Xero

Xero sells cloud accounting to small businesses and their accountants, and it is listed on the ASX. FY26 operating revenue rose 31% to NZ$2.8 billion, with 4.9 million customers at year end (High). Organic growth, without Melio, was 21%. Xero closed its US$2.5 billion upfront purchase of Melio, a US bill pay platform, on October 15, 2025 (High). The bottom line is that Xero is a fast-growing ledger that now wants to move money and run agents inside it.

The US is the growth bet. Melio added NZ$205.0 million of revenue in FY26, and Xero expects Melio to break even on adjusted EBITDA in the second half of FY28 (High). Gross margin fell from 89.0% to 83.9%, mostly because payments carry lower margins than software (High). Xero said it passed 5 million customers in July 2026.

What does it sell?

In the US, Xero sells three plans with no per-user fees: Early at $27, Growing at $59, and Established at $97 per month (High). New customers get 80% off for three months. Early caps the plan at 20 invoices and 5 bills. Multi-currency, project tracking, and expense claims sit only on Established.

Every plan sends invoices, accepts online invoice payments, handles sales tax, and pays bills by free standard ACH. Payment fees apply to online invoice payments and to other bill payment methods (High). Tap to pay runs on Stripe, and payroll comes from Gusto at $36 per month plus $6 per person. Auto-reconcile costs $5 per month on Early and is included above it.

What does it ship for AI agents?

Shipped: JAX is Xero’s agent layer inside the ledger. Auto Bank Reconciliation matches high-confidence bank transactions and explains each match, with 100 million+ transactions reconciled since launch (High, company figure). Smart Document Capture extracts data from source documents into Xero. Integrations bring Xero data into Microsoft 365 Copilot, Claude, and ChatGPT. XeroForce, announced in July 2026, builds custom agents from plain-language prompts.

Absent: JAX Payment Follow Ups is announced but not shipped. It will build per-customer collection plans from payment history, including SMS nudges (High). Xero gave no release date or price. Bill Protection, Cash Flow Actions, and Document Requests are also announced for the coming months.

What does a buyer need to check?

Most of the collections story is still a roadmap. Until Payment Follow Ups ships, Xero chases with scheduled reminder emails, which a third-party guide caps at five per invoice (Medium). Buyers who need collections now must still add an AR tool. Xero’s own releases use the future tense for most JAX cash features.

Plan limits bite early. A business that sends more than 20 invoices a month must move from $27 to $59. Payment fees sit outside the subscription and get no promotional discount (High). US bill pay now depends on folding Melio into Xero, and Xero says that integration is still on track rather than done (Medium).

What to watch

• Payment Follow Ups shipping with a date and a price. Shows first in Xero release notes for each region.
• Melio reaching adjusted EBITDA breakeven. Shows first in Xero half-year and full-year results.
• XeroForce agents that write to the ledger, not just read it. Shows first in Xerocon announcements.
• US customer growth after the Melio integration. Shows first in Xero’s ASX results.