Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Xero
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Xero 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
ZipBooks
Score 7.8 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
ZipBooks is an accounting software solution for small business owners and accountants. Users can track expenses, manage their team, send recurring invoices and manage projects.
$0
Pricing
XeroZipBooks
Editions & Modules
Early
$13
per month
Growing
$37
per month
Established
$70
per month
ZipBooks Starter
$0
ZipBooks Smarter
$15
ZipBooks Sophisticated
$35
ZipBooks Accountant
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
XeroZipBooks
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo 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
XeroZipBooks
Considered Both Products
Xero

No answer on this topic

ZipBooks
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
XeroZipBooks
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Xero
7.8
73 Ratings
4% above category average
ZipBooks
-
Ratings
Pay calculation7.965 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.123 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files7.949 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.841 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.354 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Xero
7.5
126 Ratings
6% above category average
ZipBooks
9.1
2 Ratings
25% above category average
API for custom integration7.779 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Plug-ins7.3113 Ratings9.11 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Xero
8.1
159 Ratings
3% above category average
ZipBooks
9.5
5 Ratings
19% above category average
Single sign-on capability7.572 Ratings9.74 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.7157 Ratings9.34 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Xero
8.0
180 Ratings
5% above category average
ZipBooks
10.0
6 Ratings
27% above category average
Dashboards7.9176 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Standard reports8.2179 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Custom reports7.9159 Ratings00 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Xero
7.4
189 Ratings
0% below category average
ZipBooks
8.8
6 Ratings
17% above category average
Accounts payable8.7176 Ratings00 Ratings
Accounts receivable8.9177 Ratings8.05 Ratings
Cash management8.1161 Ratings00 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.1184 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Expense management7.9168 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Time tracking7.660 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Fixed asset management7.7115 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.5109 Ratings9.12 Ratings
Multi-division support7.493 Ratings00 Ratings
Regulations compliance8.293 Ratings00 Ratings
Electronic tax filing9.093 Ratings00 Ratings
Self-service portal7.7106 Ratings00 Ratings
Global Financial Support6.051 Ratings00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers7.250 Ratings00 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting6.040 Ratings00 Ratings
Localizations8.039 Ratings00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.290 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting4.433 Ratings00 Ratings
Configurable Accounting5.859 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework5.133 Ratings00 Ratings
Standardized Processes6.159 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Xero
6.5
87 Ratings
8% below category average
ZipBooks
-
Ratings
Inventory tracking6.183 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic reordering7.024 Ratings00 Ratings
Location management7.029 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing module6.316 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Xero
6.9
89 Ratings
7% below category average
ZipBooks
9.2
6 Ratings
21% above category average
Pricing6.862 Ratings00 Ratings
Order entry6.956 Ratings00 Ratings
Credit card processing7.458 Ratings10.06 Ratings
Cost of goods sold7.366 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Order Orchestration6.621 Ratings00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility6.524 Ratings00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution6.617 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
XeroZipBooks
Small Businesses
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Dext Prepare (with Receipt Bank)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.2 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
XeroZipBooks
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(204 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.9
(32 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.8
(129 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(36 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.3
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.5
(89 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
XeroZipBooks
Likelihood to Recommend
Xero
If they are using foreign exchange I always use Xero. If I need reporting to be customized we always use Xero. If the client is already working in a software and it is working for them we will leave them in the software they are in.
Read full review
ZipBooks
ZipBooks is really strong for small businesses (and non-profits like the ones I help manage). It may not yet be ready to handle medium or large businesses given the deep, niche functionality that is sometimes required in those cases.
Read full review
Pros
Xero
  • Their method of moving between screens was very logical and intuitive which is not a "given" attribute among software packages.
  • Finding transactions was relatively easy with just common sense.
  • The use of this software was generally well received in that the accountants did not discredit the software as cheap, poorly organized, or timely to learn. No one at Corporate had a vendetta against using Xero.
  • It does a good job of allowing the users to drill down to the final detail of an account balance - which is fundamental to the accounting department's needs.
Read full review
ZipBooks
  • Invoicing is particularly easy-to-use, quick, clean and beautiful. GREAT for branding.
  • The time tracker was unexpected, but very useful and integrates well with the invoicing. Leads to quick invoicing every time.
  • Customer support is phenomenal -- the support staff is friendly and helpful.
  • Although they are a new company, they are definitely on the right track!
  • I recommend this software to clients, colleagues, and friends alike, mostly for it quick and beautiful invoicing.
  • They do what they can to live up to their name! It doesn't take very long to get set up, or very long to create a complete invoice and send it to the right person.
Read full review
Cons
Xero
  • Occasionally, the price increases and I feel that prices should be fixed for long-term users as there are very few changes in the software from when I started using it 6 years ago.
  • It would be useful to have the emails sent with invoices saved.
  • Visual dashboards are limited.
Read full review
ZipBooks
  • There is some difficulty with a need to learn the use of the menus, they are not open and click, at the moment, the user needs to open the menu then using the pad keys scroll down and use enter to select from the drop-down menu. A mouse does not work.
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
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
Usability
Xero
Xero has all the features that you need, basically. From chart of accounts, reconciling books, to making annual financial reports. What I'm currently looking for Xero right now is to provide more broader integration with the other apps so we can use it for customer-facing experience also. All in all, everything works well!
Read full review
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
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
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
Performance
Xero
Pages generally load quickly, but it's a fairly common occurrence to have pages taking a bit longer than I'd like to load (as in, 4+ seconds). Occasionally I have to refresh a page to get it to work. Bank feed and integrations tend to be slow in general, but that could easily be due to API latency on the side of the other parties. Most of the time, though, the bank feeds refresh before I login so it's not a huge problem. Not necessarily good performance compared to a local app like QuickBooks desktop, but definitely good performance for a cloud application. Room for growth? yes.
Read full review
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
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
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
Xero
The format was great; someone was there to ask questions or help if you were stuck.
Read full review
ZipBooks
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
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
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.
Read full review
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Xero
I've used a lot of different accounting systems. Many of them so big and powerful, but a hassle to get set up. Xero is light, inexpensive, and easy to use. When I originally selected them they seemed like they were developing new features at a quick rate as well. I was invited to be part of focus sessions to make the product better. That part has slowed down significantly though.
Read full review
ZipBooks
I've primarily compared ZipBooks vs. Quickbooks because I've used Quickbooks at larger companies before. ZipBooks was the right fit for a smaller organization because it still had all the core features of Quickbooks but at a dramatically lower price that fits the budget.
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
Read full review
ZipBooks
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Xero
  • Saved many hours through automatic invoices and followups
  • Saved many hours by allowing transactions to start via bank feeds (ie I don't have to input a transaction and mark it against what is in the bank/cc account; rather, the transaction in the account is where you input the transaction into the books.
  • Has the scalability my business requires, and not much more.
Read full review
ZipBooks
  • ZipBooks is entirely affordable, and with my current $15/mo payments, I get ROI pretty quickly.
  • Invoices are simple and easy to make, while staying beautiful and functional at the same time. This saves me TIME, which means that I don't need to spend 15-20 minutes fiddling with the software to make it do what I want it to do. It just works. And that means, I can spend more time doing client work, and managing projects and sales.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Xero Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

ZipBooks Screenshots

Screenshot of ZipBooks DashboardScreenshot of ZipBooks TransactionsScreenshot of ZipBooks InvoicingScreenshot of ZipBooks Accountant Messaging