Your recap of accounting tech developments in 2025

MYOB Practice Compliance has released a Client Accounting module, which now offers all major tax return types on its platform. Additional improvements included flexibility to adjust returns, easier tracking of tax lodgement dates, and auto-fill asset depreciation functionality.

JetPackWorkflow has introduced capacity planning functionality and the option to add budgeted time to tasks. In late 2025, Intuit launched Intuit Accountants Suite, which integrates 5 core capabilities and includes embedded AI agents on an AI Native platform. Australian firms can request beta access to the platform.

XBert has extended the ability to create custom data checks on tasks and time data; for example, it can alert you when the time used exceeds 20 per cent of the estimated time on a task. The XBert Timeflow capacity planning board now shows additional information, including tasks and key dates.

Karbon completed a long-awaited full integration with Xero, enabling the syncing of contacts, invoices and payments. I particularly like that they delivered what they described as 20 small but mighty updates sparked by Karbon Community, which included the ability to add notes to a desired week directly from Triage. Within Xero Practice Manager, client notes are now shared between practice tools, and you can update the priority and state for multiple jobs at the same time from within the Job Manager.

Workpapers

2025 seems to be the year everyone is talking about workpapers. In the social groups I’ve seen several people sharing their fancy spreadsheet workpapers, while Xero partnered with BGL Corporate Solutions to offer a new Xero workpapers solution, and Cloudoffis’s Tax Sorted workpapers now securely integrate with the ATO portal, offering Client tax history at a glance.

It has built-in ready-to-use checklists, the ability to link workpapers across line items and jobs, and the option to lock them down when finalised. Wolters Kluwer unveiled a workflow dashboard for CCH iFirm workpapers. Active Ledger Working Papers introduced smart email notifications, automatically alerting relevant people when a binder reaches a defined status, such as Review, and MYOB Practice now has more than 30 standardised Compliance Workpapers.

Receipt scanning

Dext introduced Vault AI-powered document storage, which automatically summarises, names, tags and categorises documents, enhancing searchability. Another new feature is supplier aliases, the ability to link name variations to the correct supplier. I sometimes get invoices from businesses, and it’s like they have no idea what the name of their own business is – so this is indeed a useful feature!

Dext also partnered with AirWallex to offer integrated payments and is inviting users to join their AI Agents beta waitlist here.

Datamolino has rebuilt its approval functionality, offering an extra review step before accounting sees the invoice. It also now offers its built-in calculator in more places and the ability to archive folders. LightYear has introduced Smart Extract with improved scanning functionality that can read those messy, low-quality, handwritten, or one-off receipts.

Expensify has improved its integration with Uber for Business, automating ride and meal receipts, and you now have the ability to set per diems for your team. It’s also worth noting that Expensify is excited about their Concierge service, a blend of AI and human-powered support available 24/7, and they claim it can answer anything you want!

Weel has infused AI across the description, categorisation and GST fields to aid in auto-completing expense details. The physical card now offers the useful ability to enable accessing cash at Australian ATMs, and there have been enhancements to their NetSuite integration, which simplifies vendor and receipt file exports.

The ApprovalMax Xero integration now has the ability to automate repeating Purchase Order requests and customise the schedule to repeat, the ability to capture expenses, and extract credit note details. The Approval Max QuickBooks integration now offers budget syncing and the option to match multiple bills to a single Purchase Order.

Management reporting

Let’s talk about my favourite topic: management reports!

Fathom has had four main releases this year: Fathom Portfolio, a cost-efficient plan with streamlined functionality; Insights Dashboard, which lets you monitor key metrics for all entities in one view; Report Enhancements, enabling images and files to be directly added to your reports; Forecast Snapshots, allowing comparison of actuals, budgets, and forecasts at a glance. Spotlight Reporting has redesigned its forecasting experience, integrated with Karbon, and with its ESG Reporting solution Sustain, you can create AI-generated executive summaries, recommendations, and action plans.

Xero has been enhancing its reporting capabilities via its acquisition of Syft in late 2024, and has rolled out the integration during 2025. I’m frustrated that my Xero home page includes a wide promotional banner for Analytics powered by Syft, and I have been told the only way to currently remove it is to activate my subscription to the solution, which I am obstinately refusing to do.

Two Xero analytic tools: Business Snapshot and Short Term Cash Flow, which project your cash balance over the next 7 or 30 days, are included free with all paid Xero business plans. QuickBooks is rolling out a new design for Modern Reports, which has refreshed the way it is organised, and QuickBooks has also introduced 3-year forecast functionality. Zoho Analytics introduced Agentic AI – Ask Zia, a human-in-the-loop approach to assisting you in your BI journey.

Across the eco-system there are so many more 2025 releases that I could talk about, but for brevity, I am just going to mention one more: Ignition launched AI-powered Price Insights, which gives businesses tailored pricing recommendations based on real proposal data across the Ignition platform. It’s a great use of aggregated anonymised data for benchmarking fees.

I’ve spent the last couple of months updating the sixth edition of Xero for Dummies. While there have been some updates to the Xero dashboard and the introduction of AI-powered functionality, some of the biggest updates are subtler. I’ve removed the word ‘cloud’ as a description of online solutions, and lots of green buttons are now blue. Do you remember where the green buttons were? Do you still use the word ‘cloud’?

That’s the advantage of online software. We passively adopt new workflows without really noticing.

This article goes live on 24 December. I’ll be at a Kafenio’s Greek Restaurant in the West End, celebrating my son’s birthday with my family. While I’m eating some delicious Greek food, I suggest you skim this recap, bookmark links of interest, put them into your 2026 calendar to review, close the door, and aggressively enjoy your well-earned break – you deserve it!

When you return, take the time to revisit the bookmarks. Scan the 2025 release notes of your current tech stack, and consciously identify if there are any features or functionality worth actively exploring, rather than letting them quietly slip past.

And in 2026, please make sure you join Tyler Caskey and me at the Accounting & Business Expo in Sydney on 18 March at 3pm, where we shall record our next accounting technology wrap.