BetterXMLElement.php

<?php
class BetterXMLElement extends SimpleXMLElement {

    //appends this xml to a parent
    public function appendToSimpleXML(SimpleXMLElement $parent) {
	$toDom = dom_import_simplexml($parent);
	$fromDom = dom_import_simplexml($this);
	$toDom->appendChild($toDom->ownerDocument->importNode($fromDom, true));
    }

    //appends $child SimpleXMLElement to this object
    public function appendChild(SimpleXMLElement $child) {
	$toDom = dom_import_simplexml($this);
	$fromDom = dom_import_simplexml($child);
	$toDom->appendChild($toDom->ownerDocument->importNode($fromDom, true));
    }
}
//use like
$xml = new \BetterXMLElement('<financials/>');
$xml->addChild('matchtype', 'customersupplier');
$xml->addChild('duedays', 14);
$xml->addChild('payavailable', 'false');
$xml->addChild('meansofpayment', 'none');
$xml->addChild('collectionschema', 'core');

$customer = new \BetterXMLElement('<customer/>');
$customer->appendChild($xml);