TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    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
    Xero
    Editions & Modules
    Early
    $13
    per month
    Growing
    $37
    per month
    Established
    $70
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Xero
    Free Trial
    Yes
    Free/Freemium Version
    No
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    No
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPrices 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
    Xero
    Considered Both Products
    Xero
    Chose Xero
    I tried to use MYOB as it was better from a pricing perspective but it wasn't as easy for me to navigate around. So I went with Xero even though it was more expensive at the time. All in all I think Xero does an excellent job at what it does. Not sure all the AI stuff is useful …
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is fundamentally more advanced than Zoho with regard to financial accessibility. Whilst Zoho has great invoice customisation and accounts payable/receivable tracking, it falls down in more sophisticated management reporting.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is user-friendly and easy to navigate and learn how it works.
    The system adopts to modernization and keeps improving.
    There is a wide range of third-party applications you can integrate.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Potential clients were complaining up their price increases. They also found it too difficult to learn and navigate.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I found Xero easier to navigate and a more appealing UI.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Quick books is also the similar kind of service but it does not provide the extensive API support that Xero provides. Also, the cost of QB is higher than Xero. UI of QB is also not that good like the Xero, Xero has very well UI standards then the QBO.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is just easier and more pleasant to use. QuickBooks seemed too slow and very rigid compared to Xero.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Easier to use, but lacks features.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Sage was what we used to use but it was more cumbersome but I liked its use of the English language very politely which Xero does not have
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    We prefer Zoho Invoice for doing the actual invoices to send to clients as we don't like the Xero interface and client side experience (we can customise the invoices and emails in Zoho) but Zoho Invoice doesn't have all the accountancy features that Xero has so we use both.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is a lot more user friendly than MYOB, their custer support is somewhat better.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    My accountant prefers Xero to QB
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I originally used Xero, but felt let down as a small business when functionality was removed, such as payroll, but pricing remained, and I now have to pay more for a payroll solution from a third party. I am evaluating Odoo as a potential replacement.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero doesn't have quite as in depth stuff, but the interface is way easier and simpler to use
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is more suitable for small and medium enterprises. Intacct is more suited for large scale operations. Reporting is more fluid and more customizable in Intacct than Xero. Both the applications fare well in case of the third party integrations.Consolidation and entity …
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    We have another business that uses QuickBooks Online and we find more problems with it. Xero is the software we have recommended to friends and associates looking for an accounting system. Also Xero is reasonably priced.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero is my first choice for bookkeeping for our clients. I now refer anyone looking for bookkeeping software to Xero.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I really enjoyed using Wave as it was very user-friendly, well designed and slick as a business touchpoint with our clients, but I was forced to move away from it as Wave decided to restrict its use to only North American customers whereas I'm in the UK.

    I selected Xero as its …
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    They are not really the same so its hard to give a point for point comparisson
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I formerly have used, Quicken, Quickbooks, My Advanced Invoices and another one whos name is not coming to mind. I found Xero to do everything in an organozed way and I've stayed with it.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Expensify was more than we needed. The free version is fine, but we were getting close to needing the fee paying version, which isn't inexpensive
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I prefer to just say I'm a Xero only practice. U cannot sign up if u do not want to use Xero.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Pricing was better and quickbook was not recommended by some people we know with business.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    I think Xero is better than MYOB
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    160 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    153 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    160 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    131 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    149 Answers
    Features
    Xero
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Xero
    Feature
    Xero
    7.5
    73 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Pay calculation8.065 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.023 Ratings
    Direct deposit files7.249 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management7.141 Ratings
    Reimbursement management7.054 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Xero
    Feature
    Xero
    8.0
    169 Ratings
    6% above category average
    API for custom integration7.979 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.1156 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Xero
    Feature
    Xero
    7.1
    213 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Single sign-on capability5.572 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.7211 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Xero
    Feature
    Xero
    8.3
    241 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Dashboards8.3237 Ratings
    Standard reports8.9239 Ratings
    Custom reports7.9212 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Xero
    Feature
    Xero
    8.3
    251 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Accounts payable8.0229 Ratings
    Accounts receivable8.1234 Ratings
    Cash management7.7217 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation8.6244 Ratings
    Expense management7.8224 Ratings
    Time tracking6.387 Ratings
    Fixed asset management7.7152 Ratings
    Multi-currency support7.9149 Ratings
    Multi-division support7.4129 Ratings
    Regulations compliance8.3131 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing8.6134 Ratings
    Self-service portal7.7153 Ratings
    Global Financial Support7.884 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers7.881 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting10.040 Ratings
    Localizations10.039 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations10.090 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting10.033 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting10.059 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework6.033 Ratings
    Standardized Processes8.059 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Xero
    Feature
    Xero
    6.3
    119 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Inventory tracking7.2115 Ratings
    Automatic reordering6.224 Ratings
    Location management6.229 Ratings
    Manufacturing module6.016 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Xero
    Feature
    Xero
    7.3
    89 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Pricing10.062 Ratings
    Order entry10.056 Ratings
    Credit card processing6.358 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold6.366 Ratings
    Order Orchestration6.121 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility6.124 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution6.117 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Xero
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Xero
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.3
    (266 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    4.7
    (38 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (192 ratings)
    Availability
    3.1
    (12 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.6
    (40 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.6
    (13 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.1
    (3 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    9.1
    (10 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.4
    (150 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.0
    (8 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Xero
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    Xero
    The format was great; someone was there to ask questions or help if you were stuck.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    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
    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
    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
    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
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    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

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot