When testing the software, we found Xero easy to navigate, with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. Have you ever wondered how a transaction would affect your books, but you didn’t want to risk messing up your financials? The demo company allows you to test out transactions and features completely separate from your business’ data. Utilizing the demo company, therefore, won’t affect anything you already have set up, nor will anyone else be able to see data you enter or import into the demo company. If, therefore, you want to see how your retail store’s accounting would be affected by a large transaction, for example, the Demo Company feature allows you to do so. Again, this feature can be set up for both invoices and bills and is done by accessing the Repeating tab in each respective category.
Invoicing apps
While it claims it has 24/7 online support, what it really means is that it has an online community you can ask questions in. If you need to speak with a person, you can only do so between 9 a.m. See our overall favorites, or choose a specific type of software to find the best options for you. Once a report is published, it will be available in this tab for others to see when they log in to Xero. This is a great way to share information from a specific time with other members of your business. Additionally, you can save reports in either format to your computer as well to share or use at a future date.
- Utilize the repeating invoice function by developing a template and Xero will automatically create an invoice or bill for you based on the frequency you specify.
- Everything is done in the cloud, meaning you can edit invoices without the hassle of resending them to customers.
- Xero doesn’t provide a phone number on its customer support page, but a representative will call you if necessary.
- It’s not uncommon for small-business owners to have more than one business, or for their spouse or partner to also own a business.
- You’ll receive your invoice at the end of your monthly billing period.
Plans to suit your business
Xero’s reporting tool distills your accounting data into easily digestible bar charts, pie charts and other graphs. A few popular tools include your business’s top 10 customers, Xero’s budget manager and the ability to drill down into your best revenue generators. We appreciate that Xero includes time tracking in all its plans (see the screenshot below from our demo). This contrasts with many alternatives, such as QuickBooks, that offer time tracking only on more expensive plans or as an add-on. Users are required to download the free Xero Projects app, which they can use to record time and costs and create invoices and reports.
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Zoho Books’ paid plans all come with free live chat and phone support. Instead, customers can visit the Xero Central support site or raise a case online. A representative typically responds to a case within a few hours. Reports also are customizable, with adjustable formatting and the option to add your own formulas and groupings.
Alternative Accounting Software Options
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With Xero, you can add an unlimited number of users to your account at each subscription level. This is a notable feature for accounting software; often, lower-tier plans allow fewer users while only higher-tier plans allow unlimited users. Has robust reporting tools and report customization options, basic inventory tracking in all plans and a capable mobile app; Early sum of the years digits depreciation model plan limits the number of invoices and bills. While Xero’s plans start at a cheaper price, QuickBooks offers more features across its plans. Then again, QuickBooks requires user limits for each plan while Xero doesn’t. We compared the two options in terms of their key features, pricing and customer service to help you decide which is right for your business.
We recommend working with an accountant or bookkeeper, preferably one with Xero experience, when you make the move to Xero online accounting software. The desktop version is installed on a computer, while the online version is accessed through a web browser. QuickBooks Online includes all the components of the desktop version, plus additional features such as more app integrations, a fully functional mobile app and more attractive pricing. The Online plans start at $30 per month, whereas the Desktop plans must be paid annually and start at $492 per year. And we’ve hit on Xero’s unlimited users before, but it’s worth mentioning again. Most accounting software providers limit users by plan, like QuickBooks, or charge an extra fee for each user, like FreshBooks or Zoho Books.
For instance, if you need multiple users, choose Xero—each Xero plan includes unlimited users, while QuickBooks’ Simple Start plan includes only one user. Even QuickBooks’ most expensive plan, QuickBooks Online Advanced ($180 per month), allows for only 25 users. Of course, if you really don’t need to send more than 20 quotes or collect over five bills, the Early plan’s price is a steal. Just make sure you don’t exceed the limit; if you do, you’ll be automatically bumped up to the Growing plan, which is more than twice as expensive.
In contrast, Xero’s entry-level plan is slightly less expensive, at $15 per month. We really liked Xero’s unique History & Notes feature, which presents an activity report at the bottom of every transaction screen. For example, you can see if the invoice was copied from a quote, who created and approved it, and when they created and approved it. This screen also shows automatic payment reminder information, such as the relevant email address and the date and time.
It also can assist with your business’ collaboration — especially with anyone who doesn’t have access to your Xero account. Clicking this icon lets you quickly access a number of different functions such as creating a new invoice, contact, bill or purchase order. As you continue to use Xero, this shortcut will save you time and help you develop a flow within your accounting process. Alternatively, you can search Xero’s help posts and discussion boards about common problems on Xero Central. While you can’t call Xero directly, you can request a phone call from the company, and a customer service agent will call you instead. You can take both software programs for a test drive before you commit to one over the other.
There are a number of alternative accounting software programs that can offer powerful features and a user-friendly interface. If you’ve got a business that’s going places, needs dynamic accounting capacity and the ability to add in multiple users then the newest version of Xero requires further investigation. Sage’s accounts payable features are good, as they show you your current cash in, cash out and balance how to write off accounts payable from a previous year totals. The bank reconciliation feature should automate your transactions, but it would be nice to schedule payments all in the same place. Xero connects to your bank and credit card accounts and imports data daily, so we really appreciate that it protects your sensitive business data with bank-grade encryption. Additionally, you can opt in to two-factor authentication to make your login more secure.
Xero helps transform the data you enter into actionable information at every subscription level. A dashboard provides a summary of your business’s financial health, including total cash in and out, outstanding invoices and overdue bills. Another page dedicated to short-term cash flow charts out how future bills and invoices can affect your bank balance over the next week or month.
For instance, you can drag and drop certain expense categories into a single subgroup — an “office expenses” subgroup could include office equipment, supplies and utilities. And if you don’t like how the dashboard looks, you can reorganize panels and hide the ones that aren’t useful. Get to know your finances with accurate, daily figures when you’re accounting online with Xero. After a 30-day trial period, Xero will bill a monthly charge of $13 per month for the Early plan, $37 per month for the Growing plan and $70 per month for the Established plan.