Small business platform Xero and financial operations platform Bill have announced a partnership aimed at enhancing the accounts payable capabilities for Xero’s customers in the United States. The collaboration is designed to streamline bill payment processes, enabling businesses to operate more efficiently.
According to a report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are 33.2 million small businesses in the United States, responsible for creating 63% of new jobs between 1995 and 2021. The report, titled "The State of Small Businesses" and published in April 2023, also revealed that in 2022 alone, 5.1 million new business applications were filed, slightly less than the 5.4 million recorded in 2021.
As part of this collaboration, Xero will integrate an embedded bill pay solution from Bill into its platform. According to a news release dated Feb. 29, this feature will allow business owners to settle bills without leaving the Xero platform, thereby saving valuable time.
Jolly, Chief Product Officer at Xero, stated in the same news release: "Xero is committed to helping small businesses run their operations and manage their finances as efficiently as possible through our platform. Our partnership with Bill reflects how we can use strategic partnerships to support three critical small business tasks – accounting, payments and payroll – in the US." She further added that through this partnership with Bill they aim to offer their customers "more robust bill pay capabilities and broad payment choices," which she believes will strengthen Xero’s US offering and deepen customer support and engagement.
Bill's platform offers a range of financial solutions including accounts payable and receivable services such as ACH payments, invoicing, pay by card options and a mobile app. It also provides expense-related services including payment services, budget tracking, expense tracking and rewards programs.
Irana Wasti, Chief Product Officer at Bill expressed her excitement about bringing an embedded bill pay solution and related financial operations capabilities to Xero customers. She said, "From the start, Bill has worked to serve the needs of SMBs and make it simpler to manage and optimize their cash flow. Our agile platform enables us to incorporate capabilities into partner solutions to extend our ability to serve more SMBs, wherever they want to do business."