Xero Data Wars, FloQast AI, and Are Chatbots are Costing Clients Money?

In this episode of Digi-Tools in Accrual World, Ryan and Indi dive into the start of 2026 with a breakdown of the biggest accounting tech news and fintech news hitting the market. The conversation headlines with Xero’s major platform shift, moving to usage-based pricing and restricting API data for AI training. Is this a move for security or a strategy to build a "walled garden"? The hosts also explore the rising "slop" in accounting books caused by generalist AI chatbots, with new data from Dext highlighting the cost of these errors for firms. Plus, we cover the latest updates from Scoro (retainer watchdogs), FloQast’s push for deterministic AI, and WorkflowMax’s focus on capacity forecasting. Finally, we look at how niche firms are using tech stacks to target the construction boom. In this episode, we cover: Xero’s Platform Shift: The end of the 15% revenue share and new data usage costs.  Data Ownership: The debate over who owns client data - the platform, the accountant, or the business.  Scoro Updates: New "Watchdog" alerts for retainer metrics and resource booking improvements.  FloQast & AI: Why "deterministic" AI might be the future for reliable accounting workflows.  AI Hallucinations: Dext reveals how much money clients are losing due to chatbot errors.  WorkflowMax: Using AI for staff capacity forecasting and handling subcontractor approvals.    This episode is sponsored by Xledger, the mid-tier accounting system perfect for those moving to the cloud. www.xledger.com 00:00 – Intro & Welcome 00:03:41 – Xero’s Data Ownership & Pricing Shake-up 00:10:45 – Scoro Releases: Watchdog Alerts for Retainers 00:14:07 – FloQast’s Deterministic AI Strategy 00:20:36 – The Cost of AI Errors: Dext Data on Chatbot "Slop" 00:25:12 – WorkflowMax Updates: Capacity Planning & Fraud Detection 00:31:12 – Solving the Subcontractor Approval Headache 00:34:15 – Niche Focus: Tech Stacks for Construction 00:37:41 – Awards, Academy & Closing