Xero Partners With Square For Faster B2B Payments

Cloud accounting firm Xero and payments services company Square are collaborating to offer small businesses a tool for faster invoicing and payments, according to reports on Tuesday (Feb. 11).

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) using Xero can email invoices with the built-in Square payment functionality. Customers can then pay invoices immediately with a credit or debit card. The transaction is then recorded in Xero automatically as soon as the funds hit the user’s business bank account.

The Xero-Square affiliation also gives Xero customers the ability to devise a summary invoice outlining daily sales, which lists their previous day’s sales via Square. Xero also summarizes point-of-sale Square sales, including tips, surcharges and taxes. This integration is intended to make it easier for SMBs to track sales and simplify reconciliation.

Square also integrates with MYOB Essentials and the AccountRight accounting software.

Xero, which was founded by Rod Drury in 2006, is headquartered in New Zealand and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Xero launched in both Canada and the U.K. last year and has offices in 20 cities. The company said it has over two million subscribers.

Square is headquartered in San Francisco, California and was founded in 2009 by Jim McKelvey and Jack Dorsey. In 2017, the company’s Square Cash App began allowing merchants to use bitcoin. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Square has offices in Canada, Japan, Australia, the U.K. and Ireland.

Square’s mobile card reader has made a significant impact on the mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) market, making it easier for SMBs to accept payments just about anywhere.

Increasingly, B2B companies working in the field and along supply chains are servicing their corporate customers and seeking ways to accept payment upon delivery of goods and services. Technologies like those developed by Square offer ease of use and convenience for both buyer and seller, benefits that B2B businesses are seeking as well.