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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Slack

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ASlack is a group messaging or team collaboration app that aims to simplify communication for businesses. Features include open discussions, private groups, and direct messaging, as well as deep contextual search and message archiving, and file sharing. Slack integrates with a number of other tools, such as MailChimp, Dropbox, and Google Drive. Slack was acquired by Salesforce in December 2020. The product is free to use, and also has paid plans with more features and greater controls. The…

    $8.75

    per month per user

    Xero

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AXero is an online accounting software product for small businesses and personal finance. Its features beyond general ledger and double-bookkeeping include quotable invoicing, bank reconciliation, purchase order and expense management, and tax management. Third party apps can extend its features further.

    $13

    per month

    Pricing
    SlackXero
    Editions & Modules
    Free
    $0
    Pro
    $7.25*
    per month per user
    Business+
    $12.50*
    per month per user
    Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Early
    $13
    per month
    Growing
    $37
    per month
    Established
    $70
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SlackXero
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details*Per active user, per month, when paying once a year. Pro is $8.75 USD per active user when paying month to month. Business+ is $15.00 USD per active user when paying month to month.Prices in table are in USD and just apply to the US - other markets & prices are listed below: Canada - Starter $18 CAD/month, Standard $45 CAD/month, Premium 5 $58 CAD/month UK - Starter £14/month, Standard £28/month, Premium £36/month AU - Starter $29 AUD/month, Standard $59 AUD/month, Premium 5 $76 AUD/month NZ - Starter $31 NZD/month, Standard $66 NZD/month, Premium $84 NZD/month
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SlackXero
    Considered Both Products
    Salesforce
    Chose Slack
    I prefer Slack - integrations are key!
    Incentivized
    Xero
    Chose Xero
    I've previously used MYOB and think it's reasonable to say that MYOB has functional advantages and more power compared to Xero but prefer to use Xero based on the simplicity of use and how the user interface is a bit more user friendly. In a small business with lower accounting …
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is much simpler and similarly cheaper. It is able to accomplish both quote generation as well as expense management.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero has more functions and uses but is different and we need both to run our hospitality business. Deputy does the rostering side of things exporting to zero to manage financials.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is so much easier to use than MYOB and we are really glad we made the switch.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I prefer Xero over the other options I have tried because it has a cleaner interface, operates faster on the web, has a strong API relationship with other applications and appears to be gaining ground on Quickbooks in the marketplace. QuickBooks Online is probably the most …
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    We have only used Xero and have never been tempted to use anything else.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is the best we’ve had because it’s all online based with plenty of support and growth.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I have used other accounting programs. There are very large programs that may be better suited for corporations with large inventory requirements but for the small business owner, Xero is #1. QuickBooks is clunky and nowhere near as user-friendly or tech-savvy as Xero. Xero has …
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    We switched off of FreshBooks to Xero. It is somewhat apples to oranges, in that FreshBooks is not a general ledger nor does it claim to be (at least at the time 2 years ago). Our business grew though and having a general ledger with reconcillation features like Xero was …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    97%
    Would buy again
    503 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    160 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    426 Answers
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    153 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    510 Answers
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    160 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    295 Answers
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    131 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    330 Answers
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    149 Answers
    Features
    SlackXero
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    7.9
    628 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Task Management7.6430 Ratings00 Ratings
    Gantt Charts6.961 Ratings00 Ratings
    Scheduling7.8363 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow Automation8.0396 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Access9.4601 Ratings00 Ratings
    Search8.2608 Ratings00 Ratings
    Visual planning tools7.3275 Ratings00 Ratings
    Communication
    Comparison of Communication features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    8.7
    636 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Chat9.6635 Ratings00 Ratings
    Notifications8.7632 Ratings00 Ratings
    Discussions9.2620 Ratings00 Ratings
    Surveys8.1413 Ratings00 Ratings
    Internal knowledgebase7.8412 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with GoToMeeting8.9110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts8.7182 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Outlook8.9120 Ratings00 Ratings
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    8.4
    603 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Versioning8.2326 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video files8.2541 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio files8.4527 Ratings00 Ratings
    Document collaboration7.9429 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access control8.3411 Ratings00 Ratings
    Advanced security features8.3362 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive9.0211 Ratings00 Ratings
    Device sync9.0455 Ratings00 Ratings
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Xero
    7.5
    73 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Pay calculation00 Ratings8.065 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.023 Ratings
    Direct deposit files00 Ratings7.249 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.141 Ratings
    Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.054 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Xero
    8.0
    169 Ratings
    6% above category average
    API for custom integration00 Ratings7.979 Ratings
    Plug-ins00 Ratings8.1156 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Xero
    7.1
    213 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Single sign-on capability00 Ratings5.572 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.7211 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Xero
    8.3
    241 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings8.3237 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings8.9239 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings7.9212 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Xero
    8.3
    251 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Accounts payable00 Ratings8.0229 Ratings
    Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.1234 Ratings
    Cash management00 Ratings7.7217 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.6244 Ratings
    Expense management00 Ratings7.8224 Ratings
    Time tracking00 Ratings6.387 Ratings
    Fixed asset management00 Ratings7.7152 Ratings
    Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.9149 Ratings
    Multi-division support00 Ratings7.4129 Ratings
    Regulations compliance00 Ratings8.3131 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing00 Ratings8.6134 Ratings
    Self-service portal00 Ratings7.7153 Ratings
    Global Financial Support00 Ratings7.884 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings7.881 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings10.040 Ratings
    Localizations00 Ratings10.039 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings10.090 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings10.033 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting00 Ratings10.059 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.033 Ratings
    Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.059 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Xero
    6.3
    119 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Inventory tracking00 Ratings7.1115 Ratings
    Automatic reordering00 Ratings6.224 Ratings
    Location management00 Ratings6.229 Ratings
    Manufacturing module00 Ratings6.016 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Slack and Xero
    Feature
    Slack
    -
    Ratings
    Xero
    7.3
    89 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Pricing00 Ratings10.062 Ratings
    Order entry00 Ratings10.056 Ratings
    Credit card processing00 Ratings6.358 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold00 Ratings6.366 Ratings
    Order Orchestration00 Ratings6.121 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings6.124 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution00 Ratings6.117 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    SlackXero
    Small Businesses
    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SlackXero
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (639 ratings)
    8.3
    (266 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (25 ratings)
    4.7
    (38 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (255 ratings)
    8.3
    (192 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    3.1
    (12 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (68 ratings)
    5.6
    (40 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.9
    (5 ratings)
    7.6
    (13 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.1
    (3 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (10 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.7
    (2 ratings)
    7.4
    (150 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (8 ratings)
    Professional Services
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SlackXero
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Salesforce
    Slack is ideal for Scrum and agile teams that need continuous communication during sprint planning, daily stand-ups, backlog refinement, testing, and retrospectives. Slack is well-suited for maintaining team knowledge through searchable conversations and dedicated channels, where experienced team members help onboard new QA analysts.
    Read full review
    Xero
    The only time I wouldn't be suggesting it is to consultants or solopreneurs. I think it's too overwhelming unless you are experienced or have a background related to finance. So it's not that the product isn't powerful, it's that it can be too powerful. For all other size businesses it really is what you need to use to make life simple to track everything in your business. It definitely saves me time by having it all in one place and not multiple spreadsheets etc
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Salesforce
    • Customer issues: Threads feature allows us to group a particular issue in a single thread and discuss within that thread. I can use the thread link to embed in JIRA ticket for tracking progress in JIRA (which is our details engineering tracking system).
    • Ability to add folder to Slack channel helps keep important information, documents easily accessible. e.g., we use this to keep a "ramp up" folder that can be used by any new joiner.
    • Global search is effective when I forget which group a particular message was in.
    Read full review
    Xero
    • The bank feed integration makes reconciling transactions easy
    • Once you load a template for your invoices, every client gets a professional looking invoice
    • Bill paying and tracking of payments is also easy; you load your bill into Xero, pay it through the bank, and when the transaction is completed it comes through on bank feeds. If you need to query when a bill was paid, it is all there in Xero
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Salesforce
    • Would love a better integration with GitHub. For example, notifications when your PR is updated, when review is requested, @-mention in comments, etc.
    • Improved "Later" tab, for example the ability to create to-do lists or making the "Later" tab into a more powerful to-do list (annotate items with notes)
    • More powerful integrations, e.g. Google Calendar could render a calendar view within Slack, rather than sending the daily schedule
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    • Having different email addresses for different parts of a customer's business (eg invoices and statements to different places)
    • Easily seeing the text of emails that have been sent through Xero
    • More easily archiving old pay items. Our HR software updates rates when awards are updated which means a lot of old pay rates are in the system and they have multiple clicks to archive each one. Clicking the ones to archive in bulk and then just click archive for all would be much more efficient.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Salesforce
    To be more transparent, I give 10 because Slack serves our collaboration needs. It provide us a good platform for team communication relaying important update within the company, it has even mobile app where you can install in your phone to monitor any updates within that team that needs your immediate attention and intervention.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    In addition to the matters covered in this review, my reason for renewing this product is that Xero's functionality and the constant updates that the company provides, makes the software even more business friendly. The software therefore builds a brand loyalty among customers.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Salesforce
    Slack has good usability. Devs that are not familiar with the platform are able to jump into conversations and start sharing code and links within just minutes. Non developers are also able to understand the layout such as the Project Managers that are keeping the projects on track. We have not seen any tickets where employees are having trouble understanding Slack.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    As a standalone software, it allows users to fulfill most of the basic functions (e.g. transaction input and report generation) simply and conveniently. It also allows for multiple APIs to help augment various tasks that accounting-adjacent (e.g. claims processing). The cloud based model and portability to mobile devices allows tasks to be carried out in a more convenient way.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Salesforce
    Yes, the app works 24/7. I don't even recall having any period that we could not use since the implementation. Even the maintenance periods are barely noticeable and our work is not impacted by it when it happens.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    We have been actively using and 100% Xero based for our ecommerce accounting practice for over 4 years. There has on been one real outage for more than 5 minutes. Xero was open and transparent about the outage, what they were doing to resolve the issue, and provided 15 minute updates. Showing how they care about their customers and partners. Plus, showing that their customers care too, were understanding, and went surfing or in our case took a nap. Couldn't run our business without Xero as a partner.
    Read full review
    Performance
    Salesforce
    Slack is a soft app, we don't have many issues with it. I recall one or two people complaining about something during our usage period, but I didn't have a bad experience. When the app is slow, usually the problem is with my computer or my internet. The app works just fine.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    On a good day, things worked but after upgrades, things began to slow and or not work at all at times. I coined the moving circle while I waited as the "Xero Wheel of Death". Sometimes it never stopped and force quitting was necessary.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Salesforce
    Whenever I've had to troubleshoot an issue with Slack (which, to be honest, has not happened very often), their online documentation has been easy to locate, easy to understand, and effective in resolving my issue. Slack's ever-growing popularity also means that there's a large community of practice out there that can be depended upon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    Always respond and keep issues open until you are satisfied with the result. Generally good responses, in the past, I had some support responses that were really basic and really annoying. They type where "have your tried restarting your computer" style of answers. Well, of course, I went through all the basics before contacting them. Duh, but I suppose not everyone does. Otherwise, it would be a 10. The last year has shown a marked improvement in the support responses however.
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Xero
    The format was great; someone was there to ask questions or help if you were stuck.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Xero
    All of Xero's training is online and available for anyone (business owner or accountants) to learn and become experts in their system. There is a range of content from product training to real world webinars from their partners. Xero is beautiful accounting software and their training is the same.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Salesforce
    I was not part of the implementation team, but I recall being 100% happy and excited to learn and use a new tool. I'm still am to be honest.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    If it can be done, time the implementation near a new fiscal year so you can start clean. Otherwise, you have to go back and do historical data from the beginning of the fiscal year, which can be brain draining.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Salesforce
    I like Slack better than ClickUp, because I would spend 30-60 minutes a day updating my ClickUp tasks. The way ClickUp was used was very micromanaging. I billed by the hour, so I was willing to put in the time to alert the boss what tasks I was working on.
    One of my jobs used Hive - I mostly just ran it in the background in case anyone messaged me. I did not use it often.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    Each of the products I listed had their own list of drawbacks, but the one thing they all had in common, which was right on top of that list of drawbacks, was ease of use. I struggled to get myself accustomed to each system and struggled, but when it came to getting a client to even try and use it was when the true struggle started. Just found it easier to make use of Xero from the very beginning.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Xero
    I have yet to fully stress test the product given the size of the company where I am using it. I am sure as we scale to more customers, more vendors and more reporting requirements, I will have a better understanding of what it is capable of in terms of bandwidth and processing
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Salesforce
    • Slack has been incredibly helpful in connecting various tech apps and ecosystems, creating a more streamlined and responsive process.
    • Slack has made it significantly easier to communicate with our team members across multiple time zones, creating a more engaging environment for our all-remote team.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Xero
    • Xero is a basic accounting system that performs basic accounting tasks easily and accurately. For that, it provides a positive impact on our day to day accounting operations.
    • Because of Xero's basic structure, I feel it lacks some of the sophistication that some users want and need. The ability to create unique custom reports would enhance the impact Xero would have on meeting business objectives by providing current and useful accounting information.
    • In my opinion, Xero's lack of focus on their customers - their users - is a real issue with me. In my opinion, those of us that are in the trenches that work with the system on a daily basis have to deal with the shortcomings of the system with the knowledge that Xero support refuses to address the operational issues that make their user's lives difficult. I feel if Xero would focus on truly making their software better from a users point of view, it has the potential to be a great system.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Xero Screenshots

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