Updated on Wednesday 29 June 2022.
With more small businesses now using digital tools to run their business, many are looking for ways to become more efficient as they grow. A fantastic trait of small businesses is that they can be very agile in adapting and responding to change. We’ve seen so many small businesses implement digital tools and grow their confidence, and we’re hearing from our customers that they’d like to be able to do even more with Xero.
More complex businesses in particular are wanting to make managing their employees easier and get deeper insights into their business performance.
I’m excited to share that customers in Australia, New Zealand and the UK can now purchase a new comprehensive Xero plan to better suit their business needs.
The Ultimate plan truly is the full Xero package. It gives small business owners access to Xero’s suite of tools to help manage their business and their people processes in one plan. The Ultimate plan includes all Xero’s core accounting features plus tools for advanced analytics, employee management and multi-currency.
Small businesses who invest in technology benefit in times of uncertainty
We know small businesses globally are looking to continue to adapt to new ways of working, and more are investing in digital tools to improve and scale their business. Our recent Xero Small Business Insights report, Picking up the pace: Trends in small business technology adoption and use shows small businesses that invest in technology are benefiting from reduced disruption in times of uncertainty and greater flexibility as they scale their business.
The report showed digitally enabled small businesses were significantly more resilient throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and outperformed their peers in most performance metrics. Across New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, small businesses that had higher levels of ICT spend relative to their total spend on all expenses experienced greater sales and fewer job losses throughout the pandemic.
I’m particularly passionate about supporting small businesses to use more technology, and the right technology, to help them build a resilient business. With the addition of Ultimate, we now have more plans to suit the needs of small businesses at each stage of their journey, offering more choice, flexibility and value in their plan.
More tools to manage your people processes
If you’re an employer currently managing your team across multiple systems and spreadsheets, the Ultimate plan can help you maximise efficiency by bringing employee management tools like payroll, projects and expense claims into Xero. In Australia and the United Kingdom, the Ultimate plan includes Payroll for 10 employees, and Expenses and Projects for five employees. In New Zealand, it includes Payroll, Expenses and Projects for five employees.
Having these tools bundled into one plan can add value for employers. And because you and the millions of small businesses around the world have your own unique needs, Xero’s ecosystem of more than 1,000 third-party apps that connect to the Xero platform, can help you to build a tailored solution that is right for your business.
Gain deeper insights into your financial performance
Also included in the Ultimate plan is Xero Analytics Plus, a set of tools to help small businesses gain a deeper understanding of how their business may be performing, and plan ahead. For small businesses wanting in-depth insights and advanced cash flow forecasting, Analytics Plus provides a greater overview of cash flow and financial performance.
Displayed in two simple, easy to use dashboards, these tools help you visually project your potential bank balance up to 90 days into the future and get insights on your business performance, helping you to spot opportunities and mitigate risks ahead of time.
The Ultimate plan is now available in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. For more information about what’s included in the Ultimate plan:
Xero as a PISP is a missing feature and the ‘Ultimate’ name cannot be assigned unless this sort of functionality is included
Hi Bob – thanks for your comment. Xero’s Ultimate is our most comprehensive plan – and includes all Xero’s core accounting features plus tools for advanced analytics, employee management and multi-currency – that’s why we’ve called it Xero Ultimate.
This is waffle and anyone in business doesn’t have time to read “clickbait” Tell me how much it costs and what more I will have compared to my current package. I’m not interested in a “press release”
Hi Michael – thanks for your comment. The Ultimate plan includes all Xero’s core accounting features plus tools for more complex businesses, such as advanced analytics, employee management and multi-currency. It includes everything from our Premium plan [Premium 5 in Australia] as well as Xero Analytics Plus for advanced cash flow predictions and business monitoring, employee management tools including payroll, employee expense management and project profitability tracking. In Australia and the United Kingdom, the Ultimate plan includes Payroll for 10 employees, and Expenses and Projects for five employees. In New Zealand, it includes Payroll, Expenses and Projects for five employees. The plan is available on 26 May in Australia and the UK, and 29 June in New Zealand – and you’ll be able to purchase here. In regards to pricing, the Ultimate plan will cost £49 in the UK, $95 NZD in New Zealand and $110 AUD for Ultimate 10 in Australia (which includes Payroll for up to 10 people with Expenses and Projects for up to 5 active users then any extra users will incur additional charges).
Until the facility to build inward shipping costs into SKU’s is available we would not consider upgrading
So what will it do for multi-currency businesses?
Hi Peter, thanks for your comment. The beauty of the Ultimate plan is that it brings Xero’s suite of tools into the one plan to maximise value and efficiency, access powerful insights and make managing employees easier. You can also gain a deeper understanding of how the business is performing, and help plan ahead with the inclusion of Analytics Plus.
Hi, do you intend to take away functionality from lower priced tiers? For example, we already use multi-currency on Premium but will have no need for features on Ultimate so will not be upgrading.
Cheers
Hi Pete – thanks for your comment. We are always reviewing the features of our plans to make sure they meet the needs of our customers, however – with the launch of the Ultimate plan, there is no change to the features or functionality of our other plans at this time.
Are you saying that I’ll now have to pay for a more expensive package in order to use the payroll functions that have been included in ‘Standard + Payroll’ up until now, or will this still be available? A bit of clarity would be nice. 🙂
Hi Alan, thanks for getting in touch. Just to confirm, there are no planned changes to the features of our other plans with the launch of the Ultimate plan.
We will only allow clients to use Xero and by and large I have been more than happy with Xero. As they say it does what it says on the box.
But the one failing with Xero is their payroll software. I run a small payroll bureau using BrightPay. I had a very bad experience with Xero pay and, to be honest, would not touch it with a barge pole. It is certainly not even close to BrightPay in ease of use and functionality.
Given that a lot of accountants in practice that I know of have the same poor view of Xero pay, will it be possible to have the Xero Ultimate package WITHOUT Xero Pay?
Hi Patrick, thank you so much for sharing your feedback with us. We are saddened to hear that you feel our payroll software is not up to scratch. Your comment has been shared with our product teams. Thanks again!
So what in fact is wrong with Xero payroll? It sounds serious and well worth considering if and when we use Xero Pay.
Thanks
What does “employee management” mean? Employee onboarding? Rostering? Compliant timesheets? Ability to save documents to employee files? Payroll audit trail? Please tell me we don’t have to pay for an Ultimate subscription to get a payroll audit trail!
Hi Megan, thank you for your question. The employee management tools including payroll, employee expense management and project profitability tracking.
Xero payroll only goes to 200, are you making this now unlimited for the ultimate package? there is already expenses in current payroll packages, what specifically are you enhancing to make this ultimate? what are the employee management tools? are you now including scheduling for payroll?
Hi Michelle, The Ultimate plan includes Payroll for 10 employees in AU and NZ and for five employees in NZ. Any extra employees using these add-ons will incur additional charges. In addition to all of Xero’s core accounting features, the beauty of the Ultimate plan is that it brings Xero’s suite of tools into one plan. Having Payroll, Expenses and Projects bundled into one package helps small business owners maximise value and efficiency, and streamlines tools for employee management. Employee management tools including payroll, employee expense management and project profitability tracking. We hope this answers your questions. Thanks so much for your comment.