Xero Global Release Update: November 2019

Check out the latest updates for small businesses and advisors, plus a peek at what’s coming soon. Xero changes and release updates can be found in Xero Central or keep an eye on the feature timeline for a summary of some of our bigger releases.

Recently released  

• Xero goes Dark Mode – iOS
• Improved Invoicing in Xero Business App – iOS and Android
• Ability to search for bills on Xero Business app – iOS and Android
• Share file to a draft bill in the Xero Business App – iOS & Android
• Making Tax Digital, VAT Return Receipts – UK
• CIS Subcontractor Verification – UK
• Xero Tax pre-lodge – AU
• Chase Integrated Payments/Wepay – US and CA
• Outstanding and overdue balances
• Submit mileage claims on the go
• Submit on behalf of others from Xero Expenses app – iOS and Android 
• Itemise an expense claim on Xero Expenses app – Android
• Quotes in Projects
• Integrations to Google, Microsoft Office 365 and HubSpot 
• XPM WIP dashboard improvements 
• XPM Aged WIP Report
• Share cases on Xero Central

Released 

Xero goes Dark Mode – iOS

Apple’s iOS13, dark mode feature is now on Xero Business mobile app. Dark mode darkens the interface so that instead of black text on a white background, you will see light or white text on a black background.  This helps protect your eyes from the traditionally blinding whiteness of computer and phone screens and could potentially increase your iPhone’s battery life, due to less power emitted from dark colour, than brighter ones.

Improved Invoicing in Xero Business App – iOS and Android

Creating invoices is simpler and faster than before on the Xero Business app. More flexibility has been added to existing features and the information you need to create an invoice is now all on one screen. Select between choosing a product & service (with the ability to search) or entering your own item description for a line item and when you’ve added the details, Xero will automatically select an account* for you.  Other fields are easier to find and visible, such as, the tax rate and type, totals and the inventory on hand^. A “done” button has been added, which takes you to the main invoice screen so can either save or send the invoice. These changes offer faster processing and require less effort from you.

*entries that don’t already have a default account selected.

^ for iOS users

Ability to search for bills on Xero Business app – iOS and Android

Searching through transactions can be time consuming, but no more! You can now search for bills by contact name, reference, total amount due and/or bill total. In the search field, type in what you’re looking for and the results will start appearing. Use the search feature to look for bills regardless of their status (eg draft, awaiting approval), provided they’re available to your user role.

Share file to a draft bill on Xero Business App – iOS & Android

Small businesses using the Xero Business app can now share files and/or images that are stored on your phone to draft bills in a wide variety of file formats (eg. PDF, images). Open the file you’d like to share on your mobile and tap the share button, Xero will now be listed in the options along with other applications. Choose Xero and then select the new bill option to save the file to a draft bill.

Making Tax Digital, VAT Return Receipts – UK

A top requested feature is now here – downloadable receipts showing successful VAT return filings.  Live and historical VAT returns filed with HMRC and stored in Xero are included. Receipts are downloadable from Xero and Xero HQ as a PDF document showing who lodged, when and for what amounts.  Learn how to view and download receipts here.

CIS Subcontractor Verification – UK

Currently in beta testing, Xero customers can verify their subcontractors directly from Xero without having to use HMRC’s portal. You will be able to confirm a subcontractor’s verification number (SVN) and CIS deduction rate from within their contact record in Xero. This not only saves time from having to login to the HMRC portal, but also makes for clearer, error-free accounts.

Xero Tax pre-lodge – AU

The pre-lodge feature in Xero Tax allows advisors in Australia to check if a return will be accepted by the ATO, prior to getting your client’s signature, so information can be amended. Learn how to save time and reduce double handling with clients. 

Chase Integrated Payments/Wepay – US and CA

You will be able to add a Chase Integrated Payment/Wepay method to your invoices to get paid faster. You can integrate your existing account into Xero or set up a new account. Invoice payments can be taken by credit/debit card from online invoices, and the invoice in Xero will be marked as paid. 

Outstanding and overdue balances

Small businesses and advisors now have visibility over your customers’ outstanding and overdue balances at the point of invoicing, allowing you to better assess the likelihood of a new invoice being paid on time. When creating an invoice, you can view customer’s outstanding and overdue amounts on the contact card. This is available in both classic & new invoicing and is the first step towards full credit limits functionality.

Submit mileage claims on the go

Small businesses never need to touch a logbook again, we’ve got you covered, with Xero Expenses! Capturing, recording and reimbursing mileage claims is very manual, time consuming, error prone and costly. Now you can capture even more costs as they happen with the new mileage feature, helping you track and submit mileage claims and approvals in one click. 

Submit on behalf of others from Xero Expenses app – iOS and Android

Small businesses and advisors could already submit expense claims on behalf of others. We’re pleased to announce that now you can also do it via our mobile apps. Get your employees or clients to send you their receipts and submit them on their behalf, you’ll need an Admin or Approver role to be able to do it.

Itemise an expense claim on Xero Expenses app – Android

Previously, small businesses could only split line items for an expense on the desktop version  of Xero. We’ve now enabled this feature on the Expenses mobile app on Android, to allow you to create a more detailed and accurate expense claim on the go. You can split expense claim into different line items, categorise line items to different accounts, apply different tax rates and assign to a different projects and/or customers.

Quotes in Projects

A key challenge for small businesses in services industries is accurately quoting for their time and expected costs on jobs. So we’ve made the process of quoting and tracking profitability on jobs simple with the launch of quotes in Xero Projects. Now, it’s easy to estimate jobs, send and track acceptance of quotes, and track costs back to budget, all within Xero Projects. This results in more accurate quotes, easier invoicing and better visibility of profit on every job. Learn more.

Integrations to Google, Microsoft Office 365 and HubSpot

Small businesses are crying out for help with managing their customers’ data – it’s often held in silos, which increases the risk that information is inconsistent and inaccurate, leading to critical errors and workflow gaps. By integrating to Google, Microsoft Office 365 and HubSpot these challenges are solved. The Hubspot integration automatically sends customer contacts from Xero and HubSpot’s free CRM. It means any customer details – from changes to email or address information – are captured, managed and edited in one place. The integration with Google Contacts means you can sync all of your customer and supplier contacts from Xero to Google Contacts, making sure contact details are always up to date. Lastly, with the Microsoft Office 365 integration you can instantly update your Outlook contacts with the customers’ data in Xero, making sure you’ve got the right contact details in Outlook.

XPM WIP dashboard improvements

Improvements to XPM reporting now allows you to directly from the WIP dashboard see the total WIP for all jobs that have been unbilled/uninvoiced for a month, by choosing an as-at-date. For those that do the work, the ‘My jobs’ filter easily allows staff to view all the jobs they’ve put time against and the total work in progress for each of those jobs. 

XPM Aged WIP Report

Due to popular demand, the aged WIP report can be run on a specific as-at date, and you’ll be able to view it by percentage of aged WIP or aged categories – such as a specific month or a specific number of days.  These improvements provide you the flexibility you need with deeper insights into your customers.

Share cases on Xero Central

Amongst being able to view cases raised, see their status, the expected response time, and add additional information at anytime, you can now share Xero Central cases with each other and others in your network, so they can be across the details. Learn more.

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Source: Xero Blog