Computerworld

Xero ups the SMB ante with global Adobe and Dropbox partnerships

“Adobe and Xero share a common vision..."

X​ero kicked off its annual Xercon Australia event this week with a raft of strategic partnerships with D​ropbox and A​dobe among others, designed to create better integration with the company’s global accounting platform.

According to the New Zealand accounting firm, the partnerships will offer “significantly improved” business insights and simplify collaboration for small businesses and their accounting partners.

In an opening keynote to over 1,600 attendees across the Tasman, Xero Australia Managing Director, Chris Ridd, also announced that ​within the next week, Xero expects to reach the significant milestone of more than 250,000 paying subscribers using the global accounting platform in Australia.

Ridd’s comments come weeks after the company also surpassed 540,000 paying subscribers globally, with Australia a key growth engine for the company.

Ridd says the partnerships build on an existing e​co-system ​that has grown more than 25 percent in the past 12 months, to now include 400 third party add­-ons.

“These integrated partners cement Xero’s position as a platform that provides choice for small business, instead of locking small businesses into specific software,” Ridd claims.

“It’s fitting that on our fifth anniversary in Australia, about a quarter of a million subscribers are now using Xero.

“Small businesses contribute more than AU$600 billion to Australia’s gross domestic product, so with more than 10 percent of those now using Xero, it’s clear that cloud accounting is having a major impact on the local economy.”

Through the Dropbox for Business platform with Xero Tax, the partnership allows partners to store and share documents in one location, and enabling accountants and bookkeepers to collaborate with their clients on key documents.

“At Dropbox our aim is simple: to build the best place for businesses to get work done,” adds Charlie Wood, Country Manager A/NZ, Dropbox.

“For small business owners who wear many hats, this means giving them a smarter and simpler way to manage the daily workflows associated with all aspects of their operations.

“Our partnership with Xero and the integration of Dropbox for Business with Xero Tax is just one example of how Dropbox and Xero are helping small businesses stress less and do more, with a seamless and more collaborative way to manage the workflows associated with tax time.”

Meanwhile, Adobe​ i​s working with Xero to integrate its Adobe Document Cloud eSign services across Xero, designed to enable accountants and small businesses to electronically sign and submit their tax documents, from business activity statements to end­ of ­year tax returns, entirely online, without the need to print, sign and post those documents.

“Adobe and Xero share a common vision that puts simplicity and security at the centre of our customer offerings,” adds Jon Perera, Vice President of Product Management, Adobe Document Cloud.

“The combination of Adobe’s latest e-­signature technology and Xero’s vast network of accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses will help transform the tax and accounting industries globally with faster, easier and more secure all­ digital transactions.”

In addition, Xero is partnering with Bigcommerce,​ one of the largest e­-commerce platforms globally, will enable more than 95,000 retail merchants and online stores to push sales data directly into Xero, starting later this year.

Insightly,​ a web based CRM and project management software for more than 500,000 small businesses, is also partnering with Xero to enable small businesses to view their sales process, from early prospect communication through the sales process to invoicing and payments, removing manual data entry and eradicating errors.

And finally, Xero is partnering with​ V​eda, ​the data analytics company and provider of credit information and analysis in Australia and New Zealand, to help build a new business directory for subscribers.

“We’re excited to work with these fantastic global companies to add improvements, new features and a growing ecosystem of add­-ons to Xero customers in Australia, New Zealand and around the world,” says James Maiocco, General Manager of Business and Corporate Development, Xero.

“Xero is already an engine room for small business in Australia, with one in five of all Xero customers using at least one of our partners in addition to their accounting software.

“We believe these partnerships will help to cement the role that it plays in all aspects of business operations.”