Xero Launches New App Marketplace

Xero has launched a new App Marketplace that offers a collection of cloud apps that connect to to the Xero cloud accounting system.

“Our ecosystem has exploded to over 500 integrations today,” said Brooke Anderson, Xero’s Global Ecosystem Manager. “We’ve invested heavily in maintaining an open platform, giving our customers access to tools to run their entire business operations, that connect and share data with Xero. Our new marketplace makes it as easy as possible for our small business customers and their advisers to find exactly the right app for their unique business needs. Building to an established and open business platform like Xero’s API, gives start-ups the chance to hit the ground running and fast-track global growth because they have access to an established support and customer network. We’re increasingly seeing startups leverage the benefits of this network effect.”

Small businesses are increasingly looking for simple and easy ways to connect their accounting software to apps that help them run their business more efficiently, with a 60% increase in the number of businesses using apps in Xero’s ecosystem.

More than a quarter of Xero’s 717,000 customers now use one or more of the 500 apps, available in the new ecosystem. The App Marketplace makes it easier for small businesses to find the right app for their business requirements and industry.

“The API effect has been huge for us and instrumental in Receipt Bank’s exponential growth,” said Receipt Bank’s co-founder Michael Wood. Today, Receipt Bank is a global business with offices in the US, Europe and Australasia, but this was made possible by the power of APIs. Xero’s API is world-class; enabling Receipt Bank and Xero to build a combined solution that unlocks huge efficiencies in bookkeeping.”

Xero’s research shows adding just one of the right technology tools can significantly impact a business’ annual net profit.

Xero’s open app ecosystem gives small businesses and their advisors the opportunity to select the technology that best suits their unique needs and requirements as they grow, instead of locking them into a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Small businesses can search by industry or app function to find the tools they need and see what they didn’t even know existed.

Key facts about the App Marketplace:

Reporting tools are the most popular app category in Xero’s ecosystem. Apps like Crunchboards, Spotlight Reporting and Fathom turn Xero data into real-time business intelligence, for budgeting, forecasting and benchmarking.
Expense management apps follow as the second most popular category. Tools like Receipt Bank pull the data from receipts and bills and feed it into Xero.
Time Tracking tools like Deputy and TSheets, as well as project management apps like WorkflowMax have the ability to add efficiency across operations. In a June 2015 customer satisfaction survey by WorkflowMax, the app was found to save each customer and average of 628 hours of time per year.
Xero’s ecosystem also offers industry specific tools across many popular vertical segments. For example, a retailer coming to the site can surface integrations like Vend, Shopify, Paypal and BigCommerce, to streamline their retail operations.

Xero has invested heavily in maintaining an open platform and small business customers aren’t the only ones reaping the benefits. It has become a competitive advantage not only for Xero, but for many of its ecosystem partners. Building on Xero’s open API gives technology start-ups instant access to a global customer-base in the cloud.

Xero’s new App Marketplace is at www.xero.com/marketplace.