Global small business platform Xero has launched a bold new bill payment feature for its U.S. customers, marking a major step forward in its strategic partnership with BILL – the leading financial operations platform for SMBs. With Xero Online Bill Payment integration, U.S. small businesses can now seamlessly manage and pay bills directly within Xero, eliminating the need to switch between platforms.

This powerful update allows users to pay multiple bills in one go, track every payment in real-time, and access BILL’s vast proprietary network of 7.1 million members to easily discover and pay vendors. Xero customers also benefit from enhanced security, with two-step verification safeguarding every transaction. It’s a smarter, faster, and more secure way to take control of cash flow – all without leaving the Xero platform.

Key Takeaways

• U.S. small businesses can now pay bills directly through Xero using BILL.com’s infrastructure – no need for separate platforms or check-writing.
• With 7.1 million vendors in BILL’s network, users can easily find and pay suppliers without re-entering information, reducing errors and setup time.
• The system shows live payment statuses and automatically matches paid bills with bank feeds, helping keep books current and minimizing manual work.
• There’s no added subscription fee – just per-transaction costs after a 30-day fee waiver. Two-step verification and fraud monitoring add a layer of security for small businesses.

Xero Online Bill Payment for U.S. Users Through BILL.com Integration

Xero, the global small business accounting platform, has rolled out a new embedded online bill payments feature for its U.S. customers, powered by BILL.com. Announced on April 29, 2025, this addition allows small businesses to pay vendor invoices directly within the Xero environment – no more juggling multiple portals or manually writing and mailing checks. By integrating BILL’s technology, Xero is aiming to simplify what has historically been one of the most time-consuming and error-prone tasks in small business finance: managing accounts payable.

The new service was unveiled simultaneously from Xero’s Denver and Bill.com’s San Jose offices, underscoring a strategic alliance between ASX-listed Xero (XRO) and the U.S.-based Bill.com platform. According to Xero’s media release, the integration is now generally available to all U.S. customers on the Early, Growing, and Established subscription tiers without any additional rollout phases.

At its core, the embedded bill payments feature delivers four principal benefits in one cohesive experience: the ability to pay multiple bills in just a few clicks; vendor discovery and onboarding via BILL’s 7.1 million-member network; real-time status tracking so users always know which invoices have been settled and when; and two-step verification to safeguard financial data against fraud. Each of these functions removes a key friction point – batch processing replaces repetitive check-writing, network access eliminates vendor data entry, status updates supplant manual follow-ups, and enhanced security mitigates risk.

Beyond simple payment execution, the system automatically reconciles paid bills against connected bank feeds, marking invoices as settled and matching them to the corresponding transactions in Xero’s ledger. This auto-reconciliation reduces manual data entry errors and keeps accounting records continuously up to date, freeing business owners and advisors from hours of bookkeeping drudgery.

From a cost perspective, setting up online bill payments is free – there are no extra subscription fees or charges for additional users beyond what customers already pay for Xero. Instead, users incur only per-transaction fees when they select BILL as their payment method, and Xero is offering a promotional 30-day waiver on all transaction fees for customers who complete the BILL verification process during their initial onboarding. This model encourages small businesses to trial the service without upfront cost concerns, while still providing Xero and BILL with a predictable revenue stream based on usage.

Ariege Misherghi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AP, AR, and the accountant channel at Bill.com, emphasized the significance of the partnership, expressing enthusiasm about bringing Bill.com’s integrated bill pay features to Xero customers in the U.S. Through this integration, businesses can now manage bill payments more efficiently, access multiple payment methods, and tap into a vast vendor network for fast, secure transactions. The collaboration aims to deliver greater value to small businesses and accountants by simplifying workflows and enhancing cash flow visibility and control.

Diya Jolly, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Xero, underscored the critical role that outgoing payments play in managing overall cash flow. She noted that for small businesses, cash flow challenges can be the deciding factor between success and failure. Staying on top of daily financial activity isn’t just smart – it’s vital for survival. By giving business owners a clear view of both upcoming bills and incoming payments, Xero helps them stay organized and confident. This level of visibility turns financial management into a strategic asset, empowering entrepreneurs to proactively shape their business’s future instead of constantly responding to unexpected challenges.

Early adopters like Dan Quigley – an accountant who also manages a touring music band – are already seeing meaningful efficiency improvements. Quigley shared that once a bill is entered into Xero, it automatically appears in the reports without the need for extra syncing or manual adjustments. This seamless integration saves time and minimizes errors. He also noted that vendors, such as merchandise suppliers, are getting paid faster. The embedded bill pay solution has significantly reduced his manual reconciliation workload and sped up his overall payment processes.

This launch comes at a critical juncture for U.S. small businesses, nearly half of which reported cash flow pressures over the past year, and 58% stated they spend more than four hours each month managing accounts payable tasks. By consolidating bill creation, approval, payment, and reconciliation into a single workflow, Xero and BILL.com directly address these pain points and help prevent late fees, vendor disputes, and strained supplier relationships.

In the broader accounting software ecosystem, Intuit’s QuickBooks Online introduced its own Bill Pay service in 2023, offering users the ability to schedule ACH and check payments directly from QBO, invite vendors via the QuickBooks Business Network, and even select expedited next-day ACH transfers – features mirrored in Xero’s approach but underpinned by BILL.com’s extensive vendor network and security protocols. The competition between embedded payables solutions highlights the increasing demand for unified, digital-first financial operations.

Industry data underscores this shift: According to NACHA, the organization that oversees the U.S. ACH Network, the first quarter of 2025 saw 8.5 billion ACH payments valued at $22.1 trillion – a 4.2% increase in transaction volume and a 6.6% rise in value compared to the same period in 2024. As electronic payments become the norm, small businesses that move away from paper checks and disjointed banking portals are likely to gain a competitive edge through faster processing times and improved cash flow visibility.

By embedding bill payments directly within Xero’s platform, the partnership eliminates key friction points – logging into multiple portals, manual check-writing, delayed reconciliations, and siloed data – that have traditionally hindered small business operations and forecasting. Advisors and accounting firms servicing Xero clients can also leverage the tool to delegate payment preparations to team members while maintaining oversight through centralized approval workflows.

To maximize the benefits of the new feature, small businesses should map their existing vendor relationships against BILL.com’s network, inviting suppliers who aren’t yet members to join for streamlined payment processing. Setting up clear approval hierarchies within Xero ensures that the right managers vet payments prepared by staff, while routine reviews of payment status dashboards help preempt missed deadlines and identify potential cash flow bottlenecks – best practices that can turn a reactive AP function into a proactive cash management strategy.

For U.S. small businesses looking to streamline their payables, reduce manual overhead, and gain deeper insight into outgoing cash flows, the new online bill payments feature in Xero, powered by BILL.com, offers a consolidated, secure, and flexible solution that stands to redefine how invoices are settled and books are kept. Eligible customers can log in to their Xero accounts today to complete the BILL verification process and begin experiencing the efficiency gains of embedded bill pay immediately.

About Xero

Xero Limited is a publicly listed technology company in New Zealand that provides cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. Founded in 2006 by Rod Drury and Hamish Edwards in Wellington, where its headquarters remain, the company has since expanded with offices across Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, South Africa, and Singapore. Delivered via a software-as-a-service subscription model, Xero’s platform connects small businesses with their financial data, bank feeds, and advisors in real time, automating tasks such as bank reconciliation, invoicing, and expense management.

Xero went public on the New Zealand Exchange on 5 June 2007 and subsequently listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on 8 November 2012, trading under the ticker XRO and as a component of the S&P/ASX 200. Its software is now used by small businesses in more than 180 countries. In the fiscal year 2024, Xero reported revenue of NZ$2.103 billion and net income of NZ$227.8 million, supported by a global workforce of 4,610 employees

About BILL

BILL Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BILL) is a leading American fintech company that provides an integrated cloud-based financial operations platform for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Founded in April 2006 by René Lacerte as Cashboard, Inc., the company completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2019 and is headquartered in San Jose, California. Through its SaaS model, Bill.com automates accounts payable, accounts receivable, and spend & expense management, connecting hundreds of thousands of businesses with a proprietary network of over 5.8 million members to accelerate payments and streamline workflows.

In fiscal year 2024, Bill.com reported revenue of US$ $1.29 billion, underscoring strong demand for automated financial operations among its 460,000 business users and strategic partners, including leading U.S. financial institutions and accounting firms. The company has bolstered its platform through notable acquisitions – Divvy for $2.5 billion in June 2021 and Invoice2go for $625 million in September 2021 – expanding its spend management and receivables automation capabilities. Leveraging AI-driven analytics and predictive cash flow forecasting, Bill.com continues to innovate, empowering SMBs to gain real-time visibility, optimize cash flow, and thrive in an evolving financial landscape.

Conclusion

Xero’s new online bill payment feature, powered by BILL.com, gives U.S. small businesses a more efficient way to manage accounts payable—directly from within the Xero platform. By combining bill entry, payment, and reconciliation into a single system, the integration reduces manual work, improves accuracy, and helps business owners keep better track of their cash flow.

With access to BILL’s vendor network, real-time status updates, and added security measures, the feature is designed to save time and support more informed financial decisions. For businesses already using Xero, it’s a practical upgrade that adds value without complicating workflows.