5 Top Tips to Get the Most out of Xerocon Sydney

Do a SWOT analysis for your practice, or top clients before you go

Why are you going to Xerocon in the first place and what do you want to get out of it? We recommend setting aside as little as 30 minutes to think about this, and asking yourself what’s going well, and what’s not going so well in your firm.

This will put you in a position to look for solutions and speaking sessions, so you can confidently go back to the office with suggestions and business improvements. Taking time to consider the current state of your business, and thinking about the needs of your clients will ensure you don’t encounter any blind spots, or have any regrets when the event is over. 

Make sure you have some smart goals in place before you attend. It’s valuable to discuss this as a team to ensure everyone is maximising their time away from the office, and constantly learning something new. 

Look out for workshop themes that focus on actionable outcomes and business building.

There’s a good combination of workshops that focus on the technical side of the business or improving the way you do your accounting and bookkeeping. 

Workshop examples here include the Wednesday 4:30pm session, “Finding the right apps for the job in the Xero App Store”. Or on Thursday at 4:30pm, consider “How to supercharge your workflows with Xero practice tools”. There are also workshops to help you take a strategic approach to growing your business. Expert advice can be sought in workshops such as, “Addressing your clients’ pain points’ and ‘What makes a high-performance practice.”

Do your research in the exhibitor hall – don’t rush it

ApprovalMax joins over 100 top-notch exhibitors showcasing their Xero integration over the two day event.

With such a big offering, it’s worth setting aside at least a few hours to walk around and take in what all the different app-partners are offering. Come by to learn about our new features, and how you can establish robust financial controls for your clients and make them better off. Check out ApprovalMax partners Fathom, Dext, Ignition, and Airwallex.

Get ahead of the trends

It’s not all about reacting to your current business challenges and finding answers to problems you have. It’s about getting ahead of the curve, anticipating what might be an issue later down the track, and being proactive too better deal with potential changes. 

Innovation is a significant agenda item at this year’s Xerocon. Check out the Wednesday afternoon sessions ‘What’s next for AI in Accounting’ and ‘Making the Most of Emerging Technologies’. There’s also ‘Introducing Carbon Accounting’, which offers opportunities to dip into new accounting profit streams. 

Follow up after the event and have an action plan

The hard work will happen after the event is over. Before the event, book a team meeting to ensure that there’s time to reflect on the learnings once everyone is back in the office. Make sure you have a person who can confidently chair this meeting, ensure that all staff contribute to the session, and make sure you revisit your goals from Tip 1! After all, you want to make sure that things will happen after the event, and that the time and cost hasn’t been squandered away. 

Make sure you don’t lose sight of why you went in the first place, and find a way to make sure you’re still looking at your post-event notes many months down the track.