“Human at heart isn’t just words for me or words for Xero. The one thing I’ve learnt after several years in this industry is that it’s all about people. The energy is sensational, you just can’t escape the excitement and the common purpose that exists here.” – Steve Vamos
Looking back, my experience of Xerocon London can be summed up by Xero CEO Steve Vamos’ opening day talk. From the start, you feel the complete opposite to what you would expect of an accounting software conference – and it’s that human element that allows you to relax, enjoy, and absorb all the other aspects.
The energy, the atmosphere and the people there, combined to create this experience of a common purpose to better serve and help small businesses grow. This really resonated with me as it’s an incredible feeling to have helped a client grow – a feeling beautifully distilled by Xero co-founder Gary Turner: “Reunited behind what I think is a very noble and purposeful thing we can spend our working life doing and that is helping small businesses grow.”
My goals
My goal at Xerocon this year was based on two areas of my bookkeeping process. The first focused on Company Expense Management solutions, and the other focused on Banking.
I believe these two areas are key to running a small business, as once automated and streamlined, it can save a client the time and energy gathering this information, and instead use that time to work on their business. Having visited many app providers designed to allow for this automation, such as Soldo, Tide, Pleo, and Starling, the job I now have is to differentiate the various app solutions and find the best fit for my clients.
My highlights
I have many highlights from Xercon 2018. From the wonderful display of the dancers on the opening day, to the new features Xero had in store, not to mention the many informative talks, like Technology and Humanity: The Next Ten Years, and Making Tax Digital for VAT, it was a terrific event. However, top of the list for me would have to be the talk Pushing Yourself to The Limit by Sir Chris Hoy.
“Human at Heart” was the theme at Xercon this year, and it’s those very humans, once motivated to push themselves and the people around them, who can create a thriving atmosphere to work, lead and help small businesses grow. Roll on 2019!
