Xero Roadshow 2023 – Wrap Up

It’s that time of year again! Xero Roadshow 2023 has come and gone, and accounting and bookkeeping professionals from all over Australia gathered to learn, network, and share their experiences. Xero Roadshow is an annual event that brings together industry experts, business leaders, and Xero users to discuss the latest product updates, trends, and developments in the accounting and bookkeeping industry. This year’s event was packed with informative sessions and demos, covering everything from Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 to e-Invoicing to Xero’s latest acquisition of Planday.

In this blog post, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive wrap-up of Xero Roadshow 2023 and share our insights and highlights from the event. Whether you attended the event or missed out, this post will give you an overview of the latest industry trends and Xero’s exciting product updates. So, let’s dive into the details!

Presented by Cam Brodie, this segment covered product updates to Xero’s invoicing product and the rollout of eInvoicing. Brodie shared an eye-opening statistic that 1 in 4 businesses are cash flow negative for more months of the year than they are positive, highlighting the importance of efficient and timely invoicing.

eInvoicing was a hot topic at Xero Roadshow. Xero is leading the charge on eInvoicing in Australia, and we were very much keen to learn more about how Xero was adoptiong this new technology. eInvoicing allows businesses to send and receive invoices electronically, eliminating the need for paper invoices and manual data entry. When an eInvoice is sent, it lands as a draft bill in the recipient’s software, making it easier for them to process and pay the invoice. eInvoicing also includes built-in security features that ensure only the invoice recipient (identified by their ABN) can view the invoice. This reduces the risk of fraudulent invoices and helps businesses process invoices more efficiently.

Managing employees can be a real headache, am I right? During the Xero Roadshow 2023, Amy Cannon spilled the beans on the latest employee management features that will make your life easier.

Let’s start with STP 2, or Single Touch Payroll Phase 2. This is a new reporting change that is mandatory for Aussie businesses from 1st April 2023. Basically, you need to send payroll and superannuation information directly to the ATO each time you process your pays (weekly, fortnightly, monthly) STP Phase 2 requires you to separate allowances and leave and report this information to the ATO in a more detailed desegregated way. If you haven’t enrolled in STP2 yet, you better get on it ASAP! Don’t wait until the deadline on the 31st of March to enrol. Head to the Xero website to find out all the details on how to enrol and report STP2 correctly.

Now, let’s talk about Xero Me – the app that your employees will love you for. This app is a total game-changer for managing employee pay, leave balances, and payslips. Last year, Xero added the ability to add start and end times to the app, which everyone loved. And this year, they’ve added even more awesome features, like the ability to add multiple work and break blocks and add notes. Yaaas! Plus, Xero is launching a web version of Xero Me soon, so you can access it from your computer if that’s more your style.

Xero’s latest acquisition has got everyone talking – and for good reason! Planday is a rostering, communication, and time tracking software that has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses operate. This software is particularly useful for businesses that have fluctuating staffing needs, such as retail, hospitality, and medical industries.

So, what does this acquisition mean for Xero users? Well, starting from April, Planday will be available for businesses under the retail award. This is exciting news for businesses who struggle with managing their rostering and scheduling. Planday’s software is designed to make rostering and communication a breeze, allowing managers to easily create and share schedules, communicate with employees, and track time and attendance.

To sweeten the deal, everyone who starts a trial of the app in April will receive a 3-month trial. This is a fantastic opportunity to try out the software and see how it can benefit your business.

And that’s a wrap! As the rest of the event was centred around practice management, we will conclude our post here. Until next time ✌🏻 As always, if you have any questions about the latest Xero product updates or features, please reach out. Our friendly bookkeepers would be glad to assist.