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    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

    Zendesk Suite

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AZendesk is a customer support solution with built-in ticketing, conversational messaging, and live chat, designed to help businesses of all sizes and industries deliver personalized service at scale. Zendesk's AI agents are trained in CX to help Service teams resolve customer issues faster and more accurately while still providing a human-centered experience. Zendesk ultimately aims to help businesses improve time to value, reduce effort per ticket, and keep costs low.

    $69

    per month per agent

    Pricing
    XeroZendesk Suite
    Editions & Modules
    Early
    $13
    per month
    Growing
    $37
    per month
    Established
    $70
    per month
    Suite Team
    $69
    per month per agent
    Suite Growth
    $115
    per month per agent
    Suite Professional
    $149
    per month per agent
    Suite Enterprise
    Contact Sales
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    XeroZendesk Suite
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    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/month20% discount available with annual pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    XeroZendesk Suite
    Considered Both Products
    Xero
    Chose Xero
    Xero is really basic and our team can easily adapt with it rather than using other some other non-user friendly apps. We could focus on the work itself rather than having problems with learning its complexity. Xero is very user-friendly and also gives tutorial which is great! …
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Cheaper and just as good, but less integration capabilities.
    Incentivized
    Chose Xero
    Xero has been hands down so much better than Quickbooks. With reporting alone- Xero has exceeded Quickbooks. It is so much easier to logon - not have to back up the program having it all cloud-based. So many more functions and ease of multi-currencies is excellent as well.
    Incentivized
    Zendesk
    Chose Zendesk Suite
    We used Freshdesk when it was a relatively new product. We switched to Zendesk later to take advantage of better user management, easier interface and user experience, better reporting tools and to align ourselves with a recognised brand.

    We use Intercom to engage with …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    160 Answers
    87%
    Would buy again
    123 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    153 Answers
    85%
    Delivers good value for the price
    108 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    160 Answers
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    131 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    131 Answers
    85%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    82 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    149 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    94 Answers
    Features
    XeroZendesk Suite
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    7.5
    73 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Pay calculation8.065 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration8.023 Ratings00 Ratings
    Direct deposit files7.249 Ratings00 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management7.141 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reimbursement management7.054 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    8.0
    169 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    API for custom integration7.979 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.1156 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    7.1
    213 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Single sign-on capability5.572 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.7211 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    8.3
    241 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards8.3237 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports8.9239 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports7.9212 Ratings00 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    8.3
    251 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Accounts payable7.9229 Ratings00 Ratings
    Accounts receivable8.1234 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cash management7.7217 Ratings00 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation8.6244 Ratings00 Ratings
    Expense management7.8224 Ratings00 Ratings
    Time tracking6.387 Ratings00 Ratings
    Fixed asset management7.7152 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support7.9149 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-division support7.4129 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance8.3131 Ratings00 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing8.6134 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal7.7153 Ratings00 Ratings
    Global Financial Support7.884 Ratings00 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers7.881 Ratings00 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting10.040 Ratings00 Ratings
    Localizations10.039 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations10.090 Ratings00 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting10.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting10.059 Ratings00 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework6.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standardized Processes8.059 Ratings00 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    6.3
    119 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Inventory tracking7.1115 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automatic reordering6.224 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location management6.229 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manufacturing module6.016 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    7.3
    89 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Zendesk Suite
    -
    Ratings
    Pricing10.062 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order entry10.056 Ratings00 Ratings
    Credit card processing6.358 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold6.366 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Orchestration6.121 Ratings00 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility6.124 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution6.117 Ratings00 Ratings
    Incident and problem management
    Comparison of Incident and problem management features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Suite
    8.6
    187 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings9.1186 Ratings
    Expert directory00 Ratings7.9127 Ratings
    Subscription-based notifications00 Ratings8.4130 Ratings
    ITSM collaboration and documentation00 Ratings7.8131 Ratings
    Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings9.3186 Ratings
    Ticket response00 Ratings9.0185 Ratings
    Self Help Community
    Comparison of Self Help Community features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Suite
    8.5
    169 Ratings
    6% above category average
    External knowledge base00 Ratings8.5163 Ratings
    Internal knowledge base00 Ratings8.5156 Ratings
    Multi-Channel Help
    Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Xero and Zendesk Suite
    Feature
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Suite
    8.4
    182 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Customer portal00 Ratings9.1150 Ratings
    IVR00 Ratings8.076 Ratings
    Social integration00 Ratings7.4119 Ratings
    Email support00 Ratings9.2178 Ratings
    Help Desk CRM integration00 Ratings8.4138 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    XeroZendesk Suite
    Small Businesses
    QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
    Score4.2 out of 10
    Help Scout
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score8.3 out of 10
    LiveAgent
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score5.4 out of 10
    Front
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    XeroZendesk Suite
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.3
    (266 ratings)
    8.7
    (225 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    4.7
    (38 ratings)
    10.0
    (43 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (192 ratings)
    8.6
    (98 ratings)
    Availability
    3.1
    (12 ratings)
    9.1
    (14 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    9.1
    (11 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.6
    (40 ratings)
    5.5
    (31 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    6.4
    (10 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.6
    (13 ratings)
    9.1
    (19 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.1
    (3 ratings)
    9.1
    (4 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    9.1
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.4
    (150 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.0
    (8 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    XeroZendesk Suite
    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
    Zendesk
    Zendesk is good for small teams where work is not passed along to internal teams or situations where escalations lead to further customer interactions and no further oversight is needed. It is weak as a product for larger and medium-sized companies, where processes are in place that are not aligned with its workflow, as it is a very rigid tool.
    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
    Zendesk
    • Merging of the tickets with similar issues, it is easy to avoid confusion
    • Al global team somehow gets connected with different ways like Slack, with the Zendesk Suite which is so easier to highlight & the issue quickly
    • The best thing is that this tool gives you to send the message via chat-, email, call through the one single platform
    • Now AI has been added so it works good
    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
    Zendesk
    • Is there a way for AEs and CSMs to be informed in a weekly summary of all their accounts and any tickets? Example: Disney submitted a ticket on XYZ. Google has an urgent issue on X still unresolved.
    • Is there a way for CSMs or AEs to have a Dashboard that's specific to their accounts instead of seeing all the tickets in the queue that are not relevant to them?
    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
    Zendesk
    Zendesk is an amazing tool for communicating with your customers easily. The communication tickets from sellers to us or from us to sellers are stored, and there are statuses used to make communication easy. We have internal conversations between departments, linked with useful software such as Zingtree, Talkdesk, and Webs.
    Incentivized
    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
    Zendesk
    Pros: The agent interface is sleek, contemporary, and relatively easy to learn compared to many other enterprise tools. For common tasks, admins are given point-and-click options- adding fields, modifying workflows, constructing macros. The knowledge base (Guide) editor is easy to use for non-developers. Drawbacks: Once you move past the initial things - complex automations, reporting/analytics in Explore, and/or customizations integrating the API, it requires much more advanced training to use successfully. Navigating between the different modules (Support, Explore, Chat, Guide) can feel very disconnected; often you are reminded that it really is a "suite" of products brought together -not really one unified platform. If you're using multiple brands managing simultaneous support tickets, or heavily customizing workflows to meet your brand, you may run into a bit of struggle with usability. So: it's a lot more user friendly than the palaces (Salesforce Service Cloud, ServiceNow), but is not used as quickly or with as much streamlined flow as a product made for a small shop. So if you are looking for a great balance, this is a good option if you are a net new organization or an organization on their way to scaling from 15 - 50 employee. Expect some elbow grease from the admin team once learning, adapting, and working efficiently once you move past the basics with your support tickets and initial customizations.
    Incentivized
    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
    Zendesk
    In the past year, I'd say I have only noticed maybe two hours total of downtime in my own usage. Very minimal.
    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
    Zendesk
    There has been minor performance degradation on a very few days out of the two years I have been using the product.
    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
    Zendesk
    We rarely need to contact their support team, but when we do they are responsive. However there have been notable times when communication between myself and the support rep was challenging despite me providing clear explanation of the issue, screenshots, and a thorough explanation of the goal we hope to achieve. It took several back and forth attempt, on a few occasions, to get resolution on an otherwise simple request
    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
    Zendesk
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Zendesk
    Zendesk has tons of available material for training - videos, webinars, articles, etc. The only reason this is not a 10 is because it can be hard to figure out how to navigate to these things and find what you are looking for.
    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
    Zendesk
    I was very satisfied. They have a free trial for 30 days and I recommend you do that and use it. It is very easy to get started with the basics and the build on over time.

    The only thing technically complex was single sign-on and integration to Salesforce.com required some tweaks – otherwise setting up system was very easy
    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
    Zendesk
    At the time of evaluation, Dynamics had extremely limited knowledge and support capabilities. The UI is clunky, and reporting requires a deep understanding of the underlying data structure. Ongoing maintenance was costly and didn't provide a positive ROI in any sense of the term.
    Incentivized
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    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
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    Zendesk
    WHY we will use Zendesk in HR and PD internally
    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
    Zendesk
    • More than anything, provided a boost to our perceived professionalism. The portal is a massive improvement on email only support.
    • Workflow optimization via macros and automations has enhanced response times and raise our 'first call resolution' metric.
    • Speaking of metrics; having them at all! Before Zendesk Suite we were email only so had no insight into agent and vendor performance.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Xero Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot

    Zendesk Suite Screenshots

    Screenshot of the Zendesk Agent WorkspaceScreenshot of Omnichannel MessagingScreenshot of Zendesk TicketingScreenshot of Bots powered by Zendesk AIScreenshot of Tone shift with Zendesk AIScreenshot of Zendesk ticketing side conversations