Xero Reviews

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.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Xero

Freshbooks didnt give Multi-currency and it was causing problems with reporting

Switched From

FreshBooks

Reasons for Switching to Xero

There was no multi-currency in Quickbooks available. Bank feeds were also not there for some of the banks I wanted. For a similar price point Xero offered better features and a product that was easier to use for a non-accountant.

Pros

The integration to the 3rd party platform. From booking engine, payment Getaway, timesheet, etc.

Cons

I don’t know how to adjust the margin layout on invoice. My company details that I set up to display in top right of invoice always looks messy. I couldn’t find any helps to adjust the margin to make it neat and tidy.

Alternatives Considered

MYOB Business and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Xero

More user friendly compare to Myob, more integration options compare to QuickBooks. Also recommended by my accountant.

Pros

The sales and Marketing misleading information which has casued our lack of TRUST We need a company which offer support and competent systems

Cons

Failure to disclose material Facts For exaple Banks Xero does not work with Handelsbankken and Metro Bank and the lack of ability to get support at Xero and the lack of ability to get 2nd party authorisation (even on Xero verification app )

Pros

What I liked most about Xero was the ease of use of the platform. The features are well organized and easily accessible, which makes it easier to manage my finances. I also appreciated the wide variety of features offered, especially in terms of inventory management and bank reconciliation. Finally, the customer service is excellent, with a responsive and competent team ready to answer my questions and solve my problems.

Cons

Although I am generally satisfied with Xero, there are some negative points to report. First of all, the cost of a monthly subscription can be quite high, especially if you use advanced features or if you need a large number of users. In addition, some features may be difficult to understand for novice users, which may require additional training. Finally, although the customer service is excellent overall, I have sometimes encountered longer wait times than expected to get assistance.

Pros

Easy to use for accounting ledger, integrates with other software we use.

Cons

Not as good as our other software for general accounting and payrole

Alternatives Considered

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Reasons for Switching to Xero

looked less complicated and integrated with other software

Pros

Xero is exceptionally simple to utilize, indeed on the off chance that you're not especially tech adroit or financially slanted you may be able to utilize Xero to suit your needs, making and collecting solicitations is truly simple. The highlights of Xero are very amazing, I coordinates Xero into my application to oversee exchanges, I moreover categorized bank exchanges utilizing the categories given by Xero. For each Xero exchange and exchange category, I made a assignment comparing to the Asana errand with the same exchange sum. We have included this usefulness to fathom the issue of exchanges related to project estimation and costs. Xero could be a awesome app to handle cash related exchanges, ready to effectively categorize the costs and check the advance of the sent cost.

Cons

What I do not like is that we can't track time and I think since the app is all almost investing and cash, there ought to be a time following highlight accessible. Now and then I discover that I got to tap a few times to discover what I'm seeking out, for maybe a more visual dashboard will offer assistance make the method less demanding.

Pros

Easy Accessibility: Being cloud-based, the Xero app allows users to access their financial data from anywhere with an internet connection. It is compatible with various devices and operating systems, including desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. This accessibility ensures that business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers can manage their finances on the go, making it convenient and flexible.

Cons

One of the least favorable aspects of the Xero app is its pricing structure. While the software offers various subscription plans to cater to different business needs, some users may find the cost of these plans relatively higher compared to other accounting software options. The pricing structure may be a disadvantage for small businesses or startups with limited budgets, especially if they require access to advanced features or have a growing number of users. Additionally, certain features, such as payroll management or multi-currency functionality, may require add-ons or incur additional costs, further increasing the overall expense for users.

Pros

Xero offers all the functionality we need and has none that we don't, which makes it a very practical and intuitive system. There is no complex learning curve to implement the software. The customizable reports make it easy for me to organize accounting data in a very practical and manageable way. As a web application, there is no desktop software to update, synchronize, perform remote work, etc. Everything is updated in real time across all locations and user accounts.

Cons

Many of the features are not present in your application, plus the site is not compatible with mobile devices, so you must run it on a desktop computer to take advantage of the suite's full potential. You may want to have updates installed to help tidy up and clarify the interface.

Pros

Xero a product that helps me manage cash flow and integrate with other applications to improve workflow. It also helps me track inventory levels and automate inventory thresholds.

Cons

For more complex accounting needs, additional expertise is required to take full advantage and some advanced features may require a subscription to a more expensive plan.

Pros

Xero has the capability to support more than 160 different currencies, making it a valuable feature for businesses that conduct transactions on an international level.

Cons

Xero may not be the most budget-friendly option for small businesses due to its pricing plans, which can be relatively expensive. Additionally, there may be extra charges for certain features and integrations.

Pros

Customisable dashboard is a time saver and ability to customise templates helps with consistency for our company branding. Customisation of user permissions means the bonus of staff being able to enter their own expenses which is a further time saver. Being able to work across multiple currencies now is a plus, albeit I wish we could manually adjust exchange rates being used.

Cons

Many advanced features that are standard for longer established accounting software solutions are available, but as "bolt on" packages, so costs can escalate quickly if you need full "bells and whistles".
Customer service response can be very slow compared to other cloud software providers we use - in the beginning they were responsive for engagement but over time they're clearly pushing all customers towards getting answers from their user community and/or through the Q&A section. I appreciate that customer service probably don't want to be wasting time with queries better addressed by professional book-keepers or accountants, but in our instance, as "advanced users", our customer service queries tend to be related to technical challenges with the product. It would be great of Xero could analyse the types of queries coming from their customers and perhaps have a priority helpline on offer for "low maintenance" subscribers.

Alternatives Considered

Quicken, Sage Business Cloud Accounting, QuickBooks Online Advanced and FreshBooks

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Felt more user friendly, especially for team members who, at the time, had limited or zero accounting knowledge

Pros

I like the product is easy to use, no need high knowledge of accounting, the person who never was doing accounting can easily manage this product

Cons

there is still missing a few things as inventory shall be a bit changed as people with two inventories in different places can not have two storages, there are few things that missing and can make it easier to work with

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Xero

the cloud, it is an advantage to be cloud due to my work I am travelling a lot and if client need help can do it on the move

Reasons for Switching to Xero

more user friendly I think

Pros

Xero have been designed to be used by non-account business folks. However, once the data has been listed an accountant has a great tool to use to finish the company financial records (Monthly, Quarterly & Annually). It is also priced at a rate that works for most business owners.

Cons

I really do not know of any areas within the software that I can list as "Least" liked. I do not know of any significant problems which I believe need correcting.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Reasons for Choosing Xero

I found Xero to be better designed for the average business owner at a lower rate.

Switched From

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Because of its design for the business owner.

Pros

As a former quickbooks user of about 20 years, it was a big deal to switch platforms. At first glance it looked like it would do everything we wanted. I loved the price point, the interface and relative ease of use. The multi currency was great as was the ability to integrate with Stripe. You make a lot of compromises to save on the huge monthly cost of quickbooks but there are workarounds.

Cons

There are so many things that are just common/must have's for any business. Things like progressive billing, job costing and even the ability to make your own journal entries are missing. We had to hire a consultant and spend around $800 just to get it to add purchases easier to the mix with HubDoc. You see job costing catagories at the invoice level but not software or 3rd party app to back it up. The single most annoying thing about it is the support. It's non existent. You complain, They tell you its not a problem and ignore your requests. I struggle daily with the search function. I can't get about 50% of my searches to work. The clients I'm looking for are entered. I'm typing them in fine but you often have to visit contacts menu and find them manually by quote number or just never ending scrolling. Upon complaining numerous times the best they can do is say "it might take up to two weeks for your contacts to sync. " Xero: It's 2020 and the dark ages of cloud software have passed. You need to fix the search function and add job costing to be considered a contender. So here we are in 2020, manually adding each of our sales to a spreadsheet and adding the subsequent bills to it to see if we made $. They make it incredibly hard to contact support and they are quite unresponsive when they do reply to your ticket. They try really hard to push you to support forums, where there are literally hundreds of complaints on the same issue with the ability to comment closed.

Pros

Ease of use - seriously. Nothing comes close. And trust me, I've tried a number of accounting software and they're all a nightmare to use unless you're an accountant.

Cons

Customer support could be quicker, and phone support would help.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online Advanced, Sage 50cloud Accounting, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, Sage 100 and Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Xero

Sage 50 Cloud was supposedly a cloud based software, but it wasn't truly cloud based, and it had all the legacy horrid pains associated with any Sage accounting system.

Switched From

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Reasons for Switching to Xero

None of them were truly cloud based. All of them were horribly complicated, made for accountants and not at all user friendly.

Pros

Xero makes managing the finances for a business really straightforward. The user interface is intuitive and it centralises all my accounts information.

One of my favourite features is the the dashboard, which is clear and customisable, and gives a great summary of the position position at any time.

The software also integrates really well to other platforms for things like receipt capture and detailed business analysis.

Cons

I'm really happy with how it performs, however, our bookkeeper still does some levels of manual reporting, which he finds easier in Excel, than in Xero. The integration of BA tools does negate this issue.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Xero

It wasn't SaaS at the time and was only able to be understood and used by our bookkeeper.

Switched From

MYOB Business

Reasons for Switching to Xero

At the time the product looked to have better features and functionality, and the user experience was excellent.

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.

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Xero

Excel and spreadsheets for bookkeeping and accounting become very hard to maintain over time and can be time-consuming. Additionally, it is also prone to errors and data corruption. Therefore, it is not sustainable especially if you are growing your business.

Switched From

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Xero is more commonly used by my target market: New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.

Pros

Xero's main benefit to us as a mid tier accounting firm is the ease of importing information. It supports multiple bank feeds on a reliable basis and its open API allows for the support of many add in apps

Cons

Being a non-technical software, it does sometimes give the impression of not being as robust in terms of ease of change of prior information. This can be overcome by locking down periods, one just has to remember to do this though.

Alternatives Considered

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Reasons for Choosing Xero

The capital development expenditure and size of Xero simply mean that it is outpacing other software in terms of speed of development, effectively future-proofing our practice.

Switched From

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Reasons for Switching to Xero

The main factors were cost and engagement with the Xero South Africa team

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.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Xero

good recommendation from another provider who had a similar size busness. Was SUPER easy to set up, and the account reconciliation was a godsend.

Pros

Xero is first and foremost easy to use and benefits from clever AI functionality. Keeping an eye on the business is much easier via Xero as it shows a snapshot of key data on the dashboard. With the available integrations there are very little limitations to its use and it is well priced for the majority of our clients

Cons

The Payroll module is quite clunky and better options are out there in our opinion. An enhanced cash flow and adding a forecasting element within the software would help. Making it easier to post customer payments on account would also improve an already good product

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Xero

Functionality and cost

Switched From

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Impressed by account manager and future roadmap presented

Pros

- Easy to use
- Good integration with our inventory management software (used to be TradeGecko and now Dear)
- Integration with bank accounts
- Many accountants familiar with the software
- Easy to generate reports (Aged receivables, payables, financial reports like P&L, balance sheet, etc.)
- Different users can have different levels of access (e.g. access to bills and invoices but no access to bank details)
- Not glitchy

Cons

- Not able to generate batch payment file for our bank (OCBC)
- Slightly more pricey than Quickbooks
- No Cashflow Statement - Indirect Method as a report

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Choosing Xero

Integration with e-commerce and inventory management software

Switched From

MoneyWorks

Pros

I have been using Xero for a good number of years now and can only recommend it! The usability is fantastic, the ability to see really clearly how the accounts work is groundbreaking in its field. I love the bank reconciliation and the bank feeds. The automation of data is actually fun and linking it into the add-ons can make life a lot easier and save time and money. It is a great way to keep things simple and clear. I love the advisor features, that you can't break it (although you can make a real mess if not careful). For me the biggest benefit is the clarity of the data and the ability to drill down into virtually anything.

Don't use Xero in super complex scenarios and I would recommend that you employ a proper XERO accountant - who actually knows how to use Xero and uses the data when using it though or you will end up paying twice - once for entering the data to xero - and again when the accountant pulls it out into their own software. Overall I would absolutely recommend Xero for people who are more serious than working in spreadsheets but who are turning over £50k-£3m+ with a fairly simple process.

Cons

We have found that Xero does not work well in all scenarios but there are work arounds - the bigger the business and the more complex the processes the less it suits but then if you are bigger/more complex you should arguably be using something else!
Support is not awesome! It can take time and you are often met with unhelpful suggestions. There has been an increased number of 'blips' in the software in more recent months and the support has been almost useless in those cases and I have had to find workarounds. Conversation/instant message support should surely be on the cards?
Another thing that I don't like is the highly evangelical nature of the conferences! It borders on the cultish and if you are not 'in' then you are definitely 'out'! I have not found there to be any benefit to being on the 'directory' for that same reason.

Pros

For bookkeeping, small and medium-sized businesses this software is a dream. It is the most intuitive and easiest to use of all the accounting software that we reviewed. As an accountant, it is easy to fix user errors and mis-postings. There is a proper audit trail and safety checks built in. There are so many time-saving features like find and recode, repeating bills/invoices/journals, bank rules. The move toward AI is exciting too.

Cons

The reports aren't GAP or IAS compliant so it is no good for reporting, final accounts production or tax. To get accountants interested and recommending Xero in the early days, they promised accountants that Final Accounts Production and Corporation Tax software was in their development queue but it never materialised and they burnt a lot of bridges with accountants when they announced that they had dropped FAP plans. This is why Quickbooks are getting such a big foothold and stealing market share from Xero.

The software is expensive for what it is and you can get a lot more and better for your money with FreeAgent and QuickBooks.

The biggest let down for Xero is that there is no telephone support, at all. Not even call back. You have to email and if you are on the opposite side of the world from New Zealand, it can take a full day to get an inital response and if there is any misunderstanding or info required, it can take days to get your problem resolved. This is really useless and a deal breaker for serious businesses.

Another major failing in Xero is the number of times that the Bank Feed just doesn't work. This is outwith Xero's control and so it can often take months to resolve. This is amateur and best and negligent at worst.

Pros

The service accomplishes most of what it was intended to do albiet at a bit of a learning curve for the new user.

Cons

There is no customer service support number to call. Bank feeds do not work properly. IOS app is mising some functionaility

Pros

The software is easy to setup, easy to use, very transparent and well-supported by many accountants. It is designed with the end-user in mind, rather than the accountant. Depending on your package, it allows filing direct with IRD for GST and Payroll.

Cons

There is no phone support, only via a web portal. Some matters are not documented well in any of the Xero-supplied "how to" e.g. best practice for issuing dividends.

Alternatives Considered

MYOB Business

Reasons for Choosing Xero

Accuracy and time.

Switched From

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Easier to use.