Xero Singapore Awards 2023: Entry criteria

Review the eligibility requirements and assessment criteria for Small / Medium / Large Accounting Partner of the Year.

Small Accounting Partner of the Year

This award recognises a Xero accounting partner based in Singapore who has shown commitment to leading the way with Xero and has achieved significant success.

Eligibility requirements

• Your practice must be based in Singapore.
• The Xero partner must have 1 to 5 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), which includes outsourced employees if it’s a stable team of people.
• The award is based on achievements made in the last 12 months. The assessment period is from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023.
• You must have adopted Xero’s adjacent and practice products.
• Client base must be on Xero.
• Previous winners or nominees of Xero Awards are eligible to enter
• The partner can be nominated in only one award category: Either the Small, Medium, or Large Accounting Partner of the Year award.

Medium Accounting Partner of the Year

This award recognises a Xero accounting partner based in Singapore who has shown commitment to leading the way with Xero and has achieved significant success.

Eligibility requirements

• Your practice must be based in Singapore.
• The Xero partner must have 6 to 15 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), which includes outsourced employees if it’s a stable team of people.
• The award is based on achievements made in the last 12 months. The assessment period is from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023.
• You must have adopted Xero’s adjacent and practice products.
• Client base must be on Xero.
• Previous winners or nominees of Xero Awards are eligible to enter.
• The partner can be nominated in only one award category: Either the Small, Medium, or Large Accounting Partner of the Year award.

Large Accounting Partner of the Year

This award recognises a Xero accounting partner based in Singapore who has shown commitment to leading the way with Xero and has achieved significant success.

Eligibility requirements

• Your practice must be based in Singapore.
• The Xero partner must have 16 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), which includes outsourced employees if it’s a stable team of people.
• The award is based on achievements made in the last 12 months. The assessment period is from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023.
• You must have adopted Xero’s adjacent and practice products.
• Client base must be on Xero.
• Previous winners or nominees of Xero Awards are eligible to enter.
• The partner can be nominated in only one award category: Either the Small, Medium, or Large Accounting Partner of the Year award.

Questions you’ll need to answer when submitting your nomination

1. Xero knowledge and education (max 300 words)

How have you / your practice staff demonstrated continued learning with Xero?

You could talk about:

• How you continue learning with Xero: # of Xero certified staff and # that remained certified
• How you stay up to date with Xero announcements and product releases: Attendance for QPUs and Xero events eg. Xero Roadshow, Education Month, Xerocon, Xero Central workshops

2. Innovation (max 300 words)

How has your practice been creative in finding new ways of delivering value-added services to lead the way?

You could talk about:

• What are the new or improved services you’ve offered to your clients?
• How are you doing things differently to differentiate yourself from competitors?

3. Efficiency (max 300 words)

How has your practice demonstrated the ability to achieve greater efficiency in your practice with the use of one or more Xero products and/or practice tools?

You could talk about:

• Xero products: Did your practice activate the free Xero premium subscription / Xero Projects / Xero Expenses / Hubdoc available for your practice org?
• Practice tools: How much is your practice leveraging on Xero practice tools eg. Xero HQ, XPM to manage the practice and clients?
• Improved efficiency: Is your practice bringing on most / all of your clients to Xero to streamline workflows and improve communication & collaboration?

4. Digitisation (max 300 words)

How has your practice adopted technology to gain practice efficiencies and recommended third-party apps to boost client service?

You could talk about:

• For your practice: Implementing technology to improve internal workflows. Discuss the apps that were implemented and what the impact was for your practice.
• For your clients: Using technology to enhance client onboarding and communication. Recommending and implementing the right apps for clients and what the benefits were.

5. Marketing strategy (max 300 words)

How has your practice shown a commitment to promoting your practice as a Xero certified advisor and partner while also raising awareness of Xero’s benefits?

You could talk about:

• What are the marketing activities that your practice has conducted to promote your partnership with Xero eg. website optimisation, SEO / SEM, Xero advisor directory listing, events, social media?
• Is there a marketing and communications strategy for your practice to focus on acquiring more customers to bring onto Xero?

Review the eligibility requirements and assessment criteria for Advisory Partner of the Year.

Advisory Partner of the Year

This award recognises a Xero accounting or bookkeeping partner who has excelled in making a difference in the lives of their small business clients. This includes moving them to the cloud, offering business advice, training, community events and/or recommending and offering services supporting apps that integrate with Xero.

Eligibility requirements

• Must be a Xero partner (i.e. Must have an active and positive points partner account with Xero)
• Your practice must be based in Singapore.
• The award is based on achievements made in the last 12 months. The assessment period is from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023.
• You must have adopted Xero’s adjacent and practice products.
• Client base must be on Xero.

Questions you’ll need to answer when submitting your nomination

1. Xero knowledge and education (max 300 words)

How have you / your practice staff demonstrated continued learning with Xero?

You could talk about:

• How you continue learning with Xero: # of Xero certified staff and # that remained certified
• How you stay up to date with Xero announcements and product releases: Attendance for QPUs and Xero events eg. Xero Roadshow, Education Month, Xerocon, Xero Central workshops

2. Advisory services (max 300 words)

What were the advisory services provided by your practice and how much does advisory contribute to your practice?

You could talk about:

• The advisory services that you are offering and the technological tools that support your advisory journey. This could be related to a specific industry, cash flow, planning and business growth, app advisory and more.
• The % of revenue that advisory services contribute / % of clients who engaged your practice for advisory services

3. Customer advocacy (max 300 words)

How have your clients acknowledged the positive impact your practice has made on their business?

You could talk about:

• One or two testimonial feedback from clients showcasing the significant value provided by your practice. The testimonial feedback must include the business name. Your clients should mention a specific key action and impact your practice has made.

4. Digitisation (max 300 words)

How has your practice adopted technology to gain practice efficiencies and boost client service?

You could talk about:

• The Xero HQ apps and third-party apps from the Xero App Store for which you offer conversion services or advice.

5. Maximising Xero (max 300 words)

How has your practice demonstrated the ability to achieve greater efficiency in your practice and the growth of your advisory services with the support of Xero products and/or practice tools?

You could:

• Demonstrate the growth of your advisory services and how you are leveraging Xero and its products where possible to grow your practice and to improve your client’s workflow and processes.

Review the eligibility requirements and assessment criteria for Business Vertical Champion of the Year.

Business Vertical Champion of the Year

This award recognises a Xero accounting or bookkeeping partner who has excelled in making a difference in the lives of their small business clients in a particular vertical. This may include community involvement and advocacy for customers in a specific industry segment such as F&B, retail / ecommerce and professional services.

Eligibility requirements

• Must be a Xero partner (i.e. Must have an active and positive points partner account with Xero)
• Your practice must be based in Singapore.
• The award is based on achievements made in the last 12 months. The assessment period is from 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023.
• You must have adopted Xero’s adjacent and practice products.
• Client base must be on Xero.

Questions you’ll need to answer when submitting your nomination

1. Xero knowledge and education (max 300 words)

How have you / your practice staff demonstrated continued learning with Xero?

You could talk about:

• How you continue learning with Xero: # of Xero certified staff and # that remained certified
• How you stay up to date with Xero announcements and product releases: Attendance for QPUs and Xero events eg. Xero Roadshow, Education Month, Xerocon, Xero Central workshops

2. Knowledge sharing and community engagement (max 300 words)

How has your practice demonstrated a commitment to maintaining, increasing and sharing Xero knowledge with staff, clients and the wider community?

You could talk about:

• How your practice engage with clients and the wider community that specifically target businesses of this industry (eg. F&B, retail, ecommerce)
• The programmes and events that you participate in to reach out to this specific industry

3. Customer advocacy (max 300 words)

How have your clients acknowledged the positive impact your practice has made on their business?

You could talk about:

• One or two testimonial feedback from clients showcasing the significant value provided by your practice. The testimonial feedback must include the business name. Your clients should mention a specific key action and impact your practice has made.

4. Maximising Xero (max 300 words)

How has your practice demonstrated the ability to achieve greater efficiency in your practice and the growth of your advisory services with the support of Xero products and/or practice tools?

You could:

• Demonstrate the growth of your advisory services and how you are leveraging Xero and its products where possible to grow your practice and to improve your client’s workflow and processes.

5. Case study (max 300 words)

How did your practice support a client from a particular business vertical through their digital transformation journey?

You could:

• Share with us an example of how your practice has helped a client to get started on their digital transformation journey, adopt cloud technology tools and transform their workflows with Xero. Include key results that were achieved.

6. Digitisation (max 300 words)

How has your practice recommended third party apps to help your clients gain efficiency and improve workflows?

You could talk about:

• The Xero HQ apps and third-party apps from the Xero App Store for which you form a app stack that is recommended to suit your clients of the specific business vertical (eg. retail, F&B, ecommerce)

7. Marketing strategy (max 300 words)

How has your practice shown a commitment to promoting your practice as a Xero certified advisor and partner to a specific business vertical (eg. F&B, retail, ecommerce) while also raising awareness of Xero’s benefits?

You could talk about:

• How you promote your practice as a specialist firm in an industry vertical with the marketing activities that you do.
• Show us the industry experience and industry specialist badge that you’ve earned on your Xero Advisor Directory listing
• Is there a marketing and communications strategy for your practice to focus on acquiring more customers in that specific business vertical (eg. F&B, retail, ecommerce) to bring onto Xero?