Xero grows

Radio NZ reports:

The accountancy software company Xero says it has 10 times more customers now than it had three years ago – 100,000 in all.

The company, which held its annual general meeting on Thursday, says based on its June sales it expects to make $34.5 million for the full year.

Chief executive Rod Drury says 57% of Xero’s revenue is now coming from offshore and it is fast becoming an export company.

“We’ve really nailed the New Zealand market – most New Zealand accountants now have some Xero customers,” he says.

Mr Drury says Xero has more than 25,000 customers in Australia, Britain is going well and with a team now in San Francisco, that’s likely to be its next opportunity in the coming 12 months.

He says it took five years for Xero to get its first 50,000 customers and only 10 months to gain its last 50,000, and the target is one million customers in the next few years.

I’m both a shareholder and customer of Xero, and very happy in both roles. I only wish I had purchased some more shares at the IPO.

The big challenge for Xero, for me as a customer, is when they roll out a full payroll module. I still use MYOB for payroll and it is pretty good. But if I can integrate it all into Xero, that would be ideal.