RSSBus Releases Drivers for Xero Accounting Software

Powerful new Drivers enable Xero customers to easily connect to live accounting data from custom software solutions, Analytics, Reporting, and ETL Tools.

RSSBus (www.rssbus.com), a leading provider of data-integration drivers and tools, announced the release of a full complement of new drivers for integration with Xero online accounting software. The RSSBus drivers enable Xero users to easily read, write, and update live Xero data through familiar database interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC, ADO.NET, Excel, BizTalk, and SSIS. Users can simply install the Xero Drivers and access live Xero data through standard tables, views, and stored procedures -- just like a traditional relational database.
With over 280,000 paying customers in over 100 countries, Xero is the global leader in online accounting. Since Xero is hosted in the cloud and delivered via a SaaS model, it is accessible anywhere. This accessibility allows Xero's users to manage their business and accounts from work, home, or on-the-go.

"Xero offers a truly compelling platform for businesses that are ready to realize the benefits of cloud-based accounting," said Eric Madariaga, RSSBus's Vice President of Marketing. "By providing standard drivers that plug into existing software, our Xero Drivers enable customer to easily leverage their investments in on-premise accounting intelligence directly with the Xero accounting platform. Customers can use our drivers to interact with Xero from popular applications like Tableau, Pentaho, Crystal Reports, NetBeans, Microsoft Excel, PowerPivot, Microstrategy, etc. In addition, our Drivers offer a straightforward way to connect to Xero from any custom software solution."

The RSSBus drivers interact with Xero Web Services and expose a SQL interface that allows for easy manipulation of Xero data using a familiar SQL syntax. The drivers equip users with the flexibility to easily interact with their Xero data from virtually anywhere. Users can access their data from their own reporting software, ETL, BI tools, etc. In addition, developers can build custom applications that integrate directly with Xero.

"We have a strong demand from current and prospective customers for custom application and integration with our product. RSSBus has not only created one product to connect Xero to other software systems they have published six! We are excited to see what our customers do with the RSSBus Drivers," said Sid Maestre, Developer Relations Manager at Xero.

Below is a complete list of the new Xero drivers and tools:

ADO.NET Provider for Xero - Connect .NET Applications with Xero JDBC Driver for Xero - Connect Java/J2EE Applications with Xero ODBC Driver for Xero - Read, Write, and Update Xero through ODBC SSIS Components for Xero - SSIS Data Flow Source & Destination for Xero BizTalk Adapter for Xero - Enterprise BizTalk Adapters for Xero Excel Add-In for Xero - Read, Write, and Update Xero Data from Excel

Fully functional trials of all Xero products are available for download from the company website (www.rssbus.com).

About RSSBus:
RSSBus (www.rssbus.com), a spin-off of /n software, provides integration tools and components enabling straightforward connectivity with Internet and Intranet applications, services, databases, and other information systems. You can reach RSSBus via email at info@rssbus.com, on the Web at www.rssbus.com, or by calling (800) 235-7250 or (919) 544-7070.

Xero Roadshow : UK Perspective

Stuart Moody for Tait Walker writes: I’ve just returned from the Xero roadshow in Leeds and I’m totally convinced this is the right product for so many of our clients.

I’ve never been anywhere where I felt so much positivity in one room, clear testimony to the company’s recent accolade as the “Worlds most innovative growth company” awarded by Forbes.

The story of Xero is one of hyper growth and the company are now attracting high calibre internal staff who can obviously see the potential of cloud based accounting packages. Currently there are 3800 certified Xero users of which I am but one. Clearly the growth potential of Xero who now have 50k customers in the SME market is a mere fraction of the UK’s total SME market place which I am led to believe stands at a staggering  5 million entities.

What sets this company apart from the others is that we, as business partners are treated as part of the innovation cycle. We are listened to at just such events as today’s roadshow and I can’t help think that these events are a means not just to get us on board and raise the Xero profile but equally and more importantly where we as the user can influence enhancements to an already brilliant product.

A staggering third of all website hits come from mobile and tablet devices so it’s no wonder our end users now demand a shift away from desktop applications towards cloud based products. An example was given of sitting on the beach reconciling your bank… Is this really what we want? Clearly there is a demand for on the move accounting and the need for information at our fingertips.

Apparently 40% of new Xero customers are coming from businesses that have no existing computerised accounting system. This statistic sounds the death knell of paper bag accounting which can only be a good thing. But conversely the 60% who are switching to Xero must be a worrying statistic for established players in the market.

So what is it that makes Xero so appealing? It’s easy, friendly, cheap, clear and simple to name many superlatives. Your accountant is on hand to assist (24/7!!!???) and is always on the same page with live data and the same software version. If someone had told me 15 years ago as I studied for my ACA accounting would be described as beautiful, I would have laughed… But this is beautiful accounting. Reporting is clean and easily manipulated, it can show what we want, what the client wants and if it looks better with a picture, we can do that as well.

As I boarded the train back to Newcastle after a satisfying day, it was a great comfort to look at my phone and find two new leads both with the same thread…..”I hear you do Xero, please can you call me.” 

Tait Walker are Silver Xero partners and we would be delighted to take your business into the cloud.

The Tax Consequences of Losing Your Job

Bonnie Lee for Fox Business writes:  Losing your job is hard enough without having to consider tax planning, but unfortunately, that’s exactly what needs to be done in order to help keep your finances intact.

In fact, any time you encounter a major life change, whether it’s a marriage, divorce, buying a home or starting a business, it’s important to review the tax implications and create the best strategy.

First the bad news: If your final pay check included severance pay and accumulated leave, sick, and vacation pay, it is taxable income. Hopefully, there was enough withholding to countermand the ensuing tax liability.

If you begin collecting unemployment benefits, that is also taxable income. If it makes financial sense, ask for federal income taxes to be withheld from the unemployment checks. If you don’t think you will be on unemployment for very long, or if you will be dipping into a lower tax bracket due to job loss, you may be able to max out the unemployment benefits without increasing your tax liability and having to withhold for it. Simply crunch the numbers to make sure.

If you receive gifts and loans from family and friends to help make ends meet while searching for a new job, this is not taxable income to you. It is generally the giver who may be taxed on the value of the gift if it exceeds the annual gift exclusion of $14,000.

However, if you dip into your retirement plan for a cash injection, you will be required to pay taxes on the distribution. If you are under the age of 59 1/2, you may be subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty as well. If you are completely and totally disabled or use the funds to pay for health insurance premiums while unemployed or are simply rolling over the funds to a new retirement plan, you will not face a penalty. Check with your tax pro or read up on the topic in IRS Publication 575. Ask your plan provider to withhold the income taxes due on funds you withdraw.  [snip] The article continues @ Fox Business, click here to continue reading...

How CRM will benefit your business in just three words / Free Xero Webinar 7/22/14

Gene Marks for Xero writes:   Back in the day, when I talked to small business owners like myself, no one knew what CRM (Customer Relationship Management) was. Now, everyone seems pretty familiar with the concept, and the more well-known applications like Salesforce.com, SugarCRM and Batchbook. But the sad fact is that even though many know what CRM is, most still aren’t using CRM systems very well. In fact, of the 600 clients my company serves using various CRM systems, I’d say only 20 percent of them are really doing the right things. And what are the right things? It’s all about three words.

1. Integrate. A CRM system should not be on its own island. It should be talking to other systems — which means that your CRM software should be exchanging data with your accounting system, website and other databases. So when you choose a CRM application, make sure it has links into these other systems. When you view a customer’s record, you not only want to see their activities, notes, emails, pipeline and other CRM data but you also want to know their order history and whether or not there are any outstanding invoices.If you’re a Xero user, then check out the many CRM systems that partner and integrate with Xero. Also, Xero just introduced a new CRM-like feature called Smart Lists that let’s you search your customer data to create highly targeted lists that you can export to a CSV file to use via your email system or export to Constant Contact for targeted email marketing campaigns. The main point here is to centralize your customer data. Don’t be stuck doing duplicate entry. Don’t fall victim to bad data. Integrate.

2. Report. In the end, your CRM software is really nothing more than a big fat database. Forget the bells, whistles and fireworks. The companies I know who are most successful using CRM systems are getting good, relevant and timely data out of their systems and using that data to run their organizations. You need a pipeline report, showing you potential opportunities and where they stand. You need an activities report, which lists what your sales and service people have scheduled, who they’ve spoken to, who they’re planning to visit. And you need an issues report, where you can be aware of any problems, cases, tickets, calls that need addressing, who’s working on it, how long it’s been a problem and when it will be fixed. These reports should be delivered to you automatically and frequently. You should be relying on them. If you are, then you’re using your CRM well. If you’re not getting good reports from your CRM software, then you’re really not using it at all.

3. Automate. When someone issues a quote, are you getting reminded before it goes overdue and falls through the cracks?If someone signs up for a newsletter, requests a brochure or registers for one of your company’s events — are you getting notified? Are you aware of those customers that haven’t received a single phone call from any sales rep in the past six months? Did you know that, after spending all that money on that trade show in Chicago no leads were distributed and no follow-ups were done with the people that visited your booth? All good CRM software has a little bit of automation. And the great ones have a lot. The CRM companies that partner with Xero all have automation capabilities so that you can make sure that nothing is falling through the cracks and no process is being circumvented. Usually, no programming is involved. The real challenge is figuring out the process. But once you do, that process can be automated in your CRM software so that things run faster, quicker and more productivity. Is your CRM system running like it should? Probably not. Want more ideas? Stay tuned, because I’ve got a few more words…

To learn more,  join Gene for a free, 30-minute webinar on Tuesday, July 22 from 1:00 to 1:30 PM PST/4:00 to 4:30 PM EST. Sign up via Xero’s events section here.