About Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting platform designed to assist small and midsize businesses with financial operations management, financial visibility and business performance optimization and more. The platform helps automate accounting tasks and maintain accurate financial records. It offers expense management tools that enable users to track and manage business expenses. Key features include invoicing, quoting, making and collecting payments, tax payment, employee and workforce management, bank reconciliation, expense management, projects handling, reporting and analytics and security measures. Users can capture receipts, categorize expenses and submit them for approval. Xero also supports expense claims, allowing employees to submit their expenses for reimbursement. It provides detailed expense reports, helping businesses monitor spending and identify cost-saving opportunities. One of the core features of Xero is its invoicing capability. The solution allows accountants and bookkeepers to create and send professional invoices to clients, track their status and receive payments online. Users can customize invoice templates to align with their brand identity and set up automated reminders for overdue payments. It supports multi-currency invoicing, making it suitable for businesses with international clients. Xero's bank reconciliation feature is designed to streamline the process of matching bank transactions with accounting records. The tool automatically imports bank transactions and suggests matches based on historical data. Users can also create custom bank rules to automate the categorization of recurring transactions. Xero also provides real-time updates on cash flow, helping businesses maintain accurate financial records. Xero includes payroll management functionalities that assist businesses in managing employee payroll and compliance. It allows users to process payroll, calculate taxes and generate payslips. It also supports direct deposit, enabling businesses to pay employees electronically. Additionally, Xero provides tools for managing employee leave and tracking work hours, ensuring accurate payroll processing and compliance with labor regulations. Xero complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and produces Service Organization Control (SOC 2) reports. It also offers a range of reporting and analytics tools that provide valuable insights into business performance. Users can generate custom financial reports, such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements. Xero's dashboard provides a real-time overview of key financial metrics. The tool supports budgeting and forecasting, enabling businesses to plan for future growth and manage financial risks. Xero integrates with several third-party applications, including CRM systems, eCommerce platforms and payment gateways. Xero’s integrated practice management software includes Xero HQ, Xero Practice Manager, Xero Workpapers and Xero Tax. It connects businesses with their bank, their advisor, accounting tools, payment services and more. These integrations facilitate data synchronization and optimize overall operational. Data is protected by multiple layers of security, including encryption and the platform is subject to strict privacy controls as it uses multi-factor authentication.
Xero Software - Xero dashboard
Xero Software - Xero financial dashboard
Xero Software - Xero bank reconciliation
Xero Software - Xero bank account management
Xero Software - Xero payroll overview
Xero Software - Xero inventory management
Xero video
Xero Software - Xero dashboard - thumbnail
Xero Software - Xero financial dashboard - thumbnail
Xero Software - Xero bank reconciliation - thumbnail
Xero Software - Xero bank account management - thumbnail
Xero Software - Xero payroll overview - thumbnail

Xero pricing

Xero does not have a free version but does offer a free trial. Xero paid version starts at £10.00/month.

Starting Price:
£10.00/month See pricing details
Free Version:
No
Free trial:
Yes

Alternatives to Xero

Xero Reviews for UK Users

Feature rating

Value for Money
4.2
Functionality
4.3
Ease of Use
4.3
Customer Support
4.0
5 reviews of 3,119 View all reviews
Martin
Martin
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 30/01/2025

Intuative, simple, accountant favourite software

Accountant loves it, so I moved from Freshbooks then Sage then Xero and haven't regreted it for over 7 years. I enjoy using it and it does almost everything i want it to.

Pros

Intuative to use, feature rich, clear layout and appears to have a lot of investment/ improvements being made.

Cons

You can't see a log of any emails/ reminders you've sent. You can see the time and date stamp in the notes section but not what they read.
The app is handy but a drastically cut down experience.

Alternatives Considered

Sage 50cloud Accounting

Reasons for Choosing Xero

Used this for years with old company. Did the job but at the time especially, felt very basic and we had to find workarounds to use.

Switched From

FreshBooks

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Used Sage50 for a 3 month trial and was fine but the UX didnt feel as well executed, the features were fine and it did everything I needed it to, just Xero felt a lot more polished.
Laura
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 1+ year
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 07/12/2024

Bookkeeping with ease

Xero is such as easy platform to use. Having used most of the other big name competition programs, Xero by far is the most intuitive and allows me to automate a lot of repetitive tasks and keep on top of my financial position. I love the fact that I have have my Accountant looking at the account at the same time as me so we can review things together over the phone or zoom.

Pros

Xero does everything I need it to and helps me stay in control of my finances as I can see real time data of income and expenses and I always feel in-control.

Cons

Cost is probably the main thing. The limits on the lowest plan are tight for a freelancer- as I often have more bills than the allocation, but don't need anything else in the next plan up.

Robert
  • Industry: Food & Beverages
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
2
Functionality
2
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
2

2
Reviewed on 19/01/2025

Nice reconciliation features, but expensive for small businesses

Xero has Frustrating customer support reps at times. Like many companies, they will send you a template response with whatever they think your issue is when they skim your support request. Frequently, you have to tell them to actually read your message carefully so that they realize you have an unexpected problem and don't need a useless "support article".

These guys have also frequently been raising their prices constantly.

Banking integrations frequently stop working.

Pros

Ease of reconciliation, imported transactions from integrations with other platforms (when it works).

If you have many users, Xero does NOT bill by the number of users. So, costs may be relatively low for a large organization.

Cons

Constantly increasing prices, integrations with banks and other accounts don't always work and break fairly frequently. Customer support will frequently try and tell you that they won't help you with your request at all and to "talk to an accountant" even when you're asking them regarding how to do something with their software.

If you are a smaller company, the plan pricing is quite expensive, since the minimum plan for a functional business is relatively expensive and they don't care whether you have one user or 100 - they charge the same.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Quickbooks had been problematic for a previous employer of mine
Gary
  • Industry: Nonprofit Organization Management
  • Company size: 2–10 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 24/11/2024

We love it for our Charity

Xero has become an indispensable part of our financial operations. Its robust features, ease of use, and flexibility outweigh the minor drawbacks. For organizations like ours, Xero provides an excellent balance of power and simplicity, helping us focus on our mission while staying financially organized. We would recommend it to other charities or small businesses looking for a modern accounting solution.

Pros

At Dogsnhomes Rescue, we use Xero for our accounting needs, and it has proven to be an invaluable tool for managing our financial operations efficiently. Here's what we love most about Xero:

1. User-Friendly Interface
Xero’s clean and intuitive design makes it incredibly easy to use, even for those without extensive accounting experience. The layout is straightforward, and navigation between features is seamless, allowing us to stay focused on running our charity.

2. Automation Features
We particularly appreciate the automation features, such as bank feed imports, recurring invoices, and automatic reconciliation suggestions. These features save us a significant amount of time and reduce the risk of human error.

3. Real-Time Financial Overview
Xero provides a real-time dashboard that gives us instant insight into our financial health. This helps us track our income and expenses, ensuring we stay on top of cash flow and budgets.

4. Cloud-Based Accessibility
As a cloud-based platform, Xero allows us to access our accounts anytime, anywhere. This flexibility is crucial for a charity like ours, where team members may work remotely or need to check financial data while on the go.

Cons

Payroll services are not included in Xero's standard plans and are available only as a paid add-on through a third-party provider, which can increase overall costs.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Xero

Ease of integration with other products to give us a holistic approach to our bookkeeping
Jack
  • Industry: Information Technology & Services
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Functionality
4
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 03/01/2025

Good but must try harder...

Overall, I used Xero on a day to day basis, but begrudged using it. The interface just doesn't help when you are trying to find things and reports etc, the only good part for me that I really enjoyed using was the receipt upload and expense management side of things. Sadly though, this wasn't enough for me to stick with Xero and I ended up moving away.

Pros

Has all the features you would expect from an accounting platform.

Cons

Clunky to use, interface needs work to be more streamline and to enable you to make less errors.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Xero

At the time seemed the better option, however I did end up moving away from Xero and instead moved to Quickbooks.

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