Published by Gbaf News
Posted on March 8, 2017
4 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
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Xero (@Xero) today announced that one of the UK’s largest accounting firms recently completed the migration of several thousand internal clients from Sage onto Xero’s online platform in readiness for the roll-out of HMRC’s new Making Tax Digital rules which come into effect in 2018. The migration confirms Armstrong Watson’s status as Xero’s largest UK accounting partner and one of the UK’s most digitally progressive firms.
The incentive for Armstrong Watson’s uptake of online accounting software was also driven by a need to invest in the firm’s next stage of growth and to future-proof their clients’ businesses.
Richard Andrew and Gary Turner
Richard Andrew, Partner and Head of Accounting at Armstrong Watson, said: “It was a strategic decision for the firm to move the majority of our internal clients to Xero, because it not only proved an effective platform to access small business data and reduce compliance costs, but we also felt strongly about the need to prepare our clients’ businesses for a digital future.
“Although some clients aren’t yet ready to manage their own finances on cloud accounting software, we wanted to ensure that the next generation of business owners could move their accounts onto a business edition of Xero at the flick of a switch. We value close relationships with our clients and by doing things differently, we’re able to help them grow and prosper.”
To manage the migration, Armstrong Watson created a transition team, including a dedicated project manager and a developer to automate accounts migration from Sage to Xero.
Xero Managing Director Gary Turner comments, “I was impressed by Armstrong Watson’s meticulous approach to project managing the migration of so many clients to Xero, as well as the speed at which they achieved it. With the new HMRC Making Tax Digital regime arriving twelve months from now, it’s great to see Armstrong Watson are leading that charge with Xero at the core of their strategy.”
Xero (@Xero) today announced that one of the UK’s largest accounting firms recently completed the migration of several thousand internal clients from Sage onto Xero’s online platform in readiness for the roll-out of HMRC’s new Making Tax Digital rules which come into effect in 2018. The migration confirms Armstrong Watson’s status as Xero’s largest UK accounting partner and one of the UK’s most digitally progressive firms.
The incentive for Armstrong Watson’s uptake of online accounting software was also driven by a need to invest in the firm’s next stage of growth and to future-proof their clients’ businesses.
Richard Andrew and Gary Turner
Richard Andrew, Partner and Head of Accounting at Armstrong Watson, said: “It was a strategic decision for the firm to move the majority of our internal clients to Xero, because it not only proved an effective platform to access small business data and reduce compliance costs, but we also felt strongly about the need to prepare our clients’ businesses for a digital future.
“Although some clients aren’t yet ready to manage their own finances on cloud accounting software, we wanted to ensure that the next generation of business owners could move their accounts onto a business edition of Xero at the flick of a switch. We value close relationships with our clients and by doing things differently, we’re able to help them grow and prosper.”
To manage the migration, Armstrong Watson created a transition team, including a dedicated project manager and a developer to automate accounts migration from Sage to Xero.
Xero Managing Director Gary Turner comments, “I was impressed by Armstrong Watson’s meticulous approach to project managing the migration of so many clients to Xero, as well as the speed at which they achieved it. With the new HMRC Making Tax Digital regime arriving twelve months from now, it’s great to see Armstrong Watson are leading that charge with Xero at the core of their strategy.”
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