Online Accounting Software for Your Small Business

xero online accounting

It supports paperless expense tracking by scanning receipts and auto-filling free online bookkeeping course and training claims from the scanned copy. With Xero, admins can review and approve expense claims submitted by employees. Xero automatically gets hourly currency conversion rates to provide real-time insights into gains and losses.

After you start a free 30-day trial of Xero, you’ll activate the account and provide details about your business. Then, you can connect your bank accounts to Xero and decide if you’ll accept electronic payments for online invoices. To accept payments from their clients, Xero allows businesses to connect to payment services without any monthly subscription. Clients can make online payments using debit cards, direct debit using GoCardless, credit cards, and Apple Pay or Google Pay using Stripe. Users can stay worry-free as Xero uses encryption and strong security measures to protect against fraud.

Simplify tax time

Use Xero accounting software to hop online with your employees, bookkeeper, or accountant – even if you’re on opposite sides of the world. Manage your finances, control cash flow and integrate with apps. Explore Xero accounting software and its tools for small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers. As the industry standard, QuickBooks Online is ideal if you have a growing business with specific accounting needs — as long as you don’t mind taking the time to learn the program’s ins and outs. When reconciling books, Xero suggests likely matches between bank statement lines and transactions entered in the software. For example, if you have an entry for an invoice of $1,000 and a recent $1,000 deposit in your bank account, it might suggest matching these two transactions.

  1. This feature makes international transactions easy by allowing businesses to send invoices, quotes, and purchase orders in over 160 currencies.
  2. We recommend working with an accountant or bookkeeper, preferably one with Xero experience, when you make the move to Xero online accounting software.
  3. The Xero Accounting mobile app works in tandem with the Xero accounting software so you can run your small business online from anywhere.
  4. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.
  5. Use Xero to work with your employees, bookkeeper, or accountant online, even if you’re on opposite sides of the world.

Accounting software that connects to your bank

Access Xero features for 30 days, then decide which plan best suits your business. All pricing plans cover the accounting essentials, with room to grow. View the money coming in and out of your small business from the accounting app dashboard. Wave is a solid choice for small businesses looking for free accounting software. Xero doesn’t provide a phone number on its customer support page, but a representative will call you if necessary. This is a serious drawback if you want to be able to pick up the phone and talk through an issue or are new to accounting software and have lots of questions.

xero online accounting

Xero Accounting Review: Features, Benefits, Pricing, and Cons

Click the “OK” icon between the two to verify the match is correct. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. Easily sync your bank with your financials in Xero online accounting. Sync Xero with software you already love or easily find and try new apps designed to save your business time and money at the Xero App Store. Discover seamless app integrations for efficient accounting with Xero’s comprehensive accounting software. Zoho Books’ paid plans all come with free live chat and phone support.

Check out the Xero App Store to find, demo, and buy business apps that connect to Xero. Apps like Stripe, GoCardless, Vend, and Shopify connect seamlessly and sync your data with Xero to make it easier to run your business. Xero’s bank feed securely imports your transactions into the Xero accounting software each business day. Create, edit and send invoices as soon as the job is done directly from the mobile app.

If the banks or financial institutions do not connect to Xero, users do sole proprietors have double taxation can manually import bank statements for reconciliation. Xero uses rules to match bank statements to invoices or bill payments. Bulk sorting and grouping of transactions before reconciliation and receiving alerts for suggested matches are also possible on Xero. Xero Expenses feature allows businesses to track and claim their expenses.

You can upgrade or downgrade your plan or cancel your subscription at any time with one month’s notice. With your accounting software and data stored online in the cloud, you can access your up-to-date accounts anywhere there’s an internet connection. Your Xero data is backed up regularly and protected with multiple layers of security. Xero is an accounting application with an easy-to-use user interface. services Xero users benefit from streamlined invoicing and payment processing, which makes managing their payments easy. They can create and send invoices and track payment status from the same platform.

For unlimited invoicing and bill-paying capacity, you’ll need to upgrade to the Growing plan. Besides an overview of unpaid bills, expenses, and purchase orders, Xero displays bills in different categories, such as draft, waiting for approval, or ready to be paid. Users can organize the bills in folders and view bills on-screen while entering the data. Xero enables companies to set up recurring bills by replicating the last bills from a supplier and modifying them as needed. Xero provides multiple layers of protection for the personal and financial information you entrust to Xero accounting software. Security is a priority for Xero, as we know it is for you, so it’s also important you also take steps to safeguard your data.

QuickBooks vs Xero 2024: Which Software Is Better for You?

xero or quickbooks

Another option is Wave, which is a free accounting software program that includes invoicing, payroll, double-entry and sales tax tracking. Whatever your needs, there’s sure to be an accounting software program that’s a perfect fit. QuickBooks is a popular accounting software used by small businesses, solopreneurs and freelancers. The software helps users to keep track of their finances, customers and vendors. This is because QuickBooks was designed for small businesses that might not have an accounting background, whereas Xero was designed with accountants and bookkeepers in mind. QuickBooks is also better for businesses that need to track inventory, as it has built-in inventory management features.

A better comparison is the $60 QuickBooks Essentials plan (plus the $45 Core or $80 Premium payroll plans) vs. the $37 Xero Growing plan (paired with the $40 or $80 Gusto plan). Essentials supports just three users, while Growing is unlimited, making it better value for large sign up for quickbooks online accountant or growing operations. Core offers the basics, while Premium adds same-day direct deposit, role-based access, and auto time tracking. Elite also adds tax penalty protection, and a dedicated pro to help set up and troubleshoot. This requires the software to allow users transitioning from other bookkeeping software to import their chart of accounts (COA), vendors, customers, service items, and inventory items. Ideally, there will be a wizard to walk the user through the import process.

  1. You can also use QuickBooks to schedule payments in advance, including partial bill payments.
  2. This software is best suited for small to mid-sized businesses, although its Advanced Plan that supports up to 25 users does make it a viable option for larger businesses.
  3. Yes, QuickBooks’ accounting tools do come in a little higher in overall pricing, but the plan options are more flexible and offer more features than Xero’s plans.
  4. Compared to QuickBooks, Xero’s time tracking features are easy to use.

If you don’t want to handle your books yourself, you can sign up for QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping. This add-on is available for an additional charge and assigns a professional bookkeeper to manage your books. A Live Bookkeeper cannot begin cleaning up your past books until they receive the required supporting documentation, which your bookkeeper will request from you after your first meeting. Once your bookkeeper receives all the necessary documentation, they’ll typically complete your cleanup within 30 days.

How QuickBooks Online can help your business differently

You can add your logo to your invoice templates, and change the color to fit your business’s branding. And while the Advanced tier of QuickBooks offers 24/7 support through live chat, phone lines, and email, their closely held corporation other tiers only offer a live chat option. QuickBooks supports six custom invoice templates, and lets you track the status of the invoice with read receipts.

QuickBooks Online pros and cons at a glance

Another option for QuickBooks Online users is finding an independent QuickBooks ProAdvisor for assisted bookkeeping. You can search the online directory to locate financial professionals who specialize in working with your industry. Xero does offer Xero Advisors, but the QuickBooks ProAdvisor network is much larger. Another notable difference is that QuickBooks Online lets you upload your file of transactions, so you aren’t required to connect your bank account.

Choose QuickBooks Online If…

You’ll rarely be asking yourself how to use QuickBooks Online as they offer plenty of guidance throughout the application; users can click on the question mark anytime they need assistance. Xero and QuickBooks Online both offer a ton of features all designed for small business owners. QuickBooks Online, an offshoot of the popular QuickBooks Desktop application, is a good fit for small and growing businesses. Xero often offers promotional pricing, so be sure to check for any applicable discount codes before purchasing a plan. Includes audit trails and easy accountant access; has millions of users so your accountant will likely be familiar with it. More than 750 app integrations, including live, in-house bookkeeping.

xero or quickbooks

Learn about the differences between QuickBooks and Xero accounting software to decide which one is right for your business’s needs. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market.

Its prices are competitive, especially if you how are federal taxes spent use QuickBooks Self-Employed. Plus, as your business grows, upgrading to the next pricing tier is easy. Every service plan includes all the tools your business needs to oversee its finances from the desktop or via the powerful QuickBooks mobile app. Accounting software is essential for more than keeping your books current. It’s also vital for tracking cash flow, invoicing clients and paying vendors.

There’s time tracking in all plans and phone support is available from 8 a.m. The first two plan tiers put a limit on billable clients, but not on invoices. With a free plan and paid plans starting at $20 per month, Zoho Books has plans for most budgets.

Its intuitive interface and extensive customer support make it accessible to business owners with varying levels of accounting knowledge. QuickBooks Online and Xero are well-known cloud-based business accounting software solutions that are a favorite of growing companies due to their affordable pricing and scalability. These systems provide accounting features such as invoicing, accounts payable and receivable, and inventory management to help your business stay organized and profitable. QuickBooks was created in 1983 by Intuit, garnering nearly 40 years of development behind it.