This article is the fifth and final edition of our Scaling with Xero series. Over the past five weeks, weâve been revisiting standout insights from our recent webinar series, where finance leaders and app partners shared how far businesses can push Xero.
So far, weâve tackled Xeroâs overall limits, inventory management, multi-entity month end, and consolidated reporting. This week, the focus shifts to global payments.
Our panel was made up of:
Together, they examined Xeroâs strengths and pressure points, and shared how finance leaders are overcoming the complexities of global payments at scale without making the jump to ERP.
Xero-First: a scalable starting point
Our panel recognised that, for single-entity, domestic businesses, operating with Xero and a traditional bank is usually straightforward. Bank feeds connect and flow seamlessly, reconciliations are quick, and approvals are simple. Lucy Winterbourn identified how Xero-native tools are more than sufficient for simple businesses.
âThe bank recs are really good. The expense claims within Xero work really well when youâre a bit smaller.â
As long as a business remains in one country, one currency and one entity, the Xero set-up is efficient, reliable and cost-effective.
The tipping point
The real friction begins when businesses begin to expand internationally.
Adding your first overseas jurisdiction involves opening foreign bank accounts, managing FX exposure, paying global suppliers and controlling spend across borders. What was once simple quickly becomes a mess of hidden costs, forms and lost visibility.
Will Buckley noted the wake-up call faced by many of his clients.
âMost teams only realise the true cost of FX after a few transfers, then the fees shock hits.â
Lucy echoed the pain from her experience expanding beyond New Zealand.
âWe were becoming reliant on people submitting their expense claims⌠financial reporting was inaccurate and we had no visibility.â
This is the point where finance leaders recognise that they need something beyond Xero to maintain control, and start to wonder whether an ERP is inevitable. But, Will stated, modern app solutions can extend Xero far further than many realise.
"Expanding overseas doesnât have to trigger an ERP project. With the right apps, you can keep Xero at the core and still get the controls, visibility, and scalability you need."
Solving the global finance puzzle
Xero alone doesnât solve the structural challenges that arise once a business operates across borders. This is where Airwallex can enter the picture.
By centralising global finance into one platform that integrates directly with Xero, it gives finance teams the ability to scale internationally without any inefficiencies around international banking, FX costs and employee spend.
Emily Yanay highlighted the common first entry point for Airwallex customers.
âWe provide businesses with local banking details in over 20 countries and currencies, streamlining the ability to expand overseas easily before they need a person on the ground.â
For others, the realisation of the need for a centralised global finance platform may only arise when hidden FX costs start to add up, or when fragmented expense claims undermine reporting. Lucy describes the process her team went through.
âWe went from finance chasing and recoding transactions to finance guiding decisions. People love using the app: itâs intuitive, automated, and means we finally have real-time visibility of spend.â
This is a good demonstration of how powerful the right apps can be when layered onto Xero. However, the panel were also quick to point out that choosing the right tools is only part of the story. The bigger challenge often comes in how tools are implemented and managed as the stack grows.
Implementation wisdom: solving the 80%
Rolling out new systems means dealing with change management, employee adoption and the risk of creating a patchwork of half-used tools.
Will highlighted that scaling with Xero successfully is less about chasing every new app, and more about building a lean, usable stack that actually sticks.
"Donât underestimate the impact of cognitive load."
Experience has taught Will how to do things the right way:
- Solve 80% of the workflow well (and don't add random tools to chase that final 20%).
- Avoid tools that save seconds but add complexity.
- Prioritise adoption within the team over new features.
- Learn from your peers.
This lesson was echoed by Lucy, who described what can happen if you donât follow these rules.
âThere are shiny things everywhere, but finance ends up carrying the burden of failed implementations. Solve the big things, review annually, and donât switch just because of a sales pitch.â
Think about the future
Another theme running through the session was scalability. While todayâs challenges might be FX fees or opening a new account, the real question for finance leaders is how to build a stack that grows with the business.
Emily explained how Airwallex has been designed to support that journey:
âThe platform grows as your business grows. Whether youâre just incorporating your first entity or managing 30+, our global entity management features give you one place to see balances, approve transfers, and control spend across the group.â
And Lucy described how Aurorâs use of Airwallex has already evolved:
âWe started by solving expense pain points, but quickly expanded into using virtual cards for teams, managing multi-entity accounts in one dashboard, and even optimising yield on surplus cash. Each step gave us more visibility and more control.â
The panel highlighted how scaling on Xero isnât about finding a permanent end state. Itâs about building a lean, adaptable stack that can evolve as the business grows.
The bottom line
The panelâs message was clear: Xero remains a powerful foundation, but scaling globally requires rethinking payments and spend management by using the right apps.
- Xero + domestic bank works well, until it doesnât.
- Airwallexâs transparent FX, local accounts and smart spend controls free finance teams from the admin.
- Finance leaders should focus on solving the 80% and keeping stacks lean.
- Peer communities like CFO Techstack help teams cut through vendor noise and learn what really works.
And as for ERPs, Jack puts it simply.
âEven enterprises on ERP still rely on add-ons. The difference is: you can get the same capability earlier, faster, and cheaper with Xero plus the right apps.â
If you missed the full conversation, you can watch the recording here.
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