Xero has announced a number of strategic partnerships today at Australia’s largest accounting technology conference in Melbourne, Xerocon Australia.

In a keynote speech to over 1600 attendees at Xerocon Australia today, Xero Australia Managing Director, Chris Ridd, also announced that this week Xero expects to reach more than 250,000 paying subscribers using the global accounting platform in Australia.

“It’s fitting that on our fifth anniversary in Australia, about a quarter of a million subscribers are now using Xero,” said Mr Ridd.

Australian subscribers will become among the first to benefit from major partnerships that aim to offer small businesses a wider choice of tools for managing all aspects of their business. Some of the key partners announced include Dropbox and Adobe.

Dropbox is working with Xero to integrate its Dropbox for Business platform with Xero Tax to enable easier storage and sharing of documents among partners. The partnership with Adobe aims to integrate the Adobe Document eSign services across Xero to enable accountants and small businesses to electronically sign and submit tax documents.

Charlie Wood, Country Manager ANZ, Dropbox said “our partnership with Xero and the integration of Dropbox for Business with Xero Tax is just one example of how Dropbox and Xero are helping small businesses stress less and do more, with a seamless and more collaborative way to manage the workflows associated with tax time.”

Jon Perera, Vice President of Product Management, Adobe Document Cloud said in a statement “the combination of Adobe’s latest e-signature technology and Xero’s vast network of accountants, bookkeepers and small businesses will help transform the tax and accounting industries globally with faster, easier and more secure all-digital transactions.”