Meet Gareth Salomon
After graduating from the University of Liverpool with a BA (Hons) in Accounting, he completed his AAT qualification before returning to the UK in 2009 to establish his own accountancy practice in Wrexham.
Working with businesses every day gave Gareth valuable insights into the realities of bookkeeping – and one recurring frustration that stood out above the rest.
The Problem That Sparked an Idea
Imagine reviewing bookkeeping records for multiple clients every week…
The same duplicate transactions.
The same coding errors.
The same reconciliation issues.
Over and over again.
After years of manually identifying these problems, Gareth found himself asking one question: “There must be a better way of detecting highly-probable bookkeeping errors programmatically within my own firm.
Building the First Version
From this, Gareth decided to build the solution himself.
Firstly, Gareth got in touch with a web developer he already knew through previous projects within his accountancy firm, together they started to build the first prototype of Xenon Connect that detected around 5 different types of common bookkeeping errors within Xero.
At this stage the software was an “itch that Gareth was scratching for his own team within his accountancy firm”.
However during 2020, Gareth realised that the software had a lot of potential to solve the same issues that were shared by other accountants and bookkeepers.
That was the moment Xenon Connect became something much bigger than an internal tool.
Instead of developing the software based on assumptions, Gareth then began speaking directly with accountants and bookkeepers to understand their biggest day-to-day challenges.
Those conversations continue today and have shaped many of the features within Xenon Connect.
Built With Accountants, Not Just For Them
This highlights Xenon Connects focus on solving real problems.
Every feature is designed with feedback from accountants and bookkeepers who use the software in practice.
From identifying highly probable bookkeeping errors to improving workflows and helping firms work more efficiently, the goal has always been simple:
Spend less time searching for problems, and more time adding value.
What does Xenon Connect do?
Since the initial prototype, Xenon Connect has grown exponentially.
Xenon Connect is cloud based software that plugs into bookkeeping packages such as Xero, FreeAgent, Sage, and QuickBooks online. It pulls the bookkeeping data from these platforms automatically and runs it through 29+ specific bookkeeping checks which automatically identifies highly-probable errors.
Where possible, it then allows the accountant or bookkeeper to push back corrections to the connected ledger in 1 click.
As well as bookkeeping quality checks, Xenon Connect also provides Xenon Systemise – a structured task workflow system, which embeds the data checks and bookkeeping data directly within it. For example, our VAT workflow template embeds our “Old Unpaid Invoice” data check within the bad debt review step of the task.
Additionally, our Xenon Insight module provides advisors and their clients with meaningful metrics that allows accountants and bookkeepers to price accurately and faster (transaction counts and bookkeeping complexity metrics), as well as providing performance and position metrics to make business decision making easier and faster for the client.
Who is Xenon Connect for?
Xenon Connect is built for accountants and bookkeepers in practice, allowing them to review the bookkeeping quality of their own work or of their clients work as well. In addition, accountants and bookkeepers often use Xenon Connect to review the bookkeeping data quality and transactional activity metrics at the client prospecting stage, in order to price accurately at the early stage of the relationship.
Why do businesses choose Xenon Connect over other providers?
Ultimately, our partners have told us that they are able to produce reports faster, whilst reducing the risk of financial errors, by using Xenon Connect.
If you’re ready to take a smarter approach to bookkeeping, there’s never been a better time to get started. Every new partner receives a free Partner Account for life, giving you the opportunity to experience Xenon Connect and discover how it could transform the way your practice works.