Xero Blog

It’s a turbulent time for Britain’s small businesses. There’s ongoing uncertainty around Brexit, an election just around the corner and mounting environmental pressure. And we know that almost half (46%) of UK SME owners are concerned about the future. 

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for roughly half (47%) of South Africa’s workforce and contribute more than 20% to the country’s GDP. But, between a slowing economy and periodic social-political uncertainty, small business is often stuck in the middle. 

A key challenge for small businesses in services industries is accurately quoting for their time and expected costs on jobs. So we’ve made the process of quoting and tracking profitability on jobs simple with the launch of quotes in Xero Projects. 

Welcome to Residents of Rewired! It’s an occasional series about some of the interesting residents we have nestled in our new Auckland co-working space. We chat to them about their ventures, their passions, some fascinating facts, and what makes them tick.

Xero and Kea NZ are partnering to connect Kiwi small businesses to global networks, helping them to break into new markets. Overseas markets provide the opportunity for New Zealand businesses to grow to a scale that simply could not happen in New Zealand alone.

The team has been on the road for over six weeks and we’ve enjoyed every minute meeting accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses. Here are some milestones so far: Over 2,000 partners have attended the Roadshow so far.

It’s been an incredible couple of days at Xerocon London. I’ve enjoyed meeting and talking to many of the 3,000 plus accountants and bookkeepers who joined us for this year’s event.

I’ve been attending Xerocons around the world every year since 2012 – both at Xero and in my previous role at Vend. It’s such an exciting event, and gets better every year.

At Xero we know cashflow is not only a top priority for small businesses, but vital to the success of any business. Through Xero’s Small Business Insights we know that, on average, only 51% of UK small businesses are cashflow positive in any given month.