Are Aussie Plumbers Well Ahead of British Plumbers?

Xero, the New Zealand-based cloud accounting software, is fast becoming a major player in the U.K., especially for tradespeople running their own small business.

It first launched in New Zealand in 2006 and then Australia two years later. At the time MYOB — the accountants’ software of choice — was the region’s market leading accounting software, and had been for close to two decades, but Xero quickly gained a foothold in the market.

With it’s inexpensive and (relatively) easy-to-use software. As smartphones and tablets became more prolific — and wired and mobile internet connections became faster — Xero quickly came to mean something else for business owners: efficiency.

Being able to quote or invoice a customer on the spot, in real-time sped up the quote-acceptance process, just as it reduced the time it took to get paid.

Aussie plumbers became more efficient, won more business, and grew their businesses faster, because rather than coming home to a mountain of paperwork at the end of the night or week, it had all been done throughout the day.

The manual accounting system of old — Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Word documents — are time consuming and error prone. Xero automates much of the process and also follows up with automatic reminders for outstanding quotes and overdue invoices.

It also helps businesses implement and maintain credit management procedures [Credit Management and iPad Invoicing for British Tradespeople] and ensure compliance with the tax office.

Since Xero launched in the U.K. in 2008 (it opened an office in London four years later), it’s been trying to do the same for British small business owners, but particularly for plumbers and builders and other tradespeople who are light years behind their Aussie counterparts.

So if you’ve recently shifted to Xero for your business — or you’re planning to become a Xero bookkeeper — visit and subscribe to the ShowEzy website.

There you’ll access Xero video tutorials and training, which cover major Xero features, such as creating invoices and reconciliation reports.