Xero

Xero: online accounting software for small businesses

Xero is an online accounting platform aimed at small businesses, self-employed individuals, and accounting professionals. Its proposition focuses on bringing together invoicing, payments, bank reconciliation, and expense management in one place, with direct connections to banks and over a thousand business apps. The company states it has five million customers worldwide and a community of 250,000 accountants and advisors who use the tool in their professional practice.

Accounting and invoicing features

The feature set includes sending invoices and quotes, accepting online payments, managing and paying supplier bills, creating digital purchase orders, and claiming expenses by capturing receipts. Bank reconciliation is presented as an automatable task, and the platform allows viewing real-time reports and performance graphs. For professionals, it includes W-9 and 1099 management, sales tax, and cash flow forecasts with different horizons depending on the plan.

JAX, the AI finance assistant

Xero has introduced JAX, described as an AI superagent that automates routine tasks and provides real-time financial insights. Its announced capabilities include answering questions about cash flow, profit trends, and financial health, creating invoices and quotes from instructions given in Xero, WhatsApp, SMS, or email, and generating personalized recommendations based on the business's activity and market trends.

Plans and pricing

The website shows three main plans for US businesses, with promotional prices for the first six months and standard rates afterward. The Early plan starts at $2.50 per month for the first six months and then $25 per month, and includes sending quotes and 20 invoices, accepting online payments, managing five supplier bills, bank reconciliation, smart document capture, real-time reports, W-9 and 1099 management, sales tax, basic graphs, and a 30-day cash flow forecast. The Growing plan costs $5.50 per month for the first six months and then $55 per month, and adds automated bill entry, automatic bank reconciliation, a 60-day forecast, customizable performance dashboards, and financial health dashboards. The Established plan is offered at $9 per month for the first six months and then $90 per month, and includes a 180-day forecast, KPI and ratio analysis, multi-currency use, project time and cost tracking, employee expenses and mileage, industry comparison, and international payments. Standard domestic ACH payments are included in business plans; other methods incur fees.

Integrations and app ecosystem

The platform connects with over 1,000 business apps that can be found, tried, and purchased through its app store once you sign up. This integration aims to make accounting work alongside other management tools, and is complemented by programs for accountants, app developers, integrators, channel partners, and affiliates.

Customer profiles and industries

Xero segments its offering by business type: self-employed, small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and non-profit organizations, as well as industries such as construction, real estate, retail, and startups. For each, it outlines specific uses, such as budgeting, invoicing, and tracking expenses from the job site to the contract signing in construction, or centralizing the accounts of real estate businesses spread across different locations.

Resources for accountants and advisors

The company maintains a partner program for accountants and advisors, with access to Xero Partner Hub, practice management, tools such as Workpapers and Syft Analytics, online training, certification, and support through Xero Central. The company states that 250,000 accountants and advisors build their practice with Xero. It also offers open educational resources, such as guides, templates, calculators, and an accounting glossary.

Current promotion and terms

The site showed a limited-time offer of 90% off the plan for the first six months, with an end date of September 30 and applicable terms. It also indicated that new users have access to a team of onboarding specialists during the first 90 days.