Zoho Books vs Xero

Online accounting software companies are a great helping hand for entrepreneurs, but it can be difficult to figure out which is best for your specific needs. To make the process a bit easier for you, we’ve created a series of comparison articles designed to put the top companies head to head.

In this Zoho Books vs. Xero comparison review, we’ll be going over some of their important similarities, differences, popular features, pricing and customer feedback to give you a well-informed and rounded perspective. So without further adieu, let’s get started!

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Like a number of others in the industry, Zoho and Xero share a number of fantastic features. For example, both have their own intuitive dashboard that breaks down your data into important summaries and reports which you can automatically generate. Others include:

1) Cloud-based: Both Zoho Books & Xero are cloud-based, so you can access your profile from anywhere and any device as long as you have an internet connection.

2) Free Trials Available: Zoho offers a 14-day free trial and Xero offers a 30-day free trial so you can dig into them and experiment before making any financial commitment.

3) Time-Tracking Tool: Accurately track your billable hours and get paid more securely.

4) Payroll: Both companies have payroll capabilities that allow you and your employees to manage hours and timesheets.

5) Bank Integration: Sync all of your accounts and easily manage them through your online account.

6) Customizable Invoices: Create personalized invoices that reflect your brand and send them out to clients in minutes.

7) Inventory Tools: Manage your available items and view billing with their inventory tools.

While they have some great commonalities, there’s also a number of important areas where they differ. Let’s briefly take a look and then we’ll jump into pricing and packaging options, which is my favorite.

Zoho Books

• Zoho offers a sleek management tool for cataloging tax exemptions and deductions.

• Additionally, you can run multiple businesses through one account.

• They offer multi-currency and multi-language support in all of their available packages, unlike Xero, who only offers it in their Premium 10 package.

Xero

• Since a large portion of their business comes from customers switching from QuickBooks, Xero offers a conversion tool that helps you move all of your data easily from one platform to the other.

• Xero allows you to create schedules so you can keep track of billing, payments and transactions.

• Xero has designed some of its features with different roles in mind, including their advisory tools created specifically for your accountant.

Moving on to their packaging, both companies leverage a tiered subscription-based service. They each offer three packages with a varying list of features for customers to choose from. Here’s a simple breakdown:

Of these packages, there are a number of things that we like to keep in mind so you can easily determine which offers the right features and what’s most cost effective.

• Both introductory packages start at $9/mo. They’re a bit limiting in their own ways, as Xero only offers 5 invoices, 5 payments and 20 transactions a month, and Zoho limits your number of contacts, users and workflows. That being said if you’re looking for the basics, they’re a great place to start.

• From there, Zoho becomes the most cost-effective option, as their top package is the same price as Xero’s mid-range alternative.

• In terms of features, Xero definitely has more to offer than most of the competition, including tools like fixed asset management, purchase orders and sales tax.

Xero and Zoho are in two different categories when it comes to customer reviews. Both companies have received consistent 5-star reviews, but currently Xero is the outstanding titan of the industry, while Zoho is a relative newcomer.

We’ve included a few reviews for both so you can take a look, and see how they fair for yourself.

Zoho doesn’t currently have a TrustRadius page, but we were able to find reviews for them through GetApp, where they currently have 122 reviews, earning them 4.41 out of 5 stars. Here’s a screenshot of a couple good examples that talk about pros and cons:

Although they do have a couple of negative reviews and there are customers who’ve pointed out areas in need of improvement, the overall feedback is positive. Reviewers were quick to praise Zoho Books for their easy set up, number of users and customizable invoices.

Moving on to Xero, their reputation precedes them. They have over a million users, so it’s no surprise they’ve gathered a solid batch of 127 reviews and an impressive TrustRadius score of 8.9 out of 10. Here’s their TR breakdown.

Customers are quick to praise their availability, scalability and overall performance, and are likely to recommend and renew their subscription. The only issue that we could see in our research was a slight dip in their ratings for support, but that’s to be expected with such a large company.

Though we definitely think both companies have a lot to offer, we’d have to go with Xero as the winner of this comparison. Their number of features can’t be beat and offers solutions for every type of business whether you're a single freelancer or a growing business.

But at the end of the day, trust your gut and choose the accounting software that feels right for you. If you're not totally sure, click both of the links below and try them out for free.

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