Celebrating one year of Xero in Canada

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It’s been a little more than one year since we officially launched Xero in Canada, giving small businesses and accountants access to leading-edge AI and machine learning technology on a global cloud accounting platform. We were naturally pulled into this market by some loyal early adopters and passionate accounting and bookkeeping partners in Canada.

I had never heard of Xero before 2015 until I got the chance to work for Deloitte as a Manager in their ASG group managing a cloud bookkeeping initiative. After a few months of using Xero, I was astounded that hardly anyone in Canada had heard of it. I attended my first ever Xerocon in San Francisco in 2016, which was the early days for Xero in Canada, but there were about 30 of us Canadian partners in attendance. Speaking with other Canadian partners and hearing about their cloud journey, I was really excited about the prospect of Xero growing its presence within Canada and I knew then that I wanted to be a part of that journey. In my time with Deloitte it was exciting to see forward-thinking clients come to us and ask to use Xero as their cloud solution.

Today, I am proud to be on the Xero Canada team helping our partners on their journey with cloud accounting. Best of all, the love for Xero in Canada continues to grow — at our most recent Xerocon in San Diego, we had over 150 delegates and exhibitors from Canada.

While we’re thrilled to see this progress in such a short period of time, there’s still much work to be done since less than 10% of Canadian small businesses have adopted cloud accounting. As we look back on the evolution of the Xero platform in Canada in the past year, we’re excited to partner and continue making progress on this journey together:

GIFI code mapping

Map your client’s chart of accounts to GIFI codes and export directly out of Xero, so they’re ready for filing with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Once your client’s chart of accounts are mapped, export GIFI files directly out of Xero and upload into your tax preparation software, streamlining your end-of-year workflow and reducing the need for third party apps.

CIBC direct bank feed

CIBC bank balances and transaction data now flow directly into Xero, reducing manual data entry and ensuring clearer insight into cash flow. Our recent Small Business Fintech Outlook Report found over half of small businesses in Canada (60%) had financial challenges in the last 5 years with cash flow and getting paid on time cited as top issues. Through this collaboration, Xero’s online accounting software and CIBC SmartBanking for Business deliver a wealth of timely financial data, empowering business owners to make informed decisions that help them take greater control over their business financials and plan for the future.

NTR and Review Report Templates

Canadian Notice to Reader (NTR) and Review report templates are now available in Xero HQ. Easily create year-end financial statements across your entire client base using Xero’s flexible report templates, built just for Canadian accountants and bookkeepers. Streamline your practice workflows to quickly produce financial statements for all your clients and tailor the report content to suit practically any requirement.

Xero + Stripe: Helping you get paid faster

At Xerocon San Diego, Craig Walker, Xero’s founding CTO and EGM Platform Business Technologies announced a partnership with Stripe to help small businesses get paid faster and gain more visibility over their business performance. The partnership enables new payment experiences that are more seamless and efficient for small business owners and their advisors. A new Stripe feed brings comprehensive transaction data for all Stripe payments into Xero for easy reconciliation and greater insights, whether a small business invoices from the Xero platform or an ecommerce site. Additionally, Auto Pay allows small businesses to set up and receive recurring payments for repeat billing customers directly through Xero.

Stay informed on the latest product updates for Canada here.

And, stay tuned for more product announcements at our upcoming Canadian fall roadshows (more details coming August 1)!

Kerry is a partner consulting manager based in Calgary.

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