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New Zealand Small Businesses Face Ongoing Challenges as Revenue Remains Subdued in Past Month

New Zealand’s small business sector continues to grapple with economic headwinds, as revealed by the latest Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) report for the June 2025 quarter. According to the global small business platform Xero, small business sales in Aotearoa fell by 0.1% year-on-year (y/y)… Read More

UK Small Businesses Experience Operational Challenges Despite Interest Rate Cuts

UK small business sales growth slowed sharply in the June quarter (April to June), despite two official interest rate cuts earlier in the year, according to the latest Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) data from Xero, the global small business platform. The sales slowdown in… Read More

Australian Small Business Revenue Remains Volatile But Ahead of Other Markets, Report Claims

Xero, the global small business platform, today released its latest Small Business Insights (XSBI) update, revealing that small businesses are showing continued resilience despite “a recent slowdown in sales growth and elevated global and economic uncertainty.” October 2024 – June 2025 at a glance: Sales… Read More

Xero to Enhance Bank Feed Connections via Plaid Partnership

Xero, a global small business platform, has announced a partnership with Plaid, which seeks to eventually triple the number of high-quality bank feeds available to customers in the United States. For many small businesses, access to community-focused finance providers is crucial, given the vast number of… Read More

Xero to Acquire SMB Firm Melio

Xero Limited has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Melio, an SMB bill pay platform. The acquisition is expected to be funded through a mix of cash and equity. The upfront consideration will be $2.5 billion in cash and equity consideration. Additional contingent consideration,… Read More

Nearly 75% of US Accountants and Bookkeepers Report Increased Profits in Past Year

Xero, the global small business platform, released its US State of the Industry Report for accounting and bookkeeping (AB) practices in 2025, revealing an optimistic outlook driven by “evolving service offerings and strong performance metrics year-over-year.” The report highlights a significant upswing in the industry,… Read More

Majority of Australians Reportedly Fear Making Mistakes on Filing Tax Return

Xero, the global small business platform, has released new research¹ revealing many Australians are heading into this end of financial year (EOFY) period concerned and confused about key tax rules. The Xero Tax Confidence Index survey of more than 1,000 Australians found that “more than… Read More

Slow Digitalization Is Reportedly Blocking Small Business Productivity Gains in New Zealand

Xero, the global small business platform, released a report with New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) projecting the productivity gains Kiwi small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) stand to gain through accelerated digitalization. Productivity is the biggest long-run “determinant of wages and living standards,… Read More

Xero and Tallyfor to Streamline Tax Preparation for US Firms

Xero, the global small business platform, announced an integration with Tallyfor, the modern platform for business tax engagements, to deliver a solution designed to streamline tax preparation and boost efficiency for accounting firms. Accounting firms today face “capacity shortages, recruitment and retention difficulties, and the… Read More

Xero Offers Tap to Pay on iPhone for Australian SMBs with a Stripe Account to Accept Contactless Payments

Xero, the small business platform, has launched Tap To Pay on iPhone, enabling Xero customers in Australia with a Stripe account to accept in-person contactless payments with their iPhone and the Xero Accounting app — “no additional hardware or payment terminal needed.” Tap to Pay… Read More

Bluevine and Xero to Provide Banking Solutions for Small Businesses

Bluevine, the banking platform that serves as the financial operating system for startups and small businesses, announced an ongoing partnership with  small business accounting platform, Xero. Through this collab, Bluevine customers can sync their banking data with Xero, providing small businesses and their accountants with… Read More

Small Businesses in Canada Facing Lingering Payment and Economic Challenges – Report

Xero, a global small business platform, has released its quarterly Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) data for Canada, providing a comprehensive snapshot of the health of the small business sector. The latest data, which covers the period from July to September 2024, reveals that while… Read More

UK’s Smallest Businesses Unable to Focus on Core Jobs, Juggling Multiple Roles – Report

Research from Xero, the small business platform, has found leaders of the UK’s smallest businesses (1-9 employees) and sole traders spend less than half (46%) of the working week on their core jobs. According to the report from Xero, these businesses effectively aren’t starting work… Read More

Australian Small Business Revenue Growth Slowing But Ahead of Other Nations – Report

Xero, the small business platform, released its Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) update, highlighting that Australian small businesses are persevering amid challenging macroeconomic conditions and still outperforming small businesses in other countries. As noted in the research report shared by Xero, here are takeaways from… Read More

UK Small Businesses Await Impact of Interest Rate Cuts as Revenue Growth Remains Modest – Report

UK small business sales growth continued to slow over the last quarter (July to September), not helped by rising late payments times, according to the  Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) data from Xero, the small business platform. As noted in the research report, this quarter,… Read More

Small Businesses in the US Encounter Fiscal Challenges Due to Lack of Financial Literacy – Report

Research from global cloud-based small business platform Xero reveals a notable gap in financial literacy among U.S. small business owners. Despite 55% of small business owners rating their financial literacy as ‘high’, half (50%) actively face fiscal challenges in their business due to a lack… Read More

Small Businesses in Canada Are Facing Fiscal Challenges Due to Lack of Financial Literacy – Research Report

Research from cloud-based small business platform Xero reveals a notable gap in financial literacy among Canadian small business owners. Although 47% or nearly half of small business owners rating their financial literacy as ‘high’, nearly half (43%) actively deal with fiscal challenges in their business… Read More

Late Payments Are Reportedly Costing New Zealand Small Businesses $800 Million

Xero, the global small business platform, has reported a significant 81% increase in the cost of late payments to Kiwi small businesses, surging from about $456 million in 2021 to $827 million in 2023. This data is part of the Xero Small Business Insights program,… Read More

BNPL Fintech Klarna and Xero Bring Buy Now Pay Later Services to Small Businesses

Klarna, the AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant, is working with global small business platform Xero, to help small businesses accept payments from consumers wanting a ‘buy now, pay later’ option. For Xero’s customers, offering Klarna’s alternatives to traditional credit “means they can get… Read More

Payment Convenience Is Key for New Zealand Consumers But Barriers Like Expensive Fees are Turning Off SMBs – Report

Research by global small business platform Xero has uncovered payment convenience is key for Kiwi consumers, but key barriers such as expensive fees are turning off small businesses from embracing new digital methods. Xero’s latest report ‘I want to pay that way’, delves into the… Read More

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