Xro - xero

[nwood]

Email Received today:

Flexible pricing to suit you

Hi there,

We’ve been investing heavily in new features and our platform. With this investment we can now appeal to more of the SME market.

Instead of a ‘one size fits all’ we’ll be offering Xero at a further two price points. For customers who do a small number of transactions, such as small property investors and freelancers there will be a lower cost entry. Rather than limit the features that make Xero great or limit the number of users, we’ve simply set some transaction limits.

When we released multi-currency we signaled that this was a premium feature – one not everyone needs but which is a fabulous tool for exporters and importers. So for those of you wanting this and more sophisticated features we plan to release over time, we’ve come up with another price plan.

The plans are pretty simple really – Small, Medium and Large.

The Detail



What happens now?

We’ll move you to the Medium plan and make allowances for any multiple organisation discounts or special pricing. This will ensure you pay the same as you pay now. As a valued, loyal customer you’ll receive multi-currency for free just long as you stay on the Medium plan.

What do I do?

You don’t need to do anything - unless you think it is worth your while to downgrade. Just remember the Small plan has a limit on transactions and does not include multi-currency.

The Timing

The new pricing comes into effect from 11 October. Your next invoice will reflect the period before and after the changes are introduced.

We’re excited about extending the reach of the Xero and hope you enjoy this new flexibility.


Best regards,

The Xero Team

[nwood]

New Pricing Structure:

SMALL - $29per Month
- Up to 5 Accounts Receivable and 5 Accounts Payable
- Up to 20 reconciled bank statement lines per month

MEDIUM - $49per Month
- Unlimited invoicing
- Unlimited bank reconciliation

LARGE - $64per Month
- Multi-Currency
- Unlimited invoicing
- Unlimited bank reconciliation

[Peitro]

24 Oct 2008 Consolidated financial statements 6 months to 300908
24 Oct 2008 Half year results for the 6 months ended 300908
1 Oct 2008 Operating update to 30 September 2008

I would expect the same time frame this year... will still be running at a massive loss IMHO.

[CJ]

With Mint in the US just being bought out by quicken(?) in the US, I wonder if they will expand that outside the US and the implications that will have on Xero.

I know Mint is personal finance but if people know how to use that, it is a natural progression to use whatever business version they also offer.

[Cannibal]

Xero doubles customer numbers in six months

MARKET RELEASE

Xero doubles customer numbers in six months
01 Oct 2009


Key operating metrics

- Xero’s paying customers double to more than 12,000 since March 31 2009. This compares to 2,200 customers at the same time last year (Sept 30 2008).

- Xero now has paying customers in more than 50 countries. Key markets include New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.

- Total staff numbers have increased to 73, including new development staff in Wellington and sales staff in support of new bases established in Melbourne and Sydney.


Product Highlights

- Xero invests in a major upgrade to its hosting environment, which will allow the company further capacity to scale and grow.

- Xero releases its most significant feature, multi-currency, to the market. This offers real-time exchange rate conversion in up to 160 currencies.

- Xero offers automated daily bank feeds from HSBC – the first bank to do so in the UK. Xero already has automated daily bank feeds from most of the major banks in New Zealand and Australia.

- Xero broadens customer reach within the SME market, introducing price points that cater for those with low levels of transactions and those who need more sophisticated features such as multi-currency.

- Xero releases version 2 of its API (application programming interface) which allows software partners to integrate their solutions more easily and quickly with Xero.


Capital Raising

- Xero raises a total of $29 million. The capital raising includes the following:

- A strategic capital raising of NZ$23.2 million at NZ$0.90 per share from key investors including Craig Winkler, a founder and former major shareholder of Australian based accounting software company, MYOB. With shareholder approval Craig Winkler went on to acquire NZ$18.0 million of new Xero shares.

- Xero Share Purchase Plan raises $5.8 million and receives 70 per cent take-up among existing investors.


Company news

- Microsoft executive and former Pegasus Software MD Gary Turner is appointed to head the Xero UK operation.

- Xero co-founder and former UK managing director Hamish Edwards focuses on driving global sales.

- Former MYOB founder and Xero corner-stone investor Craig Winkler joins the Xero board.

- Marketing partnerships with British Telecom and Telstra in Australia commence. Xero is now available to a collective 2.4 million small business customers via BT’s business application portal and Telstra’s software-as-a-Service platform T-Suite

- Key sales and customer care staff are appointed in Sydney and Melbourne. This is part of Xero’s Australian growth strategy and is designed to build on the success of roadshows held in the main centres in July.

- Share buyback results in the purchase of 500,000 shares at a cost of $744,085. The share buyback was intended to eliminate any increase in capital arising from Xero's employee restricted share plan for the year ended 31 March 2010 and any consequential dilutionary effect for existing shareholders.

- Xero wins the category for best business application on the internet at the New Zealand Internet industry Awards.

- Xero wins two Webbys - the Oscars of the internet, in the banking/bill paying category.

Summary

It's been a very busy half-year for Xero. The company has completed its capital raising and continued to build the Xero platform and team, ready for the next stage of growth. Xero is pleased that the strong customer acquisition experienced at the March 31 year-end, continued beyond the seasonal peak.

Expanding the development team has been successful in a market where experienced and talented people are still in short supply. This supports Xero’s quest to deliver a feature set that exceeds desk-top software functionality on offer from incumbent providers.

Following on from overseas market entry activities in the last half, Xero recruited experienced senior sales staff in Sydney, Melbourne and the UK and has made significant progress in developing these markets.

Xero continues to execute its plans and is well positioned for growth in coming years.

[Peitro]

Was hoping for the 15,000 figure though. =]

Will be interesting to see the cash burn, to be fair they have a lot and it is there to be used.

Interesting to see the new pricing structure, wonder how many current users will be able to downgrade. This move will likely decrease the ARPU and with increased staff levels, I expect the breakeven point to climb well above 30,000 users.

[Cannibal]

Xero has established New Zealand and Australia country manger positions, with former NZ sales general manager Leanne Graham taking the local country manager role, and Wayne Schmidt taking up the Australian post.

Schmidt comes to the Xero Australia from automated mobile communications specialist Whispir and has also held positions with MYOB.

In a statement posted on the NZX, Xero CEO Rod Drury says "We're delighted to have someone with such knowledge of the Australian accounting industry lead out team there.

"It's an exciting time for us in Australia. Xero is starting to get some traction with the establishment of sales offices in Sydney and Melbourne and out marketing relationship with Telstra," Drury says.

Graham, who joined Xero in April as sales GM, was a co-founder of Enprise and held the roles of sales and marketing head, and managing director of the company's global business.

[Cannibal]

If accounting software company Xero continues adding customers at its current rate of about 1,000 a month, its disclosed break-even level of 30,000 customers should be reached in less than 18 months from now, says First NZ Capital retail research manager Barry Lindsay.

"There is nothing to say that (growth) should slow; in fact, it may well accelerate, given the additional sales staff that have been employed and the strategic partnerships set up with Telstra and British Telecom," Lindsay says.

The indications are Xero needs annual revenue of about $12 million to cover its operating costs. "The $12 million in annual sales could also be reached sooner than earlier suggested as the company has recently moved to a new pricing scale," he says.

This will see Xero charging large customers, who need additional features such as multi-currency options, more.

Lindsay estimates Xero could achieve a $1.5 million net profit in the year ended March 2012 and that could jump to $4 million the following year.

"The operating leverage this company enjoys is enormous - it costs very little to add a new customer. Our 2012 assumption is based on 45,000 customers by year end and, by the end of 2013, 60,000 customers." Xero had more than 12,000 customers at September 30.

BROKER CALL: First NZ Capital rate Xero as "should appeal to those investors who are willing to back the skilled, committed people driving this business."

[buns]

Yeah I think something is up...

[Cannibal]

XRO 02/11/2009 GENERAL

REL: 0918 HRS Xero Limited

GENERAL: XRO: Xero to break into the consumer market

Online small business accounting software provider Xero (XRO) will launch a personal money manager in early 2010.

Xero Personal will allow consumers to have a complete view all aspects of their finances. They'll be able to see ALL their bank accounts in one place; accurately track where their money is going; set savings goals and monitor the progress toward these - all in a way that's not been seen before.

"There's an increasing blur between consumer and SME services and personal/consumer finance literacy is a hot topic on the global stage,'' says Xero CEO Rod Drury.

"Recent evidence of this is US financial and business solution giant Intuit acquiring Californian based online personal finance service Mint.com for US$170 million."

Xero Personal extends the Xero service, exposing it to a vast, much wider consumer market.

"Xero Personal is a spectacular hybrid model, which we believe is a world first," says Rod Drury.

"We looked at the current stand alone offerings and solutions provided within Internet banking sites and decided to take a different approach that combines the rapid innovation Xero customers have come to expect, with the power of the transactional banking platforms."

To develop Xero Personal and to help take it to market in New Zealand, Xero has formed a partnership with the BNZ, which is a strategic investor in Xero.

"We're delighted with what we've been able to achieve with BNZ," says Rod Drury.

"As a long term partner of Xero, BNZ is excited about being involved with such an innovative product which will allow our customers to see at a glance where their money is being spent and how they can reach their savings goals quicker," says BNZ's Director, Retail, Chris Bayliss

BNZ will be offering a co-branded version of Xero Personal to its customers. This version will allow bank statement details to be imported automatically each day, giving BNZ customers an up-to-date snapshot of their finances.

While Xero Personal will be available to Xero customers who don't bank with BNZ, bank statements from other banks will need to be imported manually.

Xero is looking to partner with banks in other offshore markets and jointly promote the Xero Personal offering to their customers. For customers who use Xero's online business accounting service, Xero Personal will give them the ability to lodge and track business expenses - paid for from a personal account or credit card, directly back into Xero.

Xero personal has been in development for the past 6 months and an internal pilot will start next month in conjunction with BNZ.