Xero has this week launched a business software marketplace so that small businesses and their advisors can easily search and find the right add-on solutions for their business.

The Xero ecosystem has grown by over 35 per cent in the last year to over 350 business solutions including Point of Sale, Inventory Management and Job Costing that leverage the Xero accounting platform.

Xero CEO Rod Drury says software developers are spending millions of dollars developing applications to make life easier for small business owners.

“The success of the Xero ecosystem meant we needed to rethink how small businesses and their advisors discover the best solutions for them,” Drury said.

“The add-on marketplace, unveiled at the Xerocon Global Developers Conference in Sydney, is the next evolution in small business software, showcasing all of Xero’s add-on partners and their unique solutions to our more than 330,000 global customers.

“There are 42,000 active installations of add-ons in use – a 280 per cent increase in the last year. And, last month alone, there were over 60,000 visits generated from our marketplace to our add-on partners, a 28 per cent increase in the last year.

“We’ve created the most vibrant global ecosystem for small business software. Now our customers can easily identify add-on solutions that fit their business’s specific requirements, and then connect that to the accounting data.”

Earlier this year Forbes magazine recognised this global innovation, heralding Xero the ‘World’s most innovative growth company’.

NZ Managing Director Victoria Crone says the marketplace shows the ratings and reviews that are associated with Xero’s add-on partners so everyone knows which add-ons work well for different types of situations.

“The ability to search the add-on marketplace by keyword, category, or for solutions for specific industries helps everyone find the right tools for the job,” Crone adds.

“Data flows right into Xero from other parts of our customers’ business, such as a Point of Sale solution or an eCommerce platform.”

Vend CEO Vaughan Rowsell believes being part of an add-on ecosystem is critical in today's market.

"Every customer has slightly different needs and looks to add-ons to provide the complete solution for them," he adds.

"Plus together, we all leverage off of each other’s efforts to promote the marketplace and expose customers to other fantastical online apps.”

Drury says Xero’s add-on ecosystem will always welcome new add-on partners to the ecosystem. Xero recently crossed $100m in annualised revenue and has over 900 staff.

“Our estimated annual revenue generated from add-ons connected to Xero is already over $33 million and we are seeing hundreds of new jobs created,” Drury adds.

“We’re thrilled to see the investment being made by hundreds of business software startups that will make life better for small business owners all over the world.”