Xero unveils Xero Go, a new app to help sole traders access entry-level accounting
Xero Go helps UK sole traders and their advisors prepare for new digital tax rules by digitising financial admin
London — 20 July, 2022 — As the benefits of digital transformation are realised by more small businesses, Xero, the global small business platform today announced the early release of Xero Go, a new mobile app designed to serve the increased number of sole traders over the last two decades* that is available for iOS download today.
According to HMRC, there are around 2.6 million sole traders in the UK and the freemium app will make it easier to access accounting software for small self-employed businesses including sole traders, tradespeople, freelancers and gig workers, expanding Xero’s offering to provide a more cost-effective entry point into cloud accounting and digital record-keeping.
“This is a product that caters to the entry-level accounting needs of the self-employed – a growing area of demand. So we wanted to offer early access to a product that caters to the basic accounting needs of self-employed businesses in the UK, the number of which has increased over the last 20 years, and also those of their advisors,” said Anna Curzon, Chief Product Officer at Xero. “Xero Go helps businesses streamline the manual, time-consuming elements of being self-employed, while also providing accountants with accurate, clean financial data they need to service these clients.”
Xero Go will also support the self-employed to get ready for one of the largest changes to the UK tax system — Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA).
From April 2024, self-employed individuals earning above £10,000 will be required to keep digital records of income and expenses on MTD-compatible software, and to make more frequent submissions. The app will give those impacted by the government legislation one easy tool to capture and track expenses digitally on-the-go and manage invoices. Expenses are recorded throughout the year and available in one place at tax time, reducing the need to chase up missing information.
Xero Go will enable the self-employed to:
- Record expenses on the fly using the Quickscan feature, powered by machine learning. Quickscan extracts expense information from receipts, imports them into Xero Go and auto-suggests tax categories for them, saving time on manual expense record gathering and tax coding around submission dates and supports better accuracy.
- Create, send and track customisable invoices — including customer reminders for late payments — and add Stripe payments to invoices to streamline invoice management, get paid faster and feel more in control of their finances.
The app is complemented by the Xero Go Partner Plan, an edition for accountants and bookkeepers that hosts all financial data they need to service their clients using the Xero Go app. Advisors receive accurate, tax-coded financial data — as well as income data gleaned from invoices — supporting them in spending less time on the manual, time-consuming financial admin of servicing self-employed clients and more time on higher-value work.
Alex von Schirmeister, Managing Director, UK and EMEA, said: “With MTD for ITSA also coming soon, we want to support our accountants and bookkeepers by removing the time-consuming workload associated with its increased reporting requirements, so they can work smarter, not harder, to help their customers prepare. Accountants and bookkeepers can remain compliant while focusing on what they value the most: providing the best service and experience they can for their clients.”
The app will initially launch as an early release for UK subscribers on iOS from 20 July 2022, with an Android app and additional functionality to be added in the months ahead in the lead-up to MTD for ITSA. The sole trader Xero Go app will be free to download with paid add-ons that bring additional capability available within the app.
Xero is currently running an MTD for ITSA beta program which is HMRC-recognised and also available to accountants and bookkeepers wanting to support their clients through this change.
Xero Go was announced at Xerocon London, one of the world’s premier events for cloud accounting leaders. Taking a fresh perspective, more than 2,000 accounting and bookkeeping partners and the Xero app partner community have gathered over two days to hear the latest from industry leaders. They’ll also gain expert insight into the newest Xero tools and features to help save time, grow their business and have a greater impact on their clients’ success.
ENDS
Media Contact
Clemmy Perlmutter | +44 (07779) 982378 | clemmy.perlmutter@xero.com
About Xero
Xero is a global small business platform with 3.3 million subscribers which includes a core accounting solution, payroll, workforce management, expenses and projects. Xero also provides access to financial services, and an ecosystem of more than 1,000 connected apps and more than 300 connections to banks and other financial institutions. Through Xero’s open platform, small businesses can connect to a range of solutions that help them run their business and manage their finances. For three consecutive years (2020-2022) Xero was included in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. In 2021, Xero was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), powered by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Xero has been named as a FIFA Women’s Football partner under FIFA’s new commercial structure.
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