide are having a tough time: the lockdowns, finding new ways to keep going, for instance, by switching to delivering, and probably the most frustrating aspect of all – the uncertainty, as no one can predict when the conditions are going to improve. Cutting and controlling expenses is even more crucial in the current circum-

stances. Purchases that are not essential for now can be postponed and only the best suppliers with the best prices will be chosen, but there still will be expenses. And these must be tightly controlled. One of the hospitality clients of Williams, Stanley & Co decided to implement spend control when the COVID-19 pandemic hit: with furloughing and the overall situation, they have to look very closely at their spending and approve everything properly so that they always know exactly what’s happening on their bank account. Before, they had an email approval process in place. However, when this client...

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By Karina Rapose

HETHER YOU RUN A CAFE, QSR, CLOUD KITCHEN, OR ANYTHING IN BETWEEN, DISCOVER WHY MOVING TO AN INTEGRATED RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS IMPERATIVE NOT ONLY TO STREAMLINE OPERATIONS BUT ALSO TO POWER GROWTH. A fully-integrated POS system is the holy grail of the F&B industry. From managing all your in-store and online sales channels in one place, to an automated kitchen-to-doorstep order fulfillment workflow. Plus, total control of your inventory and accounting, and access to customer insights and live analytics–all in a centralized platform. There are numerous ways an all-in-one solution can help you maximize profitability, minimize inefficiency, and take your restaurant business to the next level.

Multiple Revenue Channels in One Centralized POS Arguably the biggest advantage of an integrated POS system is the ability to manage and fulfil orders from multiple sales channels in one place. Be it walk-in, take-away, dinein, or even self-ordering. With contactless ordering being a fixture in the ‘new normal’ dining scene, leading POS providers offer in-built solutions for self-ordering and QR code ordering, without the hassle and IT headaches of partnering with third-party systems. And if you’ve set up your own online store or are partnered with third-party food ordering platforms, you can manage them all centrally. When a customer places an order through your website, Facebook or partner store, it arrives directly into your POS, meaning you no longer have to maneuver multiple tablets to run your in-house and online stores. Eliminating manual data entry and the risk of incorrect orders.

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Total Automated Order Journey A fully-integrated solution is designed to work seamlessly with add-on modules in your operations for streamlined communication and workflow. Orders are automatically routed to your kitchen display system and your delivery management system for complete visibility of the order journey and unrivalled data integrity and accuracy. When an order is ready, you can have generated token numbers instantly flash on an elegant screen above your counter. It’s great for quick and easy service!

Centralized Menu Management With a robust integration, you can manage your menu centrally including update items, prices and availability for multiple outlets in real-time. Furthermore, connecting your partner stores to your POS can be achieved within minutes. You can sync your POS menu to your respective partner menus with a few clicks. Menu items selected, along with their images, descriptions and modifiers, instantly reflect on your partner store. For updating a menu item or marking it unavailable, and adding store configurations or discounts, you won’t need to contact your provider. This can easily be done straight from your POS in real time so it’s always up to date; minimizing effort and maximizing resources.

100% Delivery Efficiency Control An efficient delivery management system gives you real-time insights into your entire order cycle as it happens – placement, preparation, pick-up, and delivery. You can monitor every stage, identify bottlenecks, and optimize operations.

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Features

6 XU Biweekly | No. 5

Monday 17 May 2021

Remote working is here to stay what’s your strategy? James Kilford of Senta explores the different strategies accountants have employed to manage remote and flexible working. By James Kilford

T MANAGING YOUR EMPLOYEES' LEAVE

By Joanna Cruickshank

HERE CAN BE A GREAT LEVEL OF CONFUSION FOR EMPLOYERS REGARDING THEIR EMPLOYEES’ LEAVE BALANCES AND ENTITLEMENTS. AS AN EMPLOYER IT IS IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE IF YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE EMPLOYED AS CASUALS, PERMANENT FULL TIME, OR PART TIME – WHY? If casual, they could be entitled to a higher hourly rate, normally through casual loading and will only get paid when they work. It is very important to refer to their award and the additional loadings to be paid outside normal hours. Casual employees will only accrue Long Service Leave. As a permanent employee, leave is accrued on all ordinary hours worked. CloudPayroll allows the business owner to make an informed decision to pay leave based on an employee’s leave balance. Importantly, the employer must keep a record of hours worked, the accruals and when leave is taken by an employee. When an employee leaves their employment, they may have an outstanding leave balance that is required to be paid as part of their termination payment. CloudPayroll accrues leave on actual

hours worked and can easily set up other leave accrual rules if employees receive 25 days or 30 days a year. Pay elements would be added to the employees’ template and the accruals would reflect the 25 days a year rather than the normal 20 days a year.

Monthly Payrolls CloudPayroll makes management of monthly payrolls easy. It will automatically calculate and apply 1/12th of an employee’s annual salary each month. For example: for a full-time employee working a 38-hour week, on the template we would add 164.66 hours to be paid. For a 35-hour working week we would add 151.66 hours to be paid. The number of working days in each month do not alter the pay each month, e.g. February will be paid the same as March. We are often asked what an employee starting employment part way through the month should be paid? The two most common methods are: • Pay the employee based on their actual hours worked in the first month x hourly...

HE PANDEMIC HAS CREATED DISRUPTION EVEN FOR FIRMS WHO HAD EXPERIENCE, POLICIES AND WORKFLOWS IN PLACE THAT ENABLED REMOTE WORKING. IN THIS ARTICLE, JAMES KILFORD EXPLORES HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN SUPPORT YOUR TEAM TO DELIVER GREAT SERVICE AND MANAGE ALL THAT LIFE THROWS AT THEM.

Remote working is here to stay Buffer’s new ‘State of Remote Work’ survey found 97.6% of those asked would like to work remotely - at least some of the time - for the rest of their career. Some 41% said that ‘collaboration and communication’ was the thing that had changed most about how they worked, since working remotely. Putting a long-term and sustainable strategy into place for your practice in terms of tech infrastructure, client service and team management/communication is therefore critical. You may have been op-

erating with remote working or with a hybrid approach for the last year. So what has been learned by accountancy practices during this time

Cloud is key Firstly, and key, is working in the cloud. Using an online platform to manage workflow and processes, while capturing and disseminating client information, has made the past 12 months manageable for firms. Tailored Accountancy MD Sarah Taylor says that using Senta for task management has been critical in

operating in a purely remote working environment. “Without it, we wouldn’t know where we were,” Sarah says. She can use the system to track workflow several times a day – a vital tool when walking around the office to catch up with the team is not possible. It’s a statement borne out in our research of our other practice clients. 85% of clients said Senta has been even more useful than normal, and they’d configured Senta to help with new...

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ADVISORS SHARE FIGURES. EXTRAORDINARY ONES TURN THEM INTO INSIGHTS. By Phil Thorton

OLTERS KLUWER TAX & ACCOUNTING UK HAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED FINSIT, ITS CLOUDBASED FINANCIAL INSIGHTS PLATFORM, TO CCH ONECLICK CUSTOMERS. WITH FINSIT YOU CAN ENSURE YOUR INSIGHTS NOT ONLY STAY RELEVANT BUT BECOME INVALUABLE.

Increased technology automation is rapidly changing the industry. Development at Wolters Kluwer is always driven by our focus on customer success in a changing industry, so we can help you when it matters most during times of uncertainty. With that in mind, we have worked to create a tool that builds insight, both for your practice and for your clients, in an efficient and profitable way. The finsit solution turns complex numbers into visual experiences that make it easier for advisors and their clients to make informed, efficient financial decisions. There has never been a more important time to show your value to your clients. The platform was developed specifically for account-

Adapting to a changing industry efficiently and effortlessly

heightened the demand for sound financial advice from accountants. Brexit, and the aftermath of the agreements, will drive businesses to increasingly look to accountants as trusted advisors to help guide them through new legislation, tax, and VAT regulations. Your clients will be looking for two things as they face this period of change and uncertainty in the new normal. Firstly, data-rich conversations in real time that will allow them to prepare for the unknown landscape before them. Secondly, advice and insight as they navigate the compliance and lockdown incentives put in place by the government. In short, there is an appetite for your expertise. With this heightened demand for your knowledge and demonstrating value, you can make your offering more profitable across your client base. The need for effortless financial reporting has never been more important.

While the shift to advisory has been in place for some time, the uncertainty brought on by external factors has

ants who want to strengthen their offerings by exceeding expectations and creating broader value for their clients.

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Features

Going independent with your app providers The importance of good customer support from your provider By Chris Finlow

HETHER YOU’RE SETTING UP A BRAND NEW DIGITAL ACCOUNTING FIRM, OR SWITCHING TO A MORE UP-TO-DATE CLOUD SYSTEM, IT’S IMPORTANT TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT APP PROVIDERS. THE CHOICE OF CLOUD PLATFORMS, ONLINE FINTECH SOLUTIONS AND ACCOUNTING-FOCUSED APPS CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET IS HUGE, SO PICKING THE BEST TOOLS FOR YOUR APP STACK CAN BE A CHALLENGE. BUT HIGH-QUALITY CUSTOMER SUPPORT FROM YOUR APP PROVIDERS SHOULD BE AT THE HEART OF YOUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESS. Chris Findlow goes through the key attributes to look for in your ideal app providers, and why a trusted relationship is vital

Tech as the foundation for the digital practice The evolution of cloud accounting has come a long way in the past decade. Technology and software applications have become the solid bedrock of many firms operational processes and day-to-day accounting tasks. Xero has evolved from a cloudbased accounting tool into a flexible and diverse cloud platform, with access to a growing number of integrated apps. The average Xero practice is likely to have its own tailored ‘app stack’, an integrated and connected suite of apps that provide the functional centre of their business. This tech really is the backbone of the firm. But this dependency on software does create its own issues. If the tech doesn’t work, the practice can’t function, so it’s imperative that you have a mix of app providers who offer a solid, reliable and supportive service.

How Xero has inspired the growth of independent app providers The Xero ecosystem is gigantic, with an app store containing over 800+ solutions. There are 19 different function categories and 14 different industry-specific categories available in the store. Many of these are run by third-party,

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independent software providers. Having an open application programming interface (API) has been one of the drivers of Xero’s success as a platform. This open API allows any small software startup to build a useful business app, integrate it with Xero and share any relevant financial information between both apps. That’s been a gamechanger and has allowed the popularity and growth of many of the apps we see in the standard Xero accounting firm app stack. Solutions like Receipt Bank, Chaser, Tripcatcher, GoCardless (and even MarketFinance) have all benefited from having that straightforward, simple Xero integration in place. But with such a large market of apps to choose from, it’s easy to see how a Xero accountant may be somewhat ‘blinded by choice’ when it comes to selecting the apps for their stack.

The importance of customer service, support and software innovation There’s a giant Xero ecosystem of useful business apps and practice management tools to choose from when formulating your ideal app stack. But how do you know if you’ve chosen the right apps for your particular firm? Tech and cloud software are now vital to the efficient running of your accounting practice. So, there’s a real imperative to choose apps that work well and support your end goals. For example, your apps need to provide: • Simple, straightforward Xero integration – a good app needs to seamlessly connect with Xero, with the minimum of fuss and reference to their FAQ page. The easier the app is to set up, the less of a hurdle there will be to getting your app stack up and running. • An easy-to-learn user interface – the user interface needs to be intuitive and simple to navigate, so your staff and your business clients can easily start using the app.

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Monday 17 May 2021

The payment method that helps your clients sleep at night Learn how iwocaPay is changing accounts receivable for good

By Daniella Camilleri

HEN STUART DISCOVERED IWOCAPAY, HE WAS LOOKING FOR A WAY TO HELP HIS CLIENTS STOP WORRYING ABOUT CASH FLOW AND FOCUS ON THE FUTURE OF THEIR BUSINESSES. Manchester accountant Stuart Hurst leads the Northern Hub at Accounts and Legal; helping clients set and reach their goals using smart tech integrations to give a service that goes beyond traditional accounting.

The challenge Unpaid invoices cause unnecessary stress and cash flow squeezes for both clients and accountants. Over time, Stuart found himself doing more and more work to help his clients with cash flows - especially during the pandemic. For 9 out of 10 of his clients, their payables were ‘massively outweighed’ - sometimes by over six figures - by their outstanding invoices. This was a stressful strain on cash flow. More importantly, it is an avoidable problem. Generally, clients were taking a ‘hope for the best’ approach to getting paid, reluctant to chase payments for fear of damaging rela-

tionships with customers. ‘There’s a tendency to pay who screams the loudest. If you don’t ask for it you don’t get.’ Ultimately it leads to a chain of cash flow juggling, where someone’s waiting to be paid so that they can pay someone else. It’s a lose-lose situation for everyone involved and it needs to stop. The situation was worse for clients who were already giving their customers more flexibility and extended payment terms. It meant they were always footing the bill either by waiting for people to pay and not getting the money all in straight away or by just them not paying it. For clients that were looking to grow rapidly, they needed the cash to invest in their business and reach those heights. ‘Cash flow is the key to expanding, for accountants and their clients! It’s quite exciting to work with clients who are looking to grow and, if the bookkeeping gets bigger and you start doing more strategic stuff, it means with larger fees for you too.’ Stuart needed a solution that would help his clients get the cash they needed in the bank sooner, without relying on them to chase after it.

NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS! MIXED ANALYTICS GLOBAL - Mixed Analytics' API connector turns Google Sheets into a powerful, flexible API client that pulls API data directly into your spreadsheet. View and manage data from multiple data sources in a familiar spreadsheet interface, without requiring manual exports, custom scripts, or a complicated data warehouse.

THE 5TH INGREDIENT GLOBAL - The integration works w/ the Beer30 and Bucha30 versions to transform your data into cost savings, with an emphasis on quality, consistency, and efficiency for your brewery By assessing the true cost per can, bottle, or keg of beer, you will be able to better understand your overall margins and make real-time business decisions to help your brewery #BrewMoreBeer.

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By Elizabeth McGrath

VER THE PAST YEAR, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED YOUR TRAINER OR JUMPER COLLECTION EXPANDING. LET’S FACE IT, THERE’S NOT BEEN MUCH ELSE TO SPEND YOUR MONEY ON. WE’VE ALL SOUGHT COMFORT IN ONLINE SHOPPING LATELY – AND THAT’S OK! BUT HAVE YOU ALWAYS FOUND THE BEST DEALS AND STAYED SAFE ONLINE? We built our Chrome browser extension, Revolut Shopper, to help you do exactly this. Here’s how it works:

Your ultimate shortcut to great deals online

50% off for 6 months

Revolut Shopper automatically finds you great discounts. Plus get up to 42% cashback at select partners like Apple, Myprotein and Nike. T&Cs apply and offer availability differs by country.

Start a free trial now & ask for our UK launch offer

Check out in a click with customisable cards

Limited time only. Terms apply. Excludes partner plan.

Skip entering your card details at checkout with autofill. Customise your virtual cards with spending limits, card colours and more.

Get extra protection with single-use cards

Try free for 30 days & get an extra 2 months free

50% off for the first 3 months Stay competitive with cutting edge data entry solutions

Use code

APG-XU26 for 20% off! Offer available exclusively to XU readers who purchased before 30.06.2021

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Pay securely with a unique card number for every spend. Your real card details stay hidden, secure from hackers and fraudsters. So – from your beloved trainers to your latest tech – if there are discounts to be had, Revolut Shopper will find them for you, securely.

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BITCOIN WITHDRAWALS HAVE LANDED By Sonja Polimac

OU ASKED WE, LISTENED. WHEN WITHDRAWALS? THE TIME IS NOW. IF YOU’RE A METAL PAID PLAN CUSTOMER, YOU’LL GET EXCLUSIVE BETA ACCESS TO THIS BRAND NEW FEATURE. WE’RE STARTING WITH BITCOIN, BUT WE’LL BE ADDING MORE TOKENS AND UPGRADES IN THE NEAR FUTURE. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED! AS ALWAYS, WE WANT TO REMIND YOU THAN WHEN BUYING OR SELLING CRYPTO, YOUR CAPITAL IS AT RISK. If you’ve recently started buying crypto, or you’re more of a casual trader, you might not be familiar with withdrawals. This feature lets you take your crypto off one platform and transfer it elsewhere.

Choose where you keep your Bitcoin

There are a few places you can take your crypto with Revolut - other than storing it safely on our platform! You could send it to your preferred external drive (cold storage), as well as to other digital wallets (hot wallet). With Bitcoin withdrawals, the choice is yours.

Withdraw with a tap Withdrawal on Revolut is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Just add an address (or choose one you’ve added previously), enter the amount, and hit withdraw! As easy as that is, we also wanted to make it safe, so we introduced two-factor authentication when you’re adding an address to make sure you know exactly where you’re sending your crypto.

Get exclusive beta access today During our beta phase, you’ll be able to add a max-

imum of three external addresses. You can also withdraw up to £1000 a month, or £500 per day. We’ll review these limits in the future, so keep an eye out for any announcements!

Keeping crypto on Revolut? Your private keys will never touch the internet The majority of our crypto funds are held in cold storage with some of the best custodians in the crypto game. External hard drives used for cold storage are disconnected from any networks when crypto transactions aren’t happening, so they’re as resistant to hacking as possible. What are you waiting for? Discover crypto with Revolut, and explore all we have to offer.

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Now you can take one-off bankto-bank payments instantly with GoCardless By Michael Bridgman

ACK IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR, GOCARDLESS FOUNDER AND CEO HIROKI TAKEUCHI SHARED THE NEWS OF OUR $95MILLION SERIES F FUNDING ROUND. IN HIS ANNOUNCEMENT, HE SIGNALLED OUR INTENTION TO INVEST HEAVILY IN OPEN BANKING TECHNOLOGY. Why? Because we believe that GoCardless can continue to improve bankto-bank payments for businesses around the world, by adding open banking functionality into our platform. And today marks the launch of our first open-banking powered feature: Instant Bank Pay. With Instant Bank Pay, you can take instant, one-off bankto-bank payments from new and existing customers while still reaping the bene-

fits of bank debit for recurring payments.

Taking one-off payments in addition to regular recurring payments has previously been too complicated 85% of recurring revenue businesses need to collect one-off payments, in addition to their typical subscription, invoice or instalment payments*. This could easily include: • Taking a first-time payment when setting up a recurring payment mandate • Collecting payment for additional services beyond scheduled payments • Topping up an account with a one-off payment • Collecting a payment that has failed

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Google Pay and Wise: The beginning of a beautiful friendship By Geoff Barruel

OLKS IN THE US CAN NOW USE WISE — RIGHT INSIDE THE GOOGLE PAY APP — TO SEND MONEY TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN INDIA AND SINGAPORE. With this new integration, you can access Wise’s fast, convenient service, without having to leave the Google Pay app. And in just a few clicks, you can join Wise’s 10 million-plus customers and send money abroad with no exchange rate markup, and low transparent fees. To send money with Wise in Google Pay: 1. Update your GPay app to the latest version: Android or iOS 2. Search for the person you want to send money to in your GPay app 3. Click on Pay and select Wise 4. Create a Wise account, or log in if you’re already a Wise user

5. Select the amount and currency you’d like to send 6. Choose your recipient from the list of past recipients or enter their bank details if this is your first time sending money to this person 7. Pay using any debit card or credit card stored in your GPay Wallet 8. Voila! You can track your money by clicking Check Status in the GPay chat you have with your recipient Today, all Android and iOS Google Pay users in the US can send money to another Google Pay user in India or Singapore. Later this year, we’ll work with Google to expand the integration and allow US Google Pay users to pay friends and family in the 80+...