Xero launches no-code AI agent builder for finance

Xero has launched XeroForce, a no-code AI agent builder for financial workflows, and is making it available in early access for small businesses and advisers.

The tool lets users create custom AI agents with natural language prompts to automate repeatable finance tasks across Xero and third-party applications. It is aimed at processes such as month-end close, reporting, tax document organisation, purchase order validation, and pay run approval.

Users can describe a process in plain language, including review steps, client sign-off limits and tax rules, and the system turns those instructions into workflows. Agents can also monitor events such as email replies or filing deadlines and continue tasks in the background over days or weeks.

Xero is positioning the product around manual work that often falls to small business owners, accountants and bookkeepers. It cited findings from its Emotional Tax Return research showing that 70% of business owners see financial management as a source of stress, while 28% struggle to chase bills and track receipts at the end of the fiscal year.

Workflow focus

XeroForce is designed for finance-specific processes rather than general-purpose automation. Each workflow records what ran, when it ran, which data it touched and whether any step is awaiting sign-off.

That audit trail is likely to be a key feature for accounting firms and finance teams in regulated settings, where traceability and client approval matter as much as speed. The system can also handle bulk actions across multiple clients, aimed at practices that manage large books of business.

"We know that for many small businesses and advisors, repetitive, manual tasks take up too much of your day-to-day, keeping you from the higher-value work you want to focus on," Xero said in its announcement.

Xero described the product as part of a broader shift in its software strategy. XeroForce is built on Xero OS, its AI-native financial operating system and the same foundation used for JAX.

Broader AI push

The launch adds to a growing number of software vendors introducing AI tools tailored to specific business functions rather than broad chatbot-style interfaces. In finance and accounting, suppliers have increasingly focused on automating structured processes that rely on deadlines, approvals and documentary evidence.

Xero argued that its long history in small-business accounting gives it an advantage, as it can draw on financial context as well as raw data. The system is intended to organise how information is connected and understood, with an emphasis on compliance and visibility.

For accounting and bookkeeping firms, the promise is not simply task automation but the ability to set rules once and apply them at scale across many clients. For smaller businesses, the appeal is likely to be less time spent on recurring finance administration without the need for specialist technical staff.

Xero said no coding is required to build agents in the new system. Instead, users define workflows with simple instructions, such as asking the software to seek clarification on uncoded transactions at a set point each month.

Early access to XeroForce is now open ahead of a wider rollout. "No technical expertise needed. No coding required. Just a team of agents designed to meet the specific needs of your business, working across Xero and third-party apps you already use," the company said.