Xero Review 2025 (Is This Accounting Software Legit?)

Managing your business's financial health doesn't have to feel overwhelming or require a degree in accounting.

After extensively testing Xero accounting software for several months, I'm ready to share whether this platform lives up to its reputation and if it's the right accounting software for your small business needs.

Quick Summary

Xero is a cloud-based accounting solution designed for small businesses and established businesses looking to streamline their financial processes and maintain accurate financial records.

This comprehensive platform helps you create invoices, reconcile bank transactions, manage inventory, and monitor your business performance. Think of it as your digital financial assistant that handles the tedious accounting tasks so you can focus on growing your business.

Xero stands out with its unlimited users feature across all pricing plans, making it ideal for growing teams that need collaborative access to financial data without paying extra per person.

Key Service Highlights

• Automated Bank Feeds & Reconciliation: Connect your bank accounts and Xero automatically imports bank transactions, categorizes them based on rules you set, and helps you reconcile bank transactions in minutes instead of hours.
• Smart Online Invoicing: Create professional invoices using customizable invoice templates, set up recurring invoices for regular clients, and send automatic payment reminders.
• Comprehensive Financial Reporting: Access detailed insights into your financial performance anytime with Xero's reporting features.
• Built-in Inventory Management: Through Xero inventory and the Inventory Plus add-on, monitor stock levels, set reorder alerts, and track cost of goods sold without paying for separate software.
• Powerful Project Tracking: Track projects, monitor profitability by client or job, and allocate expenses accurately.

Pros & Cons

Xero Pricing Plans & Packages

Plan	Price	Features
Starter Plan	$29/month (billed annually)	• Up to 20 invoices and quotes • Up to five bills per month • Bank reconciliation • Capture bills and upload receipts • Limited financial reporting • Unlimited users
Standard Plan	$46/month (billed annually)	• Everything in Starter Plan • Unlimited invoices • Bulk reconciliation • Claim expenses • Multi-currency support • Enhanced reporting features • Unlimited users
Premium Plan	$69/month (billed annually)	• Everything in Standard Plan • Advanced multi-currency accounting • Project tracking • Xero analytics • Expense claims with approvals • Custom fields • Phone support • Unlimited users

The major advantage across all pricing tiers is unlimited users. Unlike other accounting software that charges per person, Xero lets your entire team access the system. The 30-day free trial gives you adequate time to test Xero before making a financial commitment.

Verdict: 4.6/5

Xero Alternatives Comparison

Feature	Xero	QuickBooks Online	FreshBooks	Zoho Books
Starting Price	$13/month	$35/month	$19/month	$0 (Free)
Free Plan	30-day trial	30-day trial	30-day trial	✓
Users	Unlimited	Up to 25	Up to 500	Up to 15+
Mobile App	iOS & Android	iOS & Android	iOS & Android	iOS & Android
Inventory	✓ (Add-on)	✓	✗	✓ (Pro+)
Project Tracking	✓	✓ (Advanced)	✓	✓
Multi-Currency	✓	✓	✓	✓
Integrations	1,000+	650+	100+	500+

Xero User Experience & Interface

Xero accounting features a clean dashboard that displays your most important financial metrics at a glance: outstanding invoices, outstanding bills, your cash flow position, and recent bank transactions. You don't need to navigate through multiple menus to find the basics.

Setting up your account takes approximately 20-30 minutes. The software guides you through connecting bank accounts, configuring sales tax, and customizing your first invoice templates.

While Xero offers a user friendly interface overall, some areas feel slightly dated compared to newer competitors.

There's definitely a steep learning curve, particularly if you've never worked with accounting software before. But once you get past the initial learning phase, the software excels at reducing manual data entry through automation.

Verdict: 4.6/5

Website & Mobile Experience

The web application performs smoothly across all browsers and adjusts well to different screen sizes, working effectively on tablets and smaller laptops.

The Xero mobile app for iOS and Android covers the essential accounting tasks you need when you're away from your desk.

You can create and send invoices to clients immediately, upload receipts right after making purchases, check your cash flow and key metrics, reconcile bank transactions while on the go, view customer and supplier information, claim expenses, and accept payments.

The mobile app is genuinely useful for day-to-day accounting tasks. However, you won't be completing month-end closes or diving into complex Xero analytics from your phone. The advanced features and detailed financial reporting really require the desktop version.

Verdict: 4.5/5

Accounting & Financial Management Process

Xero covers all the fundamental accounting tools that small businesses actually need for managing their business's financial health.

Invoicing & Payments

You can create unlimited invoices using professional templates that maintain a polished appearance. Set up recurring invoices for subscription clients so you're not manually recreating the same invoice every month.

The system sends automatic payment reminders, which eliminates the awkward task of chasing down late payments. You can accept payments through Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless, and other gateways.

Expense Tracking

Track expenses by category, project, or client so you maintain clear visibility into where your money is going. Upload receipts directly through the mobile app instead of managing paper receipts.

Employees can claim expenses and route them through approval workflows before they hit your financial records.

Bank Reconciliation

This is where Xero really shines. Connect unlimited bank accounts and the automatic bank feeds import transactions daily. The system matches bank transactions with invoices and bills almost instantly.

You create rules to categorize recurring transactions, and Xero remembers them going forward. Everything maintains a complete audit trail for compliance purposes.

Verdict: 4.8/5

Financial Reporting & Analytics

Xero's reporting features generate all the standard financial statements you need to understand your business's financial health.

You get profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, accounts receivable aging reports, accounts payable aging reports, sales tax reports, and budget versus actual comparisons.

In my experience, the Xero analytics on the established plan provided more advanced insights with better visualization and comparative analysis.

You can also schedule reports to email automatically daily, weekly, or monthly, which keeps stakeholders informed without manual effort on your part.

Verdict: 4.6/5

Inventory Management

Xero inventory features are available across all pricing tiers, though capabilities vary by plan. The basic inventory tracking handles stock levels, COGS calculation, and simple product management, which covers what most small businesses need.

For more advanced inventory management, there's the Inventory Plus add-on for $9 per month.

This provides multi-location tracking, advanced stock alerts so you don't run out of bestsellers, batch and serial number tracking, assembly management if you build products from components, and detailed inventory reports.

Verdict: 4.4/5

Project Tracking & Time Tracking

Xero lets you track projects on the established plan, which helps you monitor profitability by client or job. You can allocate income and expenses to specific projects, so you actually know which work generates profit and which clients might be more trouble than they're worth.

One major thing I didn't like is that time tracking isn't built in. You need to use third party apps like TSheets (now called QuickBooks Time), Harvest, or Toggl that integrate with Xero. This means additional monthly costs and the complexity of managing another system.

For service-based businesses that bill by the hour, this is genuinely frustrating. You're tracking time in one system, then transferring that data into Xero for invoicing and accounting. It works, but it's not as seamless as having everything integrated in one platform.

Verdict: 4.2/5

Additional Features & Tools

• Payroll ($1 per employee per month)
• Expense Claims ($2.50 per user per month)
• Project Tracking ($5 per user per month)
• Analytics Plus ($10 per month)
• Inventory Plus ($5 per month)
• Online Bill Payments (Payment fees apply; varies by provider)

Verdict: 4.7/5

Xero Customer Support

Xero offers customer support through email on all plans, live chat during limited hours, and phone support only on the premium plan. There's also Xero Central, which is their comprehensive help center, plus community forums and video tutorials.

The Xero Central online resources are genuinely extensive with step-by-step guides, articles, and training materials. Most questions can be answered through these self-service options if you're willing to search a bit.

Email support typically responds within 24 hours with detailed, helpful answers. Live chat is available during business hours with reasonable response times, usually under 5 minutes.

The lack of phone support on lower pricing tiers is frustrating though, particularly when you're stuck on something and simply want to talk to someone who can walk you through the issue.

The community forums are quite active with both Xero staff and experienced users helping each other. For accounting-specific questions that go beyond just using the software, you'll probably still need to consult with your accountant or bookkeeper.

Verdict: 4.4/5

Xero Review Ratings from Review Sites

• Capterra: 4.4/5
• G2: 4.4/5
• Trustpilot: 4.0/5
• Software Advice: 4.4/5

FAQs

Our Verdict

After testing Xero accounting software for several months, I found it delivers solid value with solid features.

However, there's a steep learning curve and key features like time tracking and advanced bill pay require additional third party apps and extra monthly costs that accumulate quickly.

This is why I always recommend QuickBooks Online as the better option for most small business owners.

QuickBooks combines ease of use with comprehensive features, including built-in time tracking, superior customer support you can actually reach by phone, and a more intuitive learning curve that gets you productive faster.