Calculating your ROI to attend the Xero Roadshow

We all enjoy roadshows and conferences for the opportunity to get out of the office, stretch the legs and catch up with peers.

But let’s talk ROI. Have you ever stopped to think about the ROI for attending a roadshow or a conference?

Importantly, is it worth your time or money?

The internet defines ROI (or Return On Investment) as, “A measure of the gain or loss generated on an investment relative to the amount of money invested”. ROI is usually expressed as a percentage and is typically used for personal financial decisions. For example, to compare a company's profitability, or to compare the efficiency of different investments.

The return on investment formula is:

ROI = (Net Profit / Cost of Investment) x 100

But, this can be a little hard to measure when it’s your time.

We know a lot of Xero partners find it difficult to justify spending time on non-billable work, so we thought we’d help you see what your expected ROI could be, and how attending the Xero roadshow can add value to your practice.

Here’s our take on the Xero Roadshow Agenda, and what you can expect to take away from each session:

Your first ROI begins with a free breakfast. Everybody loves a free meal, but importantly you’ll actually get time to connect with other Xero partners in your hood.

Do yourself a favour and get in early for breakfast. Inhale your first coffee. Meet someone new and check out all the ecosystem exhibitors.

The first session of the morning is likely to be delivered by Trent Innes, Rob Stone and/or one of the Australian leadership team at Xero.

This is a great chance to hear what the leadership team is focused on delivering for Australian partners and how the Xero business interprets all the changes occurring in government that will impact your clients, your team and your business. Xero like to present solutions to your problems.

We’re expecting great advice to be shared. Take notes and keep the conversation alive on twitter #XeroRoadshow @xero.

The deadline is fast approaching and there’s still a long way to go for the small business community. You’re likely to get a more practical look at how Xero is supporting you through Single Touch Payroll.

Expect to see a deep dive on how easy it is to manage inside Xero payroll as well as a next steps guide, content and webinars to help you on the journey.

Time to get some food and perhaps your second coffee.

The Ignition team are appearing at all 20 roadshows. This year you’ll find myself, Hugh, Brooke, Norman, Millie, Brendan and Trent at a Xero Roadshow near you. If you see us, give us a high-five and say hello! (We’re friendly and we know it).

Probably one of my highlights for the day (and I’m biased) but talking through end to end workflows and watching how the Xero tech stack aids you from books to tax, so seamlessly, directly into the ATO.

It’s all a little dreamy for me PLUS with the added bonus there’s a hint of new features and updates being released. I’m confident you’ll find useful information during this session.

After being blown away by all the new updates, content and strategies to redefine your business. You’ll probably be hungry (or at least need another coffee.)

Take this chance to chat with some of the other exhibitors, book a demo to learn more. Find your Xero account manager and enjoy the break before the real fun begins.

Ok now, this is our bread and butter. We love Xero and everything their feature heavy tech stack can offer. But we also love how the role practice apps of the ecosystem fit into this. During this session, you’ll get to hear from a range of different Xero Practice Apps and what they can do for your firm. Like the title of this blog suggests. Your goal is to determine your ROI for any and all the practice apps that make their way onto the stage.

We know that your ROI is super important. So important that we actually started to track and measure what the ROI was for any of our partners using Ignition in their business.

For example: Steph Hinds at Growthwise (Newcastle) says she saves 3-5 hours per client per year. Saving a whopping $625,000 in billable fees each year. When you consider Ignition starts at $99 per month, we think it helps paint a really clear picture on what the return on investment is. ($625,000 / 12 months) = $52,083 billable time - $99 per month for Ignition = $51,984 in billable time saved per month.

With this in mind, we wanted to find a way to help you determine your ROI to use Ignition. By answering this 8 question quiz, you’ll know exactly how effective our platform can be in your practice.

Here’s your last chance to go and chat to the exhibitors that blew your socks away during the last session. Take the time to go and speak to the app partner, book in a demo and figure out what your ROI needs to be.

That’s the day sorted. By this stage, you’re looking forward to a (third) coffee. You’ve inhaled a lot of content. You’ve had a lot of conversations. And now you need to dissect it all and determine - was today worth my time.

Based on our research we believe that you’re in for a jam-packed day. You’ll be guaranteed to have fun, learn a lot and importantly start to determine the return on investment required to make the day worth it.

Don’t be a stranger! If you see a Ignition t-shirt or snapback hat, say hello, take a selfie and catch us on twitter @ignitionapp.