How to pick a better accounting system for your business

You know that person, when you were starting your first business, that told you Quickbooks was the only way to go? Yeah, sorry about that.

Yesterday, lots of business owners opened their emails to something like this:

Nothing like finding out that your accounting software (which isn’t an optional tool) is almost doubling your rate. Ouch.

At this point, you’re probably sitting in your chair, thinking, “well, f*ck, that sucks. But what choice do I have?”

You DO have a choice. Fun fact: Quickbooks isn’t actually the only accounting tool out there, even though that’s what it sounded like when you picked it in the first place. Or when your accountant or bookkeeper told you that you had to use it.

So, if you’re one of those business owners that does your own bookkeeping, and you find yourself sitting in front of Quickbooks, wanting to die, read on.

But, if you’re a huge fan of Quickbooks, have evaluated alternatives and are just going to stick with it, you should probably stop reading now.

Quickbooks isn’t your only option

Let me introduce you to Xero. It’s cloud-based accounting software, too. And it’s awesome. It’s the only software I’ll personally use for my businesses, and it’s the only one we’ll recommend for our clients.

Here are my top 5 reasons why:

1. Ease of Use/User Interface

It’s significantly easier for non-accountants to figure out how to use Xero. The help documentation within in the system is easy to understand and readily searchable, so someone who is new to accounting or bookkeeping could easily figure out the system. Plus, it’s pretty.

If you sit there, looking at your bookkeeping in Quickbooks Online and just feel stupid because you can’t figure it out — you’re not alone. That’s just the way it is.

It’s great for accountants and bookkeepers who know the system and can navigate it quickly, but for small business owners trying to figure it out, it can be very intimidating. Quickbooks is fine and can feel intuitive if you already know it, but when you open up the program for the first time, it’s not.

When it comes to customer support and education, Xero is another clear winner. Everyone who works at Xero is friendly and helpful. They respond quickly to help tickets, and there are very few negative online complaints. Compare that to a ton of complaints about Quickbooks Online and their customer service.

2. Cost

Xero is cheaper. Because Xero plans include unlimited users, the price stays the same (usually $30/month, but can vary up or down depending on what level of service you need) and that includes payroll for five people. With Quickbooks Online, you have to pay per user, and the base price starts at $50/mo now, so the price can quickly escalate.

3. Integrations

Xero hosts an add-on marketplace with over 200 apps, designed to expand your Xero account into a business ecosystem.

That means, you can create the exact technology to flawlessly and efficiently operate your business. Data can flow from one system to another, eliminating the need for duplicate data entry. It also reduces errors and discrepancies between two systems.

Quickbooks also integrates with software, but often the integrations aren’t as robust or don’t work as well. Xero operates on a fundamental principle that other systems should connect. Because of that, they have always encouraged the development of add-on tools. Quickbooks wants to provide everything for everyone, so they’ve reluctantly connected to other software because the market demanded it.

4. Reliability

System reliability is an essential factor. It’s one that neither Xero nor Quickbooks advertises or focuses on, but the ability to log in and get access to a cloud-based system whenever you need to is a core functionality to being able to operate from anywhere in the world. If you can’t log in, you can’t do what you need to do.

In my experience, Xero is significantly more reliable than Quickbooks Online. Having run both systems for clients at the same time, it seemed like every time I tried to log into Quickbooks Online; it was down.

In 5+ years of using Xero, it’s happened to me maybe once or twice. Xero has 99.97% uptime and has some serious security chops — they have one of the strongest security reputations in the accounting world.

Quickbooks doesn’t publish their uptime statistics.

5. Automation & Machine Learning

If you were just going to pick one reason to switch to Xero, this should be it. Xero is harnessing machine learning to start automating bookkeeping. The software can suggest the correct account for invoices and purchase transactions, based on the information you type.

The system has smart matching to reconcile transactions quickly (it’s like playing Space Invaders when you’ve got it set up right). Xero is investing heavily in automation features and using technology to make bookkeeping easier — this is one of their main focuses.

What that means is that, with the right setup, you could do your own bookkeeping.

From your phone.

In about 15 minutes per month.

Need some help making the switch?

Check out our Xero conversion packages at Grind/Revive

Susan Boles is on a mission to help small businesses run simpler operations, so they can grow faster, and relax more. Founder/Principal at Grind/Revive

Originally published at grindrevive.com.