One stop Accounting solutions for Small to Medium organisations.

Affordable professional level accounting software for small business

It's been easier to use Xero than I expected, but I had a nasty surprise at tax time when I realized the default accounts/descriptions for expenses did not correlate 1:1 to IRS categories. (I should have checked this more closely when I set up my accounts because it's a New Zealand company, and the previous product was local.) This means I will need to double-check all my transactions for 2018 and the IRS has my vastly overestimated tax payment until I can do that and file my return on an extension. I've had a much better experience importing data from financial institutions because Xero uses a well-known importing service that is trusted by the institutions. I like being able to match multiple invoices to bank deposits because I usually don't run to the bank for each check. This will be more valuable as my company grows. I should probably find an accountant to assist me with this, but I haven't found an accountant who understands both craft businesses and Xero.

Pros

Professional double entry software at a very affordable price Accommodates both cash and accrual accounting Links to financial institutions to get transactions Uses standard importer recognized by the financial institutions instead of just trying to log in remotely (and triggering fraud alerts) Can match multiple invoices to a single deposit transaction imported from bank Can keep using Xero as company grows

Cons

Pre-existing expense categories/descriptions don't map 1:1 with IRS definitions, so I'm having to go back to all my receipts to make sure expenses are entered in proper accounts because I didn't realize this when I switched More difficult to focus on specific expense categories to check transactions Have not been able to import historic data from previous app (possibly because it's not double entry) so I am still paying the subscription on that software to retain access to my data No integration with Craftybase, so I have to enter supply purchases and customer invoices there independently

Easy to Implement and Manage Global Business, Low Customization Options

Kanopy has found Xero to serve its needs well, but ultimately we moved on and migrated to NetSuite years later. We still keep Xero though for 1 international subsidiary that we found to be advantageous not to migrate. The mature business with complex operations may not find all needs are met with Xero, especially if the desire is to integrate many other tools/software with the ERP in a bi-directional data flow.

Pros

Xero serves well as an "out of the box" accounting system, not unlike Quickbooks. It also has more functionality and use internationally, making it a superior choice to QB if your business operates on a global, multicurrency basis. There are some solid automations which can be implemented with Xero as well, and the canned reporting generally suffices for the majority of basic financial needs.

Cons

Xero lacks the open customization options that software like Netsuite or Dynamics offers. For a small business this will often be fine, but a scaling operation looking to automate many functions based on unique business needs may someday find they have outgrown Xero and need to undergo an (often painful) ERP migration.

Company could care less about customers and refuses to fix glaring issues

It has been a nightmare! I was an early adopter, but they quickly forced us to pay their increasing fees instead of honoring us in supporting what began as very buggy software. They stabilized it and it worked okay for some time, but has consistently become more buggy and irritating. They refuse to fix bugs, always blame the customer for doing things wrong. They send canned messages that half the time have NOTHING to do with the actual question. They called me a liar in support. Their automated feeds NEVER work, and when they break, they cause a huge mess. For instance, it might pull transactions for 20 days out of the month, and you have to figure out which it did not pull. Of course, they never take responsibility or try to fix it. Their greed has ruined the company and all they care about is fleecing more money from the customer. I never plan to go back to this company. Horrible!

Pros

Disliked the entire experience. They break everything that works well. Cash coding was excellent then they changed it and broke it.

Cons

Automated feeds NEVER work, always buggy, and the mess it leaves takes hours or days to fix. Customer support is a joke. They only send canned responses which rarely if ever answer the question. Their lack of attentiveness in support is appalling.

Xero use in a School

Reconciliations are so much easier, integrating with other products is so much easier, there are so many apps which can easily integrate into Xero.

Pros

Xero is very easy to navigate around and is user friendly. Even a non-finance employee is able to use Xero. The product is able to integrate seamlessly with a school management system importing invoices and contacts which are managed in the school management system. The integration is almost automatic and does not require a user to sync. AMAZING PLATFORM!

Cons

Nil - Honestly there is nothing I dislike about Xero.