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Are you a Xero Partner?

Have you read and understood the Xero's Terms of Use? As a valued Xero partner and reseller, you play a crucial role in introducing and supporting Xero users. We want to remind you of your obligations to your customers, particularly in ensuring they are well-informed about Xero's Terms of Use and their responsibilities as end-users.

"Responsible" Xero Partners

Informed consent

Xero Partners: Ensure Your Clients’ Informed Consent Now

Are you just a Xero Partner, or a ‘Champion’ – Informed consent is non-negotiable. It means that you have informed your clients so they fully understand the Xero subscription Terms of Use, including potential data privacy, security risks AND backing up, before they commit. This is your responsibility as their trusted advisor.

Failing to secure informed consent exposes your clients to unnecessary risk and is a direct violation of your duty of care.

If you’ve recommended Xero, make absolutely sure your clients are aware of their obligation to back up their data. Non-compliance with Xero’s Terms of Use is a serious matter.

Lead by example:

Thoroughly explain Xero’s terms and conditions in plain language.
Provide resources for clients to independently review and understand their obligations.
Document your client’s informed consent with a signed agreement.

Don’t wait. Protect your clients and your practice. Prioritise informed consent today.

Leading by example, be a true 'Champion'!

Here is a sample of the action taken by a couple of reputable, trusted advisors...

“When we recommend Xero to our clients our reputation is on the line. We use Control-C which is an additional back up of their data as a way to protect our goodwill and also give clients the peace of mind that their data is protected, safe and that we are looking after them.

Control-C is a great way to safeguard against the “uncontrollable” events in life.

In a world where we’re all future-proofing our businesses, we use this tool as another way to prove to our clients that we’re proactive and looking after their best interests.”

Greg Millar & Vanessa Williams – Directors

ALLIOTT NZ LTD

“As business and IT systems move to being paperless and online it’s important to consider if appropriate safeguards are in place to protect from user errors, malicious actors or just problems with the software that we are using. We back up our storage and our email – as business critical software we back up our Xero too and we recommend to our clients that they do the same. Control-C are great to deal with, they have made the process easy and cost effective.”

Andrew Millington - Director

The Accounting Hub Ltd

“Did you know Xero’s terms of use requires you to keep your own back-up of data stored within Xero?

Clause 37. of Xero’s terms of use states: “Data loss is an unavoidable risk when using any technology. You’re responsible for maintaining copies of your data entered into our services.”

If Xero has a system issue, their priority is to restore their data, not yours.

And furthermore, while IRD legislation allows financial data to be stored on international cloud-based accounting platforms such as Xero, you are also required to have a copy of your financial data available on hand should you lose access to such cloud-based services.

In light of this, we think it is very important to retain an independent copy of your financial data such that if the worst was to happen, you have a local copy available.

That’s where Control-C comes in. Control-C offers a simple automated back-up solution for Xero data users to maintain compliance with Xero’s terms of use and IRD’s electronic data retention requirements.”

Kiwitax Client Update Newsletter

Control-C - Data backup solution

Your Obligations To Your Xero Customers as a Xero Partner and Trusted Advisor

As a valued Xero partner and reseller, you play a crucial role in introducing and supporting Xero users. We want to remind you of your obligations to your customers, particularly in ensuring they are well-informed about Xero’s Terms of Use and their responsibilities as end-users.

Key Points to Highlight for Your Customers:

Data Backup Responsibility: Emphasize that your customers are solely responsible for backing up their Xero data. This is crucial to protect them from potential data loss. Recommend a reliable backup solution like Control-C.
Data Ownership and Xero’s License: Explain that while customers own their data, they grant Xero a license to use it for service provision and improvement.
Acceptable Use and Compliance: Stress the importance of using Xero in a lawful and responsible manner, adhering to all applicable laws and regulations.
Third-Party Services: Remind customers that Xero may integrate with third-party services and that they are responsible for understanding those services’ terms of use.

Your Duty of Care:

Informed Consent: As a reseller, you have a duty of care to ensure your customers provide informed consent when using Xero. This means they must fully understand their obligations and potential risks.
Liability: Failure to adequately inform your customers about Xero’s Terms of Use could expose you to potential litigation. It’s essential to prioritize clear communication and transparency.

Recommendations:

Proactively Communicate: Include information about Xero’s Terms of Use in your onboarding process and customer communications.
Offer Resources: Provide links to Xero’s Terms of Use and other relevant resources.
Encourage Questions: Be available to answer your customers’ questions and address any concerns they may have.

By fulfilling your obligations as a reseller, you contribute to a positive and successful experience for your Xero customers. This helps protect both your customers and your business.

If you have any questions or require further guidance, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Key Takeouts

Your Legal Requirements

Liability: The Xero Terms of Use clearly outline the rights and responsibilities of both Xero and its users. Understanding Xero's Terms of Use is essential to protect both the partner and their clients from potential litigation. You should have read and understood Xero's Terms of Use!

Informed Consent

Xero Partners: This is your responsibility as a trusted advisor.

Informed consent is non-negotiable. It means your clients fully understand the Xero subscription terms, including potential data privacy and security risks, before they commit.

Ensure Your Clients’ Informed Consent Now.

Duty of Care

Failing to secure informed consent exposes your clients to unnecessary risk and is a direct violation of your duty of care as their trusted advisor.
If you’ve recommended Xero, make absolutely sure your clients are aware of their obligation to back up their data. Non-compliance with Xero’s Terms of Use is a serious matter.

Protect Your reputation with a Xero backup, by Control-C. Backup your Clients financial data or as a minimum, at least make them aware of the requirement to!

Be a Hero, Lead by Example

Thoroughly explain Xero’s terms and conditions in plain language. Provide resources for clients to independently review and understand their obligations. Document your client’s informed consent with a signed agreement. Don’t wait. Protect your clients and your practice. Prioritise informed consent today.

As a ‘Xero Partner’, and your clients ‘Financial and Business Advisors’, you should be aware of your client’s obligations in ensuring their data is backed up, and also held within their country.

Many Accountants use Control-C on behalf of their clients as an in-house solution for peace of mind, ensuring data integrity and to meet various local tax law or legal obligations. While others use Control-C as a value-add service, offering incremental revenue and a near data-insurance solution. Some use Control-C for both.

Below is an example of the sort of communication that should happen before the customer signs up to Xero or starts entering data into Xero. Please feel free to take a copy.

A very valid question from your customer Inevitably, Xero users will ask you what would happen if Xero were to experience an outage for any extended period of time – how would they access their critical financial data. Impossible! The ONLY copy of that data lives in Xero, with Zero backup.

Important Xero Terms of Use:

Your Obligations as a Xero User

Dear [Customer Name],

As your trusted Xero partner and reseller, we are committed to ensuring you have a successful and compliant experience using Xero. To that end, we want to highlight some key obligations outlined in Xero’s Terms of Use that you, as the end-user, must be aware of.

Key Points from Xero’s Terms of Use:

Data Backup: You are solely responsible for maintaining adequate backups of your data entered into Xero. This protects you from potential data loss due to unforeseen circumstances such as technical issues, cyberattacks, or accidental deletions.
Data Ownership: While you retain ownership of your data, you grant Xero a license to use, copy, and modify your data to provide the service and improve its functionality.
Acceptable Use: You must use Xero in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and refrain from any activities that could harm the service, other users, or Xero’s reputation.
Third-Party Services: Xero may integrate with third-party services. You are responsible for reviewing and understanding the terms of use for those services.

Our Recommendation:

Regularly Back Up Your Data: We strongly recommend implementing a robust backup solution to protect your valuable Xero data. Consider using a service like Control-C, specifically designed for Xero backups.
Review Xero’s Terms of Use: Familiarize yourself with the full Xero Terms of Use to ensure you understand your obligations and responsibilities as a user.

Disclaimer:

As your Xero partner, we have a duty of care to ensure you are informed about your legal obligations when using Xero. Failure to comply with Xero’s Terms of Use could result in legal consequences for your business. We strongly encourage you to review the terms carefully and seek legal advice if you have any questions.

By recommending Xero and providing this information, we aim to obtain your informed consent and ensure you are fully aware of your responsibilities as a Xero user.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or require further assistance.

Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Company]

Specifically Clause 37. Data Loss

Legal Requirements

Are there any legal requirements that I should be aware of when storing my financial records in the cloud?

Users of any computing services, whether local or in the cloud, should be aware of their applicable tax legislation obligations when retaining business records in electronic form, held by a third party, off-shore.

Backups are an important part of your business and offer contingency when things go wrong.

Why do I need to backup?

Is my data not safe in the cloud?

While your data is safe in “the cloud”, we all know the unforeseen can happen, and we all know we should have a secure copy of our precious data somewhere. Any business advisor would say that it is good business practice. We store your data securely in (New Zealand based) data centres. With Control-c you can download any of your data at any time. You can also have access to any attachments that have been stored in Xero.

With backapp you can then create easy to view reports and easily and quickly search for all sorts items in your Xero data.

You may like to read the other articles in our FAQ’s about backing up Xero and storing financial records in the cloud.

Contact

Main: (+64) 9 520 6397
Mobile: (+64) 21 40 30 33

Level 2, 142 Broadway
Newmarket
Auckland 1023
New Zealand

Email: [email protected]

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