Xero vs QuickBooks for Accounting Features, Fees, Support

However, QuickBooks offers a more seamless experience for two big reasons. First, QuickBooks has phone support while Xero does not, so QuickBooks users can solve their problems that much faster. Second, QuickBooks offers some features that Xero doesn’t have, like document scanning. That said, Xero has a lower price point, starting at $13 per month, compared to QuickBooks’ $30 per month starting cost, and Xero offers more integrations than QuickBooks as well. 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.

1. QuickBooks offers a main dashboard that can be customized with a series of tile-like graphs or lists, which lets you see real-time KPIs at a glance.
2. With QuickBooks, you’ll get expert help from real people through phone and live chat six days a week.
3. While Xero’s $13 Early plan is far cheaper than QuickBooks’ $30 Simple Start plan, it’s also very limited due to the caps on invoices and billing.
4. A New Zealand-based company launched Xero in 2006 to challenge the growing accounting software market.
5. QuickBooks works on Windows PCs, Macs, and major browsers including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge.

Startups & Small Businesses

All of your bank and credit card transactions automatically sync to QuickBooks to help you seamlessly track your income and expenses. Total cost per year is calculated by adding all the features that require additional fees. First-time QuickBooks customers can choose to explore QuickBooks without committing to a plan by signing up for a 30-day free trial. You can also skip the free trial in favor of locking in 50% off for your first three months — but you can’t choose both.

Xero vs. QuickBooks Online: Ease of use

We also like that you can use Xero to set recurring bills, generate billing reports, and store and organize all your bills. This makes the tool as great for payment as for understanding your cash outflows. Plus, you get bill pay tools no matter which package you choose, although you can only pay five bills per month with the Early plan. Xero is an excellent solution for daily accounting activities like tracking and paying bills.

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. Add-ons include QuickBooks Payroll, which starts at $50/month plus $6/month per employee.

Integration with Other Software and Apps

Neither Xero nor QuickBooks Online is lacking when it comes to features. freshbooks vs nonprofit treasurer 2021 Both have basic accounting features, including invoices, estimates, bank reconciliation, expense tracking, and journal entries. With both programs, advanced features like time tracking and inventory management are available on select plans. QuickBooks also includes impressive unique accounting tools, including adding outstanding balance amounts to client payment reminders.

By providing feedback on how we can improve, you can earn gift cards and get early access to new features. Let us know how well the content on this page solved your problem today. All feedback, positive or negative, helps us to improve the way we help small businesses. Xero does not have its own in-house payroll software, but it does integrate with Gusto. 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.

You can also automatically record and match customer payments, accept tips via invoices, and split estimates into several invoices. We like that the latter feature, which isn’t common in accounting software, boosts cash flow for businesses operating on estimates. It payroll automation offers the same features as the Simple Start plan, plus project profitability tracking and inventory tracking. It also includes a hub to view all projects, making the correct labor costs, payroll, and expenses for each easy to manage.

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 available both online and via desktop and is ideal for businesses that outsource their accounting tasks to a bookkeeper or accountant. This is because QuickBooks only allows up to 40 users for its highest-tiered plan, and even then, some plans require every user to pay for their own account. Xero is ideal for businesses that keep a team of what is vertical analysis bookkeepers or accountants in-house. QuickBooks Online also gives you the option to have customer payments applied automatically once they’re deposited, or leave that option to the user.