Xero
Xero is cloud accounting software for small businesses and their accountants that handles invoicing, bills, bank reconciliation, sales tax and reporting in one place.
Updated October 2026
Overview: What is Xero?
US plans start at $27 a month on Early, with no per-user fees (checked October 2026).
Xero connects to your bank feeds, matches transactions, and lets you send quotes and invoices that customers can pay online. Bills come in through Smart Document Capture, and standard ACH bill payments are included. Its AI companion, JAX, answers questions about your numbers and drafts invoices and quotes. Xero says it has 5 million customers worldwide.
Fit: Ideal customer profile.
Small US businesses that want the owner, staff and an outside accountant working in the same books for one monthly price. Businesses sending more than 20 invoices a month need Growing or above. Companies that need a full ERP, deep accounts payable or heavy project accounting will likely outgrow it.
- Small business bookkeeping
- Invoicing and bill payments
- Sharing the books with an accountant
Capabilities
Key features.
01
Bank feeds with reconciliation, and auto-reconcile on Growing and Established
02
Quotes and invoices with online payment, including tap to pay through Stripe
03
Bill capture and free standard ACH bill payments
04
W-9 and 1099 management and sales tax
05
Cash flow forecasts of 30, 60 or 180 days by plan
06
Multi-currency, project time and cost tracking, and expense claims on Established
07
Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, as an add-on
Usage
How to use Xero.
Connect your business bank accounts, invite your accountant or bookkeeper, and set up invoice templates and sales tax. Payroll runs through the Gusto-powered add-on inside Xero, Stripe handles card and tap-to-pay payments, and Syft analytics is included for dashboards. New US customers get free onboarding help from a product specialist for their first 90 days.
Cost
Pricing.
$27/ month
US prices before tax, billed monthly (checked October 2026). New US customers can get 90% off the first six months until November 2, 2026. Payroll costs $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor, and payment fees apply to card and non-ACH payments.
Early
$27.00
- Quotes and 20 invoices a month
- 5 bills a month
- 30-day cash flow forecast
- Auto-reconcile $5 a month extra
Growing
$59.00
- Unlimited invoices and bills
- Custom dashboards and 3 budgets
- Auto-reconcile included
- 60-day cash flow forecast
Established
$97.00
- Multiple currencies
- Project time and cost tracking
- Expense and mileage claims
- 180-day cash flow forecast
At a glance
Quick facts.
- Stack position
- Other
- Category
- Operations
- Best for
- Small business bookkeeping, Invoicing and bill payments, Sharing the books with an accountant
- Pricing
- From $27/month
Subcategories
- Payment Processing
Questions
Frequently asked.
How much does Xero cost in the US?
Early is $27 a month, Growing $59 and Established $97, billed monthly with no per-user fees. Payroll is an add-on at $36 a month plus $6 per person (checked October 2026).
Does Xero have a free trial?
Yes, the first month is free on any plan. Subscriptions renew monthly until cancelled, and Xero asks for one month's notice.
What are Xero's limits?
Early caps you at 20 invoices and five bills a month. Expense claims, multi-currency and project tracking need Established. Business.com's 2026 review also notes there's no immediate phone support and a thin accounts payable vendor network.
Does Xero do payroll?
Yes, through Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto. It calculates and files payroll taxes and pays employees from inside Xero, for $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor.
What are the alternatives to Xero?
QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks are the usual small business alternatives, and NetSuite suits companies that need an ERP. In this directory, Joist covers estimates and invoices for contractors and Hyperline covers subscription billing.
Compare
Xero alternatives.
Talk to us: Pick the tool. We run the system around it.
Xero is one part of a stack. We build and run the revenue system it plugs into.
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