Xero Assistance Programme FAQs

The Xero Assistance Programme (XAP) provides Kiwi small businesses with access to free face-to-face, telephone, live chat and online counselling. It’s available free of charge through Xero’s global provider, Benestar, and offered to Xero starter, standard and premium subscribers, their employees, and their families.

Part of our culture is supporting each other. Benestar is our EAP provider and we’ve offered this service to Xero employees with great results. Because of this, we want to offer it to our customers too, so they can experience the same positive impact. 

We also know that there’s a growing need for mental health support in small businesses, with 80 percent of small business owners naming isolation as their main concern. We have a collective responsibility and this is our opportunity to step up, not to solve the problem, but to help.

Our mental health statistics in New Zealand are truly awful. Too many Kiwis are struggling and often don’t know where or who to turn to. There’s a growing need for mental health support in small businesses, with 80 percent of small business owners reporting that isolation is their main concern and 56 percent of small business employees said they would make use of a wellbeing/support programme if it was available in their workplace.  

Xero subscribers on a starter, standard or premium plan are able to access three counselling sessions per issue free of charge.

It depends largely on the uptake of the services. We will continue to monitor the financial cost as the programme continues.

Supporting Kiwis’ mental health is something Xero takes seriously, and we are committed to improving small business wellbeing in the long-term. XAP is currently available until June 2021 when we will then review the programme. Supporting Kiwis’ mental health is something Xero takes seriously, and we are committed to improving small business wellbeing in the long-term. XAP is currently available until June 2021 when we will then review the programme.

We hope that as many people as possible take up the opportunity to talk to someone if they need to. Within Xero we have a high uptake of our own EAP offering and it’s great to see so many people feeling comfortable about addressing the challenges they’re facing. We hope the same goes for those who use XAP.

We think it’s best to quote a small business here.  Here’s what the team at Red Rabbit Cafe and Bar have said. 

“We’re a small team who spend a huge amount of time together and can sometimes struggle to get the space we need. We also know that sometimes the stress and workload associated with running a small business wears down your coping mechanisms so when something happens out of the blue that you’re unprepared for, you might not respond as well as you would’ve wanted. Having the opportunity to speak with someone with an outside perspective would be hugely valuable.”

No, this service is completely anonymous, as it is for any EAP offering. 

We will receive anonymous, aggregate data to highlight key details including regional breakdown of uptake and usage levels. We will not be able to determine individual usage from any of the data provided to us. Both Xero and Benestar adhere to strict privacy standards.

Our aim is to ensure XAP is top of mind for our partners and small business customers when they need support. To do this we communicate regularly through various channels (direct, online/social and via third parties such as the media) to provide information and materials that can also be shared with their teams and families.

For anyone who is interested in learning more, we encourage you to reach out to xap@xero.com. Benestar is also on hand to provide support and information. 

Any businesses who aren’t able to access XAP services but may need help should get in touch with us to discuss options.