Wrapping up Xero Roadshow Asia 2018

posted in Uncategorized

We have wrapped up Xero Roadshow Asia 2018! The roadshows in Hong Kong and Singapore last week gave us the opportunity to deep dive into our partners’ cloud journey, discuss their challenges, and most importantly, celebrate their success.

At the roadshows, partners had the chance to meet with app partners that offer complementary add-ons that can be integrated with the Xero platform. These include payments platforms like PayPal, ecommerce players like Shopify, F&B software makers like Sapaad, and many more. The event drew close to 400 attendees in Hong Kong and 1,000 in Singapore on 20 and 23 November respectively.

It was an exciting week of announcements, partnerships, bonding and learning. Here are some key highlights from our roadshows.

Overcoming challenges in cloud adoption

When talking with small business clients, Xero Partners tend to face the challenge of convincing them of the benefits of cloud adoption. At Xero Roadshow, Partners shared about their cloud journey—from getting teams on board to overcoming road bumps and helping businesses reap the benefits.

In Hong Kong, we were joined by Kuen Liu of Athenasia, Fiona So of Henderson Advisory, Alex Soh of Fastlane Pro, and Rex Leung of Linkers CPA.

In Singapore, we had the pleasure of hearing from Juliet Tay of Pivotal Business Solutions, Kelvin Loh of Corporate BackOffice Pte Ltd, Suan Wee Tan of Corporate Accounting Services, and Lucas Chong of Beta Group.

They left the audience with key actions and app recommendations to make the transition to the cloud more efficient and effective. Read on to find out more about the challenges and benefits of moving to the cloud.

Accelerating banking innovations in Asia with open banking API

Xero launched an open banking API, which will allow institutions to integrate with our platform more quickly and securely. With the open banking API, minimum development is needed for integration with complementary apps.

This means, for example, that it will be easier to for banks, fintechs and third party applications to build integrations withinto Xero. Direct bank feeds give businesses real-time visibility into their cash flow. This allows businesses and their advisors to see exactly how much they have in their bank account using Xero’s platform and the money flowing in and out of it.

Taking it a step further, we have made it easier for small businesses to receive payments. At the Singapore roadshow, we announced the launch of a partnership with NETS. PayCollect, an electronic collections platform developed by NETS, can be integrated with Xero so SMEs can issue e-invoices, as well as track and receive payments, all on one platform. That means a 32 percent increase in the speed of payment processing—something small and fledgling businesses will certainly appreciate.

More efforts are put into improving cash-flow management to facilitate business success for our Partners and small business clients. Find out more here.

Improving access to working capital

We know a common pain point for SMEs is the lack of access to working capital. That’s why we have partnered with Alternative Lenders InvoiceInterchange, Moolahsense, and Validus Capital to make the loan application process much easier and faster for small businesses.

Xero users will be able to provide these lenders accurate and up-to-date financial reports, enabling lenders to make decisions more quickly, given the transparency and integrity of the data.

Helping Xero partners to move into app advisory

Our partners’ success in their cloud journey has inspired us to aim higher and develop more ways to support SMEs in Asia.

At Xero Roadshow, we explored how Partners can leverage over 700 add-ons in the Xero app ecosystem to offer app advisory services to their SME clients as they evolve to serve as strategic business advisors. Our research shows that small business clients growwill reap revenue 30 percent faster than their competitors when they use cloud apps. Partners will also be able to grow their revenue 60 percent faster, as they’ll be providing value-added services to clients by helping them select and implement app integrations with Xero that will help them to improve efficiency and reduce costs

Choosing apps for clients is now easier with the Xero app marketplace. We have launched the app advisory playbook series to introduce Partners to the fundamentals of app advisory. And if you’re wondering how this will play out in real-world scenarios, you’ll find case studies in industry-specific playbooks for trade and construction, retail and ecommerce, and professional services. More, of course, are yet to come.

Find out how to kickstart your app advisory service here.

Connecting Asia’s SMEs

It has only been two years since we launched in Asia. In that time, we’ve learned a lot about the region’s unique needs and challenges. We strive to connect more small businesses across the region, and help them achieve greater success by moving to the cloud.

The post Wrapping up Xero Roadshow Asia 2018 appeared first on Xero Blog.