Lecture Information

• Lecture Topic: Engager Live Updates: Xenon Integration, Companies House IDs, SIC Codes, Exports, and Workflow Tips
• Lecturer: [Name not stated] (Engager Host)
• Date & Time: 2025-09-04, 08:09 (Duration: 3622 seconds)
• Location: Online (Engager Live webinar)

📋 Overview of the Lecture

The host opened by confirming audio/video, asking attendees to submit questions via the Q&A box, and noting a busy session with multiple product updates and a live walkthrough of the Xenon integration. The session aimed to brief users on newly released and upcoming Engager features, practical pricing and workflow guidance, and related ecosystem tools that complement Engager.

The purpose was to ensure firms can adopt recent changes quickly, understand timelines (notably next week’s release), and leverage Xenon data for prioritization, pricing, and efficiency.

📚 Key Content

Topic One: Recent and Upcoming Engager Product Updates

• Two-factor authentication (2FA) improvements:
  • Faster QR code generation and broader compatibility (Google Authenticator, Microsoft, Apple Passwords, etc.).
• Integration authorization controls:
  • All integrations now support revoking authorization without deleting imported data (previously available for select integrations like Xenon and Adfin).
• Export long-list widget data:
  • CSV export added for areas like HMRC MTD widgets and Form Requests, enabling filtering and bulk action management in Excel.
• Companies House Personal ID for individuals:
  • New field for individuals/sole traders/contacts (not for limited companies).
  • Real-time validation and auto-formatting (auto-capitalization and dashes).
• Multiple SIC codes:
  • Support for up to four SIC codes per limited company, aligned with Companies House limits.
  • Overnight sync (Tuesday night to Wednesday) will pull all available SIC codes and prompt to save updates.
  • Forms, exports, and import sheets updated to handle up to four SIC codes and the personal ID.

Examples:

• “If I click on the question mark for HMRC MTD, I’ve now got the ability to export… it will have all these columns here and all the statuses.”
• “Every individual… now has the ability to store a Companies House personal ID… If you enter something in that’s wrong… it will flag that… we will do the formatting bit for you.”
• “You can now have up to four SIC codes… we’ve designed the forms so that they can handle all four SIC codes.”

Summary:

• Next release (Monday night; live Tuesday morning) delivers validated Companies House personal IDs for individuals, multiple SIC code support, exportable widget lists, and enhanced integration revocation. These improvements streamline compliance data handling and task management.

Topic Two: Xenon Connect Integration — Setup and Use

• Setup:
  • In Xenon: Settings > API tab > copy API key.
  • In Engager: Settings > Xenon Connect > paste API key to authorize.
  • Link each client manually via Client > General Info > Link (avoid mismatches).
• Kanban card enhancements:
  • Featured item configurable (e.g., Bookkeeping Health Score heart indicator; colors: red/amber/green).
  • Xenon Data slot per service shows a chosen metric (e.g., total issues, turnover), with time scopes (current FY, previous FY, rolling 12 months, last month, etc.).
  • Per-service default metric can be overridden per client to reflect different cadences (e.g., weekly vs monthly bookkeeping).
• Client-level Xenon panel:
  • Shows three fixed metrics (Health Score, Total Issues, Potential error value) plus one configurable metric chosen for the service.
• Pricing with Xenon data:
  • Custom fields can ingest Xenon values (e.g., annual revenue, health score, transaction volumes) with chosen time frames (rolling 12 months, FY, quarter, month).
  • Users can override Xenon-derived values for quotes (e.g., forecasted revenue).

Examples:

• “We will not touch a set of accounts… until the health score in Xenon is over 80% for that year.”
• “Every single custom field can be linked to Xenon data… I can say number of transactions over a 12-month period… then use these metrics to price.”

Summary:

• Xenon data now informs job prioritization, monitoring, and pricing. Per-service and per-client configuration provides flexibility, while fixed client KPIs give consistent visibility.

Topic Three: Pricing Strategy and Handling Software Costs

• Internal vs client-visible fees:
  • Use summarized fees in letters of engagement to avoid mismatches if some services are internal/hidden.
• Incorporating software costs:
  • Option 1: Fold mandatory software costs (e.g., Xenon, TaxCalc) into base fees of impacted services (e.g., bookkeeping, year-end accounts).
  • Option 2: Create internal services or use custom fields, but ensure letters of engagement show summarized totals to avoid itemization mismatches.
  • Some software may be treated as an internal efficiency gain rather than passed through to clients (e.g., TaxCalc error checker reducing review labor).
• Key pricing indicators:
  • Control which software appears as pricing factors via custom field “include in pricing factors” flags.

Examples:

• “If you want to charge £12 a year… increase [base] to £151… I wouldn’t [itemize]… use summarized fees so the client doesn’t try to reconcile line items.”
• “We’ve scrapped a whole review layer because the error checker in TaxCalc is so reliable…”

Summary:

• Prefer embedding non-optional software costs into base service fees and using summarized fee presentations. Use custom fields to manage visibility of pricing factors.

Topic Four: Recommended Ecosystem Tools — Apron vs Alternatives

• Apron capabilities:
  • Document capture (receipt and sales invoice line extraction).
  • Payment runs (bills and payroll), including client authorization via open banking without separate holding accounts.
  • FX support; bank statement extraction in beta.
• Pricing:
  • £5 per client per month for capture, capped at £199/month up to 200 clients.
  • One payroll payment per client per month included.
• Integration coverage:
  • Connects to Xero and QuickBooks; FreeAgent not currently supported; Sage unknown (ask Apron; Sage may prefer AutoEntry).
• Firm adoption notes:
  • Presenter’s firm fully replaced Dext and AutoEntry with Apron; reported significant cost savings and efficiency gains.

Examples:

• “It’s £5 per month per client… capped at £199 a month until you go past 200 clients.”
• “We’ve scrapped Dext… Everything goes through Apron… bank statement extraction… in beta… very good.”
• “You initiate the payment, the client authorizes it… via open banking.”

Summary:

• Apron offers strong value and functionality, potentially replacing multiple tools (Dext/AutoEntry), with competitive pricing and impactful payroll/bill payment features.

Topic Five: Roadmap and Release Timing

• Release timing:
  • Updates go live Monday night, available Tuesday morning.
• Roadmap status:
  • Completed: Xenon Connect.
  • Testing: CSV export from widgets, Companies House personal IDs, multiple SIC codes.
  • In development: One-off fees/services on pricing page; TaxCalc → Engager Phase 1; Proposal document and enhanced LOE tracking.
  • Short-term plan: Multiple addresses per client; middle name field; two-way sync with TaxCalc; internal email comms (Teams-like mentions) in jobs.

Examples:

• “Xenon Connect is now complete… Export data displayed on widgets… in testing… Multiple SIC codes… in testing.”
• “Short-term plan… multiple addresses… separate middle names… two-way sync to TaxCalc… internal communications on emails.”

Summary:

• Near-term releases focus on compliance data fidelity, pricing flexibility, and proposal/LOE workflows. Communication and data model improvements are planned.

📒 Key Takeaway

• Immediate value: Validated Companies House personal IDs for individuals and up to four SIC codes per company, plus CSV exports for long data lists, all arriving next week.
• Operational uplift: Xenon integration provides actionable metrics on job cards and pricing fields, enabling health-based prioritization and data-driven fees.
• Practical pricing: Fold mandated software costs into base service fees and use summarized LOE fees; selectively surface pricing factors via custom fields.
• Ecosystem advantage: Apron can consolidate document capture and payments at a compelling price point, with bank statement extraction imminent.

🔄 Q&A/Discussion

Question 1: How to see Xenon integration if it’s not visible? Answer 1: Log out, refresh the browser, and log back in to pull the latest version. Clear cache if the browser retains old assets.

Question 2: Can we delete prior custom fields created for Companies House IDs? Answer 2: Yes. Export existing data first, then delete the custom field in Settings > Custom Fields (bin icon). Use the new validated field thereafter.

Question 3: Can we revoke integration access without deleting data? Answer 3: Yes, now supported across integrations. Revoke authorization and remove data separately as needed.

Question 4: Exporting data behind widgets (e.g., HMRC MTD, form requests)? Answer 4: Yes, CSV export is available to work through long lists with statuses and columns for filtering.

Question 5: Multiple SIC codes support and behavior? Answer 5: Up to four SIC codes per company. Overnight sync will pull all available codes and prompt to save. Forms, imports, and exports updated accordingly.

Question 6: Adding personal code field in TaxCalc? Answer 6: TaxCalc is building a personal code field; release timing not confirmed.

Question 7: Timer reports CSV time columns look odd in Excel? Answer 7: Excel defaults vary. Send a screenshot to support rather than the file (opening may reformat), and the team will advise.

Question 8: Customizing clients list columns and filters? Answer 8: All Engager fields (including custom fields) are available as columns; apply filters similar to Excel to refine lists.

Question 9: Charging for software (e.g., Xenon, TaxCalc) without client seeing itemized lines? Answer 9: Use summarized LOE fees; fold mandated software costs into base service fees. Alternatively, use internal services/custom fields and ensure only summaries display.

Question 10: Do clients need a portal to e-sign? Answer 10: Yes for general e-signing (portal login provides identity and audit trail). Letters of Engagement are the exception and can be signed without portal login.

Question 11: Xenon metrics per service and health score on client list? Answer 11: One featured Xenon data point per service (plus the fixed three in client view). Health score isn’t a client-list column currently; suggest via the feature request portal.

Question 12: Unreconciled bank transactions via Xenon? Answer 12: Not available; Xenon’s API does not expose this metric at present.

Question 13: Pricing new clients without Xenon linkage? Answer 13: Quote based on client-provided data; schedule a review in ~3 months to reconcile against actuals via Xenon and adjust pricing up/down/unchanged accordingly.

Question 14: Apron support for FreeAgent/Sage? Answer 14: Currently supports Xero and QuickBooks; FreeAgent not supported. Sage unknown—check with Apron. Sage may prefer AutoEntry due to ownership.

Question 15: How does Apron payroll payments work? Answer 15: The firm sets up the payment run; the client authorizes via open banking. No separate holding accounts. One payroll payment per month is included.

Question 16: Where to control job card featured items (e.g., health score vs checklist)? Answer 16: In the Kanban card layout settings. Choose featured item (e.g., health score, checklist, current phase/team member) and configure the Xenon data slot per service.

💡 Suggestions

• Before next Tuesday:
  • Export and migrate any Companies House personal IDs from old custom fields to the new validated field.
  • Review services to set appropriate Xenon metrics per service; override per client where cadence differs.
  • Decide on pricing approach for mandated software; adjust base fees and LOE templates to use summarized fees.
• For Excel CSV issues:
  • Share screenshots with support to diagnose formatting behaviors specific to your Excel environment.
• For visibility:
  • Add relevant columns and filters on client lists to match your workflows.
• For roadmap influence:
  • Submit and vote on features via the in-app “Request a feature” portal (top-right menu).