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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

    Zoho Desk

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AZoho Support is a Saas help desk / ticketing system aimed at SMBs. I competes most often with Zendesk, and Desk.com.

    $9

    per month per user

    Pricing
    XeroZoho Desk
    Editions & Modules
    Early
    $13
    per month
    Growing
    $37
    per month
    Established
    $70
    per month
    Free
    $0
    Express
    $9
    per month per user
    Standard
    $20
    per month per user
    Professional
    $35
    per month per user
    Enterprise
    $50
    per month per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    XeroZoho Desk
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeRequired
    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/monthA discount is offered for yearly billing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    XeroZoho Desk
    Considered Both Products
    Xero
    Chose Xero
    QuickBooks was my grandmother's bookkeeping software. Nothing was automated and it forced me to know good accounting practices. That's what I pay my accountant for. Xero is intuitive and also limited on what you can do on each screen. If I'm ever confused, I send a support …
    Incentivized
    Zoho
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    160 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    94%
    Delivers good value for the price
    153 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    14 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    160 Answers
    87%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    131 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    99%
    Implementation went as expected
    149 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    XeroZoho Desk
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of Xero and Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    7.5
    73 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Zoho Desk
    -
    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 Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    8.0
    169 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Zoho Desk
    -
    Ratings
    API for custom integration7.979 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.1156 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of Xero and Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    7.1
    213 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Zoho Desk
    -
    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 Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    8.3
    241 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Zoho Desk
    -
    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 Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    8.3
    251 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Zoho Desk
    -
    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 Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    6.3
    119 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Zoho Desk
    -
    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 Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    7.3
    89 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Zoho Desk
    -
    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 Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Zoho Desk
    8.5
    5 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Organize and prioritize service tickets00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Expert directory00 Ratings7.14 Ratings
    Subscription-based notifications00 Ratings7.14 Ratings
    ITSM collaboration and documentation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Ticket creation and submission00 Ratings8.95 Ratings
    Ticket response00 Ratings8.95 Ratings
    Self Help Community
    Comparison of Self Help Community features of Xero and Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Zoho Desk
    9.8
    5 Ratings
    20% above category average
    External knowledge base00 Ratings9.85 Ratings
    Internal knowledge base00 Ratings9.85 Ratings
    Multi-Channel Help
    Comparison of Multi-Channel Help features of Xero and Zoho Desk
    Feature
    Xero
    -
    Ratings
    Zoho Desk
    6.6
    5 Ratings
    19% below category average
    Customer portal00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
    Social integration00 Ratings6.83 Ratings
    Email support00 Ratings6.15 Ratings
    Help Desk CRM integration00 Ratings5.44 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    XeroZoho Desk
    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
    XeroZoho Desk
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.3
    (266 ratings)
    8.8
    (23 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    4.7
    (38 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (192 ratings)
    8.0
    (12 ratings)
    Availability
    3.1
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    5.6
    (40 ratings)
    8.8
    (11 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.6
    (13 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.1
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    9.1
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.4
    (150 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.0
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    6.5
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    XeroZoho Desk
    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
    Zoho
    Zoho Desk is a great customer service tool. It is very easy to track the ability to receive tickets and send responses in Zoho Desk. There are lots of options for customization. The knowledge base feature is very extensive and powerful. It makes creating internal and external FAQs easy.
    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
    Zoho
    • It provides a simple widget code with a few clicks once you decide to integrate it with your website or application.
    • There is a very user friendly dedicated mobile application for Zoho Desk for Android and IOS devices.
    • You can easily track all of your tickets and agents from the dashboard interface.
    • You can insert tags with each ticket to group them into specific categories for analysis and troubleshooting.
    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
    Zoho
    • The biggest drawback that I am facing while using the platform is that their ticketing system is not that great [in my opinion]. It does not give us the option to add sales tax and other charges in the invoices which leads to a big problem for us.
    • [I feel] its customer support needs improvement.
    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
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Zoho
    I give [Zoho Desk] [an] overall usability score of 9. This is partly due to the search functionality needs improvement. There are several times where I am left unable to find a ticket and have to generate a new one. I am hoping in the future that they will make some changes!
    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
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Zoho
    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
    Zoho
    As Zoho Support is based in a different timezone to ours it can be an issue that we cannot get an immediate response to an issue. But I will say that once their Support is in the office they are fairly good to respond. they have resolved almost all issues I have told them about, but Zoho have also made system changes and not communicated these beforehand which means we are faced with something new and cannot get support on this until their support team is in the office
    Incentivized
    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
    Zoho
    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
    Zoho
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Zoho
    We selected Zoho Desk as we needed a platform that was going to allow the business to grow through both usage and staffing numbers. We wanted something cost-effective but still offered standard features in an effective cloud-delivered solution but would still allow customization by our internal dev team, to derive better value from the service where it natively didn't do what we needed it to. FreeAgent was okay for a while, but Zoho Desk has allowed a vast improvement in our service offering to end customers.
    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
    Read full review
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Zoho
    • Zoho Desk has created an organised sytem of support which alows me to help my customers more efficiently.
    • By saving resolutions as articles, Zoho Desk has provided a training resource for current customers and support staff as part of solving problems.
    • All new customers become part of a database of customers who continue to receive support and education from forums created by the articles and customer questions.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Xero Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot

    Zoho Desk Screenshots

    Screenshot of Log and monitor phone conversations, convert them into new tickets, or attach them to existing ones. Convert social media interactions and live chat into tickets at the click of a button.Screenshot of Bring a Help Center directly into a website to strengthen self-service. Chat with Zia, an AI-powered conversation assistant. Customers can chat with Zia right from a mobile app or website. Zia processes their questions and suggests appropriate solutions from the Knowledge Base.Screenshot of With advanced process automation, internal processes can be setup within the help desk, implement them automatically, and make sure that all processes are followed precisely.Screenshot of Instant responses for instant happiness. Respond to customers the minute they reach out with Zoho Desk's embeddable chat widget. Customers can get in touch with agents instantly, right from the Help Center, so agents can respond and help them find answers faster.Screenshot of Monitor a team's performance, customize and schedule reports. Custom dashboards can be created.Screenshot of Zia brings together predictions across anomalies, sentiment, trending ticket tags, and more into a common dashboard for decision-makers to consume. They can drill down further into the details from the same dashboard to investigate further.