Xerocon 2016 Wrap-up

Last week, several of our team members headed down to Brisbane for the coveted Xerocon. A technology conference aimed at Accountants & Bookkeepers (which at first you wouldn’t have though so) with entertainment with the likes of a cartoonist, a Hindu priest, dunny putt-putt, seesaws, and a flash mob.

Our team walked away from the conference with a wealth of knowledge as well as insight into the upcoming Xero features. Having seen how beneficial these new features will be to small businesses, we’re excited to share these with you:

1.  Hey Xero!
   An upcoming feature that was announced was Xero’s integration with Facebook Messenger. We are now seeing more and more tech savvy business owners leveraging modern communication (Social media, text, mobile messaging or online chat) to communicate with each other. It’s only fitting that Xero plans to integrate the small business platform with the likes of Facebook so that you can access your information instantly.

   As an example, you can instant message Xero a question ‘who owes me money’ and Xero will reply to you with your Accounts Receivable information and ask if you’d like them followed up. Xero is focusing on making your work more efficient and easier for you.

2. BPAY Integration
   BPAY will now integrate directly into Xero to help small businesses get paid faster. Xero’s platform will evolve giving small businesses the most seamless digital payment experience possible to Xero subscribers. You’ll be able to choose from a range of providers to receive and send payment through BPAYs secured payment service. By offering a secured, trusted payment method like BPAY, small businesses can get paid faster, and their customers know exactly who they’re paying.
3. Live Contacts
   Xero is helping small businesses reduce their data entry event more by taking the work out of adding new contacts. They have built the technology to smartly identifying a business address by validating business records against several data sources, giving small businesses up-to-date information about their customers and suppliers.

   As an example, Xero customers will be able to search for a gardener in their location that uses Xero and easily contact and do business with them, exchanging invoices and payment through the Xero dashboard.

These features are all expected to arrive in the next several months. We’ll keep you posted.

Photos from Xerocon can be found on our facebook page.