XU Biweekly - Issue 60 - 29 July 2023

INTRODUCING CHASER’S LATE PAYMENT PREDICTOR UNIPaaS partners with GoCardless to add bank payments to its offering

Predict whether or not customers will pay on time

CHASER, A LEADING PROVIDER OF INTELLIGENT ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES SOFTWARE, HAS LAUNCHED A LATE PAYMENT PREDICTOR. BY LEVERAGING MACHINE LEARNING, THE GROUNDBREAKING ADDITION TO THE CHASER APPLICATION ANTICIPATES THE LIKELIHOOD OF LATE PAYMENT, EMPOWERING USERS TO MAKE SMART, PROACTIVE DECISIONS ABOUT CREDIT CONTROL TO ENSURE TIMELY PAYMENTS AND PROTECT THEIR CASH FLOW.

Late payments have long been a critical challenge for businesses of all sizes, affecting cash flow, profitability, and financial stability.

The late payment predictor offers an innovative solution to proactively manage this issue, helping businesses make informed decisions and take the necessary steps to mitigate payment delays.

Key features of the late payment predictor

1. Invoice risk assessment: Businesses gain a comprehensive overview of the

late payment risk associated with each invoice. By categorising invoices into low, medium, and high risk, the predictor enables businesses to prioritise their credit control efforts effectively.

2. Invoice payment probability: Users can see the percentage likelihood of receiving payment late for each invoice. Leveraging powerful algorithms and machine learning, the late payment predictor analyses historical payment data and customer behaviour, to provide an ac-

curate prediction of payment success.

Chaser's late payment predictor represents a significant step forward in credit control technology. By integrating predictive analytics into the receivables process, businesses can take proactive measures, improving cash flow management and reducing the risk of financial strain.

Credit reports have long been the go-to tool for businesses to assess the...

Ignition adds Apple Pay and Google Pay to enhance client payments

IGNITION ADDS DIGITAL WALLETS TO EXISTING PAYMENT OPTIONS, HELPING ACCOUNTING AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUSINESSES MAKE IT EASY FOR THEIR CLIENTS TO PAY.

Ignition, a leading all-inone business platform for professional services, now supports Apple Pay and Google Pay for new customers in the United States and Australia, helping accounting and professional services businesses get paid easily by their clients to improve

Saturday 29th July 2023

cash flow.

Digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are increasingly favored by consumers, with research showing that 43% of consumers in the United States used digital wallets in 2022.

Having already made it convenient for clients to pay automatically using credit or debit card, direct debit or pre-authorized debit, or automated clearing house (depending on location), Ignition is taking another step forward in facilitating smoother payment collections. The addition of Apple

Pay and Google Pay means that new customers can now offer their clients the convenience of these additional digital payment options to cater to clients’ payment preferences.

Ignition’s 2022 State of Client Engagement reports show that 94% of accountants and bookkeepers in the US (95% in Australia) need to chase clients for late payments. By enabling clients to easily pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay, Ignition is helping to expedite the payment collection process, reduce late payments, and

enhance overall client experience.

“We’re excited to offer US and Australian customers this new payment option,” said Jason Prowd, VP of Product at Ignition. “Google Pay and Apple Pay are two of the most popular mobile payment methods in the world, and this new feature will make it easier for our customers to collect payments from their clients. We believe this will help our customers improve their cash flow and boost their...

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GOCARDLESS, THE BANK PAYMENT COMPANY, HAS ANNOUNCED A PARTNERSHIP WITH EMBEDDED FINANCE SOLUTION PROVIDER UNIPAAS, WHO WILL BE THE LATEST PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDER (PSP) TO TAP INTO THE FINTECH'S GLOBAL BANK PAYMENT NETWORK VIA A WHITE-LABEL INTEGRATION.

Through GoCardless Embed, UNIPaaS will be able to offer payment methods such as direct debit and open banking payments, in response to high customer demand. This will eliminate the need for customers to work with another PSP for bank payments.

Customers will gain access to an easy, secure and cost-effective payment method within a platform they already know and trust. In addition, GoCardless Embed can help them grow in existing markets and expand into new verticals and use cases where bank payments are preferred.

David Avgi, CEO and Co-founder at UNIPaaS, said: “We're excited to use Embed to offer bank payments as a new B2B payment option for our customers. UNIPaaS' one-contract, one-integration solution makes it easy for our platform customers to offer additional payment methods using our embedded UI suite. We're confident that this will help us meet the growing demand for bank payments, and we expect strong take-up based

on previous demand.”

Eva Ducruezet, Chief Expansion Officer and MD of GoCardless Embed and Bank Account Data, said:

“We’re proud to be a trusted partner to UNIPaaS, adding a much-requested feature to its strong embedded finance offering. Through our simple integration, UNIPaaS can fast-track its way to accessing bank payments in more than 25 countries, giving customers exactly what they want.”

GoCardless Embed is a new integration, which comes white-labelled as standard, that allows payment providers to integrate GoCardless’ global bank payment network straight into their platform through a single, simple API. The integration provides access to:

• bank payment schemes in the UK, Eurozone and US, with more to come in the near future

• end-to-end payment processing capabilities for bank payments including reconciliation, mandate management, reporting and refunds

• open banking-powered features, including instant one-off and recurring payments in the UK and account verification and fraud prevention across the three markets

GoCardless Embed allows providers to tap into the burgeoning account-to-account market, valued at around USD 225 trillion in...

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The independent user news source for accounting apps and their ecosystems

New Apps & Updates

ACTIVE WORKPAPERS LAUNCHES IN THE UK TO REVOLUTIONISE ACCOUNTING COMPLIANCE WORK

ACCOUNTING FIRMS ARE FACING CHALLENGES WHEN IT COMES TO COMPLIANCE; ERRORS, LACK OF DATA, UNSTRUCTURED REVIEW PROCESSES, RESTRICTIVE SYSTEMS, AND POOR COMMUNICATION. THESE CHALLENGES CAN LEAD TO MASSIVE EFFICIENCY LOSSES, INCORRECT SUBMISSIONS AND LOW PROFITABILITY.

Active Workpapers, a new solution that addresses these challenges, officially launches in the UK in early September.

Active Workpapers is different from other compliance solutions because it leverages the power and

XU BIWEEKLY - No. 60

Newsdesk:

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CEO: David Hassall

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Partnerships: Alex Newson

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Manager: Bethany Fulks

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XU Biweekly is published by XU Magazine Ltd (08811842), registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Office 1, Brunswick House, Brunswick Way, Liverpool, L3 4BN, United Kingdom. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. XU Magazine Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information.

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flexibility of Excel while providing cloud based, standardised and efficient processes. This allows firms to continue using the tools they are familiar with, while also benefiting from the automation and integration that Active Workpapers provides.

“We are excited about the results that Active will have in UK firms as they overcome the challenges they face with compliance. Firms already using the platform in other regions are seeing enormous gains already.” said Stuart Spalding, CEO of Active. “Our platform is designed to be easy to use and scalable, so that firms of any size can benefit.”

A different approach

where:

• Preparers only do work that leverages their skills and knowledge as accountants.

• Managers can devote more time to delivering high-value work for clients in supporting and developing their team.

• Partners can have confidence that client's accounts are correct and on time, as well as having increased capacity for client time.

Active Workpapers will be available from September 2023.

Sign up to our LAUNCH WEBINAR on Tuesday 5th... Find out more

Three New Joiin Features You Need Right Now

AHEAD OF OUR MONTHLY FEATURES ROUND UP, WE’RE HIGHLIGHTING THREE NEW FEATURES FROM THE JOIIN DEVELOPMENT TEAM TO HELP YOU OPTIMISE YOUR WORKFLOW AND IMPROVE EFFICIENCY.

Group Structure

Now you can create groups of companies and run reports by group as well as by company. This helps speed up your reporting by letting you quickly select a set of companies. It also allows you to report by group, giving you a breakdown, summarised by group rather than individual entity.

Elimination Sets

With our new Elimination Sets feature you can create groups of account Eliminations which you can then switch between when running reports. This can help when you have different regions or other groupings with different elimination requirements. You can choose which Elimination Set to apply in each report within a Report Pack too – providing further flexibility to your report...

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RaveBuild General Update –

26 July 2023

Effortless payment allocation for MYOB Exo users: Introducing MYOB Exo Sales Order Payment Write-Back

PICTURE THIS: A SUCCESSFUL SALES ORDER PAYMENT HAS BEEN MADE –AND JUST LIKE MAGIC, THE SYSTEM SWIFTLY TAKES CARE OF THE REST—NO MORE TEDIOUS MANUAL WORK TO ALLOCATE PAYMENTS, NO MORE WASTED TIME.

Introducing ezyCollect’s new feature: MYOB Exo Sales Order Payment Write-Back.

How it works

When you generate a Sales Order in MYOB Exo, a Sales Order PDF is generated, complete with an automatic “Pay Now” button for a hassle-free payment experience. Your customers can then make instant full or partial payments via Simplypaid, and our system will handle the rest. Deposits are allocated effortlessly, with each successful payment creating a corresponding deposit record in your MYOB Exo system.

Automate Deposit Allocation for Seamless Payments

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JobAdder and Deputy Join Forces to Simplify Temp Management and Recruitment

THE NEW INTEGRATION REDUCES ONBOARDING TIME FOR TEMPORARY AND CONTRACT EMPLOYEES BY SYNCING PLACEMENT DETAILS AUTOMATICALLY.

management platform Deputy that connects and automates the management and recruitment of temporary and contract workers. Together the two employment platforms will address the complexities that arise from non-integrated systems, paving the way for a more seamless employment journey.

By connecting the two platforms, JobAdder users will be able to sync successful candidates’ data onto the Deputy platform automatically, saving recruiters

significant time on manual data entry, reducing compliance risks, and decreasing onboarding time for new temporary workers by several days, allowing for a superior employee experience with fast commencement of their placements. This integration builds on the support offered for temporary recruitment by JobAdder’s newly released Temp Express dashboard.

With the number of temporary workers expected to rise, the need for improved systems to centralise recruitment and workforce management has become increasingly important. The Deputy integration will help recruiters manage their temp workload and...

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RAVE’s FMS recently released a new ‘Charge Up’ report – available from the Charge Up sub-tab within a project’s Budget workflows. This page displays your project’s ‘Estimate Total’ vs what has been ‘Invoiced’ to date, and the ‘Balance’ still to be invoiced – including any variations – with handy colour coding, allowing you to quickly identify what you have, and haven’t charged your client yet.

> A ‘RAVE’s FMS Charge Up Report’ FAQ guide is available from the RAVE Help portal New ‘Charge Up’ Report PDF –RAVE Financial Update

RAVE FMS users running a ‘Charge Up’ report now have the ability to generate a ‘Charge Up’ Report PDF – which allows them to easily show their clients the total of invoices vs what they estimated – broken down by key project details and category totals.

Improvements to Branch Profitability Reports – RAVE Financial Update

A number of improvements have been made to the content and how the “Branch Profitability” and the “Job Profitability’ reports look. They also include estimate variations/variations in the project value now – to provide a full job overview from both reports.

Refinements

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NEW XERO CONNECTED APPS!

CA, UK & US - The AI-powered solution to automating your bookkeeping tasks for accounts and businesses. Streamline your financial record-keeping, reduce errors and provide real-time insights for better decision-making.

DROPPAH

AU - Modern rostering and time-tracking software built especially for hospitality teams. Get your scheduling sussed with simple, budget-friendly roster creation, staff comms and shift swapping, cost forecasting, and timesheets you can send straight to payroll.

RECORDME MYHR

AU - MyHR combines smart HR software with expert HR advisory to simplify people and payroll management for everyone. Live data is sent from MyHR, directly to Xero, allowing you to pay staff, automate tax, report payment details to the ATO and more.

Now you can easily gain insights into the performance against budget of the divisions, departments, locations, profit centres, cost centres or other segments within your business.

This new feature is currently available for Xero and QuickBooks Online companies, and offers a comprehensive solution to import, track and compare divisional budgets.

Specifically, the new divisional budget features enable you to:

• Compare financials to budget for divisions in reports

• View a side-by-side comparison of budgets for multiple divisions

2023 Ecosystem Survey: The latest insights from the Xero community

• Use your divisional budget data to track the performance of KPIs

• Analyse your divisional budget data in Fathom's Breakdown tool

• Xero users: calculate an overall budget from the sum of tracking category budgets

• For QuickBooks Online users: import budgets across multiple financial years, and use hierarchical divisions for both class and location

Read on to see what the key features and benefits could mean for you, your business or your clients.

Staying on track with divisional budget data in reports

Go deep, go wide—compare divisional actuals to budgets in reports, side-by...

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FROM THE MOMENT I JOINED XERO LAST YEAR TO HELP LEAD ECOSYSTEM AND PARTNERSHIPS FOR XERO, ONE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE HAS BEEN MADE APPARENT TO ME: XERO WAS BORN AS AN OPEN PLATFORM AND THIS GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO OPENING OUR FIRST API IN 2009.

While we build and provide valuable tools to help small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers around the world grow and thrive, much of the value our customers derive from Xero comes from our rich ecosystem. By ecosystem, we mean the many third-party

apps, financial connections, and custom integrations that tie our accounting stack to the core tools and processes that small businesses and their advisors use day in and out.

That’s why understanding our collaborative and innovative community of developers, partners, advisors, and integrators is so important to my work and the work we do at Xero. To understand who makes up our ecosystem, their challenges and opportunities, and what they value in working with Xero, we recently surveyed 403 members across our ecosystem community.

A lot has changed...

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RaveBuild General Update – 21 July 2023

TRANSACTION RECEIPTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON INVOICES – RAVE ACCOUNTS

CreditorWatch June 2023

Product Updates

BEING THE END OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR, JUNE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A BIG MONTH FOR CREDITORWATCH. BUT IT’S ALL THE FEATURE UPDATES RELEASED THAT REALLY HAD US (AND HOPEFULLY YOU) FIZZING.

Our monthly highlights of June updates to products is below. Read on to learn how you can now get faster access to international credit reports, make life easier with new APIs, onboard customers even faster, and get a more accurate picture of what you’re owed and

who to chase. Oh, and we almost forgot those magical words…. single sign-on.

International Credit Reports

Speed up due diligence on overseas customers, partners, and suppliers.

Overseas entities can be a major unknown, so it’s crucial to complete thorough due diligence before engaging with them.

You can now access credit reports for 15 countries instantly via the CreditorWatch portal.

Countries include: New...

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UPDATE

Transaction receipts are now available for Full, Partial, and Multiple payments. Users are able to view the invoice receipts by selecting the ‘View Payment Receipt’ option on the Invoices Out page.

Refinement

Purchase Order CSV Import Improvements – RAVE Financial Update

• You can now import ‘Internal’ purchase orders –this is done by leaving the company name field blank

• Refinements to the purchase order CSV import we shipped at the start of the week

• Improved error handling/ validation error messaging for commas and spaces in your data

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BGL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS (BGL), ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING PROVIDERS OF COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

SOFTWARE, IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE ELECTRONIC SHARE TRANSACTION FILING WITH THE ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE REGULATORY AUTHORITY (ACRA) IN SINGAPORE IS NOW AVAILABLE IN ITS COMPANY SECRETARIAL SOFTWARE SOLUTION, CAS 360.

“We are excited to release this highly antici-

pated and industry-first feature to clients,” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “The ability to quickly file a transfer of shares in CAS 360 directly with the ACRA will provide clients with greater efficiencies. And we are the first company secretarial software in Singapore that can do this, which is a huge achievement for our team.”

CAS 360 Singapore clients can now complete their share transactions in CAS 360, prepare all the required documents for...

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WorkGuru Release

Notes - 19/07/2023

WE'D LIKE TO KEEP YOU UPDATED ON OUR LATEST RELEASES. FOR DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE THE FEATURES OF WORKGURU, PLEASE SEE OUR LIST OF SUPPORT ARTICLES (HTTPS://SUPPORT. WORKGURU.IO/SUPPORT/ SOLUTIONS). WE UPDATE THESE ARTICLES REGULARLY TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FEATURES OF THE APPLICATION.

Features

Clients

• Added ability to apply tax rates to clients

Android/ IOS Application

• New home screen menu

• New IOS version of WorkGuru now available

• Ability to start/ stop timesheets

• Pagination added on Pur-

chase Orders, Timesheets, and Projects

Updates

• Optimisations made to email logs, Gmail, Reports, Timesheets, and Quotes

• UX improvements made to EzzyBills receipt upload on Projects

• Upload limit of 10,000 rows has been applied to better handle imports across the platform Including Products, Tasks, and Leads.

• Product Dashboard improvements

Bug Fixes Google Drive

• Google drive auth fix Reports

• Fixed financial year... Find out more

SAY HELLO TO DIVISIONAL BUDGETS IN FATHOM; THE ULTIMATE TOOL TO ENSURE YOUR DIVISIONS ARE ON TRACK.

A farewell to our founder and CEO John Mitchell

IT IS BITTERSWEET THAT THIS WEEK WE SAY GOODBYE TO JOHN MITCHELL AS ARLO’S CEO. BUT ALSO AS A FRIEND, A COLLEAGUE, A LEADER, AND INSPIRING FOUNDER WHOSE VISION IS WHAT MADE ARLO INTO THE COMPANY IT IS TODAY.

John has dedicated the last 16 years of his life to Arlo’s company vision – empowering the delivery of great learning. He reminded us all of this and reinforced it at every opportunity. And the numbers speak for themselves: customers in 70 countries, over 7 million people trained, processing more than half a billion dollars in transactions per year!

Today we celebrate John and share his story – from an entrepreneurial windsurfer to building one of NZ’s most successful tech companies.

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Journey Announces Global Expansion with New Director & Head of EMEA Appointment - Jordan Vickery

JOURNEY, A SUCCESSFUL SOFTWARE-ASA-SERVICE (SAAS) CONSULTING AGENCY FOR ACCOUNTING-TECH THAT STARTED IN SYDNEY, IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE ITS FIRST STEP IN GLOBAL EXPANSION WITH THE APPOINTMENT OF JORDAN VICKERY. VICKERY STEPS INTO A NEW ROLE AS GLOBAL DIRECTOR, TAKING CHARGE OF THE EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, AND AFRICA (EMEA) REGION.

Launched in January 2023, Journey has seen impressive growth due to strong demand from the accounting tech sector. With this global expansion into the UK, Vickery is set to lead the growth and ensure great results for our clients in the

region.

As part of this new global expansion, Vickery is joined by a supporting team in the UK who will work specifically with UK & EMEA SaaS vendors looking to scale and grow their business in the accounting tech ecosystem such as the Xero marketplace.

Trent McLaren, founder of Journey, is extremely enthusiastic about Vickery's appointment. "I'm incredibly excited to have Jordan join our team and to be opening our doors to the UK/EMEA market," he said. "Jordan and I have worked together on some of the biggest campaigns in the accounting industry - globally, from national roadshows with ACCA to online virtual summits attended by over 18,000 peo-

ple. We have a great track record of success together. There’s no one I trust more to help on our next stage of growth.”

With Vickery's vast experience and in-depth understanding of the accounting-tech landscape, he is expected to build strong partnerships, create new business opportunities, and drive growth for clients across the EMEA region.

He joins Journey whilst retaining a role in the Digital Accountancy Show team and a strategic position in his previous agency, Troika - where he works with fastgrowth accounting firms on their marketing strategy. This new role allows him to support accounting...

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Arlo is a finalist in the 2023 Wellington Gold Awards

ARLO IS A FINALIST IN THE 2023 WELLINGTON GOLD AWARDS AND WE COULDN’T BE MORE THRILLED! A FINALIST IN THE TECHNOLOGY GOLD CATEGORY ALONGSIDE FOUR OTHER TOP-NOTCH TECHNOLOGY CREATORS IN THE WELLINGTON REGION – GLOBAL SEISMIC DATA, MEDICLY AND UPSTOCK.

The idea for Arlo was born from founder and CEO John Mitchell’s vision in 2007 for an easier way to manage training. A tool that could streamline administration, grow registrations and transform the way training was done forever. Arlo is a complete system for commercial training providers to manage and grow their businesses. From the CRM, to the website, to scheduling, online registrations, course management and more – all the way to invoicing.

Now with customers in over 70 countries, processing $500m+ in transactions every year, 54 staff, and 3 offices (NZ, UK, Canada), Arlo is the realisation of that vision. Find out more

BGL CORPORATE SOLUTIONS (BGL), AUSTRALIA'S LEADING PROVIDER OF COMPANY COMPLIANCE, SELF-MANAGED SUPERANNUATION FUND (SMSF) AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE, IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THE PROMOTION OF WARREN RENDEN TO GENERAL MANAGER - CAS 360, ECOSYSTEM AND BRAND.

The appointment comes 2 weeks after BGL introduced a seven-person Executive Team, which includes Renden.

“It has been a pleasure to watch Warren grow and thrive with us both personally and professionally since he joined BGL in 2007,” said Ron Lesh, BGL’s Managing Director. “His journey has been one of growth and exceptional dedication, and I could not be...

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The home of XU Magazine and XU Biweekly

PEAKFLO WITH ITS SIMPLE API AND ONE-CLICK ERP INTEGRATIONS, ALLOWS BUSINESSES TO STREAMLINE THEIR INVOICE COLLECTIONS AND VENDOR PAYMENTS. THOUSANDS OF FINANCE TEAM USERS, FROM SCALE-UPS TO ENTERPRISES, USE PEAKFLO EACH TO:

• Save 500 manhours/month on finance ops

• Get paid faster on customer invoices by 15-25 days

• Cut vendor bill payment time by 50%

We are extremely thrilled to share that Peakflo has achieved SOC2 Type II compliance. SOC 2 is a third-party external audit developed by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), which specifies how software platforms should manage customer data. AICPA has developed rigorous Trust Services Criteria around five core principles: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. SOC2 Type II certification is awarded to organizations that have demonstrated best-in-class security practices in each category within a predefined audit window. SOC2 is an industry-standard to give our customers the utmost confidence in Peakflo’s security and compliance track record.

What SOC2 Type 2 certification means to our clients:

1. Assurance of Data Protection: SOC 2 Type 2 certification demonstrates that we have robust and effective data security measures in place. It ensures that our customers’ sensitive data is thoroughly protected from potential breaches or misuse.

2. Continuous Compliance: This certification is not a one-time event but an ongoing...

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XERO’S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION (D&I) ACROSS OUR GLOBAL BUSINESS EXTENDS TO CHAMPIONING D&I IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH WE OPERATE, INCLUDING INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES GLOBALLY. WE BELIEVE DRIVING BETTER D&I OUTCOMES CAN HELP AMPLIFY OUR POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE WORLD. THIS COMMITMENT ALIGNS WITH OUR VALUES AND OUR PURPOSE TO MAKE LIFE BETTER FOR PEOPLE IN SMALL BUSINESS, THEIR ADVISORS AND COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD.

Listening and understanding is the first step to enabling meaningful change and positive community outcomes. There are already many ways in which Xero supports Indigenous communities globally such as appointing our first Global Indigenous Affairs Officer, introducing a Social Procurement Plan to preference spend on businesses majority owned or managed by under-represented groups, including First Nations people, and a scholarship for Indigenous students with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada.

In Australia, Xero’s soon to be released Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) will reflect our commitment to reconciliation with First Nations peoples, and the passion and efforts of our employees to foster a structured approach to reconciliation. In line with this, Xero supports the establishment of a Voice to Parliament in Australia to enable First Nations peoples to have a say in policies and decisions that affect them and their communities, and to help close the gap. This position aligns with Xero’s D&I strategy, our values and our purpose, and our reconciliation commitment, as outlined in our RAP.

While this is Xero’s position, we recognise some stakeholders will hold alternate...

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Xero’s D&I commitment and support of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in Australia

Singapore Xero Awards 2023: Congratulations to our winners

credibly proud to be a part of the exceptional work and contribution our partners make to the small business community.

So without further ado, a huge congratulations to our winners:

Singapore Advisory Partner of the Year

Harvest Accounting Pte. Ltd.

Small Singapore Accounting Partner of the Year

Bamboo Sea Pte. Ltd.

Singapore Business Vertical Champion of the Year

It was a brilliant night, bringing everyone together in person again. I loved seeing the camaraderie and festivity in the room as our partners reconnected with one another and cheered each other on.

The competition was tough this year and the calibre of submissions has been truly inspiring. We are in-

361 Degree Consultancy Pte Ltd

Large Singapore Accounting Partner of the Year

Singapore Corporate Services Pte Ltd

Medium Singapore Accounting Partner of the Year

361 Degree Consultancy Pte. Ltd

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to enter the awards this year. Looking forward to 2024!...

Read more about the Singapore Xero Award winners

AI: ENHANCING ACCOUNTANCY’S HUMAN TOUCH

By Jan Korecky, Chief Executive Officer, Datamolino

WELCOME TO THE ERA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IN ACCOUNTING. AN INDUSTRY LARGELY BASED ON DATA ANALYSIS AND PRECISE CALCULATIONS, ACCOUNTING IS READY FOR AI INTEGRATION. THE ADOPTION OF AI CAN REVOLUTIONIZE TRADITIONAL ACCOUNTING PRACTICES, MAKING THEM MORE EFFICIENT, ACCURATE, AND INSIGHTFUL.

In the future, successful accountants will be those who embrace these technologies and use them effectively, while maintaining their professional judgment and personal touch in client relationships. A “technologically adept human touch” will become the new gold standard in accountancy.

How did we get here?

AI models have been in use for some time. However, a renaissance period of AI was ushered in November 2022, with the release of ChatGPT, a generative pretrained transformer. This AI language model, thanks to its easy user interface and public access, allowed anyone to start interacting with AI.

ChatGPT proved to be a versatile tool, and interest in AI has skyrocketed. There are now many other publicly accessible AIs, like Google’s Bard or Anthropic’s Claude, and various purpose-built apps based on these and other AI models.

So, how can this benefit your business? How can you start using AI? What should you consider? How can you and your firm adopt an AI-

first approach? Let’s explore.

Automation: The First Step towards AI

Many firms still rely too heavily on manual work, where basic automation could streamline their processes. Automation reduces manual errors and saves time. Tools like Datamolino demonstrate this advantage, by automating data entry and categorization of bills and receipts, reducing manual work and margin for error.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely using (or considering) Xero. The Xero ecosystem is a great place to start with automation, with over 1000 apps enhancing Xero’s functionality. Start with automating repetitive, well-defined tasks. Apps that automate data entry of invoices and receipts, help businesses with payments, cash flow management, and reporting, should be your first consideration.

Automation first, Artificial intelligence second

AI takes automation a step further by mimicking human intelligence and improving over time. Unlike traditional automation, AI can analyze large data volumes, identify trends, make predictions, and automate complex tasks. However, it’s crucial to understand that AI, like humans, isn’t infallible and its performance can be affected by biased or incomplete data.

Transitioning from traditional automation software to AI is a paradigm shift. Traditional software follows pre-programmed in-

structions, while AI learns, adapts, and improves over time. This learning capability is a game-changer, enabling AI to handle unexpected scenarios and produce more accurate results, enhancing accountancy practices.

How can your business become AI-first with Xero?

The good news is, you’re probably already using AI. Xero uses AI to streamline data entry and classification tasks. Automated data entry tools like Datamolino use AI to capture data from your invoices and receipts. Other apps in the Xero ecosystem leverage AI, bringing innovation to your doorstep. Exploring the Xero ecosystem and understanding how it can help you today is crucial. Likely, it will be one of these apps that brings the AI capabilities your firm needs.

So, what about ChatGPT?

AI models like ChatGPT go beyond simplifying tasks. They possess unique capabilities such as understanding context, generating text, and making predictions based on the data fed to them.

If you haven’t yet explored what ChatGPT can do, now may be a good time to start. You can experiment with these models. They can create text summaries of lengthy documents, assist with writing tasks, and even interpret data to some extent, enhancing productivity and efficiency.

Should you be worried...

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The Well-Trained Client: The First Step for Real-Time Accounting

By Brian Carolan, Product Owner, AutoEntry by Sage

THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN A BUSY PERIOD FOR THE UK’S ACCOUNTANTS. MAKING TAX DIGITAL CHANGED MANY FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES, AND THE IMPACT OF BREXIT TOOK MANY BY SURPRISE, TOO.

Following the postponement of MTD for Income Tax, it might feel like we’re in a well-deserved period of calm. But this is the perfect opportunity to make key process changes that bring long-term benefits.

There’s never been a better time to get clients trained in the kind of digital skills that are vital if the ongoing digitisation of taxes isn’t to put a strain on them—or on you.

This is true no matter where clients reside, and it isn’t just a UK issue. Most western countries are on journeys towards the digitisation of taxes, which present very similar challenges.

One vital digital skill is real-time accounting.

The goal is simple: clients address accounting and bookkeeping tasks when they arise, taking them in their stride as part of their working day.

For example, they will issue invoices and collect payment when they’ve finished a task. If your client must be onsite to carry out their work, this can even be done immediately once the job has been completed.

They will take a snapshot of receipts or invoices when they’re received, so the data is instantly moved to their accounting. Regular bills can also be fetched from online locations, removing client intervention entirely.

Few accountants realise the scale of the accounting administrative problem facing their clients, or why a solution is so desperately required.

A National Federation of Self Employed & Small Businesses survey amongst its members revealed the following startling issues:

• More than half of small business owners say growth is held back by the time they dedicate to business administration.

• Over two-thirds say the admin burden is preventing them from focusing on their business purpose.

• Three-quarters say they spend more time than they would like on issues like tax, accounting and more.

Clients “catch-up” at the weekend on tasks such as balancing the P&L, or inputting receipts, invoices and statement data into their ledgers, or preparing VAT, corporation tax or income tax returns.

As a result, their work/ life balance is often awful. None of them started their own business to do admin, yet this is what eats much of their time.

Similarly, preparing for tax crunch times like quarterly VAT returns can be a recurring nightmare that just..

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Q&A with Tushir Patel, Co-Founder of Capium

Parlez-vous français?

XU: WE’RE JOINED BY TUSHIR FROM CAPIUM TODAY ON DAY 1 OF ACCOUNTEX. SO, HOW ARE YOU GUYS FINDING THE EVENT SO FAR?

TP: It’s been busy for us. It was a good first day and we’re expecting the same for the second day. We have lots to showcase at the moment. We’ve got a new time and fees module and charity accounts that we’ve launched as well in the cloud. We’ve had a lot of interest from a lot of customers and hopefully some more leads coming through the launch today.

XU: That’s great to hear. And as a matter of interest, leading up to the show, what made you focus on pushing those?

TP: Good question. I hate to labor on a point, but we were one of the first in the market with a full Cloud Suite product. I’d probably say, a pioneer in that. But what’s happened is we’ve seen a lot of vendors push on with that as well competitively.

What we’ve had to do is listen to our marketplace and to our clients and ask ourselves, what do they need next? And part of that was looking at time and fees and looking at charities. We’re now also revamping the whole language, technology and the platform it-

self ready for bringing out AI machine learning when the market is ready for it.

XU: That sounds exciting! What do you feel the main itch is that needs scratching at the moment amongst the accounting community?

TP: It’s all been about simplicity and ease because accountants themselves, they’re totally snowed under with work and I think from that perspective we just need to make their lives a lot easier going forward. If there’s anything that we can do to try and simplify and speed up their time, so they can focus on more profit-making areas, then that’s what we’re trying to do.

XU: Have you guys got anything in the pipeline over the next 12 months? Can you give us an idea of what’s happening, without giving away any trade secrets?

TP: Time and fees and charities are what’s coming out now. We’re then aiming to build a much more integrated platform between all the modules and themselves. The speed and the essence of everything for an accountant is what we are looking at and focusing to actually push on.

I think from that perspective we’re bringing out new bookkeeping and payroll aspects. We’ll then probably start looking at AI and ma-

chine learning as we’re doing some research into it and hopefully by next year we’ll see what we can showcase.

XU: With AI and machine learning, how do you see it having an impact on the way that accountants and bookkeepers will operate going forwards?

There’s obviously a bit of skepticism amongst some people. It’s like, “Oh, are we going to have a job left?”, which is probably said at every single innovation along the way, but everybody still does have a job left.

How do you see it actually enhancing the offering that they can give to their clients?

TP: It’s in very early stages at the moment but I don’t think there’s anything to be scared about necessarily. There’ll always be something to do. We’re still the brains behind the operation.

I think what it will do is probably help to speed up mundane tasks going forward. It will probably become more pervasive for business, where they just deal with all robotic answers to questions that customers may have. I think that’s step one. I don’t think we should be even looking at step two or step three at the moment until we’ve got past that point. I think it’s going to...

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3 HR METRICS YOU NEED TO TRACK

By Christina Kryske, Customer Success Champion, HR Partner

WELL RUN BUSINESSES NEED TO INCORPORATE HR DATA INTO THEIR DECISION MAKING. SO WHAT AREAS OF HR SHOULD YOU BE USING DATA TO TRACK?

1. Employee Retention & Turnover

At the forefront of any successful company is its ability to retain its people. “Employee retention” is arguably the most important piece of HR data to be analysed by leaders. In fact, we often say that retention is the highest form of recruiting. One method to assess your company’s employee retention strategy is to observe your employee turnover rates and the reasons employees leave. HR Partner has a reporting chart to track your company’s turnover rates and trends of termination reasons.

2. Time to Hire

Attracting and recruiting the right talent is a top priority for almost all organisations, and one key metric to

analyse is “time to hire.” This important data point measures the number of days that pass from the initial contact with a job candidate to the moment they accept your job offer.

By tracking this metric, you can gain insights into the effectiveness of your recruitment efforts and the efficiency of your hiring managers. For instance, a lengthy “time to hire” may indicate a need to streamline your hiring process or to improve communication with candidates. Importantly, it often means that the best candidates will be offered other positions and you’ll have to select from a reduced pool of applicants.

HR Partner has a built-in Applicant Tracking System that enables you to see this data as soon as you view your Recruiting Dashboard.

3. Compliance Reporting

One of the most critical functions of HR teams is compliance reporting, which ensures that your employees have the necessary training and documentation to comply with internal policies and industry regulations. With

an ongoing “compliance reporting” process in place, HR teams can identify and address any potential gaps before they become issues.

This proactive approach is crucial for mitigating risks and protecting your organization from potential fines and lawsuits. By regularly monitoring compliance metrics, you can gain insights into areas where additional training or policy updates may be needed, and take corrective actions as necessary.

Within HR Partner, you can store your employees’ renewable documents – including certificates, forms of identification, work visas, and more. But importantly, you can also run a report to see which employees are missing a specific type of document. This report gathers informational data to assess if any of your employees need to deliver updated documentation in order to stay compliant with your organisation, as well as remind you of any renewable documents which need to be renewed.

You can also use... Find out more

WORKING SMARTER DURING TAX SEASON

By Rakesh Naidu, Head of Product, Wolters Kluwer Asia-Pacific

FOR AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ACCOUNTING FIRMS WHO ARE LOOKING TO SAVE TIME DURING TAX SEASON, SOME CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES CAN HELP.

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, accountants face more challenges than ever before. The challenge of managing talent, while also balancing the need to drive business growth and deliver the best client service possible means that saving time is an ever-present need. In fact, in the 2022-23 Wolters Kluwer Accounting Evolution survey, “too much work, not enough time” was the key challenge reported by ANZ firms, who looked to technology to help save time.

Therefore, having tax return preparation and lodgment software that is simple to use, while producing accurate and reliable outcomes is a critical piece of technology for accounting firms in 2023. Additionally, technology which integrates with client collaboration and tax research tools all help to streamline an accountant’s workflow at tax season.

Wolters Kluwer is acknowledged as a global leader in accounting and tax software solutions, tax research content and practical tools for accountants.

The ability to support Australian and New Zealand accounting firms at tax time with both cloud software and knowledge solutions is unique to Wolters Kluwer, and our integrated solutions are saving accountants valuable time every day.

CCH iFirm Tax software can reshape the way accountants prepare and lodge returns, enabling them to improve productivity and drive growth. Together with CCH iKnow and CCH Business Fitness research and knowledge solutions, accountants can access Wolters Kluwer expert content such as the trusted Master Tax Guide from within the software or enjoy efficiencies of workflow with our new CCH iFirm Tax New Zealand and CCH Business Fitness Workpapers integration.

CCH iFirm Tax automates and streamlines compliance workflows for the creation, tracking and lodgement of tax returns. In Australia, these include: Individual, Company, Partnership, Trust, Self Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF), Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) returns, Instalment Activity Statements and Business Activity Statements (BAS). In New Zealand, IR3, IR3NR, IR4, IR6, IR7, IR526, IR833 and GST returns with IR4J, IR10 and IR215 attachments via Inland Revenue Gateway

Services.

Features such as automatic pre-filing, tax return print-preview, prior-year figures review and roll-overs help to make the tax return preparation process quicker and easier.

As a mature cloud solution – in fact, CCH iFirm Tax was the first-ever cloudbased tax compliance software that gives users the freedom to work remotely at the speed of a desktop with the power of the cloud; critical for effective remote working.

To ensure a smooth transition to CCH iFirm Tax, customers have access to our own in-house Consulting team. Having a dedicated in-house team means that customers don’t need to rely on an external consultant for on-boarding as they familiarise themselves with a new product.

With best of breed security credentials, including Microsoft Azure cloud server (onshore) ISO 27001 certification and additional multi-factor authentication in our CCH iFirm Tax (AU), accountants can have full peace of mind.

Integrated tax research

Integrated content is...

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Top 5 trends shaping accountancy in 2023

By Catherine Knowles, Freelance Writer, Spotlight Reporting

FROM AI TO ADVISORY SERVICES, SPOTLIGHT REPORTING UNCOVERS THE TOP TRENDS DEFINING A PIVOTAL PERIOD FOR THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY.

As we move through 2023 and technology continues to advance, while businesses weather shifting economic tides, the world of accounting is undergoing transformation. Leaders in the industry are those that are leveraging the likes of cloud software, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, data protection services, and visualisation technology, and also understand the growing need for advisory services.

Gartner finds that 20232025 will mark a pivotal time for the financial industry, with those that are able to marry traditional finance with rapidly evolving digital skills and tools the ones that will move from strength to strength. On top of this, accountants and business leaders that aren’t able to take up new capabilities might not be able to keep up with the pace of change.

Leveraging advanced technologies, and being able to step into an advisor role, can help firms improve their level of service, insights and reporting in order to gain a competitive edge and help businesses achieve notable

success.

1. AI and automation power and advance everyday tasks

With the rise of widely accessible tools that are powered by AI, this is the big topic on everyone’s minds. When it comes to accounting, AI tools that directly cater to the finance industry aren’t new, but their functionality is constantly evolving.

For instance, in 2023 AI can analyse financial data, generate reports, and even identify patterns and anomalies that suggest accounting fraud. In an industry underpinned by numbers and data, it’s also hugely powerful when it comes to automating repetitive tasks so staff can focus more on strategy and reporting, while also saving potential human errors.

One of the most exciting areas of AI advancement that we’re seeing is around data insights and decision making. When powered by AI and automation, accounting data comes to life. It enables firms to far more easily perform cash flow forecasting, analyse salaries, analyse business performance, assess financial conditions, and predict drops or rises in the market.

International Data Corporation (IDC) finds that glob-

al spending on AI, including software, hardware and services, will surpass USD $300 billion in 2026, up from USD $118 billion in 2022. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5% over the forecast period, which is four times greater than the CAGR of the same period for worldwide IT spending (6.3%).

Such figures reflect a growing investment and focus on AI technology, which will inevitably have a continued impact on the world of accounting, with those willing to leverage the capabilities of the technology the ones that will come out on top.

2. Cloud-based accounting becomes a staple

One of the biggest changes in finance in the last few years is the rise of cloudbased accounting, with various software solutions bringing a whole new level of functionality and forecasting to firms and businesses of all sizes. Anywhere, anytime access, integrations with specialised services, and collaborative tools make cloud computing software services offer numerous potential benefits.

Over and above, the benefits we have seen stand out include the ability to... Keep Reading

Revolut

REVOLUT, THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL SUPERAPP WITH MORE THAN 30 MILLION CUSTOMERS GLOBALLY, CONSISTENT WITH ITS ONGOING MISSION TO GIVE CUSTOMERS MORE CONTROL OVER THEIR FINANCES AND CONNECT PEOPLE SEAMLESSLY ACROSS THE WORLD, ANNOUNCES IT IS OFFERING ACCOUNTS TO NON-US CITIZENS IN THE US, WHO DO NOT HAVE AN SSN/ITIN.

There are more than 2.5 million people in the US on some sort of visa and who do not have a SSN or ITIN; of which 1 million are students. This population is generally ignored by financial institutions and, as a result, do not have access to cost-effective financial services and are left with limited options for managing their finances.

Revolut is changing that by offering a hassle-free

employees

solution, including easy account sign up and access to many of its everyday money management products. This includes international-related features, such as a global debit card, low fee currency exchange and international transfers, and early salary access (up to 2 days).

Danil Ovechkin, Revolut US Head of Growth, said:

“We’re delighted to offer Revolut accounts to these communities of non-US citizens, who have been ignored by many traditional banks and fintechs. We are proud to be giving these customers the ability to sign up for an account, and making their lives easier by having the possibility of access to a quality financial product and accessing our everyday products designed to support their day-to-day needs. As we continue to expand access to our fast, secure...

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Relaunch of Paytron's Corporate Card Programme –Enhanced

Flexibility and Control

GAINING MASTERCARD PRINCIPAL MEMBERSHIP HAS ENABLED US TO BYPASS THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF THE PREVIOUS DOWNSTREAM PROVIDER AND GIVES US THE INDEPENDENCE TO ISSUE OUR OWN CARDS, GIVING US MORE CONTROL TO PROVIDE YOU A GREAT EXPERIENCE.

Behind the scenes, we've poured our energy into enhancing our offerings and delivering the features you've eagerly anticipated. Here's a glimpse of what's in

store:

1. Multi-Currency Spending

Our virtual cards facilitate smart multi-currency spending. If you make a purchase in a specific currency like USD, and you have USD in our virtual wallets, the card draws directly from your USD balance. In the absence of USD, we’ll convert from your AUD wallet at competitive rates, aiming to streamline your international transactions. You can already...

Microsoft Deepens Relationship with PayPal to Offer Simple, Flexible Payment Options

PAYPAL HOLDINGS, INC. (NASDAQ: PYPL) AND MICROSOFT CORP. (NASDAQ: MSFT), TODAY ANNOUNCED MICROSOFT'S INTEGRATION OF PAYPAL'S PAY LATER SOLUTION IN THE U.S., U.K., AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ITALY.

In addition, customers in the U.S. will soon have the option to pay with Venmo in the Microsoft Store. Venmo is currently available in the Microsoft Store on Xbox in the U.S. These new integrations offer customers more flexible ways to pay and help increase customer loyalty.

"For over 16 years, PayPal checkout has been a trusted method for Microsoft Store customers to purchase products like Surface devic-

es and Xbox consoles and accessories, as well as Microsoft 365's product suite," said Kurt Campisano, SVP of Strategic Accounts, PayPal. "We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Microsoft to offer them access to our full suite of capabilities that will create a beautiful customer experience across the entire shopping journey."

PayPal Pay Later and Venmo will provide several additional benefits to Microsoft's customers and its business including:

PayPal Pay Later: With PayPal Pay Later, eligible consumers will now be able to pay for their purchases evenly over the course of weeks or months in fixed amounts, providing flexibility in how to pay and...

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Venmo

Small

Business Grant Now Accepting Applications to Support Emerging and Small Businesses

PAYPAL HOLDINGS, INC. (NASDAQ: PYPL)

TODAY ANNOUNCED THE SECOND VENMO SMALL BUSINESS GRANT, A PROGRAM FOR SMALL AND EMERGING BUSINESSES PROVIDING FINANCIAL GRANTS AND MENTORSHIP FOR 20 VENMO BUSINESS PROFILE CUSTOMERS.

THE SELECTED BUSINESSES WILL EACH RECEIVE $10,000 FOR EXPENSES, SUCH AS RENT, OR TO HELP DIGITIZE AND PROMOTE THEIR BUSINESSES.

In addition to providing a financial grant, the Venmo Small Business Grant program provides recipients with access to technical expertise and mentorship on topics such as legal services, financial analysis, digital marketing, and more. These resources are provided in partnership with Start Small Think Big, along with skilled PayPal and Venmo employees who will provide mentoring, coaching, and pro bono services.

As part of PayPal's ongoing commitment to advancing racial equity and creating an inclusive economy, the selection process for Venmo Small Business Grants will also help to support the growth of small businesses in underrepresented communities.

"When the Venmo Small Business Grant program first launched last year, we received nearly 15 times the number of applications we expected, demonstrating the substantial need for additional support among the small business community,"

said Erika Sanchez, Vice President and General Manager, Venmo. "We're excited to bring the program back this year to provide financial support and mentorship for small businesses, the backbone of our economy."

Since the launch of Venmo business profiles in February 2021, more than 2.5 million small businesses have created profiles to organize, market, and grow their business cost-effectively. Last year's Venmo Small Business Grant recipients used the grant to grow their businesses in several ways:

Grow for Good 417

Growing up on a small farm, Craig Granger spent most of his time working with plants and helping his grandmother raise money for the Memphis Botanical Gardens. This passion continued throughout college and in the years after graduating where he and his partner started to donate plants to nonprofit auctions in order to clear out space. This has grown into his business today, Grow for Good 417, a shop that sells plants, unique garden art, and hosts plant parties.

According to Craig, he turned to Venmo because it "helps me build my community by accepting payments for the plants I sell at ease— even if I don't have a credit card reader on hand."

"Winning the Venmo grant meant quite a bit to us," said Craig. "It meant that we were able to help out the...

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announces accounts for those lawfully in the US but who don’t have SSNs, including students, visitors,