Despite some fears about cloud accounting software, the number of users of Xero has tripled in Australia in the last year.
While we see various people raving about how easy it is to use cloud accounting software, not everyone is prepared to try it yet.
We have been speaking to various accountants and bookkeepers about this. The story we hear is that some people are nervous about changing their accounting systems, and in some cases they have a perception that cloud accounting services might make their financial somehow vulnerable to security risks.
Clearly, something is working though, because people are signing up to use cloud accounting products.
For example, today Xero announced the number of paying Xero customers in Australia rose from 16,000 at March last year, to 51,000 at the end of March this year.
Xero's press release states that most accountants in New Zealand offer Xero, and it is now focusing on increasing the number of customers per practice. There are now 73,000 paying customers in New Zealand.
Like some other accounting brands, Xero encourages accountants to use Xero and put their clients on Xero through incentives, called the Xero Partner Program.
For example, they might "get a margin on pricing" when a client pays for Xero through their practise.Accountants can also get Xero "practice management" software for free by signing up Xero users. A list of the incentives accountants receive under the Xero Partner Program is here.
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