Enter your idea

This is simply a PR response.
The claim that "This feature was developed, designed and implemented will the sole intention of increasing trust with the invoice emails we generate inside the Xero platform" is simply a PR response to negative feedback of a Xero initiative that they don't want to give up. If this were truly a ploy to "increase trust" there would be no need for the branding, just a Xero logo would suffice.
The purpose of the "Powered by Xero" is to have ALL subscribing businesses promoting and advertising Xero and their branding "Powered by Xero", saving them advertising dollars whilst allowing them to continue collecting a monthly subscription fee from their advertisers.

Xero is advertised as a financial management software platform that allows businesses a user-friendly platform to streamline the process and allow customising of invoices etc and in return we pay a significantly higher monthly subscription fee compared with others. If Xero is going to use my business for their advertising, the platform should be free of charge to all users.

Bad enough that due to incomplete development I have to continue switching to classic invoicing to do foreign currency and quickly add payments. Yes, I can download the pdf's and send them from our email, which has other benefits, but it takes more time. Its clear that Xero is pursuing the microbusiness market so with the upcoming price hikes its time to look elsewhere.

I said this years ago, where else do you find a cloud app that constantly shifts the user between 2 generations of the UI (and makes you re-do your search as you move between filter tabs such as All and Awaiting Payment?

Thank you for correcting, Gordon. AI will never replace human intellect and experience ;) I will just move on to number 2, I hope ChatGPT's advice about monthly costs is more on target as the cheapest that works for my requirements (dual currency mostly) is about a quarter of Xero's cost!

Ivelina - unfortunately, I think ChatGPT is hallucinating in those responses. Quickbooks Online pioneered the obnoxious practice of including their logo in your emailed invoices and still does it. See the attached example. I think Xero copied this (terrible) idea from QBO since the Xero logo is similarly sized and in the same place. Xero should do better!

My next question, what are other alternatives that don't use "Powered by" branding? The answer is pretty much every other accounting software...

ChatGPT answer:
If you're looking for alternatives to Xero that don't include "Powered by" branding in emails sent through their platforms, there are several options. These accounting and invoicing tools allow for professional, unbranded communications with your clients:

1. QuickBooks
Features: No mandatory "Powered by" branding in emails. Customizable email templates and branded invoices.
Best For: Small to medium-sized businesses that need comprehensive accounting software with strong customer support.
2. FreshBooks
Features: FreshBooks allows you to send invoices and estimates without any "Powered by" branding. You can fully customize your emails, including adding your company logo and personalizing the message.
Best For: Freelancers and small businesses that want easy-to-use invoicing and time-tracking features.
3. Zoho Books
Features: No "Powered by" branding in customer emails. Zoho Books provides extensive customization options for email templates, allowing you to maintain a professional appearance.
Best For: Businesses looking for a cost-effective accounting solution that integrates with other Zoho apps.
4. Wave Accounting
Features: Wave does not include "Powered by" branding in emails, and it offers customizable invoicing options with your branding.
Best For: Small businesses and freelancers who want free accounting software with professional invoicing.
5. Invoice Ninja
Features: Invoice Ninja provides unbranded emails and invoices with their free plan, but their "powered by" branding is removed entirely with the paid plans. Offers a high degree of customization.
Best For: Freelancers and small businesses that need a free or low-cost solution with unbranded invoices.
6. Sage Business Cloud Accounting
Features: Sage allows you to send emails and invoices without any "Powered by" branding. It offers strong customization features for invoices and estimates.
Best For: Small to medium-sized businesses needing robust accounting software with excellent reporting tools.
7. Kashoo
Features: Kashoo does not use "Powered by" branding in its email communications. It offers simple and clean invoicing features that can be customized to fit your brand.
Best For: Small businesses that want straightforward accounting software with a focus on simplicity.
8. FreeAgent
Features: FreeAgent does not include "Powered by" branding in emails. It offers easy-to-use invoicing and accounting features that are customizable.
Best For: Freelancers and small businesses that need a user-friendly platform with strong UK tax support.
These platforms allow you to maintain a professional and consistent brand image in all your communications with clients, without the distraction of third-party branding.

Hey guys, my discussion with ChatGPT continues, as follows: :)

My Question: If I can't remove Xero branding from emails, I have to consider switching to another provider. Do Quickbooks use similar branding?

ChatGPT answer (very positive!!):
QuickBooks does not include any branding like "Powered by QuickBooks" in the emails sent directly through its platform. This means that the emails sent via QuickBooks are branded solely with your company's details, providing a more professional and customized experience for your clients.

Key Points about QuickBooks Email Customization:
No Mandatory Branding: Unlike Xero, QuickBooks does not enforce any "Powered by" branding in its emails.
Customizable Email Templates: QuickBooks allows you to customize the email content, including subject lines and message bodies, to align with your brand's voice and tone.
Branded Invoices: You can design invoices and other documents with your company’s logo and colors, ensuring consistent branding throughout your communications.
If removing external branding from your emails is a priority, switching to QuickBooks could be a good option since it offers more flexibility in this regard.

Disgusted with this response.

I will have to download PDFs and email manually.
This is what empowering your customers is about is it?

so xero support provide the following article when asked "remove "powered by xero" from emails":

To remove the "Powered by Xero" from emails, you need to change the email settings in your Xero account. Here are the steps to do it:

1. Log in to your Xero account.
2. Click on the organization name and select "Settings."
3. Click on "Email settings."
4. Look for the option to set the email display name and reply-to email address.
5. Update the email display name to your preferred name.
6. Remove the permission for the email address to be used as the reply-to address.
7. Save the changes.

By following these steps, you will be able to remove the "Powered by Xero" from your emails sent through Xero.

TALKING ABOUT SENDING US ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE!!!

When I asked ChatGPT the SAME question, here is a more truthful answer:

Unfortunately, you cannot remove the "Powered by Xero" branding from emails sent directly through Xero. This branding is a standard feature included in the platform's email templates, and Xero does not provide an option to remove or customize it.

However, if you're looking for a way to send invoices or other communications without this branding, consider the following workarounds:

Export and Email Manually:

You can export the invoice or document as a PDF from Xero.
Send it via your own email client, which allows you to control the email content and branding.
Third-Party Integrations:

Use third-party applications or integrations that connect with Xero but provide more control over email templates and branding.
Examples include apps like Zapier or Mailchimp for automating and customizing emails.
Custom Invoice Templates:

Customize your invoice templates within Xero to reflect your branding. While the "Powered by Xero" message will still appear in emails, your invoice itself will carry your custom design.
These alternatives give you more control over the branding and presentation of the communications sent to your clients.

The Xero logo in the outgoing footer remains significantly larger than our own logo that we include in regular emails. It just looks ridiculous.

We're a small company with large clients and as a result we have a tight, low key branding so as not to come across as brash amateurs to these people. Xero are trampling all over a very deliberate softly, softly approach with their neon "YOUR ADVERT HERE" signage at the bottom.

You have to provide an option to disable this. We're paying for the Xero service, not to enable Xero advertising.

We agree with everyone else about the undesirability of this new "feature". I'm not averse to the branding being an OPTIONAL inclusion for those who do not mind. I don't even mind if it's opt-out rather than opt-in.

But you need to let people choose to disable it if they wish to do so.

If it's "for our benefit" then allow us to choose whether we want that benefit.

As others have said, this is hostile behaviour from Xero towards your customers. And disabling the Vote feature to hide the strength of feeling is unbelievable behaviour.

Our team was disappointed with the sudden forced inclusion of “Powered by Xero” which is mostly benefits Xero and left small to nothing for its subscribers. This led our team to agree with the sentiments of other users. While Xero is not listening yet to their customer to remove such feature, we ultimately appreciate if they can at least make it optional. We are getting feedbacks from our clients as well and were not happy with the tag line.

Hope we can upvote on this removal of the tagline.

I'm extremely dissatisfied with this response. It blatantly disregards what everyone here is asking for, and seems like the vote option has also been greyed out for me, so obviously the so called 'data' Xero relies on can be manipulated by it's own internal teams so it can be skewed to meet their own intentions and isn't based on it's customers. You say this is to build trust? Get real. I'm currently manually downloading PDFs and dumping them into an email template to bypass this issue completely. We work in the marketing and advertising fields often, so branding across everything for us is crucial. This is very annoying and totally the opposite of what your customers actually want. A simple 'hide powered by Xero logo' would be all that's needed to solve this, and you're literally refusing to give us that. As already stated in another comment, there is already a Xero email so customers are already aware it's from your platform anyway.

I’m not sure if it’s a tech thing, but I’m not able to vote up this product idea. I agree with the sentiments of everyone else… The branding is unacceptable and in your face. It only serves to promote your product. There’s no reason for customers to know that an email is powered by you. The relationship relationship is between the customer and I, not you.

This is advertisement at our expense and diluting our business' brand by showing unrelated branding on my emails. Remove the "Powered by Xero". We don't wish to have Xero branding on our customer emails.

Remove the "Powered by Xero". We don't wish to have Xero branding on our customer emails.

remove it, unacceptable to just add it without any prior notification

This is an openly user-hostile action and you know it. I do not want your branding on my business emails. Period.

If you cared AT-ALL about user experience you would allow me - as your customer - to decide if this was 'better for your customers'.

Your pricing is aimed at medium sized businesses who care about this stuff, knock it off. Allow me to remove this from my outgoing invoice emails or I will start looking into other options.

I've been sending emails manually since the start of the year to avoid advertising Xero to my customers. Today I sent a test invoice to myself through Xero to see if anything had changed for the better.

Nope.

My logo is now microscopic at the top, and there are 2 massive view online buttons, and a pay online link which divert attention from my bank details (which would be my preferred method of payment, no card fees!)

Looks like I'll continue to be manually sending emails with attachments for the foreseeable.

Every change for the worse, every price increase, pushes me closer to abandoning Xero. That would be such a shame as it was so good a couple of years ago!

I agree with everyone else - We should have the option to remove this if we wish.

Hi Xero people...
For those on this thread who have managed to keep the Xero logo out of their invoicing, this wont be forever...

Classic invoicing retires 1-Sep this year and we will all be pushed over to new invoicing and all the Xero marketing that goes with that. Brace yourselves...

https://blog.xero.com/product-updates/retiring-classic-invoicing/