Xero Awards 2022: United Kingdom and Ireland

UK accountant and bookkeeper awards

Isle Book-keep

Sole Practitioner of the Year

Isle Book-keep is a new, remote firm based on the Isle of Wight. Founder Lucy Johnson uses the full Xero suite to its absolute potential, and does so to make a real difference to her clients.

She is committed to ongoing training and development with Xero to better support her clients, and is a strong advocate for the product in her marketing.

Isle Book-keep is a fantastic example of a sole practitioner using Xero to improve her business and that of her clients.

Finalists: LJM Bookkeeping, Spur Support Services

De Jong Phillips

Small Firm of the Year

De Jong Phillips has gone from strength to strength, fully embracing technology to build a fantastic, digital-first firm that puts client-centricity at its heart.

A finalist in this category in 2020 and now our 2022 winner, Pam and her team have worked tirelessly to take the firm to the next level, continuously investing in their digitisation and growth.

Focused on agencies, they are able to be experts in their field and build a best in breed solution from technology, onboarding, advice and digital transformation.

Finalists: Full Stop, Kinder Pocock, Pink Pig Financials, Raedan

Inform Accounting

Mid-size Firm of the Year

Inform Accounting go above and beyond on their commitment to client care, regularly gathering feedback through independent surveys that are then analysed monthly at board level to review and improve processes and client service.

The team at Inform have demonstrated great proficiency in their use of Xero software and more than 40 ecosystem apps, and continually invest in a team that is dedicated to improving their use of technology.

A long-standing Xero partner, Inform has continued to excel and set a great example for digital accountancy in the UK.

Finalists: Blu Sky Chartered Accountants, DL Accounts

Shorts

Large Firm of the Year

Shorts has leveraged their depth of knowledge and experience with Xero to deliver an exceptional client experience, resulting in phenomenal outcomes not just for clients, but for their own firm too.

They are experts in the Xero suite of products and the app ecosystem to analyse financial data and offer best-in-class advisory services for clients.

Another long time Xero partner, the team at Shorts support Xero with product development and improvements as part of XPAC and the Xero Insiders programme, and demonstrate continual improvement when it comes to practice efficiency and growth.

Finalists: Ad Valorem, LHP Accountants

Full Stop

Total Xero

Full Stop is a Total Xero firm through and through. The team of six are experts in Xero and the app ecosystem, using a cleverly designed app stack to support clients, improve their own internal processes and make an impact on the community and the environment around them.

With the firm fully humming on cloud technology, Full Stop is able to focus more of their energy on the community and the environment. They are B-Corp certified, and have been net-zero for two years having calculated their carbon footprint using Xero data and Carbon Analytics.

Not only do Full Stop support their clients and the community, they support the team at Xero through Xero Insiders, XPAC, beta testing, industry insights and more.

Finalists: Kinder Pocock, Pink Pig Financials

Pamela Phillips, De Jong Phillips

Most Valued Professional

Pamela Phillips from De Jong Phillips is a true advocate for Xero, continually flying the flag for how Xero and cloud software can transform business operations.

Pam is generous with her time and expertise as an active member of the Xero Partner Advisory Council, providing advice and feedback on behalf of the accounting industry, while also advocating for her client community.

She runs a modern, forward-thinking accountancy firm, De Jong Phillips. Having relocated to Germany during the pandemic, and managing the firm remotely, Pam is living proof that the future of the accounting industry can be flexible and inclusive, while still ensuring that excellent client service remains at the core.

Pam is a true industry leader and an inspiration to many.

Providence Financial

Community Impact Award

Providence Financial’s entry stood out for showing empathy, creativity and commitment with their initiative to support those in need during the peak of the pandemic.

Liz Noble, the firm’s co-director, saw an opportunity to help and rallied more than 250 volunteers in 48 hours to offer support for those in the area that were sheltering, ill or needing support with family – delivering groceries, setting up a Covid-safe prescription programme, befriending isolated individuals and checking people’s general supplies.

They soon expanded their reach to neighbouring areas, and in January 2021 the firm set up a local food bank to assist those in the local villages.

Their efforts were phenomenal, and it was clear that they truly thought about the needs of the community and acted fast to help. Providence Financial truly made an impact on their community that will stand the test of time, and at a scale disproportionate to the size of the team that launched it.

Finalists: Kreston Reeves, Simpkins Edwards LLP

Northern Accountants

People’s Choice

Northern Accountants received the most client nominations by a fair margin, and the submissions made it clear that they are well-deserving of the 2022 People’s Choice Award.

The firm’s cloud accounting specialist Jane Waugh has clearly made an impression on the firm’s clients, with all nominations noting her knowledge, expertise on Xero and her unparalleled client service. Jane goes the extra mile to support her clients and the feedback she’s received is proof of that.

Finalists: Normans Bookkeeping and Payroll, RixGreen

Ireland accountant and bookkeeper awards

Officepal

Emerging Partner of the Year, Ireland

Officepal saw the opportunity during the pandemic to improve business operations by becoming fully paperless and focused on migrating clients to Xero.

All fully remote, the team at Officepal are making excellent use of the Xero product suite, using Xero HQ and Xero Practice Manager, as well as offering products such as Hubdoc and Xero Projects, along with a suite of apps from the ecosystem.

They’re active with marketing Xero and apps to their clients and are certainly a firm to watch.

Finalists: Amesto Global, Numeric Technology

Accountant Online

Partner of the Year, Ireland

Accountant Online have driven rapid growth throughout the judging period, and have been committed to improving their client experience during the pandemic.

The firm created a new client experience team to identify and address friction in the client’s journey. They set up new internal processes to undertake a refreshed client onboarding process, regular check-in calls and monthly interactive workshops that have seen excellent uptake. The firm tracks their Net Promoter Score regularly and consistently builds work plans to improve their client experience.

With increased usage of Xero products, as well as the implementation of a range of other ecosystem apps, Accountant Online is a real digital success story, saving clients time and improving financial management, while also greatly improving efficiency for the firm.

Finalists: Moran and Partners, Lalor O’Shea McQuillan

UK app awards

Crezco

Emerging App Partner of the Year

Crezco has demonstrated great momentum with their payment processing software, using Xero’s online invoice payment workflows and API to enable customers to get paid using Open Banking bank to bank payments. This allows a small business customer to pay using their bank credentials rather than a card or direct debit.

The speed and ease of use, the reduced cost on payments, along with Crezco’s dedication to education and supporting their customers, makes it a simple and powerful integration by all accounts and a well-deserving winner for Emerging Partner of the Year.

Finalists: Comma, iwocaPay

A2X

Industry-Specific App of the Year

A2X is truly the gold standard in e-commerce accounting, an incredibly important space for small businesses at the moment. The problems they’re solving in e-commerce are big problems, and they’re doing so in a way that truly drives an unparalleled level of advocacy among its users.

It’s clear that A2X is an incredibly well-loved product and they’re investing deeply in the Xero community.

Finalist: Re-Leased

Ignition

Practice App of the Year

Ignition has invested heavily in their product and continues to solve some of the key pain points for the accounting and bookkeeping industry. From securing business off the back of slick online proposals, through to ongoing client engagement and getting paid, Ignition has done a great job of developing a repeatable and scalable set of services for accountants and bookkeepers.

Beyond the product, Ignition are leading the way with their partner community engagement, thoughtfully participating in and hosting events across the UK focused on educating and enabling users to optimise the platform for their firm’s needs.

With a five-star rating on the Xero App Store, Ignition is a well-used and much-loved app with the Xero partner community.

Finalists: Syft Analytics, Clarity

Syft Analytics

App Partner of the Year

Syft Analytics has truly gone from strength to strength, having seen huge growth in connections to UK customers.

Syft has demonstrated a real customer-centric, agile approach to product development. It was clear that they had listened to their community to understand their needs, building features and improvements that truly make a difference.

Their dedication to fast and efficient support, coupled with the strength of the product and the compelling price point means Syft is well-loved by accountants, with more than 200 five star reviews on the Xero App Store.

Finalists: ApprovalMax, Ignition, Reducer, Dext Precision with Xavier

Thank you to our judges

This year’s judging panel was made up of Xero leadership, along with guest judges from the Xero community, including previous Xero Award-winners and industry leaders.

Sharon Pocock - Managing Director Kinder Pocock

Alasdair McGill - Co-Founder, Ashton McGill

Nigel & Nikki Adams - Founders, Ad Valorem Group

Rebecca McClure - Global Head of Transformation and Digital for Business Services and Outsourcing, BDO UK

Jonathan Bareham - Co-Founder and CEO of Raedan

Yota Trom - Founder of Together in Tech

Matt Flanagan - Co-Founder, Appacus and MD, BlueHub

Check out the photo gallery

Relive the memories of the Xero Awards night at Troxy in London…

See the gallery