Item: Xero
Rating: 6
Author: Sam Walker

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our previous accounting software was built on old technology and required on-premise servers to run, Xero being a SaaS solution was key to us. We use Xero as our core accounting software. We integrate it with our ERP system and all invoices, purchase orders, returns etc. flow through it. We also use it for our HMRC MTD returns, debt chasing and for reporting.

Pros and Cons

Integrates well with Unleashed inventory software
Payment gateway from invoices
Document templates are easy to create

No ability to set separate email addresses based on roles or document type, e.g. invoices and statements have to go to the same address (or be manually redirected)
Reporting functionality is clunky to use and not very in-depth
Generally seems to be aimed at sole-traders and very small businesses

Return on Investment

It's saved us a lot of time in Bank Reconciliation
The payment gateway attached to the invoices is great and saves us a fair amount of time and effort in taking card payments over the phone
The integration to Unleashed inventory software is smooth and avoids the need for additional process to move data between systems

Usability

It's very easy to use in most circumstances. The menu structure isn't always obvious to a British accountant, due to the terminology, but once you get used to that it is relatively easy to use. The features it does have work well and we've only once had an issue where there was an outage (which lasted less and 3 hours).

Cloud Costs

It's a strategic IT goal for our company to make our on-premises servers redundant by Q2 2024, so Xero being a SaaS solution was key in our decision-making. As an IT manager it's also made the deployment of new devices and new user setup much easier as I no longer have to ensure software has been installed and that licensing tied to hardware has been moved/disabled/etc.

Ease of Integration

We integrate Xero with Unleashed inventory software and it does that very easily. This was a key factor in our decision making and it has proved reliable over the last few years. The integration isn't very feature rich but it does the basic job. I haven't tried integrating it with much else.

Alternatives Considered

Sage 50cloud Accounting, Sage Accounting and QuickBooks Online Advanced

Sage at the time we moved to Xero did not really have a suitable Cloud offering and the full SaaS solution it did have was only applicable to very small businesses. Quickbooks was very similar to Xero but during testing, most users preferred Xero for various reasons. Xero's UI was slightly more user friendly.

Key Insights

Do you think Xero delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Xero's feature set?

Did Xero live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Xero go as expected?

Would you buy Xero again?

Likelihood to Recommend

I think it would be excellent for sole traders and very small businesses. The pricing is good and the features are well suited to smaller operations, where it falls down is for SMEs (like us) who don't need a really advanced accounting software but something a bit more featured than Xero. It does integrate well with other applications, so that is the sole reason we went with it.

Great value for money but aimed at very small businesses

Overall Satisfaction with Xero