Wayne Bastian reflects on Xerocon 2022

Xerocon is the annual accounting technology conference organised by Xero and held at the London Excel venue.  In many ways, it inspires accountants and bookkeepers into pioneering the change in a new era of cloud solutions for small businesses.

Old Mill has a strong drive to make the very best out of digital technology in accounting to help our clients become more successful.  We thought it was really important that the firm should be represented at this major industry event in order to build relationships with the app developers and to build on our reputation in this space by being visible and taking the opportunity to network with the vendor community.

We need to remain up to date with the latest Xero developments. We also felt that by being represented it let us bring back some of the excitement around digital developments. so that we can pass on that knowledge to our clients.  Letting us reveal the possibilities that the latest developments offer to business owners.

I was keen above all, to understand the very latest updates from Xero and to get inside their thinking around how they, as our partner, are starting to address the requirements of the next stages of Making Tax Digital (MTD), which will be introduced for Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) effective from April 2024.

The change is going to mean a significant shift in the way clients will have to report their income and expenditure and up to 4.2 million businesses across the UK will be affected. It will fundamentally change the UK tax landscape.

There are three key changes that will affect clients and Old Mill is planning ahead to be able to support clients.

Right now, clients can start to get ready for the change by:

• Keeping digital records if you currently aren’t doing so, therefore moving away from shoeboxes of receipts and post-it notes
• Starting regular income and expense tracking. MTD for ITSA will mean increased reporting frequency, with updates sent to HMRC four times a year
• Starting to use compatible software to manage digital records, and send MTD for ITSA submissions to HMRC
• Most importantly, don’t wait until 2024 to start thinking about MTD for ITSA.

At Xerocon, there was a strong emphasis on the commitment of the software providers to create access to technology, processes and practice proposition in place ahead of 2024 and Old Mill is continuing to work closely with Xero and with our clients to develop a strong, client-focussed response to MTD for ITSA, with Xero at its core.

We saw a lot of new ideas, some of it not quite ready, but developments that we should track and stay abreast of.  In particular, in the field of the reporting function that Xero offers.  New reports are now available and old reports are being archived from April 2023.  New developments include the ability to make comparisons with the prior year’s accounts in a chosen period as well as additional filters and added note functionality.

If you are an existing Xero user and would like to get more from your Xero accounting software or if you are considering how best to come on board with digital accounting, then talk to your Old Mill Adviser, take a deeper look at our Digital Services Page or alternatively click here…