Xero halfway to million customer target

Cloud-based accounting software provider Xero has today announced it is half way to its target of a million customers, with 500,000 customers worldwide subscribed to its platform, a mark the company says is a significant milestone following strong momentum and growth.

The Xero platform is used by small businesses and entrepreneurs in more than 180 countries globally, achieving its first 50,000 subscribers in September 2011 after five years in business.

Subscriptions doubled over the following 10 months and Xero reached the 100,000 milestone by July 2012.

"In just over eight years, we have gone from no lines of code to over half a million subscribers worldwide," says Rod Drury, CEO, Xero. "We've built our accounting platform and demonstrated that we are one of the fastest growing Software as a Service companies in the world.

The company has released over 380 new features and updates this year. Major features delivered in the last year include Payroll in the UK and New Zealand, Xero on iPad, inventory, quotes and online quotes, Practice Reports (NZ), find and recode, and the Business Performance dashboard.

"As well as surpassing the half a million subscriber milestone, Xero is delivering on its growth plans and is already the market leader in cloud accounting in New Zealand, Australia and the UK," the company says in a statement.

Xero says it now has its sights focused on the journey to one million subscribers, as it works toward its own goal of millions of small businesses around the globe using the Xero platform.

"From farmers and retailers to tradespeople and architects – Xero is a proven solution that works for all types of small business owners," the company says.

"We have 500,000 subscribers around the world and many of those are doing business across borders not just in their home countries," explains Russ Fujioka, U.S. President, Xero. "Xero's cloudfirst platform is helping to erase global boundaries for small business owners and their trusted advisors."

Xero says its accounting, bookkeeping and ecosystem partners are a big part of Xero's global success and their contribution to the half million subscriber milestone is recognised. Drury adds, "It's our partners and customers who have supported us to keep raising the bar and deliver nothing less than best in class."