Get free mentorship, and grow

The Xero For Good Ambassador Programme provides small businesses with free mentoring from accounting and bookkeeping volunteers. It’s designed to help businesses apply insights from Know Your Numbers, a free educational programme that helps equip small businesses and entrepreneurs with the general financial knowledge they need to succeed.

For small businesses seeking specific advice, we recommend searching for an accountant or bookkeeper in the Xero advisor directory.

Small businesses, based in Aotearoa New Zealand, interested in getting mentoring support from a Xero For Good Ambassador can complete a sign-up form on our website. We’ll then email you a link to register for the Xero For Good Ambassador Programme, which runs on the Mentorloop mentoring software platform. You’ll be asked a few questions about your goals and interests so we can try to connect you with an appropriate accountant or bookkeeper.

Mentoring will be done virtually. The provider we’re using to facilitate mentoring between accountants and bookkeepers and small businesses is called Mentorloop, a mentoring software platform trusted by organisations worldwide.

Absolutely. We know that as a non-profit, you might not immediately identify as a ‘small business’. However, like any organisation, your non-profit manages resources, organises people, pays expenses, and likely reports to funders or a board. These operational realities mean that understanding your finances is just as vital as it is for any for-profit business.

Know Your Numbers covers essential financial topics like budgeting, forecasting, managing debt and more. The programme is designed to help organisations develop confidence to manage their finances effectively. We encourage you to learn more about Know Your Numbers and learn more about how the programme benefits non-profit organisations.

The Xero For Good Ambassador Programme is designed to be a self-driven programme. The time commitment is up to each individual participant. When you match with a mentor, the Mentorloop platform will prompt you to complete milestones that help you track progress and provide structure to the mentoring experience. How quickly you work through these milestones is up to you and your mentor. Mentees are responsible for driving the relationship. This includes maintaining regular communication and responding to your mentor promptly and professionally.

For more details on your role as a mentee, we’ve created a mentee guide with information you can use to make the most out of your mentorship. 

Connecting with a Xero For Good Ambassador is free and one of the key offerings of Know Your Numbers.

Mentorloop is designed to match mentees and mentors. It leverages a unique algorithm to analyse programme cohorts and create connections. This helps participants be matched according to their complementary experience, interests and goals. When a mentor and mentee get matched or paired up together, this is referred to as a loop. You’ll receive a message in Mentorloop introducing you to your mentor if you’ve been matched. 

While the Xero For Good Ambassador Programme is open to all small businesses, we’ll prioritise matching small businesses who are in the most need and don’t have the immediate resources and networks to access support.

You can close the mentoring relationship (the loop) at any time. You’ll be prompted to complete a survey to provide more information about your experience for the programme coordinators to assess so we can identify areas to improve.

Head to the Mentorloop Help Hub for more information on dealing with bad matches, including signs to move on, how to request a new match, and who to seek support from when needed.

Should you encounter or witness any form of inappropriate behaviour, you must close the mentoring relationship (the loop) immediately. The Xero For Good Ambassador Programme has a no-tolerance policy for disrespect, discrimination, and harassment.

Head to Mentorloop Help Hub for more information on dealing with 'bad matches,' including signs to move on, how to request a new match, and who to seek support from when needed.

The Xero For Good Ambassador Programme is a pilot programme beginning in New Zealand. At this stage, there is no end date; however, Xero may choose to discontinue the programme at any point. Should Xero conclude the Xero For Good Ambassador Programme in the future, participants will be given 60 days notice. This will allow enough time to decide if or how you would like to stay connected to your mentor outside of the programme.

We encourage you to visit our website for all the current information. For further questions, please contact xeroforgood@xero.com.