About Xero
Xero is a cloud-based small business accounting software with tools for managing invoicing, bank reconciliation, inventory, purchasing, expenses, bookkeeping and more. Xero is an alternative to QuickBooks. It is a modern, small business accounting software that lives in the cloud. It's accessible from any computer or mobile device, making for a smarter and easier accounting process, with features including cash flow tracking, payment processing, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, inventory management, financial reporting, and more.
The Xero dashboard presents users with a clear and concise overview of their financial situation. It provides small business owners with a greater understanding of their cashflow by highlighting bank balances, outstanding invoices, upcoming bills and expense claims in a visually appealing way. Daily bank and credit card transactions are automatically imported into Xero and matched to their corresponding accounting transaction. Doing bank reconciliation is as easy as confirming the match is corrected and clicking "OK."
Xero integrates with a variety of third-party apps commonly used by small businesses including Stripe, PayPal, Capsule, HubSpot, and more in order to streamline workflows and synchronize data such as sales invoices, client data, cashflow reports, payroll data, and more. Data flows directly into the Xero ledger, removing the time and effort required for manual data entry. Every Xero plan comes with unlimited users, so there's no need to pay for extra licenses. Collaborate with colleagues or invite financial advisors to view data remotely and get valuable real-time advice.
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Key benefits of Xero
Devices
Business size
Markets
Supported Languages
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Features
Total features of Xero: 78
- API
- Access Control
- Activity Dashboard
- Ad hoc Reporting
- Assignment Management
- Auto-Matching
- Automated Scheduling
- Automatic Backup
- Balance Sheet
- Bank Reconciliation
- Billing & Invoicing
- Budgeting
- Business Analysis
- Cash Flow Management
- Charting
- Check Printing
- Contact History
- Contact Management
- Credit Card Processing
- Currency Conversion
- Customer Database
- Customer History
- Customer Segmentation
- Customisable Branding
- Customisable Reporting
- Customisable Templates
- Data Import
- Data Import/Export
- Depreciation Calculation
- Depreciation Tracking
- Document Management
- Document Storage
- Document Templates
- Drag & Drop Interface
- Electronic Payments
- Email Integration
- Email Templates
- Expense Claims
- Expense Tracking
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Management
- Fixed Asset Management
- Forecasting
- General Ledger
- Goal Setting / Tracking
- Inventory Management
- Inventory Tracking
- Invoice Management
- Invoice Processing
- Mobile Integration
- Monitoring
- Multi-Currency
- Order Confirmation
- Order Management
- Order Tracking
- Payroll Management
- Performance Reports
- Permission Management
- Physical Asset Tracking
- Price Management
- Profit / Loss Statement
- Progress Tracking
- Purchase Order Management
- Quote Management
- Real Time Data
- Real Time Reporting
- Receipt Management
- Recurring Billing
- Reimbursement Management
- Retail Inventory Management
- Sales Tax Management
- Sales Tracking
- Search Functionality
- Status Tracking
- Stock Management
- Template Management
- Third Party Integration
- Transaction History
Alternatives
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Kashoo
KashFlow
DATABASICS Time & Expense
Reviews
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- Industry: Arts & Crafts
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Affordable professional level accounting software for small business
Reviewed on 26/08/2019
It's been easier to use Xero than I expected, but I had a nasty surprise at tax time when I...
It's been easier to use Xero than I expected, but I had a nasty surprise at tax time when I realized the default accounts/descriptions for expenses did not correlate 1:1 to IRS categories. (I should have checked this more closely when I set up my accounts because it's a New Zealand company, and the previous product was local.) This means I will need to double-check all my transactions for 2018 and the IRS has my vastly overestimated tax payment until I can do that and file my return on an extension.
I've had a much better experience importing data from financial institutions because Xero uses a well-known importing service that is trusted by the institutions.
I like being able to match multiple invoices to bank deposits because I usually don't run to the bank for each check. This will be more valuable as my company grows.
I should probably find an accountant to assist me with this, but I haven't found an accountant who understands both craft businesses and Xero.
Pros
Professional double entry software at a very affordable price
Accommodates both cash and accrual accounting
Links to financial institutions to get transactions
Uses standard importer recognized by the financial institutions instead of just trying to log in remotely (and triggering fraud alerts)
Can match multiple invoices to a single deposit transaction imported from bank
Can keep using Xero as company grows
Cons
Pre-existing expense categories/descriptions don't map 1:1 with IRS definitions, so I'm having to go back to all my receipts to make sure expenses are entered in proper accounts because I didn't realize this when I switched
More difficult to focus on specific expense categories to check transactions
Have not been able to import historic data from previous app (possibly because it's not double entry) so I am still paying the subscription on that software to retain access to my data
No integration with Craftybase, so I have to enter supply purchases and customer invoices there independently

- Industry: Information Technology & Services
- Company size: 2-10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Best in Multi-currency accounting for SMB
Reviewed on 18/02/2021
Xero was the best choice back in 2015 (when no one gave multi-currency) and still is in 2021 (when...
Xero was the best choice back in 2015 (when no one gave multi-currency) and still is in 2021 (when there are some who do).
I have now added another company to Xero and cannot imagine shifting to another platform....ever.
Pros
With most clients abroads, we find its best to bill them in their local currency. Luckily for us, Xero is there to help sort our books out and keep them in order. It integrates with many bank feeds & popular wallets/fintechs like PayPal, Payoneer & TransferWise so accounts are upto date - always.
Another feature we really use is their tracking fields. Xero allows users to setup 2 tracking fields that can be added to invoices, expenses, bills and assigned to each line. This helps us keep track of project based work and has been our way since before Xero ventured into Project based accounting (that users need to pay additional fee for)
It also integrates with online payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, GoCardless, and a few others; thus payments are a breeze for clients.
As a non-accountant, Xero is easy to use even when you get into all the features it provides.
Cons
They have made some changes to their UI esp where invoices and expenses are concerned. Luckily for older users, expenses are still free however, for new users it isnt and each person filing expenses on it needs to pay a small fee. I think it should be free for a small number of users (atleast 2) and then charged.
- Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
- Company size: 2-10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 2.0 /10
Pretty good, but in the end, more complicated than needed for two person practice
Reviewed on 21/01/2021
largely positive, but when they got rid of payroll, given my business of 2 employee/owner s-corp in...
largely positive, but when they got rid of payroll, given my business of 2 employee/owner s-corp in a medical practice, with no retail/inventory, it made things a ton easier to just do my accounting in Excel. It was really the payroll that made this a no brainer for me.
Pros
I loved the usability of this software. It was super easy to set up relatively sophisticated accounting with no accounting background. I thought the bank reconciliation was dynamite, and while they still had it, I loved the payroll. When I would eventually get triaged to tech support, the person was so patient, and so helpful it was really great, and they never seemed to mind spending a long time helping to fix some oddball problems that I'd made. Oh yes, loved it that they did the quarterly tax filings for me, but that also went away with the payroll
Cons
One thing about this accounting software - when you have a question their first response is to tell you to have your accountant look at it. I was using this software as a replacement for an accountant, in order to save money, so that advice didn't help much. When you do a google for help, you run into a problem: Xero seems to be doing accounting software for all the english speaking countries,e.g. new zealand, australia, UK, USA and canada. each of these countries has different business formations/corporations, different taxation rules, etc, as well as meaningfully different accounting vernacular. I would end up mnost of the time getting somewhere only to realize I'd pulled up the UK instructions to solve a problem.
- Industry: Accounting
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Solid platform
Reviewed on 08/12/2020
So far, it has been amazing. I have little to no complaints. Everyone that I have moved to Xero...
So far, it has been amazing. I have little to no complaints. Everyone that I have moved to Xero have told me thank you.
Pros
Xero is an accounting software that just works. I have used so many different platforms, and Xero has been the easiest and most reliable software I have found.
Cons
1099 reports are too limited. Tracking categories are too limited. Support can phone it in when you first reach out to them, but if you set up a time to chat with someone they are extremely helpful.
- Industry: Accounting
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Xero is an awesome bookkeeping solution for small business owners!
Reviewed on 01/11/2020
Xero is an awesome bookkeeping and accounting software solution for startups and small business...
Xero is an awesome bookkeeping and accounting software solution for startups and small business owners. It is indeed a good match for business owners who know nothing about accounting in order to keep their books and to properly manage their finances.
From my own experience, I found that Xero is very user-friendly and its accounting interface is streamlined, almost seamless, and uncluttered. The Demo Company is very useful as you can manipulate data without worrying about messing up vital information in your practice company.
Xero’s accounting dashboard shows the snapshot of your business (i.e., bank balances and reconciling items, outstanding invoices, and bills, accounts on the watchlist, etc.) and fully customizable depending on your needs.
Quickbooks had been the leader of accounting software for small businesses for quite some time but Xero is becoming more popular because of its competitive offering and value proposition. Xero’s starting plan is very affordable and you have the option to add-on some features depending on your need. It also offers a basic inventory and fixed asset management functionality in all of its plans, which is very cool! And the best thing about Xero is the unlimited users allowed to access the financial information.
Pros
- Affordable and cost less for startups and small businesses
- Includes fixed assets and inventory management in all of its plans
- Very user-friendly especially during migration or conversion of data
- Allows unlimited users
- Friendly 24/7 customer support
Cons
- Some countries lack a built-in payroll option.
- Customized reporting options are still limited. I wish Xero can allow you to create your own report.
- The contact list of customers and suppliers is mixed together and needs to set-up manually to organize.
Xero FAQs
Below are some frequently asked questions for Xero.Q. What type of pricing plans does Xero offer?
Xero offers the following pricing plans:
- Starting from: US$12.50/month
- Pricing model: Subscription
- Free Trial: Available
Starter: $12.5/month Standard: $25/month Premium: $32.5/month
Q. What are the main features of Xero?
Xero offers the following features:
- Access control
- Ad hoc reporting
- Assignment management
- Auto-matching
- Automated scheduling
- Automatic backup
- Automatic updates
- Balance sheet
- Bank reconciliation - auto import & code transactions
- Billing & invoicing
- Budgeting
- Bulk imports
- Business analysis
- Business asset tracking
- Business performance analysis
- Cash coding
- Cash flow management
- Cashflow forecasts
- Charting
- Check printing
- Contact history
- Contact management
- Convert from QuickBooks
- Credit card processing
- Currency conversion
- Customer & supplier tracking
- Customer database
- Customer history
- Customizable branding
- Customizable reporting
- Customizable templates
- Dashboard - see bank balances, sales & bills
- Data import
- Data import/export
- Data security
- Depreciation & disposal
- Depreciation calculation
- Depreciation tracking
- Document approval
- Document management
- Document storage
- Document templates
- Drag & drop interface
- Electronic payments
- Email integration
- Email templates
- Expense claims
- Expense tracking
- File & transaction storage
- Files attachments
- Financial management
- Financial reporting
- Fixed asset management
- Free, unlimited email support
- General ledger
- Goal setting / tracking
- Inter-company funds transfers
- Inventory management
- Inventory tracking
- Invoice management
- Invoice processing
- Invoicing - create and send invoices automatically
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Manual journals
- Mobile apps (iPhone, iPad, Android)
- Mobile integration
- Monitoring
- Multi-currency
- Order confirmation
- Order management
- Order tracking
- Pay bills
- PayPal & Stripe payments
- Payment processing
- Payroll management
- Permission management
- Price management
- Profit / loss statement
- Progress tracking
- Purchase order management
- Quick & easy 1099s
- Quote management
- Real time data
- Real time reporting
- Receipt management
- Receive bills electronically
- Recurring billing
- Reimbursement management
- Repeating journals
- Retail inventory management
- Sales & spending monitoring
- Sales tax management
- Search functionality
- Smart lists
- Status tracking
- Stock management
- Template management
- Third party integration
- Transaction history
- Watch list
Q. Who are the typical users of Xero?
Xero has the following typical customers:
Small Business, Non Profit, Freelancers
Q. What languages does Xero support?
Xero supports the following languages:
English
Q. Does Xero support mobile devices?
Xero supports the following devices:
Android, iPhone, iPad
Q. What other apps does Xero integrate with?
Xero integrates with the following applications:
Capsule, Entryless, FIVE CRM, Loc8, Payment Evolution, ProWorkflow, Receipt Bank, TriggerApp, Vend, WORKetc
Q. What level of support does Xero offer?
Xero offers the following support options:
Forum, Knowledge Base, Online Support, Video Tutorials
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