What is the difference between Xero and QuickBooks?

Xero vs. Quickbooks is a common question that many people ask. Whether you are trying to understand the difference or decide which one is better, you have come to the right place. We are here to give you a detailed overview that will help you make an informed choice.

Why do small businesses need an accounting solution?

Regardless of the scale, most businesses require a cloud based accounting solution – whether QuickBooks or Xero. Both of them are comprehensive tools and can be quite useful. Despite the differences in their strengths, both are apt accounting solutions for small businesses, sole proprietors, and growing businesses. With a variety of plan options, as your business grows, you can adjust your accounting plan as needed.Small businesses need accounting software to streamline and automate financial processes and accounting tasks. It saves time and effort by bringing in efficiency and automating processes.

Quick overview

Xero is amazingly powerful, user-friendly, and simple. It is designed to assist their clients in working well in their businesses through various accounting tools. On the other hand, QuickBooks Online is a general accounting software from Intuit. Moreover, it is a cloud-based service. Note that Xero only has one version of its software which is the cloud based one and QuickBooks has an online and offline version. The offline version needs to be updated yearly.

Xero vs. QuickBooks features

They both offer a bunch of features and work seamlessly for small and medium-sized businesses. Vocabulary might vary, but both solutions offer:

• Electronic banking and bank feeds
• Outstanding invoicing and invoice reminders
• Acceptance of payment
• Capabilities of bill management and pay runs

Xero

Xero was established in 2006 in New Zealand. Since then, it has made for itself a reputation for being one of the best accounting tools in the market. "Beautiful business" is Xero's tagline. It is online accounting software that has made routine accounting processes very convenient and straightforward. The availability of a mobile app has made business-on-the-go easier so that the relevant people have access to the right information from anywhere, anytime.Xero is the world’s biggest accounting software provider of cloud for medium- and small-sized businesses. It is preferred because of ease of use, and also because it can be easily migrated from Sage and Quickbooks. Additionally, it also offers plenty of wonderful features, which are:

• Invoicing of apps
• Inventory management
• Expense management
• Bill payment
• Management of project
• Support for unlimited users

Capabilities of Xero

It is a software of accounting which offers us convenience in running our business while sitting anywhere. Specifically, it is designed for owners of small and medium businesses. It is particularly made for those who do not intend to spend considerable time learning accounting, but still, they want to take business performances into account. Particularly, it is a good fit for those sellers who conduct global business. Xero works well for a bunch of niche markets which includes:

• Retail
• IT
• Legal
• e-commerce
• Startups with their multicurrency capabilities

Offers by Xero

The main features of Xero are divided into 5 main categories, which are:

• Dashboard
• Business
• Accounting
• Projects
• Contacts

The accounting dashboard of Xero offers an overview or summary for your businesses. This dashboard is completely customizable, so you can arrange the following as per your preference:

• Bank balances
• Owed invoices
• Your business’s total in and out cash

Business is the category where you will find bills to pay, invoicing, services, products, and purchase order. The opportunity of invoices in Xero shows a good view of each and every invoice and present status.

Xero’s customer service support

Following is the list of offerings from customer service support of Xero:

• Support of email
• User guides
• Knowledgebase
• Assistance in articles
• Help in products
• Community of user
• Training of product

The accounting functionalities of Xero are very easy to navigate. If something goes wrong, these resources will be sufficient to get you back on track immediately.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks Online is a top browser-based version of desktop accounting application. QuickBooks Online combines its ease of use with accounting applications. The best thing is that this application has been improving with each new version.This market-leading accounting tool offers smart business tools for business owners and key personnel. Its reporting functions include:

• Multi-user plans (for almost up to 25 users)
• A spontaneous interface

Offers by QuickBooks

The support options offered by QuickBooks Online are as follows:

• Product assistance
• Community of user
• Vast knowledgebase
• Training of product
• Help articles
• Connection with an agent through email
• Connection with an agent via messaging
• Support connection through a call back from an agent

Pricing offers by QuickBooks

They offer four pricing plan options which are:

1. Simple Start — 1 user: per month cost is $12
2. Essentials —3 users: per month cost is $20
3. Plus — 5 users: per month cost is $35
4. Advanced — 25 users: per month cost is $75

Ease of use in Xero vs. QuickBooks Online

Ease of use is something that will make or break the deal for a business owner. Since they are managing the business and want to keep business development as their sole focus, these people are not bothered to learn accounting tools. An opt solution will be the one that offers immense ease of use.One of the best options is that you should download a demo (if feasible) of any accounting application of interest. The reason is that people’s preferences differ. What may work out for one business owner may not be deemed suitable by another. A demo will let you ascertain if this is the tool you would want to use for a number of years to handle all your accounting needs.

Pricing of Xero vs. QuickBooks Online:

The pricing of Xero and QuickBooks Online are a lot alike.QuickBooks Online proposes more plans than Xero, but both of their mid-level plans are similar in scope and price. The plus plan of Xero costs you $30; on the other hand, QuickBooks Online’s plan is $35.As the price of QuickBooks plans increases, you also receive additional capabilities and features with every level that were not present at its previous level.

Bank section of Xero vs. QuickBooks Online

The bank section is the area where most of your business bookkeeping occurs, whether you are using QuickBooks Online or Xero. Both of these accounting applications have strong banking systems. A detailed comparison of features will reveal some differences and appeal to people with different preferences for bookkeeping.

Nutshell

Both Xero and QuickBooks Online are suitable solutions for small and medium businesses to handle all their accounting needs. With a little variance in price, features and options, both perform the intended functions very well.

DISCLAIMER

This article is written in general terms and therefore cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved and we recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of its contents.

‍