Cloud accounting is evolving fast, and two of the leading platforms, Xero and Dext, have introduced exciting new features to make your financial management easier, faster, and more accurate. Here’s what’s new and how it can benefit your business.
Xero’s new intuitive navigation: what’s changing and why it matters
If you’re a regular Xero user, you’ll soon notice a fresh look and feel when you log in. From September 2025, Xero is rolling out a redesigned navigation system to help you get things done more quickly and intuitively.
What’s changing in Xero’s navigation?
Xero’s new navigation is all about clarity and efficiency. Here are the key updates:
- Dedicated sales and purchases menus: The old ‘Business’ menu is now split into separate ‘Sales’ and ‘Purchases’ sections. This means you can jump straight to invoices, bills, quotes or purchase orders without extra clicks or confusion.
- Reporting front and centre: Reporting now sits in the main navigation bar, giving you one-click access to your key financial insights and analytics. No more hunting through menus to find the numbers that matter.
- New tax menu: All your tax features are grouped together in a dedicated menu, making it easier to manage compliance and deadlines.
- Streamlined settings: Settings are now accessible from every dropdown menu, as well as from a centralised settings page in the organisation dropdown. This means less time searching and more time doing.
- Smarter right-hand panel: The right-hand panel has been revamped to give you instant access to tools like search, help, notifications, and apps—no matter where you are in Xero.
Why is this beneficial?
- Faster, more logical workflow: The new layout is designed to match how accountants and business owners actually work. With clearer labels and smarter groupings, you can move from one task to the next without breaking your flow.
- Customisable homepage: The upcoming homepage (formerly the dashboard) will soon feature customisable widgets, giving you a tailored view of your business at a glance.
- Consistency across devices: The new navigation is designed to be consistent, whether you’re on desktop or mobile, making it easier to switch between devices.
When will you see the changes?
The new navigation is being rolled out gradually from 8 to 30 September 2025. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s coming soon! Xero is also providing resources and guides to help users get comfortable with the new layout. See this helpful article here: About the new navigation – Xero Central
Dext updates: smarter automation for your business
While Xero is making navigation easier, Dext is also rolling out powerful updates that make bookkeeping and document management even more seamless.
What’s new in Dext?
- Integrated payments with Airwallex: Dext now lets you manage, approve, and complete supplier payments directly within the platform, thanks to a new partnership with Airwallex. This means you can handle everything from invoice upload to payment reconciliation in one place, with built-in checks, multi-currency support, and real-time visibility.
- AI-powered accuracy: Dext’s AI now processes over 173 million receipts and invoices with 99% accuracy, returning bank statements in under ten minutes and handling millions of line items. This reduces manual errors and speeds up your workflow.
- UK VAT checking with name validation: Dext extracts VAT numbers from invoices and checks them against HMRC records, flagging invalid entries and mismatched supplier names. This helps reduce fraud and ensures compliance.
- Supplier aliases: Link name variations to the correct supplier, ensuring consistency and reducing manual corrections.
- Prepayments for Xero: Mark bills as prepayments in Dext and spread their cost over the right accounting periods. Dext will automatically generate and publish all necessary journals to Xero, keeping your reports clean and accurate—no more spreadsheets or manual journals.
- WhatsApp integration: Send receipts and invoices to Dext via WhatsApp, no mobile app required. Dext will appear as a contact, making it easy to share documents through an app you already use.
Why it’s useful for you
- Saves time and reduces admin: Dext automates data extraction from receipts, invoices, and bank statements, eliminating manual entry and reducing errors so you have more time to focus on running your business.
- Real-time insights: With instant uploads and seamless integration with Xero (and other platforms), you always have up-to-date financial data, making it easier to manage cash flow and make informed decisions.
Better collaboration: Dext makes it easy for you to submit paperwork in multiple ways (mobile app, email, desktop) reducing back and forth and keeping things moving.
For more information regarding Dext’s latest features, check our their post from the most recent product update: Dext’s Global Product Update Q3 – The Round-up
The next step
These updates are designed to make your life easier.
If you’d like help implementing any of these updates or want a walkthrough of the new features, feel free to reach out to our cloud accounting experts or your usual cloud contact at UHY - we are here to help.
