Oftentimes people ask me why I choose Xero as our cloud accounting platform. Foremost is that I love the product. I can recall vividly the first day I was introduced to Xero. Within a very short time, I fell in love with the bank reconciliation. It is still one of my favorite features in Xero. I always have loved writing lists and marking of items as they are completed. The way bank reconciliations work in Xero reminds me of marking items off a list. I love how some transactions show up in green and when you click on “OK” those transactions are removed from the screen.
The People of Xero
As I began to focus on and transform our bookkeeping business with Xero, I began to notice something about the people working for and with Xero. I really like the people! I was reminded of this when I attended Xerocon Austin last month. The attendees at Xerocon are different than those I have seen at other accounting technology conferences. It is a very sharing group. The attendees tend to be on the younger side and tend to be more tech oriented. Being part of the Xero Community and being part of the community from the early beginnings in the US has been delightful. It almost makes me feel like I belong to a special Xero club! My journey with Xero began more than five years ago, and my interactions throughout the time between then and now with the Xero Team have been very positive.
The accounting professionals using and certified in Xero are called “Partners”. One definition of “partner” is “a person who takes part in an undertaking with another or others, especially in a business or company with shared risks and profits”. I believe that this describes how Xero includes and embraces the accounting and bookkeeping professionals as being an integral part of the success of their subscribers.
The Xero Team makes me feel that I matter to them. This was highlighted at Xerocon Austin when Keri Gohman, President of Xero Americas, shared the story of our meeting for the first time this past September at Accountex and a little about my journey with Xero. I was deeply impressed with meeting Keri at Accountex. I know that Keri must have had many demands on her time that day. But Keri took the time to talk with me for about a half hour that day. I came away from that conversation feeling very honored that Keri spent this time, one on one, with me. She asked me about my challenges. She asked me how I felt about the product. She asked me about my interactions with Xero employees. I felt like I had the opportunity to represent all the Xero bookkeepers in the US and share a little about what our needs and dreams are. Click here to see a video of the story Keri shared at Xerocon Austin.
The Xero Team took good care of all of us at Xerocon Austin too. The weather in Austin took an unexpected turn the week of the conference. On Wednesday it rained and I was so happy that one of Xero Team members was there to assist me as I arrived, with an umbrella in hand. On Thursday it even snowed! Xero rose to the occasion and actually had blankets and additional heaters delivered to the conference to make things a bit more comfortable for all of the attendees.
In the early years, I ran a solo bookkeeping business. My first employee, Amanda, just celebrated her five year anniversary with us. Loving the Xero Community has expanded to loving the Beyond Team. We are a team of five now. Our team has embraced Xero. All of our team members are certified in Xero, our team members have embraced technology, and we are constantly learning and challenging ourselves to be even better. As the team has expanded, we also are having team members specialize in specific areas of expertise.
The Xero Community is growing. Since June 2017 I have been hosting the San Jose Xero Hour. It is wonderful to see our local Xero Community gaining momentum too. If you are not currently using Xero or it has been awhile since you took a look at the product, I invite you to do so now. I think you will find yourself loving the Xero Community too!