What’s new in Xero – February 2025

We’re kicking off the new year with some exciting Xero updates designed to address some of the enhancements you’ve been asking for, and make things more automated to save you time.  Keep reading to learn how these enhancements will benefit you and your business.

Global: Enhancements to new invoicing

[Product Idea💡]

You’ll love the time-saving enhancements we have made to new invoicing this month. You can now:

• use keyboard shortcuts to speed up your work
• attach files easily by dragging and dropping them onto the page
• use handy new features in the date picker
• view the stock on hand right from the invoice so you’re across your inventory levels
• set an exchange rate for an invoice when needed by choosing between the XE.com rate, your organisation’s rate, or set a one-off rate just for that invoice 
• add tracking categories to your invoices to help you track sales by different criteria, such as region, product, or campaign

Global: Automated bill entry 

Data entry becomes less of a chore when you upload bills directly to Xero. Effortlessly create multiple bills at once by selecting the files or simply drag and drop. Xero automatically creates draft bills with key details, with the original document attached ready for approval.

Malaysia: Enhancements to e-Invoicing 

Great news! We’ve updated Xero’s e-Invoicing functionality to meet the latest Malaysian government requirements. You can send consolidated e-Invoice statements directly from Xero to IRBM. Relax and enjoy seamless compliance with the new regulations. You can learn more about these enhancements in this webinar.

UK: Streamlined tax workflow and compliance

We’ve made Xero even better with some UK tax enhancements designed to save you time and reduce errors.

You can now electronically submit amended accounts, we’ve added additional notes on FRS 105 and 1021a allowing you to explain any changes and a handy file button to complete the submission.

Plus, you can now set up and manage practice government gateway IDs for Xero Tax in one location.

This means you can manage your logins for personal tax, partnerships, and soon company tax all in one place. No more re-entering the same info multiple times.

AU and US: Bank feed updates

US customers banking with PNC Commercial can now connect to a brand-new PNC Commercial bank feed. And if you’re an Australian customer using Suncorp Bank, you can now sync your loan transaction data with Xero thanks to the addition of loan accounts to the Suncorp Bank feed. 

NZ and US: Easier reporting for US accountants and New Zealand not-for-profits

If you’re a New Zealand not-for-profit, you’ll notice some small improvements to the tier 3 and 4 PBE report templates. These tweaks are based on user feedback and make the templates easier to use. For US accountants, a key compliance update has been implemented to the Schedule C report. You’ll now be able to access the updated 2024 Schedule C template. The older 2022 version has also been removed, but the 2023 version will still be available.

US: Simplify wholesale operations with enhanced sales orders

You’re now able to download sales order PDFs in Xero Inventory Plus to use for a variety of purposes. You can send them as a quote to a client or keep them for your records. This is especially useful if you make wholesale sales. You can also add simple dollar-value discounts to sales orders you manually create in Inventory Plus. This is helpful if you need to invoice for larger orders directly. 

US: 1099 filing just got easier 

Xero now offers automated rule recommendations to make onboarding and completing your 1099s easier than ever. Choose from a set of suggested rules to get set up faster and manage your 1099 reporting with ease. Once you’re ready, e-file your 1099 forms seamlessly through Xero’s connected app partner, Track1099 by Avalara. You can access Track1099 directly from Xero with a new single sign-on to simplify the process of filing your forms to the IRS.

These are just some of the updates that have rolled out in Xero this month! You can check out the December 2024 edition here, and for a full list of what’s new this February, check out the release notes in Xero Central.