Glen has been involved in technology for accountants for 12 years. He worked with practices to ensure they made the most of the technology available and provided services such as installations and sever management.

After a coffee with Gary Turner 7 years ago, Glen joined Xero with his wealth of knowledge and contacts in the UK accountancy industry. He has been focused on educating practices on the benefits of cloud accounting and is pleased to move into a role where he can promote system benefits that improve both practice and client functions.

He enjoys the opportunity to guide accountants though the partner journey. The process looks at where the accountant is now, where they want to be and creates a plan to get them there. Plans can cover years as the client to cloud transition is no two week event.

Recent changes to the learning area have seen an improved Xero university and certification area, all of which are free to Xero partners.

Due to the length of time Glen has worked in the accounting technology sector and with cloud, he has noticed a significant change in the way people approach it. It used to be about security but now people are used to using the cloud and aware of function, they are asking about the benefits.

The ecosystem has also changed, with initial add-ons being all about the financial information, the receipt capture and reporting. Since then the market has changed, driven by the needs of the businesses rather than accountants, the ecosystem is now filled with industry specific apps. Xero have moved to the term app rather than add-on as Xero is only in the background of many programs now available.

In the future, Glen sees the biggest development being in the use of data. The data being created from the use of cloud programs provides accountants with a great opportunity to help clients grow their businesses.

To find out more about Xero partner program click here: https://www.xero.com/uk/partners/partner-program/