Our teams have been busy during February, releasing new features to improve your experience in Xero. Read on to find out how we’re continuing to invest in Hubdoc, as well as enhance the Xero Accounting app, Xero Payroll in New Zealand and our COVID-19 Business Support tool in Australia.

New features

View progress while importing contacts into Xero — Global

We’ve improved the way you import contacts in Xero, with a refreshed design and simplified language on the import page. You’ll notice a new tabular layout that will help you handle any errors during the import, so you can understand how you’re progressing and what actions you need to take to complete the process.

Empower new employees to submit expense claims in Xero Me — Global

New employees will now be directed to download Xero Me, rather than submit their expense claims within the Xero Expenses app. The expense technology inside Xero Me has the same functionality as the Xero Expenses app, with a fresh new look to make managing everyday admin easier than ever.

Enjoy a new look in payments services settings — Global

We’ve given our payments services settings page a fresh new look in Xero. While the functionality remains the same, there are some slight variations to the look and messaging on the page, which hopefully makes your experience more seamless.

Use ‘save’ and ‘approve’ workflows in new invoicing — Global

To bring the features of new invoicing in line with classic invoicing, we’re adding the ‘save’ and ‘approve’ workflows to the new version. This allows you to make the most of our latest features, while enjoying the invoicing experience you’ve come to know and love.

Re-invite users to your Hubdoc organisation — Global

You can now resend an email invitation for a new Hubdoc user to join your organisation, if they haven’t accepted a previous one. We’re committed to improving your experience using Hubdoc and will be rolling out more enhancements like these in the months ahead.

Better manage contacts in the Xero Accounting app — Global

New functionality in the Xero Accounting app gives you more flexibility when using contacts on the go. Updates to the search field makes it easier to find the contacts you need in a hurry, and improvements to the contact screen show an overview of what each contact owes or is owed. You can also sort contacts by name, amount owing and owed, email and date added.

Enjoy more flexibility in your history and notes report — Global

As part of our commitment to creating a unified look and feel across Xero, we’ve refreshed the design of the history and notes activity report. You’ll notice a new ‘reset filter’ button, and the ability to select both individual and pre-selected dates. The new ‘load more’ functionality will also help reduce page download time. These features will be rolled out in a phased approach.

Print and send a draft invoice in new invoicing — Global

We know that being able to print and email a draft invoice is important, so we’ve added these buttons in the overflow menu of your draft invoice in new invoicing. We’ve also introduced a number of approval actions in the list, to remove any confusion when saving or approving invoices.

Understand your eligibility with the COVID-19 Business Support tool — AU

We’ve updated our COVID-19 Business Support tool to help you determine your eligibility for the latest support packages. From your account, navigate to Accounting > Reports to find the ‘COVID-19 Business Support’ button. From here, you can tailor your search fields to compare date ranges, depending on the eligibility requirements of the grant you wish to apply for.

Record your client verifications in Xero Tax or XPM — AU

If you’re a practice user, you can now record the verification and Director IDs of your clients in Xero Tax or Xero Practice Manager (XPM). You can add these to the client record. To get a full list of verified clients, including those with a Director ID, use the report builder. The Tax Practitioners Board will make these client verifications mandatory in the later half of 2022.

Stay compliant with new report templates — Canada

We’re helping advisors stay compliant with recently introduced Canadian reporting requirements. From the templates section in Xero HQ, you can now view two new report templates: ‘Company – Compilation Engagement Report’ and ‘Compilation Engagement Report, Notes, RE’.

Finalise payroll year end with the latest calculations — NZ

For those working on the books, we’ve made changes to Xero Payroll that will help your year end run more smoothly. There are three key changes to New Zealand payroll calculations for the new financial year, and these are automatically applied to all Xero accounts. To make things easy for you, here are seven steps you can follow to finalise your payroll year end.

Enhancements to your GST F5 return experience — Singapore

Our latest updates to Xero’s suite of GST F5 features makes collaborating with your advisor easier, with reporting tools that allow you to view your next due date and amounts owed at any time. Transactions can also be sorted and grouped based on IRAS requirements, which simplifies reviewing and amending within each return. You also have the ability to export reports in Excel for flexibility across formats.

Customise your management reports — US

You can now create customisable management reports that are available to anyone in your organisation with reporting access. You can add or remove reports, customise the settings and layouts, and save as many custom packs as you want, so you can reuse them and save time. The new management reports will be rolled out globally in the months ahead.