Accountants and small business owners from around the world spent the last few days converging in Commerce Sync’s hometown of Denver, Colorado for Xerocon 2015. We were thrilled to have one of our accounting partners in our own backyard and loved showing our support at such an exciting event. Here are some of our favorite moments from the week.

Developer day - June 2

Our super talented development team spent the day soaking up information, along with lots of espressos, and came back to the office energized and excited to continue their work on Commerce Sync. The day kicked off with a Keynote on API Strategy with speaker Brandon West from SendGrid. He stressed the importance of treating an API as a standalone product, with a focus on planning, documentation and customers which really resonated with the team.

Being able to connect with Xero clients was fantastic and the team loved hearing what they look for in apps and what features make their life easier. There were tons of breakout and smaller group sessions, but the big highlight of the day was a shout-out from Xero’s Sid Maestre during the Q&A session – which was amazing given the amount of other talented developers in the room.

Xerocon Day 1 - June 3

We kicked off the day by meeting tons of new contacts during breakfast in the Xero Marketplace before heading off to listen to the new product announcements and software enhancements that Xero has been working on. There were seven key announcements that were unveiled that had everyone excited!

The day continued as we listened to Stephen Dubner’s (Freakomonics) engaging and humorous talk that inspired us to continually innovate and “think like a freak” – insisting that the old rules of business just don’t apply. He encouraged the audience to find data about what motivates people and said the key to changing behavior is to incentivize change.

Back in the Marketplace, we presented a 5 minute demonstration on Commerce Sync silent disco style. Our presentation explained how we help everyone from small businesses to accountants and bookkeepers save time by automatically transferring sales information from a Point of Sale (POS) or E-commerce solution into Xero every day. By automating the process, we save our customers an average of 300+ hours a year, equal to $15,000!

The day continued with some excellent breakout sessions and was capped with a social event filled with great conversations, dance music and libations.

Xerocon Day 2 - June 4

After an amazing first day at Xerocon, we wondered how we could possibly top day one, but our friends at Xero had another great day in store for us.

One of our favorite sessions was from Polly LaBarre, co-founder of Fast Company Magazine and a New York Times bestselling author. She spoke on new management paradigms and encouraging independent creativity throughout an organization. She shared her seven maverick strategies for success with us including leading without authority and asking more questions than you give answers.

After a delicious lunch (and an ice cream sandwich), we were ready to get back to the breakout sessions. The first session we attended featured a panel of speakers focused on how millennials are changing the workplace and how to calculate different levels of ROI for employee engagement. Best practices for connecting with this new generation of employees include work-life balance, a culture that promotes corporate social responsibility and taking full advantage of the strengths that the millennials bring to the table.

We also attended a session that explored the diverse roles of a modern bookkeeper. We learned how bookkeeping is changing and some of the new tools that are being used to keep up. It was fascinating to hear that what was once a monthly process is quickly changing to daily contact with clients who want to stay on top of what’s going on with their finances.

After two great days and a ton of new contacts, we packed up our booth and headed to the grand finale event to celebrate small businesses and this year’s Xero Award winners. We strolled down a food truck alley with a variety of incredible local fare to choose from and danced the night away with great music from local DJ Chris Lewis. No hailstorm was going to stop this group…it was definitely a night to remember!

A huge thanks to Xero for hosting the world’s most beautiful and innovative accounting conference! We can’t wait for next year!