Xero Accounting Solution Reviews

“fast workflows and awesome reports”

Pros

Xero really speeds up the day to day accounting work and the reporting is fantastic.

Cons

A few banks in my country still have unreliable feeds which makes bank reconciliations a bit harder.

“bank feeds waste hours”

Pros

The concept is strong, the setup is well designed and it doesn't take long to learn. Even so, the real-world drawbacks end up outweighing those advantages especially when it comes to the time lost.

Cons

In one of my businesses, the bank feeds keep dropping out regularly. I realize not everyone runs into this but when it happens, it becomes a major drain on time. There's also no proper direct customer support, only forums and none of the advice posted there has actually solved the issue for me. Right now, this problem is costing me around an hour every day on average and on some days it's far worse. I am seriously thinking about giving up on bank feeds altogether and going back to manual reconciliations because at least then I can rely on the balances I am seeing. Auto bank feeds are supposed to be one of its biggest selling points but I'd definitely caution others that they don't work properly for every organization. On top of that it can be very slow at times and this isn't due to my internet connection. Over the last six months, there have also been four full days when I couldn't access the system at all because of its own issues which meant I simply couldn't work. It's incredibly frustrating. There are no refunds or discounts when these problems happen either so there's no real way to recover the time that gets lost. Looking back, Mamut AccountEdge seems like a far more practical option because, as an offline package, it is completely reliable. You may give up some functionality but you gain that back in time saved.

“flexible reports and fast reconciliation”

Pros

Reconciliation is very easy with this software and the reports can be customized without much effort.

Cons

At times there are slight delays with the Yodle bank integrations but they're usually less than a day and don't affect our workflow much.

“friendly accounting with smart automation”

Pros

Once you set it up correctly, it is probably the most user friendly accounting software I have seen especially for non-accountants. MYOB changed the game for small businesses in the 90s but Xero goes much further. It removes so much manual data entry work that normally eats up time, creates mistakes and becomes a hassle when you should be running your business. One of the best parts is that you decide how automated you want your accounting to be. If you want the tools are powerful enough to handle much of the work for you while staying simple to use. If you prefer a more hands-on approach, that works just as well because it remains simple and quick to manage.

Cons

It is always being updated and improved which is a good sign. I'd still like to see stronger inventory control although it's already much better than it was a couple of years ago. The same goes for handling advance payments. That said, these feel like pretty minor issues and for most small businesses they probably won't cause any real problems.

“clean dashboards and modern look”

Pros

The dashboards in Xero have a really modern look and the overall design feels modern and visually appealing.

Cons

A few of the setup settings are surprisingly awkward to locate and change especially when the software asks you to update or add information.

“reconciliation update ruined it”

Pros

Bank reconciliation used to be one of the best parts for me but after the redesign it became awful. The fonts are unattractive, the text is far too large and the whole thing feels less functional and much less user friendly than before. On top of that they do not seem willing to listen to feedback or consider changing it back.

Cons

The bank reconciliation update has been terrible and the recent changes to the contact manager are just as bad.

“redo feature is a lifesaver”

Pros

The remove and redo feature has been fantastic. It makes corrections much simpler and saves me from having to create a bunch of manual journal entries just to fix adjustments.

Cons

One limitation is that we operate in two locations and the system cannot tell them apart when payments come in from First Data and similar providers.

“fantastic mobile accounting platform”

Pros

Using this platform has been excellent especially because the interface is so user friendly. Since it also works on mobile phones, I can handle my work much more comfortably from anywhere.

Cons

Everything works well overall but the customer service could be quicker and more responsive.

“reliable multicurrency accounting”

Pros

The multicurrency feature works without any hassle, the platform has been very reliable and in the three years I have used it, it has only gone down once and that was resolved quickly. It also integrates well with other apps so it's the accounting software I usually recommend to clients who want a cloud-based solution.

Cons

From an accountant's point of view, I'd still like better visibility into transactions, specifically being able to see which accounts were debited and credited.

“one-stop accounting upgrade”

Pros

Xero has been exactly what I needed because it works as a complete all-in-one solution. As the business expands, you can add more tools as they become necessary which makes it really practical for growth. I also really appreciate the video tutorials it offers since they're clear, simple to follow and easy to understand.

Cons

At this point I honestly don't have any complaints. It turned out to be exactly the right tool to help me get my dad's billing organized.

“Simple interface”

Pros

The interface is well designed, user friendly and very easy to work with.

Cons

My biggest issue is the customer support or really the lack of it.

“Easy cashflow tracking”

Pros

Using Xero for my freelance accounting has been really easy and the bank account integration is especially useful for keeping track of cash flow.

Cons

I honestly don't have any complaints about this software.

“billing automation that saves time”

Pros

It helped us automate a big portion of our billing and invoicing which really reduced the amount of admin work we had to handle.

Cons

Reconciling can be tricky whenever something doesn't quite match up although that probably says more about my accounting ability than the software itself.

“perfect fit for small businesses”

Pros

Everything about it is very user friendly and easy to use which makes it a real advantage for small or micro businesses as well as smaller accounting practices.

Cons

From what I have seen it's a complete package and I haven't run into any drawbacks.

“handy invoicing for small business”

Pros

I moved to this software because I needed a simple accounting system for my small business and it has been simple to learn and navigate. Once all of the company details are set up, creating invoices becomes very quick and convenient. It's also really useful being able to monitor which invoices have already been sent, see what's coming up next and email yourself a copy to double-check everything for accuracy.

Cons

One thing that bothered me was how aggressively I was pushed to renew my subscription. A couple of reminders would have been reasonable but getting them almost every day felt excessive and a bit pressuring. I also had a hard time adding my stock at the start because I couldn't locate where to enter inventory which was frustrating since it made accurate invoicing very difficult.

“zero support and wasted time”

Pros

At first the product seemed promising but that impression quickly disappeared. It turned out to be a terrible experience, mainly because there was no real support at all. They assigned someone from the UK but later he stopped answering calls and even when he did respond earlier, he didn't seem to know anything about Xero and kept telling us to file a complaint. With support this bad, it feels like Xero cannot survive for long.

Cons

Support is basically nonexistent and you end up having to read through everything just to find a simple answer.

“open platform done right”

Pros

Xero's biggest strength for me is its open-platform mindset. It's not just about one standout tool but the overall philosophy behind how the product is built and that comes through across the whole system. A simple example is being able to manually import bank transactions from a CSV file and then quickly reverse that import if something goes wrong. More than the feature list itself, even though Cash Coding and Find & Recode are excellent, it's those thoughtful design decisions that really make the product stand out.

Cons

One thing I am still waiting on is for Hubdoc to be fully integrated directly into it. When that happens, I'd also want a report that clearly shows which GL transactions don't have a supporting source document.

“user friendly accounting and reports”

Pros

The product is easy to use. The features and reports are simple to navigate and searching for invoices is quick and convenient.

Cons

Up to this point I haven't run into anything I dislike about the software.

“helpful start with free trial”

Pros

Getting started was relatively simple especially with the free trial available to test everything out first.

Cons

Some parts of the software felt pretty confusing and setting up rules and similar configurations was more tedious than I expected.

“Simple and time-saving”

Pros

Using it is very easy , plus it is user friendly and it really makes my day to day work a lot easier.

Cons

It would be even better if I could send invoices to the same company using different contacts and PO numbers.