Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Features Comparison, Pros, Cons

Link inventory and invoicing tools, and integrate with Gusto Payroll or Hubspot CRM. One of the advantages of using Xero is that it can save businesses time and money. With Xero, businesses can eliminate the need for paper records and reduce accounting fees.

1. Higher-tier plans include unique features, like workflow rules, on top of tools that help you measure project profitability.
2. In particular, ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ is a popular option for anyone after a tighter grip on their cash flow.
3. You can also take photos of receipts and upload them from the mobile app.
4. In contrast, all Xero plans offer unlimited users and its highest-tier Established plan is a more affordable $78 per month.
5. When customers miss payment deadlines, cash flow takes a hit and time is spent chasing up invoices.

Sage 50 Accounting

While QuickBooks is the most notorious, other popular software like Xero could be the better choice for running your business. Includes tools that help automate the reconciliation process, along with a global search function and customizable dashboard; has a simple layout. This doesn’t mean QuickBooks Online is the right choice for all businesses, though. Xero’s unlimited-users feature makes it a winner among larger businesses and well-established small businesses that require more than five users.

You want advanced reporting

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. Collaborate with your peers, support your clients and boost your practice. From here you examples of the cash and accrual method can enjoy a better view of your client’s cash flow, seeing the money come in and go out in almost real-time. EInvoicing is more secure than traditional methods and reduces the risk of fraud. Limited third-party integrations available; no POS or payroll integrations.

How much does QuickBooks training cost?

Our meticulous evaluation process makes us a trustworthy source for accounting software insights. We don’t just scratch the surface; we immerse ourselves in every platform we review by exploring the features down to the finest nuances. For those on the go, Xero has a mobile app accounting tool for both iOS and Android devices, though the app does not give you access to all of the features found in the full version. You can import data such as customers into Xero, but you’ll have to download the CSV file template in Xero in order to import the data correctly.

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This lets them save and comment on invoices, save their payment information, invite others to access the account and collaborate on projects they’ve been invited to view. We also recommend Xero if you’re seeking project profitability data alongside superior bill pay and expense management features. We found the platform’s profitability tools to be highly user-friendly. Your team’s tracked time and expenses power your profitability reports and give you all the necessary information to adjust inputs and minimize costs. This frees up the cash you need to make the timely bulk payments that Xero facilitates. Robust feature set includes thorough record-keeping, comprehensive reporting, excellent invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.

While both software will let you create recurring bills, only QuickBooks will allow you to schedule automatic recurring payments. In addition, because QuickBooks is so well known and widely used, it is easy to find a local bookkeeper fluent in QuickBooks accounting software. FreshBooks is one such option that has gained popularity in recent years. It’s designed specifically for small businesses and offers invoicing, time tracking and expense management. If you need to give accounting access to more than five people, Xero could be the better option for you. QuickBooks Online’s most popular Plus plan tops out at five users; its highest-tier Advanced plan allows up to 25 users, but that plan is expensive at $200 per month.

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 https://www.kelleysbookkeeping.com/how-to-calculate-purchase-price-variance-ppv-and/ 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. Xero and QuickBooks Online are both powerful accounting software solutions for small businesses.

Christine Aebischer is an assistant assigning editor on the small-business team at NerdWallet who has covered business and personal finance for nearly a decade. Previously, she was an editor at Fundera, where she developed service-driven content on topics such as business lending, software and insurance. She has also held editing roles at LearnVest, a personal finance startup, and its parent company, Northwestern Mutual. Additionally, we’ve made it easy to manage payment methods in one place. Both you and your clients can now turn on or off the payment methods offered, giving you complete control. We’ll soon roll out this new payment method to your clients through our payment partner, Stripe, along with other payment methods such as bank transfers.

For instance, QuickBooks Online allows you to add an inventory item from the invoicing screen, something you can’t do with Xero. QuickBooks is a great bookkeeping solution for freelancers, small to medium businesses, and companies that want a full product suite. QuickBooks has a more complex interface with a higher learning curve best suited to those with accounting experience or who are willing to hire an experienced accountant. Most bookkeepers are familiar with QuickBooks software, so it’s easy to find someone to assist with your accounting needs. On the other hand, Xero has more than double the integrations as Quickbooks, with over 1000 tools to add to your online accounting software.

Whether Xero or QuickBooks Online is right for you depends on the specific features you need and how much you can afford to pay. Xero is more affordable than QuickBooks Online, allows you to add an unlimited number of users without additional costs, and offers inventory management and fixed asset accounting in all its plans. QuickBooks, on the other hand, has generally more developed features, such as bank reconciliation without bank feeds, makes it easy to find bookkeeping support, and has live customer support. To compare QuickBooks vs. Xero accounting, we consulted product documentation and user reviews.

With more than 3 million users worldwide, Xero is popular but not as ubiquitous as QuickBooks Online. Can support larger small businesses with dozens of employees; highest-tier plan includes 25 users. Add a ‘pay now’ button to your online invoices and get paid up to twice as fast. If using Apple Pay, for example, a customer won’t need to log into their online bank account or go fetch their credit card and enter their details manually, which saves time and the risk of manual error.

And you can also easily add inventory Items to quotes, invoices and purchase orders to make billing easy. The app has a built-in timer you can use to record time as you work, or you can use the location-based job tracker through the mobile app. Xero also allows you to create a project or job, track time to add to it and https://www.quick-bookkeeping.net/ add details to invoices when you’re ready to bill clients. QuickBooks Online offers integration with hundreds of apps, making it great for small business owners. These integrations including PayPal, TSheets, Bill Pay for QuickBooks Online, and Stripe, with apps available for inventory, payroll, CRM, and time tracking.