The all-new Xero HQ

Beautiful accounting that gives you beautiful rewards...

The recent unveiling at Xerocon South of the enhanced Xero partner program is stirring up renewed excitement in the accounting industry. The expansion serves to improve interaction of partners with Xero and to reward individual companies successes. The four key aspects are the brand new advisor directory, enriched education, enhanced practice tools, and even more rewards and recognition than before.

Advisor Directory

Xero currently connects 89% of all small businesses using Xero to an advisor, and are pushing for 100%. The new Advisor Directory is fundamental to this. All Xero Partners are listed in the directory and are visible to potential new clients.

The directory has been taken to a new level with the ability to base searches around multiple criteria. Clients can search based on location, to find advisors nearby or in a particular area. They can search for practices that deal in a particular industry, so they find one that best suits not only their expertise, but business and accounting needs too. This is a symbiotic relationship: clients have visibility of suitable accountants and ease of finding them, and accountants have better access to clients based on a variety of factors, for example apps and banking relationships.

ChatBot is a feature that integrates directly with Facebook messenger that allows partners to interact with potential clients using social media - another platform allowing them to be better connected.

Enriched education

Xero has created a more advanced education program that is created in a way that recognises all partners are different and is tailored to each one.

It’s a fact: the more staff you have certified with Xero, the more success your practice has. After listening to what Partners want, the curriculum is more flexible, comprehensive and personalised so it’s easier for your staff to be certified with Xero.

The new curriculum means learning has never been easier, with a reallife modular approach where users take 4 core modules, and select 4 elective modules which the most relevant content. Xero You achieves tailored and interactive education sessions, giving you the resources, tools and support you need to grow your practice, provide more services, be better connected and to serve and equip your clients best, whether you have 2 or 200.

Enhanced practice tools

Xero HQ is the updated My Xero. it is an open platform that allows you to choose the apps and practice tools suited to you. In Xero HQ, you can edit your own profile which is seen by potential new clients. Here are the new features:

Activity Feed: see and search all of your client activity in one, personalised, customisable place and find the information you need, when you need it. This draws your attention to activity which is most pressing.

Explorer: this original tool helps you to better understand your clients and client demographics. You can see which clients are the most popular, their industry, which apps they are using, the banks they are with...the list goes on! Know which Apps to learn in order to help your clients, and showcase which industries you are experts in. Client Management: view all of your clients, even those not using Xero. Filter to see particular types of clients, or search for a particular one.

Advisor Directory: Add information about your practice and customise what potential new clients see about you. Showcase your talents and achievements here. People can search for you by using the filters and searches, including by name, size of practice, location and industry.

Reporting: a key tool for your business, and this is the fastest of it’s kind.

To get started, login to My Xero and click Try Xero HQ. Xero HQ will then become your default login page.

Rewards and recognition

In the past, the system for partners lacked incentives for Silver and Gold Partners to develop tehir relationship with Xero. There are now even more ways to ear recognition within Xero.

Back in 2014, when there was first talk of this new Partnership program, Chris Ridd who was Xero Managing Director at the time said, “Every now and then a partner gets to a certain level and they might have staff leave and they don’t recertify or they stop coming to events and that’s a problem for us. You could be gold [status] and own 120 organisations and be on the top of the directory and do nothing else. That’s not fair for a bookkeeper who is doing a whole lot more”.

The new program is based around earning points to earn a higher status, from engaging with Xero rather than just meeting arbitrary targets. For example, practices can now earn points on years of Partnership, by attending XeroCon, and having continual training and certification, where before it may have revolved only around number

Like the advanced education program, this reward scheme has an emphasis on personalisation. engaged accountants and bookkeepers are more committed

making practices more successful, really growing, they are committed Partners, who have happier clients, whose clients stick, making them better Partners. The Monthly Xero Partner Update is

Goals and rewards will vary for different practices, with the aim of not matter how success is defined for that individual practice.

Staff earn badges that can be viewed on their Xero HQ profile and seen by potential new clients scouring for an advisor. These badges are based on their certification, the specialised services they contribute and their continued relationship with Xero. It’s an ongoing cycle: passionate,

And then there is the Xero Champion...

The Xero Champion is a Partner who goes above and beyond. They are sent to all Partners, notifying them

to their relationship with Xero, they continually invest in developing their staff. Xero wants to give extra recognition to these Partners, so they will try to introduce customers who don’t have an advisor to a Xero Champion, and these elite Champions will have that further distinction and add increased on their progress. It allows Partners to track points and development and see how close they are to acheivin Champion status.

One more thing...

Xero store offers brand new merchandise, and makes it even easier to claim benefits, order products, and get exclusive marketing resources that are soon to be launched!

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