Tech Data Corporation Infographic

It’s late Friday evening, and as a small business owner, you need some financial guidance fast. What are your options? Most CPAs aren’t available after hours or on weekends. And even if they are, you’ll likely be paying a premium for the services. For Xendoo cofounders, Lil Roberts and Steven Gelley, such a scenario was completely unsatisfactory. Especially in today’s age of advanced digital technologies, small businesses deserved better. Thus, Xendoo was born, and an accounting platform and easy bookkeeping software was made.
Bold Business had the opportunity to interview Xendoo’s co-founder Lil Roberts at the 2019 Synapse Summit.
Xendoo, an innovative online accounting software service, was launched in 2015 to solve these problems for small- and medium-sized businesses. Roberts and Gelley, serial entrepreneurs themselves, appreciated the financial challenges these business owners faced daily. Through cloud-based technology and online accounting software, they set out to make a difference. And today, Xendoo’s bold business idea is completely disrupting the way accounting and bookkeeping services are being considered.
Understanding the 24/7 needs of small and medium businesses, Xendoo developed an easy bookkeeping software on a digital platform to accommodate entrepreneurial financial peace of mind. Roberts and Gelley created a cloud-based system that allowed businesses to manage accounting, tax returns, payrolls, and sales tax remittances. Likewise, the online accounting software provided continual access to CPAs and bookkeeping services that could offer specific, customized guidance. The response by small businesses has been tremendous ever since.
In essence, Xendoo identified a major gap between entrepreneurial needs and outdated accounting practices. Their online accounting software and platform resolved these issues and offered small businesses a better solution. And at the same time, Xendoo’s online accounting software solution provided predictable pricing and excellent efficiency in attaining results. From easy access to financial expertise to ready-to-download bookkeeping reports, Xendoo modernized the accounting industry for many businesses.
Xendoo launched its official online accounting software platform in 2016, and within a year, Xendoo subscriptions had doubled. Likewise, by 2017, Xendoo had raised over $1.2 million in venture capital funding. Today, the online accounting platform provides FinTech services to hundreds of businesses. These include various e-commerce companies, retailers, professionals, restaurants, and franchises throughout the country. And based on Xendoo’s recent appearance on CNBC’s “The Job Interview,” working for Xendoo has become a coveted position. Xendoo’s ability to revamp small business financial services is clearly getting broad attention.
To further highlight this point, Xendoo was named the 2018 eMerge America’s Startup Showcase winner. With over 100 startups from around the world at South Florida’s largest technology conference, Xendoo walked away with the prize. And the prize was quite substantial. In addition to receiving access to Google software architects, Xendoo also received $100,000 in investment monies. Likewise, the online accounting platform company participated in Jason Calacanis’ incubator program in Silicon Valley this past fall.
Using Xendoo’s online accounting software is easy for businesses. The company offers several subscription packages ranging from monthly to annual. And prices range from $110 to $330 a month depending on services needed. Once subscribed, entrepreneurs meet their financial team and enjoy customized reporting options as well. Xendoo thus offers a simple, secure and transparent way for businesses to effectively and efficiently manage their financial health while providing peace of mind.
The promise of FinTech for small and medium-sized businesses is substantial. Operating such a business is challenging enough as it is, but managing financial health makes things even more complex. Xendoo, through providing its online accounting software platform, increases the chances of success for these entrepreneurs. In this way, Xendoo provides a bold solution to help businesses better manage their financial needs.
Transport infrastructure and economic growth are intertwined. A robust transportation system is a catalyst for economic growth and development. Throughout history, major milestones in transportation technology have stimulated economic progress and extensively improved the quality of the life of the people.
For instance, the invention of steamboats in 1785 allowed farmers around the Delaware River to sell their surplus crops to other communities. The establishment of the Metropolitan Railways in London circa 1863 helped commuters, in a short span of time, travel to different parts of the country. The freedom and mobility led to the creation of more jobs and opportunities for locals and residents. In 1914, the first commercial flight taking off of the runways of St. Petersburg in Tampa, Florida ushered in the era of transcontinental commercial flights. Undeniably, there is no shortage of proof supporting the correlation between transport infrastructure and economic growth.
“Roads are the arteries through which the economy pulses. By linking producers to markets, workers to jobs, students to school, and the sick to hospitals, roads are vital to any development agenda.” Claudia Berg, Development Research Group, World Bank.
The movement of goods and products were limited and agonizingly slow prior to the invention of powered transportation by the end of the 18th century. The invention of the steam engine in 1760 paved the way to the invention of steamboats and steam-powered train. Soon after, the modern automobile, the airplanes, and jetliners followed. Picturing a modern society without these transportation modes can be difficult.
There is recognition of the US as a country with the largest transportation network in history.
America’s transport infrastructure has a system of four million miles of roads, 2,000 miles of railway tracks, and 5,000 airports. The country’s economic growth is built upon the freedom and mobility of its citizens.
A society that supports its citizens’ need to be mobile is a bedrock of resilient nations. Then and now, transportation has powered the world’s strongest economies.
The importance of transportation in economic development is akin to the significance of fuel to the engine. But more than economic repercussions, the absence of a strong transport system may have extensive and lasting societal impact.
Innovations in the transportation sector are starting to pick up. While in some parts of the world, transportation infrastructure may be lagging behind, a number of innovative cities are channeling their resources around innovations in transportation.
From being nomadic travelers of the savannas to mass transit commuters, we have developed and progressed because of our capacity to travel from one point to another. As humanity has always been on the move, what other groundbreaking developments in transportation can we anticipate in the future?
But more importantly, how will these innovations add to the importance of transportation in economic development?