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Build your app advisory services

Confidently recommend apps to your clients to help them unlock success and grow your advisory services – and revenue.
Advisor helping client understand apps in the Xero App Store.

As a trusted business advisor, your clients look to you for advice on ways to reach their business and financial goals. In fact, as many as 84% of practices say their clients rely on them for app recommendations, yet only about half of all practices are offering this as a service, and even fewer are monetising it, according to Xero’s 2024 Leveraging the App Advantage reports*. 

App advisory is another way you can help your small business clients on their path to success, while also taking the opportunity to grow your firm’s revenue and profit.

Man on Xero App Store on a tablet.

What is app advisory?

App advisory involves understanding the challenges or opportunities your clients are facing, and advising them on the right apps to connect with Xero to help. Scroll to learn more.
    Man on Xero App Store on a tablet.

    Why provide app advisory services?

    There are a number of benefits for both your clients and your own firm when you decide to add app advisory to your practice's services.

    Unlock growth for clients

    Connecting with the right apps helps small businesses unlock profit and efficiency within their business.

    Boost efficiency

    From cutting down on manual data entry to automating processes, apps can help increase productivity and therefore profitability for your clients.

    Help businesses scale

    Using apps allows small businesses to easily scale up their operations and grow rapidly. Your clients have a platform for success from day one.

    Grow your practice

    App advisory can become a lucrative service that you offer alongside your core services. Practices that offer app advisory see higher client growth than those who don’t.^

    Future-proof your business

    Offering app advisory services can strengthen your value proposition so you retain and grow your client base without competing on price.

    Create ongoing revenue

    App advisory is a way to grow the regular, recurring revenue coming into your business, and increase the lifetime value of your customers.

    “App advisory services help our clients overcome their challenges and scale their businesses faster.”

    Liz Noble, Providence Financial, United Kingdom
      Advisor discussing apps with a client.
      Advisor discussing apps with a client.
      Woman shopping for apps on the Xero App Store,

      Getting started with app advisory

      Practices that offer app advisory as a billable service are more likely to experience growth in both revenue and profit.** Learn how to set up your advisory services and prepare to take on your first app advisory client.
      Read the guide
      Woman shopping for apps on the Xero App Store,

      What does app advisory look like?

      You can choose the level of involvement you want to have with app advisory, from simply recommending an app to assisting with implementation and training. Below are some services you may include in your app advisory:

      Business profiling

      Profile your clients’ business to understand their unique requirements, and map these against various apps’ capabilities.

      App recommendation

      Research, select and recommend apps based to clients based on their specific needs and jobs to be done.

      Implementation support

      Support clients during implementation and provide training. This could involve migrating their data or working with a dedicated technical specialist.

      App training

      Create a training framework and teach clients how to use apps, including how to take advantage of functionality and any reporting features.

      Ongoing support

      Provide dedicated, ongoing app support to clients via phone, email or web, with agreed service levels.

      A mix of services

      You can group these tasks to design your app advisory service, creating bundles or packages that you can offer to clients within your pricing model.

      Woman sitting on floor with apps and processes connecting above her.

      Practicing app advisory

      App advisory is an ongoing cycle of activity in which you review your clients’ needs and make further recommendations. Learn how to build and maintain this cycle in our guide.
      Read the guide
      Woman sitting on floor with apps and processes connecting above her.

      Recommend apps to your clients in one click

      It's easy to recommend apps to clients via the Xero App Store. Your recommendations will be surfaced the next time your client logs in.
      Find out how
      Hand holding mobile device, browsing Xero App Store.
      Hand holding mobile device, browsing Xero App Store.
      Advisor recommending an app to a client via the Xero App Store.

      Looking for apps for your practice?

      Discover our top app picks for optimising your practice and helping your clients boost their businesses.
      Learn more
      Advisor recommending an app to a client via the Xero App Store.

      *84% of US-based practices, 71% of Canada-based practices, and 67% of UK-based practices say their clients rely on them for app recommendations. 50% of Canada-based practices and 46% of US-based practices are offering software and app advisory as a service.

      **Canada Leveraging the App Advantage Report, 2024, US Leveraging the App Advantage Report, 2024

      ^United Kingdom Leveraging the App Advantage Report, 2024

      View all reports here

      Although Xero reviews each app in the Xero App Store, we can’t give any guarantees. It’s up to you to assess the performance, quality and suitability of any app before going ahead.