Xero, the global small business platform, has announced significant product updates across its payments, payroll and bookkeeping offerings, demonstrating Xero's focus on delivering a leading solution in the US.
Anchored in its 3x3 strategy, Xero introduced Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, and Melio Expense Management; this delivers on Xero’s commitment to unifying accounting, payments, payroll and tax in one connected financial management platform for small businesses and their accountants and bookkeepers. The announcements were showcased at Xerocon US alongside newly launched AI capabilities within Xero’s agentic platform, JAX, as Xero continues to deliver industry-leading automation and insights to its 5 million customers worldwide.
Xero Payroll, built for small businesses
Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, is built directly into Xero, enabling small businesses and their advisors to manage payroll alongside payments and financial workflows through a single connected experience. As a result, customers can manage cash flow into and out of their business in the one place that’s already familiar to them.
The solution also includes unlimited payroll runs, automated federal, state and local tax calculations and filings, direct deposit, employee and contractor payments, benefits calculations and employee self-service capabilities, helping reduce manual work while providing a clearer view of cash flow.
Small businesses shouldn't have to stitch together multiple tools to manage their finances, and their accountants shouldn't have to untangle multiple systems to see the full picture,” said Matan Bar, US CEO of Xero. “Today's announcements demonstrate our continued investment in the US market, helping our customers to get more done in one fully unified, AI-powered financial management platform.”
Melio payments and AI enhancements, created to reduce toggling and toil
Melio, which was acquired by Xero in 2025, continues to expand its capabilities with the launch of Melio Expense Management, a tool that lets businesses track and categorize card expenses in real-time without switching credit cards or adopting new tools. With Expense Management, small business owners can not only keep the rewards and cash back they love from their existing cards, but also eliminate the manual grind by streamlining receipt collection and expense categorization. Expense Management, which is accounting software-agnostic, extracts the details, categorizes the expense and syncs it directly to the customer’s accounting platform alongside the business' existing bills and payments.
Melio has also announced the launch of Casper, an AI-powered client manager for accounting firms. Casper proactively identifies missing information, communicates with clients and helps keep bookkeeping work moving throughout the month, while leaving accountants and bookkeepers in control. By resolving routine questions and collecting required documents earlier, Casper is designed to reduce client chasing and make month-end more efficient. Casper works across every ledger, and complements JAX, Xero’s agentic platform, which continues to automate workflows and deliver actionable insights natively within Xero.
In addition, Melio recently launched the Melio API, a self-serve, B2B payout API that gives developers direct access to Melio’s payment rails including ACH, real-time payments, paper checks, domestic and international wires and virtual cards, thereby simplifying third-party payment processes. Melio continues to handle payment execution, compliance, risk and delivery, allowing total flexibility between the payer and the payee, and eliminating the need for the payee to onboard onto Melio to receive payment.
Melio is also expanding its instant payments capability to enable small businesses to pay at any time, day or night, including weekends and holidays - a huge differentiator in the payments space. The Melio API is live, available in closed beta here, with broader availability in the coming months ahead.
Today’s announced innovations are powered by Xero’s AI-native operating system, Xero OS, and grounded in Accountable Intelligence, giving small businesses and accountants the financial control and clarity they need in one, unified platform.
Disclosures:
This feature was adapted from Xero furnished press content. Source materials were adapted by Insightful Accountant solely for informational and educational purposes.
Xero is a global small business platform that helps customers supercharge their business by bringing together the most important small business tools, including accounting, payroll and payments — on one platform. Xero’s powerful platform helps customers automate routine tasks, get timely insights, and connects them with their data, their apps, and their accountant or bookkeeper so they can focus on what really matters. Trusted by millions of small businesses and accountants and bookkeepers globally, Xero makes life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. For further information, please visit xero.com.
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