Item: Xero
Rating: 10
Author: Andrew Campbell

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Xero for all our bookkeeping clients. We do weekly bookkeeping and monthly reporting for some, but Xero also works great for write-ups with their Ledger product. The biggest problem that it addresses for us is that it prevents clients from making a mess of their books. A lot less can go wrong in Xero than in QB, and it's a lot easier to fix when it does.

Pros and Cons

Cash coding the first thing I loved about it. The spreadsheet-like format just makes sense and is basically a superpower when it comes to write-up.
Find and Recode is the next beauty. You can find and fix so much so quickly with that one tool.
The integrated fixed asset module exists and is adequate which is more than I can say for any competing software.
Getting data in and out of the software is easy.
Reporting is beautifully customizable.
Their customer service has always been good for me.
I love that Hubdoc is included for free.

Everybody kvetches about their reconciliation function, and sure, I'd like it to be a little more like the QB version that everyone is used to.
The UI on Hubdoc is pretty weak. They've had plenty of time to integrate Hubdoc directly into Xero and they haven't yet.
Navigation could be easier. It ends up being a lot of clicks.
The fact that credit cards still have be listed as "bank" accounts in order to get a feed is bonkers.
Their "Projects" module is not very powerful, yet not very easy to use.

Return on Investment

The more time I spend in Xero, the happier I am.
I like that it helps differentiate my brand. So many clients have been burned by QB that it's an easy sell.

Usability

There are a few aspects that are less than ideal, like the amount of clicking to navigate, but overall, I find it extremely usable. In particular, I find that the underlying logic of the software is comprehensible. In QB, it always feels like there's a black box that information goes into and then stuff pops out the other side and it's very difficult to trace. In Xero, A leads to B leads to C.

Ease of Integration

I can't think of a product that integrates better. Integration is always a challenge but, again, the transparency of the system, the ability to trace the underlying logic, make integration about as smooth as it can be. I've mostly integrated payroll systems and receipt capture apps, which aren't that sophisticated, but it works. Oh, and their Stripe feed integration is great.

Key Insights

Do you think Xero delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Xero's feature set?

Yes

Did Xero live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Xero go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Xero again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

I shill for Xero every chance I get. It is so superior to its competitors. There are only two situations where I don't recommend Xero. First, for the not-very-ambitions DIY'er, there are simpler solutions out there ---- I think TrulySmall and FreshBooks are better for folks who don't know anything about bookkeeping and are trying to do it themselves --- TrulySmall is as close as you can get to idiot-proof books. And then for those folks who, because of size or industry, really need more power than Xero has, maybe QB can do it without having to go further upmarket. But if you need that much juice, you should also have an in-house bookkeeper at least half-time. For folks like me, who work with that part of the market between the DIYers and those with in-house bookkeepers, Xero is the beginning and the end of the discussion as far as I'm concerned. Friends don't let friends use Quickbooks.

Xero is the new ten.

Overall Satisfaction with Xero