Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Features Comparison, Pros, Cons
Bookkeeping
Xero vs QuickBooks Online: Features Comparison, Pros, Cons
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. Plans debt service coverage ratio start at $15 per month for up to 20 invoices, five bills, bank account reconciliation, receipt capture and short-term cash flow snapshots. Its $78-per-month plan also includes multiple currencies, project tracking, in-depth analytics and employee expense claims.
The Benefits of QuickBooks Online
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. In contrast, all Xero plans offer unlimited users and its highest-tier Established plan is a more affordable $78 per month. Xero’s Early plan, recommended for self-employed people or brand-new businesses, allows 20 invoices per year.
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. These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most.
Xero and QuickBooks Online alternatives
- Additionally, Xero is a better choice for international businesses needing multicurrency support.
- To get it, you’ll just need to log in, visit Xero Central, and submit a query.
- You can upgrade to a higher tier when the time is right, not when you meet an arbitrary upper limit.
- Both Xero and QuickBooks Online offer excellent integration with hundreds of apps.
- Users get insights into business cash flow with the status of expense claims, bills, and details of money coming in with charts and graphs.
We evaluated essential features and calculated a combined overall rating for each. To ensure an unbiased review, we gathered factual data from official websites and analyzed user feedback from various sources to provide comprehensive insights and detailed reviews. QuickBooks also offers two stand-alone apps — QuickBooks Time and QuickBooks Projects. The Time app is available on the Essentials plan and above, while the Projects app is available for Plus users. QuickBooks limits the number of users on all of its plans, while Xero allows for unlimited users.
Xero and QuickBooks Online are both powerful accounting software solutions for small businesses. However, when you compare features, QuickBooks Online inches ahead for its stronger feature set, ease of sharing with accountants and customer support. 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 bookkeepers or accountants in-house.
Overall, Xero is an efficient and cost-effective way for small businesses to manage finances. Xero is a better option for businesses that need to track project profitability. This is because Xero allows you to see how much each project is costing you in real time and compare that to your estimated profits. Xero is also a better option for businesses that are expanding internationally as it offers multicurrency support.
In Financial Management, choosing between Xero vs QuickBooks remains a pivotal decision for businesses. Both platforms offer distinct advantages, from user-friendly interfaces to robust features. Ultimately, the right choice hinges on specific business needs, ensuring seamless integration and optimal efficiency in financial operations.
For example, if it’s the first time you’ve paid for a product or service. You can use the Report Center to keep track of Sales, Income, Costs, and Overall Business Growth. Sales Tax Calculation, Product Tracking, and automatically updating transactions in your register, customer, and vendor sections are just a few of the tasks that QuickBooks automates. The search for the best Business Accounting Software can be challenging, involving determining what features you require, your budget, and, of course, comparing the various options available. Then, we award each piece of software a rating out of five for each of these categories to understand how they compare against each other.
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. Compared side by side, Xero is clearly the winner when it comes to features.
It also offers one-click access to help articles that users can refer to anytime. However, novice users will find it difficult to navigate the software because its menu bar contains a few options. Users can mark report types as favorites and quickly access drafts, published, accounts receivable and bad debts expense and archived reports through dedicated tabs. Xero’s time-tracking feature is included in its project management tool. As users track their time using its time tracker tool, it allows users to view how much time was spent daily or weekly on projects in one place.
QuickBooks allows companies to create and send estimates on different products and services seamlessly. Users can turn the same estimate into an invoice in one click if approved. QuickBooks offers a bank account reconciliation feature that lets users connect their bank accounts, PayPal, Square, and other accounts with QuickBooks to import transactions automatically. It allows users to compare transactions with bank statements and check them off one by one until the difference between them is zero. Companies that need financial planning, inventory management, and project expense tracking. Pricing is never a straightforward comparison, because different accounting software providers emphasize different features.
Customer support services for accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero are crucial for users navigating complex financial tools. These platforms typically offer multi-channel support, including live chat, email, and phone assistance. At its core, QuickBooks enables users to manage their financial data, including invoicing, expense tracking, and payroll processing. The software caters to diverse industries, providing tailored solutions for the unique needs of businesses in fields ranging from retail to professional services.
The banking section of this case study focuses on cash management, bank reconciliation, and bank feed connections. The software must have bank integrations to automatically feed bank or card transactions. The bank reconciliation module must also let users reconcile accounts with or without bank feeds for optimal ease of use. QuickBooks and Xero are tied in this category because each platform offers features that the other one doesn’t. For instance, QuickBooks Online lets you accept payments but can’t record bills while Xero allows you to enter bills but can’t process online payments.
While FreshBooks has a live chat option for sales inquiries, you have to send an email or request a phone call for customer support. ET, so if you’re having a late-night issue trying to sort out an invoice, you’ll have to wait until morning for in-person help. Since FreshBooks is mainly software for freelancers who often don’t follow traditional working schedules, this could be a drawback, especially if you’re working in a remote time zone. The initial cost of accounting software, such as QuickBooks or Xero, varies based on the chosen plan and features. Typically, users can opt for subscription plans tailored to their business needs.
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. Xero offers simple inventory tracking software that can track up to 4,000 finished items. With Xero, you can view the number of items you have available and see the total value of stock on hand what is straight line depreciation and why does it matter for any item. Its inventory management reports will show you how well different items are performing and which ones are the most profitable. And you can also easily add inventory Items to quotes, invoices and purchase orders to make billing easy. The solution’s comprehensive and user-friendly invoicing and reporting features impressed us.
Quick claim submission and approval are also possible from the Xero Me app. QuickBooks supports in-person payments using the QuickBooks GoPayment app and mobile credit card reader. It allows companies to accept payments through credit cards, debit cards, ACH payments, Apple Pay, PayPal, or Venmo. Use for Accounting, bill payment, pay runs, bank reconciliations, project tracking. Both Xero and QuickBooks Online are optimized for small to mid-sized businesses, so large enterprises with more complex requirements may struggle to tick all of their boxes. Explore our list of accounting software solutions or request a free consultation with one of our software experts.
It is popular among small to medium-sized businesses and offers cloud-based and on-premises applications. While searching for accounting software, you might also come across something called QuickBooks Online Essentials. This is a different product than the ordinary accounting software, and it’s specially designed for service-based businesses which invoice for their time. With this tool, you can automate invoices on a recurring schedule, track income and expenses and pay multiple vendors at the same time.
On top of the shared features listed above, both QuickBooks and Xero have inventory management tools. However, QuickBooks only offers it with its higher-tiered plans, while it comes standard with all Xero plans. QuickBooks Online provides this feature starting in their Essentials plan, and Xero offers it in their Established plan. Additionally, both software provide online support, but QuickBooks excels by offering phone customer support as well. Standard phone support is available Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 8 PM EST, and 24/7 with the QuickBooks Online Advanced plan. QuickBooks also includes impressive unique accounting tools, including adding outstanding balance amounts to client payment reminders.