What’s new in Xero – September 2024

It’s been a huge three months: we’ve hosted Xerocons in both London and Nashville, and have been hard at work delivering numerous product updates, many inspired by your ideas, requests, and feedback. In last month’s edition we shared how we’re making it easier for you to navigate and tab through fields in invoicing, and in July we rolled out the ability to toggle payment methods on and off in your payment settings without leaving Xero. We heard your feedback about wanting faster, simplified content searches, so we rolled out AI-generated search results in the help menu, and you’re now able to bulk void bills, credit notes and payslips on a single page. (Read more in the June edition).

This month we’re excited to share more exciting enhancements with you. We’ve added more ways for customers to pay, including Tap to Pay on Android (initially in Australia), released Xero Inventory Plus in the US, and continued improving new invoicing. 

Global: Offering small businesses more ways to get paid with Tap to Pay and Klarna

We know from the Xero Small Business Insights Special Report, Crunch: Cash flow challenges facing small businesses, that late payments are the number one cause of cash flow concerns for small businesses and that chasing payments is both stressful and time-consuming. To provide more ways for small businesses to accept payments and help manage cash flow, we’ve launched Tap to Pay on Android (the first major accounting platform to do so) in Australia, and in the UK (coming soon), via our partnership with Stripe. Plus, we’ve added even more ways to pay with one single sign-on, including online bank transfers in the United States as well as Klarna, a buy now, pay later option available in the United States, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Canada. 

Global: Further enhancements to the new version of invoicing [Product Idea]

More features from classic invoicing are being rolled out in the new version of invoicing. This includes the ability to view tax rates and breakdowns in the invoice creation screen, and because of your idea, record overpayments against invoices so that credit can be applied to future invoices. 

Global: Duplicate items in your products and services inventory list [Product idea]

When creating new items in your products and services inventory list, you can now duplicate and edit an existing item. This will make it quicker to add similar items to your catalogue, with less chance of manual error.

Global: Quickly see how accounts are mapped to report codes in chart of accounts

If you’re a Xero accounting or bookkeeping partner, you might be interested in the new report code column in the chart of accounts screen that helps you quickly see how accounts are mapped to report codes.

AU: Improved user experience for the employee opening balances tab within Xero Payroll

To help save time and ensure more accurate payroll from the first pay run, we’ve modernised the user interface, included more informative content, and ensured the page meets accessibility standards.

NZ: Making payroll admin easier with flexible working patterns [Product Idea]

Payroll processing in New Zealand just got easier in Xero. You  can now specify a work pattern of up to two weeks in length for employees, which gives you more flexibility in defining their working hours. This allows for more precise tracking and more accurate leave accruals. Additionally, annual leave is now displayed in weeks, eliminating the need for adjustments when work arrangements change. These enhancements will streamline processes, reduce manual tasks, and ensure greater legislative compliance.

UK: Auto-extraction of payment details from bill attachments

For businesses paying supplier bills directly from Xero, this new feature streamlines the payment process by automatically extracting and validating bank details from bill attachments. This automation reduces the need for manual updates and checks, saving time and minimising errors. By ensuring that the payment information flows seamlessly into the payment process, the auto-extract feature helps prevent failed payments due to outdated or incorrect payment details and reduces the risk of fraud.

UK: Improving RTI filings in payroll

If you’re a payroll admin, it’s now easier for you to access historic real-time information (RTI) submissions for reverted and deleted pay runs, giving you better transparency and ability to self-serve. You can download your historic RTI  submissions from the RTI filings table in payroll.

US: Connect  Amazon (FBA) with Xero Inventory Plus to manage your inventory more efficiently

We’re excited to announce the official launch of Xero Inventory Plus with a brand new integration with Amazon. Through the new Xero integration with Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) program or the existing connection with Shopify, you can manage inventory, fulfilment and reordering in one place and get key insights to grow your business. You can add Inventory Plus to your Xero Growing or Established plan for $39 USD/month. Simply click here and get your first month free.

US: Simplify sales tax with state-based sales tax reports

It’s now easier for you to find and use sales functionality tax in Xero. The revamped sales tax home screen centralises Xero’s sales tax features, providing easy access to reporting and calculations alongside helpful information to guide you through the reporting process. All US users can now access sales tax reports that are automatically generated by state and by filing period with filing deadlines, saving you time in preparing to file reports and simplifying sales tax  management. Click on the Accounting tab within Xero to get started.

US: Streamline 1099 preparation with third-party payment exclusions 

Xero helps you automatically detect and filter out third-party payments from Stripe, PayPal, and Venmo that should be excluded from your 1099s. This reduces the manual work you need to do, saving time during the busy season, and helping your clients stay compliant.

These are just some of the updates that have rolled out in Xero this month. You can check out the August edition here, and for a full list of what’s new this September, see the release notes in Xero Central. 

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Source: Xero Blog