I see where you are coming from, but I don’t agree that it’s...

I see where you are coming from, but I don’t agree that it’s the right strategy.

Xero sees itself as the iPhone of accounting software. They want the best core platform for their target market (SME's). They have specifically opened themselves up to third party apps (like Apple with the App Store) to make sure their customers get best of breed solutions, rather than trying to be everything to everyone.

It’s a little different to what people are used to, but it’s the only way to deliver sustainable value. For example, Xero with Zambion (payroll) will easily accommodate 1,000 or more employees - does it cost more, yes, but you are getting a payroll application unlike anything that has been available in the past (which in my experience usually comes with the ability to remove a payroll or HR employee and save costs).

To be honest, if Xero said that they were going to hire a team of developers to try and build their versions of the third party apps - that would be a huge red flag for me.

Is Xero perfect - no - I have a long list of improvements logged with them (I run an an accounting firm, we use Xero as do 95% of our clients) - but if they don’t focus on the core platform they will become irrelevant and lost in the noise.