We compare Xero vs. Sage so you can decide on the perfect accounting solution for your needs. The Growing plan costs $37 per month and includes unlimited numbers of invoices and bills. In addition to the features on the Early plan, the Growing plan also includes bulk transaction reconciliation to speed things up.
- Business owners, freelancers and entrepreneurs often spend a large chunk of time on administration and accounting.
- Set up bank feeds from your accounts so transactions are imported securely into the Xero accounting software each business day.
- More than 3.5 million users all over the globe use Xero to manage their billing and invoicing each month.
- Looking at Xero vs. Sage, you can see they stack up quite well.
- The bank reconciliation feature should automate your transactions, but it would be nice to schedule payments all in the same place.
The basic plan allows users to send unlimited invoices and estimates and track unlimited expenses up to five clients. In addition to billing and invoicing capabilities, Xero goes one step further by providing financial and accounting reporting features (Figure B). Options include a 1099 report, a balance sheet report, aged receivables report, aged payables report, inventory report and more. These reports help small business owners identify areas for improvement and make evidence-based decisions in real time.
See more of what Xero can do
That can be limiting, even for freelancers and sole proprietors. For unlimited invoicing and bill-paying capacity, you’ll need to upgrade to the Growing plan. For example, you can give all employees the ability to send quotes and invoices, allow some to enter expenses and limit who can see the company’s complete financial picture. To keep things organized, Xero logs every action users make and compiles the history of every transaction.
Xero also uses Stripe as well as GoCardless, so it can take ACH debit payments as well. Collaborate with your peers, support your clients and boost your practice. Wave is a solid choice for small businesses looking for free accounting software. When reconciling books, Xero suggests likely matches between bank statement lines and transactions entered in the software.
That includes the chart of accounts, invoices, bills, contacts and fixed assets. We recommend working with an accountant or bookkeeper, preferably one with Xero experience, when you make the move to Xero online accounting software. FreshBooks starts at $8.50 per month and incorporates standout features like team roles and time tracking on all plans.
Unlike Xero, QuickBooks allows unlimited invoices but the Simple Start plan is limited to one billable user and two accountant firm users. This means that QuickBooks is a good choice for businesses who only need one person to use the software but need to send a high volume of invoices and bills per month. Xero is a cloud-based, double-entry accounting software tool that is designed with small businesses in mind. More than 3.5 million users all over the globe use Xero to manage their billing and invoicing each month.
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Helpful features include quote sharing with clients, multiple payment options and auto-charging for recurring transactions. The Xero Accounting mobile app works in tandem with the Xero accounting software so you can run your small business online from anywhere. Keep track of your unpaid and overdue invoices, bank account balances, profit and loss, cash flow and bills to pay – plus reconcile bank accounts and convert quotes to invoices. For the price, Xero is a powerful tool that can help you manage everything from inventory to file storage. It also integrates with over a thousand apps, meaning if you can’t find a native feature you need, you can likely add it on. The included mobile app is great for checking accounting reports or invoices on the go.
What is bank reconciliation?
Currently, Sage Accounting has 41 apps you can add to the software through the Sage Marketplace. These include everything from data integration to point-of-sale programs. Popular options include apps such as Zapier, Gusto, 9Spokes, CollBox and Zynk Workflow. The number of users is also technically unlimited, but FreshBooks does charge an extra fee per user.
Customer Support: Xero vs. Sage
This may have been someone special who you connected with at an event, a teacher, a mentor, a previous employer or just a good friend who’s been there on your bookkeeping journey. When asked about how they got started with Xero, Katie and Deb had similar tales to tell. Katie real accounts vs. nominal accounts knew about it when a friend asked her for help with bookkeeping in Xero. A friend was starting a naturopathy business and had heard about Xero from other practitioners. Having not heard about it at that stage (this was very early Xero days) I was curious, so said yes.
Your Xero data is backed up regularly and protected with multiple layers of security. After you start a free 30-day trial of Xero, you’ll activate the account and provide details about your business. Then, you can connect your bank accounts to Xero and decide if you’ll accept electronic payments for online invoices. Xero is a cloud-based accounting software product that’s easy to use and integrates with more than 1,000 apps. You can import data from other accounting software in bulk via CSV files once you’ve done some initial set up in Xero.
Less scalable products are typically simpler, but diminished functionality can cause headaches down the road for growing businesses. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one. NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including scope of features and integrations, customer support and cost, among others. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software. Xero is a great option for large teams and small- to medium-sized businesses that need high-level accounting systems.
It’s also a good fit if you want to integrate Gusto Payroll to your accounting platform. QuickBooks caps the number of users who can use the account. It allows three users for its Essentials plan ($55 per month) and 25 users for its top plan, the Advanced ($200 per month). Xero, on the other hand, offers unlimited users for all plans. This can be helpful if your company is growing fast, or you simply want the reassurance that there’s no limit to how many people can be part of the team. Business owners, freelancers and entrepreneurs often spend a large chunk of time on administration and accounting.
Payroll is just one of the many other products Sage offers as well. For example, if you’re also looking for an HR management solution, Sage HR integrates seamlessly so you can manage your workforce. There’s also a separate time-tracking software—Sage Timeslips—and even a customer management tool called Sage CRM. While it might be nice to have all of these in one dedicated software, it’s nice you can pick and choose exactly which components would best benefit your business.
The software makes it easy to pay bills, claim expenses, accept payments, track projects, manage contracts, store files and more. Xero has transformed our financial management and provides us with all the real time data we could imagine, and where it lacks, integrations take over. While more « accountancy » friendly than some of the more simple products, once you work with your accountants to get this right, you won’t regret it. The detail, features and holistic approach to managing company finances means that we are using this every day and with pleasure. Where Sage excels is its lack of limits on clients and invoices.
We’ve suggested Xero to a few clients and even forced them to switch from their current accounting software because of how much superior it is than its competitors. Sage 50cloud’s Cash Flow Manager tool is a helpful feature for people who want to better understand how future transactions could impact their business. The tool also lets you adjust the time frame to see how your business has changed over time.