If you run a small business or are involved in accounting it is unlikely you have not heard of Xero. Every year, Xero invites its accounting customers to visit Xerocon to learn more about its cloud-based accounting software. This year, 3,500 people are attending in Brisbane, with an extra 8000 people connected online.
In this AI age, it’s not surprising that one of the key themes is automating routine tasks.
Xero powers 2.6 million small businesses worldwide, with Australia being the largest market.
Last year, Xero introduced 300 new product features, with a significant emphasis on the Xero smartphone app. It is refreshing to hear that the features came from user feedback.
Technology levels the playing field between big businesses and small businesses; AI further accelerates this trend. Xero aims to reimagine accounting through the power of AI.
In line with customer feedback it was pleasing to see a “Laundromat” a place to sit with designers to explore new ideas at Xerocon for future product enhancements.
An example of a new feature from last year is Invoice by SMS, which helps small businesses get paid up to 4 times faster.
NEW Xero features for 2025 announced at Xerocon
Xero says its ‘Just ask’ tool becomes ‘Just done’ tool. JAX (Just ask Xero) is evolving with AI. AI for zero is not rolling out more software to address numerous individual tasks, but rather reimagining the base software to deliver insights, advice, and eliminate menial tasks.
Automated actions are being designed to eliminate manual tasks, such as following up on overdue invoices and making suggestions based on financial activity.
JAX will now be able to automate invoices and the invoice email to your client.
Bank reconciliation will now be automated with oversight and editing abilities. JAX will learn from your corrections and improve the process moving forward. High-confidence reconciliation is performed automatically, with low-confidence issues highlighted to the user.
The Homepage is now customisable as every business has different needs and wants different information highlighted..
Accounts use more apps than just Xero. Xero partner hub delivers better third-party integration.
Tax manager proactively informs what is required for compliance throughout the year. New dashboard widgets even inform you of your on-time tax lodgement with the ATO.
AI Insights will deliver management reports, saving you time on analysis. Want more insights? JAX will suggest questions you might like to ask. This extends to Financial insights, where you can ask questions like Why are my expenses increasing this month? Should I lease or buy a vehicle?
In other AI news, Xero has partnered with ChatGPT, allowing users to answer questions directly from the internet within Xero JAX. JAX can combine internal data with external information to more effectively suggest solutions based on the customer’s actual information.
On the payment side, you can now do progress payments, do multiple payments at once, and have access to new invoice templates.
If you run an accounting practice with numerous clients, staff can now be granted client account access in a few simple steps, selecting the specific data they require access to. The accounting practice can also keep track of ATO lodgement progress across all its clients in one view.
An accounting firm can utilise JAX to pose questions to its entire client base. E.g. which of my clients is experiencing unexpected increases in expenses?
New features will start rolling out from next month to the end of the year.
Angus attended Xerocon as a guest of Xero.