Digi-Tools In Accrual World

Episode 26 - Under the hood of Xero with Steve Vamos

In line with Xerocon 2022 - the first Xerocon in the UK for 3 years (!) - we sit down with Steve Vamos, CEO of Xero, to talk about what is really driving the Xero product. Is it software, people, culture or customer need? 

As with all our pods you can trust we asked some prudent questions and get to know more about the new world Xero mindset. Big thanks to Steve and the whole Xero team for their support in making this happen. If you're missing out on Xerocon then here's 50 minutes you won't want to miss.

 

Combined with app news for a bumper update on industry happenings. Featuring: 

• The global talent shortage for accountants – Accounting firms must “discover, create and train” talent amid global shortage (accountancyage.com)

 

• Sage and ACCA - announce release of e-learning on accounting software and cloud accounting tools – hitting more than 30,000 students - Post | LinkedIn

 

• Accountants voted best kissers in Britain – poll of 2.000 Brits by Plenty of Fish – Accountants are voted the best kissers in Britain ahead of doctors and nurses | Daily Mail Online

 

• E-invoicing in France to become mandatory from July 2024 - https://www.avalara.com/eu/en/learn/events/webinars/e-invoicing-and-e-reporting-in-france.html?campaignid=7015a000001iyxoAAA&campaignname=EMEA%20MKT202201%20E-invoicing%20in%20France%20webinar%20-%20Internal%20Email

 

• MTD ITSA – Three line (technically two (income and expenses) submissions allowed for ITSA below VAT threshold - MTD ITSA legislation: HMRC green-lights three-line accounts | AccountingWEB

 

• MTD for VAT penalty systems – from 1st June 2022 - £400 for not filing through software - £5-£15 per day for not keeping digital records – comment on digital links. Up to £5,475 annual penalty for digital link breach – 100% for not using checking systems - The lowdown on HMRC’s penalty system for MTD for VAT - FreeAgent

 

• Changes in mid-tier ERPs. Dynamics biggest grower in mid to large at (5 to 7% market share), Oracle (2 to 4%), SAP up 1% and AccountsIQ up 1%. Sage gained 2% in small business space. Sage biggest growth in mid tier space at 6% - Finance system upgrades take off in the mid-market | AccountingWEB

 

• Xerocon partners – Major names, with focus on payment solutions. Comma as newcomer - Introducing our Xerocon London event partners | Xero Blog

 

• Xero release – bank statement extraction through Hubdoc US and Canada (no uk?) - Coming soon: Making it easy to import transaction data into Xero | Xero Blog Hubdoc auto add contacts, update planned payment dates in bulk in xero analytics - Latest product news — July 2022 | Xero Blog link of contacts between HQ and XPM The next step in our journey towards a unified client record | Xero Blog

 

• Sage – terminating accounts below v26.2 from Sep 22 

 

• Coconut supports CIS reporting on income – adjust per transaction (rather than rule) - Coconut now supports subcontractors on the Construction Industry Scheme | AccountingWEB

 

• Syft updates – excel connector, updates to dashboards with prior period data, audit tracking for anomalies, dormant accounts tidy, sales product tracking 

 

• Timworks release mobile app for chat style communication with clients, including document exchange - https://www.loom.com/share/7c466aad9efb479da34305f4fcdcf270

 

• Paycaptain integration with Pensionsync – payroll and financial wellness solution founded 2020 – budgeting tool for individuasl linked to the payroll portal - PayCaptain launches PensionSync integration | AccountingWEB
• Skore – release of project spinnaker which is a full refresh of their system – Driving ROI on system changes – Scrutton Bland - How Scrutton Bland deliver incredible ROI and Benefits to clients | AccountingWEB

 

• Capsule – expands into project management functionality - FW: More project management features for you - digitoolsinaccrualworld@gmail.com - Gmail (google.com)

 

• IRIS Elements releases 6 new connections - Proposals, AML, Accounts production, Tax, Practice management and financial performance review- Post | LinkedIn

 

• Quotien releases scheduled emails for quotes - Fwd: Introducing Schedule Email - digitoolsinaccrualworld@gmail.com - Gmail (google.com)

 

• Hammock raises $5.5m - Hammock raise ratchets up MTD landlord competition | AccountingWEB

 

• Accounting Excellence finalists – well done to the line up of great people. Shout out to Emily Deakin, Rachel Martin, Samantha Mitcham, Pink Pig financials (Cheryl Sharp), Accounts and Legal (Stuart Hurst), de Jong Phillips (pamela phillips), Ad Valorem (Nigel Adams), Alex Falcon, and all the team at Capitalise, Clarity, Fathom, Join, Reducer, Airpa, Dext, Crezco, Iplicit, Sage, Konsolidator and Karbon. Interesting range of apps - 2022 Accounting Excellence finalists revealed | AccountingWEB

Episode 25 - LIVE at DAS covering Restaurant & Hospitality Tech

Missed our session at DAS or just missing DAS generally? Don't worry we have you covered with this short 20 minute recording from the show!

Do you have clients in the restaurant and hospitality sectors? Want to learn what apps and tech other accountants are using to serve them best?

In this live podcast taping, John Toon (Beethers & Struthers), Ryan Pearcy (Scrutton Bland), and Indi Tatla (AREX Markets) share the best apps and tech-stack for serving these clients. 

Episode 24 - The MazApp with Lucy Cohen

How many accountants does it take to build the perfect accounting software? In this case, just one.

In this episode we catch up with Lucy Cohen from Mazuma to cover all things MazApp, accounting tech and neobanks. If you're curious about MazApp and how it fits into the future of the accountant workflow theb give this a whizz.

Episode 23 - App News

This week in app news:

• Lightyear and Sage Intaact partner - https://ecommercenews.com.au/story/lightyear-and-sage-partner-for-end-to-end-offering
• Aquilla partner with Plaid for open banking - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/community/industry-insights/aqilla-announces-open-banking-integration-with-plaid
• New UK accounting system entrant - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/accounting-platforms-gear-up-for-battle-of-the-five-armies
• Mastercard debuts pay by link - https://www.pymnts.com/news/payment-methods/2022/mastercard-debuts-open-banking-feature-pay-by-link/
• Iris Pay released - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/community/industry-insights/introducing-iris-pay-the-quick-simple-and-secure-way-to-collect-payments
• Cashplus bank launches digital health tool - https://bit.ly/3xu9gSI
• HMRC expand MTD ITSA pilot - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/hmrc-takes-the-handbrake-off-mtd-itsa-pilot
• Vaulta reporting for Freeagent - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/vaulta-app-targets-advisory-without-the-overkill
• Lightyear updates – Auto-publishing, Deeper integration with xero, bulk actions etc - Feature Release June 2022 (lightyear.cloud)
• Bokio release bank rules - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/community/industry-insights/new-bokio-feature-save-time-with-bank-rules
• Insightly expand their API connections to partners, improvements to segmentation and filtering, enhanced quoting system, Product updates to Insightly AppConnect, Service, Marketing, and CRM
• Comma connects with silicon bank - https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/92873
• Swoop lands £5.4m investment for international expansion - Fintech Swoop lands £5.4 million funding for international expansion (ffnews.com)
• Access group raise £9.2bn - http://ow.ly/YWG650Jsag3
• Codat raise $100m series C - https://bit.ly/3xtVjWg
• Request finance raises $5.5m seed - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/request-finance_request-finance-raises-55m-seed-round-activity-6940583153455493120-lsIi?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=android_app

Episode 22 - All Aussie Accounting with Andrew Van Der Beek

Andrew Van Der Beek, Founder of Aussie Accounting Firm Illumin8, graces us with his presence to share his journey from accounting upstart to global accounting all star. Andrew has just completed his UK tour sharing his learnings from the last 10 years, the inside rumblings from Xero and the optimum app tech stack.

Tune in! 40 minutes and not one to miss.

Episode 21 - App News

In this week's app news bumper, find out more about...

• Futrli bought by Sage - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/futrli_today-marks-a-monumental-day-in-futrlis-activity-6930548428712067072-fojv?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=android_app
• Accountex insights
• IRIS elements released - https://www-accountingweb-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/practice-software/iris-elements-marks-final-push-into-the-cloud?amp
• BTC adds to cloud solution with self assessment - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/btcsoftware-boots-up-cloud-tax-solution
• Swoop opens accountant portal - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/exhibition-round-up-swoop-opens-accountant-portal
• Xero 2022 financial results blog - https://www.xero.com/blog/2022/05/full-year-2022-financial-results/
• Intuit 3rd quarter financials - https://investors.intuit.com/news/news-details/2022/Intuit-Reports-Third-Quarter-Results-and-Raises-Full-Year-Revenue-and-Operating-Income-Guidance/default.aspx
• Square launches omnichannel commerce tools - https://www.pymnts.com/api/2022/square-launches-new-omnichannel-commerce-tools-cash-app-pay/
• GoCardless announce first VRP customer - https://gocardless.com/blog/gocardless-announces-first-variable-recurring-payment-customer/
• ICoconut lauches UK accountant advisory board to solver ITSA challenges - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/community/industry-insights/coconut-enlists-top-uk-accountants-to-help-solve-itsa-challenges
• Tide and Sage tie-up to offer SMB tax and accounting tool - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/tide-and-sage-tie-up-to-offer-smb-tax-and-accounting-tool
• Ability to file CSO1s through Accoutnacy Manager - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/community/industry-insights/new-file-cs01s-through-accountancymanager
• Fathom integrates to googlesheets for non-financial data - https://blog.fathomhq.com/google-sheets-integration?utm_source=App+Advisory+Plus+-+Newsletter+%26+Webinars&utm_campaign=5d9bf96f9a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_24_10_01_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_16d43ed120-5d9bf96f9a-376197989&mc_cid=5d9bf96f9a&mc_eid=a80ecca862
• Deputy launches employee onboarding - https://help.deputy.com/en/articles/6137537-how-to-onboard-team-members-uk-customers
• Crezco launches partner program 
• Xero update quotes with attachments - https://www.xero.com/blog/2022/05/win-business-with-beautiful-quotes/
• Xero stripe app launch - https://www.xero.com/blog/2022/05/introducing-xero-stripe-app/
•  Auderli targets MTD with “life audit” tool - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/tech-pulse/auderli-targets-mtd-opportunity-with-life-audit-tool
• MTD ITSA Pilot via Freeagent - https://www.freeagent.com/blog/mtd-itsa-pilot-programme/
• Freshboosk Appstore launch with 100 products - https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/appstore
• Digital grant failing - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tech/accounting-software/digital-grant-scheme-well-intentioned-but-poorly-targeted-experts-tell-mps
• Circit raise €6.5m to pioneer open banking for auditors - https://www.circit.io/post/circit-raises-6-5-million
• Atom Bank (UK fintech) may list on NYC via a SPAC merger - https://www.uktech.news/fintech/atom-bank-new-york-20220523
• Fresho raises $14m to re-enter US - https://www.smartcompany.com.au/industries/hospitality/online-ordering-platform-fresho-us-covid/
• Token.io raises $40m – account to account payments in Europe on open banking - https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/12/token-io-raises-40m-to-expand-open-banking-based-account-to-account-payments-in-europe/
• Modulr secures $108m series C - https://www.openbankingexpo.com/news/modulr-secures-108m-in-series-c-fundraise/
• Access Group purchase Reckon Accountants Division for $100m - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mattpaff_its-finally-done-clive-found-his-mark-activity-6932822139829911552-WTDI/?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=ios_app
• Nomisma is crowdfunding - https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/community/industry-insights/nomisma-is-crowdfunding

Episode 20 - Libeo Feature Episode

Learn more about the fascinating and fast paced payment space in this feature length episode with Libeo. We put the super spotlight on Libeo and discover more about what a frictionless payment experience means for Libeo, the Accountant and for businesses.

From our time with Pierre, Co-Founder of Libeo, and Glen, MD UK & Northern Europe, we explore what differentiates them in this space and the pain points they've worked hard to remove. Libeo have raised €20m to scale up their model and introduce the benefits of wallet payments and open banking to businesses across Europe. 

And as always we love a little speculation - consolidations and acquisitions. 

Share your feedback or your predictions!

Episode 19 - App News

Bumper app news this week - join John, Ryan and Indi to hear the latest headlines.

• Adrian Blair breaks silence since leaving Dext, thanks staff and talks about success - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adrianblair_dext-is-rated-excellent-with-47-5-on-activity-6924763917176995840-XjqK?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=ios_app
• N26 closes more than 100 accounts automatically – https://www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.businessinsider.com/n26-bank-europe-customers-account-closures-access-savings-2022-4?amp
• Turbotax to pay $141m to settle claims it scammed millions - https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/04/intuit_turbotax_settlement/
• Plaid accuses Stripe of dishonestly obtaining valuable information - https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/40192/plaid-accuses-stripe-of-underhanded-tactics-over-new-open-banking-product
• Funding Circle Founder and ex-CEO launched new payments fintech Altfi - https://www.altfi.com/article/9126_funding-circle-founder-and-ex-ceo-launches-new-payments-fintech
• Procore partners with Capitalise to fund construction projects - https://www.business-money.com/announcements/procore-partners-with-capitalise-to-connect-construction-projects-with-funding/
• Zahara powered by Comma - https://www.zaharasoftware.com/zahara-x-comma-the-purchase-to-pay-solution-to-help-you-gain-control-of-business-spend/
• VRPS to supercharge open banking - https://www.altfi.com/article/9034_why-vrps-will-supercharge-open-banking-adoption
• Natwest launch VRP with Truelayer, Gocardless and Crezco - https://bit.ly/3LJNKPU
• IFederal reserve to grant master accounts more quickly - https://www.pymnts.com/bank-regulation/2022/fed-master-accounts-give-fintechs-firepower-to-meet-and-beat-banks-on-their-own-payments-turf/
• US open banking rule held up by privacy laws - https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/exclusive-us-open-banking-rule-bogged-down-by-privacy-concerns-sources-2022-05-04/
• Onfolk HR and payroll platform £8pmpe hit Xero Appstore –XeroAPI on Twitter: "🇬🇧 Welcome to the @Xero App Store @onfolkhr 👏 Finally, #HR and #payroll in one place. With Onfolk you get a modern people system with time-off, pensions, HR, payroll, onboarding, and a suite of integrations. For more info visit: https://t.co/yRagbT5Qxs https://t.co/RYdOSDIo9Y" / Twitter
• ILisa Miles-Heal becomes CEO of Silverfin - https://www.accountancyage.com/2022/04/27/accounting-and-audit-tech-update-xero-quickbooks-and-more/
• Xero launch ultimate pricing plan - https://xero.dsmn8.com/Q6B23XvcJN
• Sage rebrands - https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/tech-news/2022/04/new-look-sage-symbol-change-refreshed-service-range-announced
• Freeagent for landlords - https://www.freeagent.com/blog/introducing-freeagent-for-landlords/
• Xero releases – more reporting (management reports), bank rec now prompts more fields filled in - https://www.xero.com/blog/2022/05/product-news-may-2022/
• Xero and PKF for global alliance - https://www.xero.com/blog/2022/04/xero-welcomes-global-partner-pkf/
• Unleashed on new Xero app store, free trial and subs through xero- https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/blog/unleashed-joins-the-new-xero-app-store
• QBO announces spreadsheet sync – (Datadear) – https://investors.intuit.com/news/news-details/2022/QuickBooks-Introduces-Spreadsheet-Sync-to-Address-Pain-Point-for-Small--Medium-Sized-Businesses/default.aspx
• Freeagent benchmarking – now similar businesses - https://www.freeagent.com/blog/performance-benchmarking-report-similar-businesses/
• Futrli predict adds customer and supplier trends
• Mayday recharger launches
• 9spokes no longer free – now $19pm for new users – free for existing – also connected to Sage
• Xero change how they work with partners - https://www.xero.com/blog/2022/04/helping-our-uk-accounting-community/
• Re-leased obtain £15m funding - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samcaulton_jll-spark-leads-re-leaseds-15m-funding-activity-6925765753761628160-IDw3?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=android_app

Episode 18 - The Big G F

The big Glen Foster in a post Xero world. With the recent spate of entries and exits we catch up with Glen Foster to find out more about why he made the leap.

Find out more about Libeo and hear about Xero's plans for world domination in this short feature length episode. Special appearance and shout out to Jasmine from Libeo!

Episode 17: AppNews

In this week's app news we cover:

• Nomisma launches an official integration with Dext 
• Jeppe Bender Lassen on LinkedIn: I'm excited to be joining Pento to help build out a new partnerships
• Capitalise finally make it to the Xero app store
• Why accounting software partnerships fail
• Government prepares to regulate stablecoins for payments
• Arthur updates - analytics, FixFlo, Homeppl and live bank feed
• Syft updates - scheduled reports overhaul, budget builder, pricing insights and VAT/GST review
• Comma updates - Revolut and Wise integrations with bulk pay coming soon plus improvements for Xero integration, status of payroll
• WSJ article on Google automation
• FRC to regain powers to strike off auditors
• Wagestream fundraise $175m Series C
• Azets and Xero to work together