Easy to use for a first-timer. I have no bookkeeping experience whatsoever, but I jumped straight in at the deep end and drafted my first VAT return without too much trouble. The integration with Hubdoc made getting receipts in and scanned a breeze, and emailing invoices to clients was just as straightforward—everything felt completely automatic.

The AI is pretty good as well. It auto-reconciles regular transactions from places you visit often, or suppliers you regularly buy from, which saves a lot of time. Performance is also second to none; it works instantly no matter what you’re doing.

On pricing and ROI, Xero feels like an absolute bargain, especially as a new user. The offers are fantastic, and it’s far cheaper than paying an accountant to do everything. Don’t get me wrong—I still got an accountant to go through and check it all afterwards—but doing the legwork myself saved me the usual monthly fee or a large yearly fee. Xero made that easy.

Support at the start is great too. There are video classes and guides everywhere, and you can get personal support from actual people, not just bots. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The onboarding process was a little overwhelming at first, with so many new terms and processes to follow - A simplified UI would be great for beginners, adding in as you go and find what you need to, rather than all at once. I suppose the intent is for professional accounts to be using it, and not run-of-the-mill builders or tradesmen like myself. I got there after a few hours though, so don't take this as a huge downside at all. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.