CASE STUDY

How Xero Revolutionized NDA Generation with Automation

Georgia Petry
Legal Counsel
INDUSTRY
Software & Technology, Accounting
DEPARTMENT
Legal, Human Resources
COMPANY SIZE
4,500
LEGAL TEAM SIZE
20+
ABOUT
Xero is a global leader of online accounting software, designed to simplify business tasks such as paying bills, managing expense claims, creating invoices, and more. Xero has also been listed by Forbes as the #1 'Most Innovative Growth Company'.
OUTCOMES
Automated 250+ NDAs within first few months of implementation
Streamlined legal processes and legal sign-offs
Only 5 simple clicks on the Checkbox NDA tool
The Challenge

At Xero, the legal team plays a crucial role in supporting business operations by providing legal advice and managing a variety of legal documents and agreements. One of the most frequently requested documents is the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), which facilitates ongoing discussions between Xero’s business teams and third parties.

However, the process for managing NDAs was becoming a significant operational burden. Requests were submitted through shared inboxes or informal channels, creating inefficiencies, inconsistent intake, and a lack of visibility. Every NDA — even standard forms — required manual review by the legal team before being sent out, consuming valuable time and slowing down stakeholder engagement.

Xero recognised the need to improve this process and set out to find a solution that could:

  • Automate and streamline NDA generation and review, freeing legal from repetitive tasks
  • Provide an intuitive, customizable experience for business users to self-serve
  • Offer the digital agility and scalability needed to adapt with the business and support future legal automation projects

The goal was to reduce legal bottlenecks, empower business teams with faster turnaround times, and establish a flexible foundation for broader legal transformation.

“What we really like about Checkbox is that it's so intuitive, so anyone who hasn't used it before or doesn't know what to do can just click on Checkbox and they're pushed through the different elements.”
The Solution

For Xero, adopting Checkbox provided them with the ability to rapidly implement an NDA automation tool for empowering business users to self-serve the generation of NDA's for third-party discussions and related activities. Checkbox's no-code, drag and drop capabilities enabled Xero to create an NDA tool with the nimbleness to respond actively to changes around the business and scale its service delivery.

"We wanted to automate the NDA process and were looking for a scalable tool that was intuitive and customizable," said Georgia Petry, Legal Counsel at Xero.

The NDA tool at Xero is highly intuitive and can be used and requested by anyone in the organization who is looking to engage in external party discussions. Business users are self-guided through the information intake, the generation of an NDA, through to e-signature.

"Once an NDA has been created, it is sent off and signed, all while being saved within the Checkbox platform."

Enabling self-service and automating the end-to-end process has not only prevented Xero's legal team from delaying the delivery of NDAs to its business users, but it has left the team with more time for complex and strategic priorities.

“What we really like about Checkbox is that it's so intuitive, so anyone who hasn't used it before or doesn't know what to do can just click on Checkbox and they're pushed through the different elements.”
Outcomes

Xero was able to deploy Checkbox end-to-end in just a few months, achieving impressive results through building an automated NDA solution. The rapid deployment of the Checkbox platform resulted in Xero generating 250+ NDAs with their no-code automation solution.  

Anyone at Xero can easily and quickly create an NDA, allowing for scalability and alleviating any bottlenecks in the process. This NDA solution has allowed the legal team to ensure consistency and eliminate repeatable tasks with automation.  

“The Checkbox platform is extremely straightforward, and across the organization, business users have been able to easily adopt it. It’s so intuitive and easy to use,” said Petry.

See exactly how Xero transformed their legal service delivery - watch the full webinar.

The Future

Xero is a technology forward business; that is continuously working on agile transformation and ways to improve processes and streamline day-to-day tasks. The legal team is always looking at key results, searching for ways to improve their legal processes and service delivery.

“The team is always looking at ways we can streamline our legal operations. We’re interested in how we can continue to empower the business to self-serve.”