Xero Accelerates US Growth, Adds New Payments Capabilities and Embedded Payroll Offering

New features expand Xero's AI-native platform to simplify end-to-end financial management for small businesses and accountants

SAN MATEO, Calif., August 19, 2026--Xero, the global small business platform, today 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.