Xero Accounting Solution Reviews

“Top class usability”

Pros

Using Xero is refreshingly pleasant. Honestly nothing else I have tested comes close. I have gone through quite a few accounting platforms and most of them are a headache unless you're actually an accountant.

Cons

Support responses could be faster and having phone support available would make a big difference.

“Superb features that attract businesses”

Pros

The powerful set of features caught my attention and it's clear why so many business owners are drawn to it. That strong functionality is a big reason it has gained popularity so quickly.

Cons

The monthly pricing feels a little expensive which is somewhat disappointing. Even though there's a free trial each month, it would be better if they offered a lower-cost package for at least a couple of years.

“Great integrations and usability”

Pros

I find it easy to use and connecting it to our existing system was just as simple. The overall setup feels user friendly and doesn't take much effort to work with.

Cons

There's still room for improvement on the engineering side and the pricing could be optimized to offer better value.

“strong billing automation, weak reporting”

Pros

The biggest strength for us in Xero is the billing automation especially when it works together with HubDoc and Expenses. That combination is easily the most powerful part of the platform for our team.

Cons

Since Brexit, the missing bank feeds have been incredibly frustrating. On top of that the General Ledger is hard to work with and the reporting is really poor.

“not built for small service businesses”

Pros

Our accountant pointed us toward Xero and I initially assumed that meant they worked hand in hand with the software. That turned out to be only partly true. They do support it at the higher reporting level, like profit and loss, balance sheets and ATO annual returns but not with the day to day transaction side of things.

Cons

It definitely wasn't best in class for us and after six months we gave up on it and moved over to QuickBooks Online. It just doesn't feel like it was built with small business needs in mind. Delivery dockets which most small service businesses rely on every day, are awkward to handle and very inefficient in the system. On top of that customer support is basically absent. You can keep posting problems as much as you want but there seems to be very little interest and even less action.

“helpful payroll and project tracking”

Pros

Having the option to download pay slips is really useful and being able to hide the annual salary is a big improvement. Thanks for that. On the web version adding entries for project tracking is very easy and convenient too.

Cons

It would be really helpful to have a way to total all my time automatically, like a built-in time calculator, instead of entering lots of tiny separate entries. Right now I keep another window open just to add my time together. It would also save time if new entries could keep the same project and task details from the previous one when using a save-and-add option or just fill them in automatically. I'd also love better search when adding entries especially if it could search by client as well as project. A task search feature would be useful too. A 5-minute interval button would make things much easier for me. Since I have ADHD, changes like these would really help with entering my daily time. The Android app also feels less convenient for adding entries.

“Simple setup and user friendly”

Pros

It is simple to use. As a Finance Manager handling a variety of small businesses, it's usually my first choice when picking new software because it's user friendly, quick to implement and easy to learn whenever I need to sort something out.

Cons

The bank feeds and reconciliation can be a bit frustrating at times especially because there's no option to separate business and personal accounts during setup. It really should offer bank feed options for standalone business profiles versus personal login profiles and also allow different account types such as business loans and asset finance, at least for the major Australian banks.

“clean interface, painful to leave”

Pros

Xero is pretty easy to work with and a lot of businesses already use it. The interface looks modern and there are plenty of integrations available which helps keep everything updated with less effort.

Cons

Switching away from it is a really annoying process. They make it unnecessarily hard to move over to another accounting platform.

“flexible dashboard and multicurrency”

Pros

The tool handles multi-currency transactions really well which makes it convenient to work with customers in their local currency. The customizable dashboard is also very useful especially when reviewing and monitoring the software over the long term.

Cons

Overall I have enjoyed using most of the features but one thing that stands out is that it doesn't offer instant customer support like some other accounting apps do.

“ideal fit for startups”

Pros

This software is very easy to use and it integrates well with many of the other tools a very small business or sole proprietor is likely already using. It's especially well suited for businesses that are just launching and the pricing is much more affordable than many competing options.

Cons

As a business expands, this software can start to feel limiting. The lack of customization becomes more noticeable over time and the balance between keeping things simple and keeping costs low can eventually stop being worth the tradeoff.

“Great for simple startups”

Pros

Overall it is easy to use as it doesn't take deep accounting expertise to use effectively.

Cons

It really only fits very simple or early-stage organizations. For companies adopting IFRS, it's not useful at all and we often have to rely on complicated workarounds.

“It is a business lifeline”

Pros

Xero has honestly been the lifeline of our business. Every product they put out ends up saving us time and contributing to our bottom line.

Cons

There's really not much I dislike about it. If I had to point out one thing, it would be how difficult it can be to switch devices for 2FA.

“affordable cloud accounting”

Pros

Being able to run everything online has been a big plus. It was simple to move over from our previous software, the interface is also simple to work with and having multi-user access makes collaboration much easier. The pricing is also fairly affordable and the mobile app is really useful when I need to check things on the go.

Cons

Getting answers from technical support has been very frustrating since our questions often go unresolved. The API also feels slow and the system does not offer much flexibility if your workflow is different from the way it is originally set up.

“reliable accounting with Shopify sync”

Pros

Every day I rely on it for invoicing, purchase orders and expense tracking and the Shopify sync is a big plus. My accountant suggested using it and since they already know the system well, that has made things even more convenient.

Cons

One frustrating part is that I get locked out pretty regularly and have to verify my login again, even though I am using the same laptop every day.

“Good accounting tools for small businesses”

Pros

Running a small business means payroll, overhead, accounting and taxes can quickly become overwhelming and even something as basic as sending invoices can eat up way too much time. A tool that automates bookkeeping, billing and reporting can really help take that pressure off and improve how the business runs financially. There are plenty of options out there but Xero and QuickBooks are two of the biggest names for a reason. Both Xero and QuickBooks Online are excellent choices overall. At that point, it really comes down to which interface you prefer and what feels more natural to use. They're both very capable accounting platforms although your accountant may already be more comfortable working with QuickBooks.

Cons

There really aren't many downsides that come to mind. If anything, I'd say kit builds and inventory management could use some improvement. If those features are a major priority, QuickBooks Desktop may be a better fit.

“impossible to reach support”

Pros

I expected this to be a more cost-effective alternative to QuickBooks.

Cons

Getting in touch with anyone is basically impossible. There's an email address but it isn't actually supported and there's no phone number either. Stay far away from this product and don't buy it. They also never cancel your subscription.

“Has everything needed”

Pros

This app covers all the key features needed to keep your books organized and it works well when collaborating with your accountant once tax season comes around.

Cons

Well it does cost a bit more and seems a little less powerful than its biggest competitor on the market QuickBooks.

“powerful bankfeeds and add-ons”

Pros

Bank feeds work really well, there's nothing to install and it's very easy to use. The add-on ecosystem is also excellent and makes day to day work much more convenient.

Cons

It can be a little expensive and the pricing structure doesn't offer a lot of flexibility.

“custom branding and multicurrency wins”

Pros

The customisable dashboard saves us a lot of time and being able to tailor templates keeps our company branding consistent. The user permission settings are also really useful especially since staff can submit their own expenses which cuts down on admin time even more. Working in multiple currencies has been another big advantage although I do wish there were an option to manually adjust the exchange rates being used.

Cons

A lot of the more advanced tools you would expect to be included in long-established accounting platforms are there but only as add-on packages so the cost can climb pretty fast if you need the full set of features. Support has also become frustratingly slow compared with other cloud software providers we work with. At the start they were much more responsive but over time it feels like customers are being steered toward the user community and Q&A resources instead. I understand that support teams probably want to avoid handling questions that are better suited to bookkeepers or accountants but in our case, as advanced users, the issues we raise are usually technical product challenges. It would be helpful if it looked at the types of requests coming in and considered offering a priority helpline for low-maintenance subscribers.

“fantastic for small business bookkeeping”

Pros

Running a small business is much simpler with this software because it saves time and keeps things efficient. Creating invoices, reconciling accounts and handling GST returns all feel very easy too.

Cons

I honestly don't have any real complaints to point out. If anything, I am pretty sure the software has plenty of features and capabilities that I haven't even started using yet.