February update — Xero certification, Apple/Google Pay and QR scanners

1. LemonBooking is now a Xero-certified integration

After several months of review, LemonBooking has been granted Xero's certified app status, confirming the integration meets Xero's standards for security, reliability and accounting best practice.

The integration works the same way as before: when an invoice or credit note is generated in LemonBooking, it's automatically sent to Xero via the Xero API. Once you reconcile a payment in Xero, the payment data flows back into LemonBooking so both sides stay in step. You configure your Xero billing codes and tracking categories from inside LemonBooking.

What's new with certification is what's underneath: higher API limits for faster syncing and dedicated Xero support resources for ongoing maintenance and upgrades — both of which keep things smooth as Xero rolls out future API changes.

2. 90% off Xero for six months

As part of the certification, Xero have offered LemonBooking venues an exclusive 90% discount on the first six months of a new Xero subscription. It applies to Xero's UK plans for venues that don't already have an account.

To claim it, email contact@lemonbooking.com. We'll set you up with the offer code and help connect your Xero account to LemonBooking once it's live.

3. Apple Pay & Google Pay — starting April

Coming in April 2026: customers will be able to pay for a booking or a ticket using Apple Pay or Google Pay — confirming with Face ID, Touch ID or their passcode rather than typing in card details. Works for facility hire and ticketed events alike.

If you'd like your venue switched on as soon as it goes live, register your interest by emailing contact@lemonbooking.com.

4. Recommended USB QR scanner for ticket check-ins

Staff and volunteers can check guests into ticketed events with a handheld scanner plugged into the laptop on the door. After a few rounds of testing different models, the one we recommend is the Eyoyo Handheld USB 2D Barcode Scanner — available on Amazon UK for around £30. Plug it in, point it at the ticket QR on the customer's phone, and the check-in is logged in LemonBooking.

It's not a requirement — any USB barcode/QR scanner that emulates a keyboard will work — but the Eyoyo's price-to-reliability ratio is the best we've found.

5. Free equipment & services for staff

Equipment and services (PA system, projector, kitchen, marquee) can now be marked as free for staff use. When staff reserve a free resource for internal use, the system skips the billing tasks entirely — no zero-value invoice to write off, no reconciliation step that exists just to net to zero.

6. Custom "request submitted" messages per form

If you run multiple booking forms (standard, recurring, children's party, etc.), each form can now show its own "request submitted" message. Standard hires can promise "we'll confirm within 2 working days"; children's-party requests can explain the deposit-and-insurance flow; recurring-hire requests can point at the next trustee meeting.

7. Group ticketed events into categories

Ticketed events can now be grouped into categories — concerts, classes, kids' parties, community meetings, whatever fits your venue. Categories show up as filter chips on the public events page, so visitors can narrow the list to just the type of thing they're after.

8. More accurate "time on site"

Our website analytics now use departure pings to measure how long visitors spend on your site. Previously, single-page visits couldn't be measured — anyone who landed and left without visiting a second page was counted as zero seconds. Departure pings let us measure those too, so the "average time on site" figure in your dashboard is honest about what's happening.