Xero’s new App Launcher: Bringing apps closer to Xero small businesses and their advisors

Today we released App Launcher, a new product that integrates the Xero App Store’s apps directly into the My Xero dashboard via a simple dropdown tab with the navigation bar. This increases accessibility to all your favourite apps, while also making it easier to switch between your apps without closing Xero. If you have yet to connect any apps, and are curious – App Launcher also offers an easy access point to browse the Xero App Store for tools to aid your workflow.

Why is this an important step for Xero and our customers?

A core part of why Xero has been so successful growing over the past 15+ years has been the flexibility and customisability of the Xero platform –which has been built around secure, open access to the Xero ledger. 

My mission, as EGM of Ecosystem, is to extend Xero further – enabling a holistic small business platform that caters to every potential business need our customers might have. Our team works closely with all of Xero’s third party app developers and partners as they build new apps to plug into Xero – similar to how the apps in your Google or Apple smartphone extend its capabilities beyond simple phone calls and text messages. 

We already have more than 1,000 apps that cover nearly every business need, in every vertical, in every market – from payroll for cafes, timesheet/shift management for construction companies, invoicing for tradies, predictive analytics and cash flow forecasting for bookkeepers, and even carbon emissions reporting for farmers – all available at apps.xero.com.

What we’ve also found is that there is still a portion of our Xero customer base that aren’t yet using apps but are interested in the benefits – however, they’re unsure how to start. Xero App Launcher helps to bridge that gap. 

Getting more apps in the hands of our customers

The reason we’re so focused on getting more apps into our customers hands is simple – businesses that use apps are more successful, more profitable and have better job retention:

• The top 25 percent of app using businesses reported annual sales uplifts (compared to non-users) of 4.4 percent to 8.7 percent (depending on the country) [source: Picking up the pace: Trends in small business technology adoption].
• Organisations using five or more apps grew their sales by 4.3 percent, compared to a drop of 3.4 percent for those without any apps installed [source: The job ahead: Small businesses and the global economic recovery]. 

Best of all, Xero App Launcher is available, free, to Xero’s 3 million+ subscribers.

One way to think about it is that you don’t need to wander around your workshop, opening drawers and cabinets hunting for a specific tool – you can find them all nicely laid out in your toolbox at your worktable, ready to help you get your work done.

Enjoy the benefits of Xero App Launcher

As of today, you can enjoy the following key features of App Launcher:

• All of your apps in one place: All of a customers’ Xero App Store apps appear in a single dropdown tab within their My Xero dashboard – no need to leave Xero.
  
• Find new apps to solve your business challenges: Links straight through to the Xero App Store from within My Xero to browse for tools to aid your workflow.
  
• Single Sign In*: Once set up – stay logged into all of your apps via Xero single sign in. No need to leave Xero to re-login to your apps. (*denotes apps that have enabled this functionality).

If you haven’t had the chance to try any apps out, the new Xero App Store features the ability to trial new apps – so you can test the right tools to suit your workbench. App Launcher is available in your My Xero dashboard from today as part of a staggered rollout this week across all Xero regions. Learn more here.

If you’re a developer looking to use Xero App Launcher to showcase your app, check out this blog post from our GM of Developer Experience, Dan Young.