As the 2025 calendar year draws to a close, December's updates were focused on making everyday work simpler, more reliable, and easier to manage for practices. From getting faster help inside FYI, to refining client data, forms, and billing workflows, these improvements are designed to support the way practices operate day to day.
This month introduces a new way for practices to get help directly within FYI. Practices can now access the FYI Support Assistant, an AI-powered tool trained on FYI’s Help Centre content. All users can chat with the Support Assistant to access clear, relevant information and help resolve queries. For example, if a team member needs guidance on how a feature works, the Support Assistant can be used to locate the relevant Help Centre information before escalating the query to the FYI Team. If practices choose to contact the Support Team, the chat history and the relevant client, job or workspace are included automatically. Additional context can be provided by uploading screenshots or recording a Loom video. Refer to Announcing the new FYI Support Assistant.
This month also includes improvements for practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager (XPM), helping keep client data and custom field definitions consistent. The performance of Custom Fields Management has been improved and is now enabled for all practices using XPM. This includes the functionality to automatically rename new Custom Field definitions that match existing Custom Field definitions in FYI, and automatically recreate deleted Custom Field definitions. For example, when a practice maintains custom fields used for internal tracking in XPM, the Custom Field definitions can be managed more reliably within FYI.
For FYI Admins, the Practice Settings - Custom Fields list has been updated with a new column, XPM ID, which can be added to the list. In addition, a new Open in PM button is now available in the Custom Field drawer to open the Custom Field settings in XPM. Refer to Optimised Custom Fields Management.
For practices integrated with APS, CCH, IRIS or MYOB, synchronisation of client records has been enhanced so that Tax Numbers with invalid characters, such as symbols or spacing, are ignored and removed during synchronisation. The tax number will still sync to FYI, and the invalid characters will be removed. For example, if a client's Tax Number contains spaces or symbols in your practice management system, the value in FYI will synchronise without those invalid characters. Note that for APS and MYOB, only numerical values will synchronise, and for IRIS and CCH, both numerical and letter values will sync. Refer to the individual integration articles for details on the synchronised fields for each system.
For practices on the Elite plan, this month includes new features and several updates to billing workflows, Practice Ledger setup, and Forms (Beta):
- Non-Proportional WIP Allocation is now available when creating and editing invoices. When creating an invoice, practices can now manually allocate the Invoiced Amount and Write On/Off values for each WIP entry. In addition, FYI Admins and users assigned to a User Group with permissions enabled for Employees can also create System Write-On/Offs to capture internal adjustments without impacting staff. For example, goodwill discounts and training or mentoring time could be written off to 'System', ensuring staff productivity is not impacted. Users can also enter simple formulas to calculate values, and WIP entries can be grouped by user using Row Groups for quicker review. Refer to Announcing Non-Proportional WIP Allocation.
- For practices upgrading to the Elite plan with FYI as the Practice Management source, the process for selecting a Migration Date in the Practice Ledger app has been refined. The Sync Invoices button is now hidden to avoid confusion, and after selecting a Migration Date, practices must click “Finish” to begin synchronising invoices and credit notes from that date. A new message also reminds practices that invoices will continue to synchronise automatically overnight. Refer to Configure the Practice Ledger to select a Migration Date.
- For practices using Forms (Beta):
- Form Templates now support rules that dynamically control how fields are displayed when a form is completed. Using the Rules Builder, practices can define conditions and actions to show or hide individual fields, groups, or panels within a form. Rules are managed per Form Template and apply automatically to active and submitted forms when the template is updated. For example, practices can configure a Form Template so that certain sections are only displayed when a client’s responses meet specific conditions, keeping the completed form aligned to the information being requested. Refer to Creating and Managing Rules for Forms (Beta).
- Additional FYI fields are available for selection on Form Templates, including Same as Physical Address, Company Number, Business Number and Balance Month. For example, when requesting or confirming client details, practices can include Company Number or Balance Month fields within a form to capture or validate that information directly. Refer to Creating Forms Templates (Beta).
- For practices with New Collaborate configured, Forms can now be securely shared with clients. When forms are shared either manually or through process steps, the form link will be uploaded directly to the Client Folder, eliminating the need for email attachments and ensuring forms are shared securely. Existing Form Attachment Links and Document Attachment Link merge fields continue to be supported when sharing Forms. For example, when practices need a client to complete a form, the link can be shared and stored in the Client Folder rather than being sent as an email attachment. Refer to Sharing Forms using New Collaborate (Beta).
For all the details on these features and other enhancements and resolutions for this month, refer to the December 2025 Release Notes.