Accurate accounting is essential to the success of your business. That puts tremendous pressure on whichever bookkeeping application you choose to use. For many accounting departments, Intuit QuickBooks has long been the standard for accounting software.
Through the years, Intuit has transitioned its flagship downloaded QuickBooks software from a dedicated, legacy desktop application to a Web-based app, aptly named QuickBooks Online. The company has only seen major disruption in the past few years, as a new crop of accounting apps, born and raised within the computing cloud, have emerged as competitive alternatives to QuickBooks.
GetApp keeps tabs on all the accounting apps on the market, and many are remarkable. But one app – which is something of an “underdog” from the land of the Kiwis, New Zealand – is causing a major stir, and no doubt casting a shadow of worry over the development team at Intuit. It’s called Xero, and it’s standing out as potentially the alternative to QuickBooks.
Like the “Little Engine that Could,” though, Xero has a refreshingly clean approach to accounting software. And that’s put it on the radar of many who have long been acclimated to Intuit QuickBooks.
As Xero’s presence attracts more and more customers worldwide, it’s increasingly worth considering as a viable alternative to QuickBooks – and other accounting apps, for that matter.
In an effort to explain what makes Xero the leading alternative to QuickBooks, we’ve put together this article, which aims to highlight the key differences that may well make Xero the most intuitive, helpful and all-around intriguing accounting application around.
Here’s what the “fresh, designed-for-the-cloud”underdog Xero has to offer compared with so-called “Old Faithful,” QuickBooks Online.
Xero: Familiar, yet different
If you’ve used QuickBooks at all, you will find it easy to wrap your head around Xero. Everything you would expect to see is readily available in Xero’s dashboard.
Both accounting apps track accounts payable and receivable, and both offer a quick overview of your current cash position and outstanding balances. Xero’s tagline is “beautiful accounting software” and it was one of the first companies to make design a top priority when developing an accounting software. QuickBooks Online has caught up on the design front with a revamped look and feel that it released about a year ago. So both apps are reasonably easy on the eyes, and both are simple to get started using; both Xero and QuickBooks make it a snap to connect your bank account.
Visually, as Xero was designed specifically for the cloud in 2006, it was clearly made with mobile usage in mind. That said, QuickBooks Online performs well on smartphones and tablets in its own right.
But the similarities largely end there.
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