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True cost of Xero

  • Fellow
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  • # 111851

Hi,

 

I'm have recently set up in practice and have my first client and I will be hopefully signing up 3 more clients very soon. At the moment I am simply  using using Excel for my one client - he is a simple soul and wants little to do with his accounting apart from figures for his tax return and to let him know if he is in trouble, so this works for him. 

 

My dilema is that if I take on more clients in the near future which sofware to choose. I am drawn to Xero, but being a newby to the business find their pricing structure a little confusing. I dont want to sign up to something that none of my future clients would want or want to pay for. 

 

I am aiming towards a menu pricing structure so i can build in the cost of the software to the clients, but obviously dont want to put them off before we start.

 

Can anyone give me a simple answer to how much does Xero cost per month per client? 

 

yours with thanks

 

Janette

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  • 80 posts
  • # 111852

Hi Janette,

Not sure on Xero pricing myself, but I would suggest you consider Quickbooks Online as well. From what I see on the Xero website the margins from Intuit are greater. The way Intuit works is you can set up a subscription to be billed to either client or yourself. If billed to you, you have a price for each level of product and you can either absorb the cost, or bill it on to client (at whatever price you want)

From what I can so far from using Xero, I feel it harder to do bookkeeping tasks within it. I find bank reconciliation very loose in Xero and difficult to manage. I cannot seem to be able to run a historic trade debtors and creditors list but showing items still open - can only run it on report date basis. 

Xero does have a few features that Quickbooks Online does not have but nothing that would make me want to use it unless client really wanted me to or if my client was needing it to do something specific that QBO does not do. One area Xero is slightly better at in my opinion, is repeating monthly invoices because with this (as well as repeating bills) you can use placeholders to insert dates so if you reference a month or a date in the details of an invoice, Xero can put this in automatically.

On the whole, I prefer Quickbooks Online.

Hope this helps,

Dave

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  • # 111862

Hi Dave,

 

thanks for the reply. I have tried quickbooks and for some reason couldnt take to it. I know lots of people love it, but just didnt click for me. I've  signed up for a free trial on Clear Books, Liquid Accounts and kashflow to compare the market!

 

On reflection although I like the look of Xero Ive got to say i find the pricing structure annoying ( after I understood it) I think i would feel I was always pushing their software onto my clients to get that 'discount'

 

Clearbooks seems clear enough and British! 

 

Janette

  • 28 posts
  • # 111898

Hi Janette,

I am not pushing Xero (find the software you like the most and go for that I think is the best approach). However, I thought I would respond on the pricing just in case other people read the thread and may not know what you have found out.

The first thing to say is that not all the Xero options are available to the public to buy direct. If you sign up as a partner you (a) get access to a free edition to use for yourself and (b) get access to other (lower cost) versions. This year I used Xero ledger for the first time, for a client who is an end of year paper bag person. It worked great to do all their bookkeeping and financial statements in one go and I got a 50% for two years, so it only cost £12 / year - for me this was a real time/cost saver.

Secondly, the general discounts depend on how many clients you have signed up, the more clients the better the discount. However, Xero also offers non-financial incentives, such as access to software and promotion of your practice. it is up to you whether you pass the discount onto your client or not.

Thirdly, Xero regularly offers discount codes, although it doesn't always promote these. What I do prior to signing up any client is ring my account manager. They normally have some sort of extra discount I can access. For example this week I got a code for 60% off any plan for 6 months - the only downside was we didn't get the month's free trial too, but still a decent saving, which made the client very happy.

I think with all the changes to the new digital tax accounts, accounting software is going to be really competitive in the next bit, so whoever you decide to go with I think it is worth speaking to them to see what discount or extra help you get.

Good luck with the trials. Kathryn

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  • # 111902

Many thanks Kathryn,

 

I didnt know that Xero offered other discounts. I felt that as a new practice that I wouldnt have enough clients wanting to, or are able to join up for cloud accounting to make it worth my while paying for them upfront, but your answer has made me think again, especially for the end of year clients.

I am  in the process of signing up  a new client who can little afford my services, never mind paying for software,  but she has gotten herself into  such a muddle and really needs some help, even if its just in the short term. 

This is exactly the advice I was after- from someone who actually uses Xero and not just what you can find on the website, so thankyou very much. I'll be ringing them again!

 

PS as a matter of interest how many clients have you signed uip to Xero and do you use any other cloud software?

 

thanks Janette

  • 28 posts
  • # 111903

Hi Janette,

You are welcome. I found it really difficult to find exactly the same information you are looking for when I set up practice 18 months ago.

I have three clients on Xero at present. One of the things I like about them is although I explained that I specialise with sole traders and I am unlikely to ever have large numbers using the software the account managers have still be really supportive.

I don't use any other cloud software, but I do use VT, which is desktop based. VT is not as sophisticated as the cloud packages, but it is straightforward to use. It has three advantages (1) it is a one off cost (unless you want phone support) - £180 I think (b) you can put as many clients on it as you want and (c) there is a cashbook version which is free (great for small clients who don't want to pay anything) to use. The downside is that it is completely manual bookkeeping (no clever bank feeds, coding or auto suggestion, etc), so in a like for like comparison it takes more time to use than Xero. I find it works well for small clients who don't have that many transactions and don't want to pay for the extra functionality / access.

If you have got the time then try as many of the packages as you can and see what you like. Some are more expensive, but at the end of the day if they are easier for you to use then you will work quicker and better and save your clients money that way instead. Good luck with finding what you need and the new practice.

Kathryn

  • Companion Fellow PM.Dip
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  • # 111951

Hi 

I would just like to give a bit of advice.  Not all softwares suit one client.   All the software companies are very guility of strong sales.  Once you contact them even for one client they hound you.  

We use all softwares and my clients pay for them. We now have blocked the telephone numbers of all software companies.  On each occasion I decide which one will suit the client the best.   My advise is do not get involved in Partnership deals as it closes your mind to the benefits of all softwares.   

As a company we do not take any commision and give our clients the deals that are given to us.   The right choice of software for each client is the most important.  Currently we have clients on Xero sage kashflow clearbooks and quickbooks and various others. 

I have to say in recent times the aggressive sales of the software companies and partnerships have really put me off and many on here will know my love of software.   At the moment it is hard to be interested as I feel you be asked to swear your allengience to a company and in my view this is not acceptable.  



Edited at 30 Dec 2015 01:59 PM GMT

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