XU: Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became involved with XBert? What drew you to the company?

WR: So I have worked in the accounting technology industry for 8 years with a few different vendors building the sales and customer facing function. I knew of XBert from the success they had in Australia and when an opportunity came up to launch the product here in the UK I had to throw my hat in the ring. There were a couple of things that drew me to the business, the first being the credibility they had amongst lots of the forward-thinking firms in APAC and secondly the speed of development. Weekly releases and 70 or so new features in a year is impressive.

‍

XU: XBert started off in Australia where it achieved considerable success. What inspired the decision to expand into the UK?

WR: It seems to be a bit of a trend doesn’t it! Great products built on that side of the world coming to the UK. It is a natural progression that the firms here are open to new systems and ways of working, just as they are in Australia. XBert’s success in Australia proved the model, and it made sense to bring that expertise and innovation to the UK, where we could significantly impact the industry.

‍

XU: What were some of the biggest challenges in bringing XBert from Australia to the UK, and how has the platform been adapted to suit the needs of UK accountants and bookkeepers?

WR: It feels like letting UK firms know of the best kept secrets of Accounting tech. So it's hardly been a challenge. We are the ones learning rapidly by discovering the pain points they are trying to solve. We can just review the custom XBerts they create. Our roadmap and product development is fed by conversations and feedback from our users. Then we just needed to make enough noise to make sure lots of people knew who we were!

XU: The accounting market in the UK is highly competitive. What makes XBert different from other business automation and AI tools in the industry?

WR: We have been doing this for 5 years. We aren’t an existing product that has added AI, our product has been built around it from the start. The level of insight and intelligence that XBert provides, alongside the ability to customise workflows and alerts, truly sets us apart from other tools.

‍

XU: One of your primary features is XBert Intelligence, how does it use AI and automation to help firms identify errors and risks before they become bigger issues?

WR: I think XBert Intelligence is more about helping a firm be super proactive with their clients rather than just detecting errors. Providing real time insights into the ledger data allowing them to have more touch points with clients and really provide that next level of service which may include advisory. Detecting the errors when they occur rather than at the end of the month or quarter also allows the firm to spread the work out rather than having the crazy month/quarter end.

‍

XU: Could you give an example where XBert Intelligence has saved a firm significant time or money?

WR: XBert not only saves the firm time but also generates additional revenue, rather than merely reducing costs. We now have several partners doing this.For example, they're using the detailed health check review as a marketing tool-reaching out to prospects, target clients, or existing clients with whom they work only once a year-and offer a "free health check" as an additional value-add. By connecting the ledger into XBert and running the detailed health check, they provide businesses with valuable insights and showcase the level of service they can offer, ultimately winning more business and increasing the frequency of engagement with existing clients.

‍

XU: Custom XBerts give firms the ability to create tailored alerts to suit their specific workflows. Can you walk us through how firms are using them to improve efficiency?

WR: This really is the magic of XBert and what sets us apart. The possibilities are endless. We have firms creating checks for just 1 client in their portfolio as it is an easy way to monitor a specific KPI or leading indicator. Some examples are overdrawn directors' loan accounts or alerts for multi-coded tax types. We also have a community in XBert where users share custom XBert prompts. This was developed to make it easy for AI novices to get started.

XU: What are some of the most surprising or unexpected ways bookkeepers and accountants have used Custom XBerts?

WR: Not sure if they are surprising or unexpected but the ones that impact the accounting firm are always a favourite. A good example is “tell me when the volume of transactions or turnover increases by x% so I can reprice this client”. We all know it can be a task keeping track of your growing clients and as a practice owner you do not want to leave money on the table, XBert can help you to avoid that.

‍

XU: XBert's integration with accounting software like Xero has been game-changing. How has this connection improved automation efficiencies for accounting firms?

WR: XBerts framework allows you to build almost any check across one or all clients. Think about the time it takes to open every client in Xero time and time again only to find nothing to do. We like to say ‘Create limitless efficiencies with Custom XBerts’. We have built tech that really does give you an unlimited return on investment. Couple this with XBert Analytics and you have consolidated data at your fingertips. You can now truly understand the client data under management - this all helps your price smarter and increase your profits.

‍

XU: Many firms struggle with scaling their operations while maintaining accuracy. In what way does XBert help bookkeepers and accountants expand their offerings efficiently?

WR: We have a few features that can help a firm to grow efficiently. Obviously having XBert continually check the clients' data for errors allows you to spend more time providing higher value work rather than auditing the ledger info. We also have awesome capacity planning features. Practice management and workflows are something a lot of vendors speak about but with XBert you can really plan ahead. Creating templates and recurring work with estimated time allows you to forecast the workload. You can even add in the hours and days per week each employee works for you and easily see what % of capacity they are at on the team overview board, or just ask using an AI prompt - managers love it.

XU: The upcoming Bookkeeper Agent feature sounds exciting! Can you give us a sneak peek of what it is and how it will support bookkeepers in their daily work

WR: This is really exciting and we have had great feedback already! Using our AI we are working on auto reconciling the bank feed process using a new Bookkeeper Agent. This includes receipt capture, emailing for attachments, and the automation of client responses for information to reconcile. Chasing the client for info, creating the bill, checking for duplicates, checking for payments and running all the firms custom XBerts through the process. Essentially just automating as much we can but still with the human driven process and sign off.

‍

XU: Considering the rapid advancement of AI in accounting tech, where do you see XBert going in the coming years?

WR: XBert has been ahead of the trend and has always been your ‘agent’ doing work for you, and we have a lot more come in this area. I can see us producing more of these agents, automating all of the mundane and giving accountants and bookkeepers so much time back. Auto bank rec and capture are just the start of what AI has the capacity to do. We are already layering AI on top of capacity planning for the practice.

Total efficiency can only be acheived when your workflow system is connected to your client's data. XBert ensures that rework and custom alerts are factored into manager capacity reporting - and they love it.

‍

XU: What advice would you offer to UK firms that are hesitant about adopting AI powered solutions such as XBert?

WR: I think you really need to assess what is going to make a difference for your practice. Don’t just go buy an AI product because you “want to use AI in your firm” (you would be surprised how often i hear that). Really think about where you can improve or what are real problems for you and find a solution to fix that. But also don’t be afraid to try it, it's not scary or going to take your job. Test a product, lean on the vendor, book meetings and really give yourself the opportunity to use it.

‍

XU: Finally, where can accountants, bookkeepers, and businesses go to learn more about XBert and get started?

WR: We offer a free trial just head over to www.xbert.io and start it now. You can also book a demo with our team on that page.