Xero Invoice – Pricing & Integrations

Xero Invoice offers three pricing tiers: the Early tier ($20 per month), the Growing tier ($47 per month), and the Established tier ($80 per month). With Xero’s current promotional offer, you can get 90% off your first six months, bringing its entry price down to $2 per month. While Xero doesn’t currently offer a free tier, it does let you test out the software with a 30-day free trial. 

We specifically recommend the Growing plan, as it offers unlimited monthly invoices, as opposed to the Early tier’s tight limit of 20 invoices per month. However, if you want to unlock advanced capabilities like multi-currency support and cash flow prediction, you’d have to opt for Xero’s priciest tier, Established. 

This guide covers everything you need to know about Xero’s pricing, including its different plans, hidden costs, and how its costs compare to the best invoice software for small businesses. Read on to learn how much Xero invoices could cost your business.

In this guide:

• Xero Invoice Pricing Plans
• Does Xero Invoice Offer a Free Plan?
• Xero Invoice Hidden Costs & Fees
• Xero Invoice Add-Ons and Integrations
• Xero Invoice Features
• Alternatives to Xero Invoice
• Verdict: Is Xero Invoice Good Value?

Xero Invoice Pricing Plans

Xero Invoice has three plans, each intended for businesses of different sizes. The differences between the three plans are quite marginal, so you won’t find yourself too torn on which one you should opt for. The jump from Early to Growing removes the limit on monthly invoices, while the jump from Growing to Established allows for multi-currency transactions.

These plans all charge a monthly rate, and unlike some software providers, you won’t be able to opt for a yearly payment to save money.

Xero Early

• Best for businesses just starting out
• Price: $20 per month ($2 per month with current deal)

Key features:

• 20 invoices a month
• 5 bills a month
• bank transactions reconciliation
• Bill capturing with Hubdoc
• Sales tax support
• Short-term cashflow snapshot
• W-9 + 1099 management

The Xero Early plan typically costs $20 a month. However, with Xero’s current deal, the plan costs just $2 per month for the first three months, before returning to its original price.

While clients, users, and estimates are unlimited, invoices are capped at 20, and bills at five, which is quite low. However, similar entry-level plans by other providers – like QuickBooks Sole Trader and Simple Start – don’t let you manage bills at all, making Xero Early a good choice for companies sending off a few bills per month.

Who would we recommend Xero Early for?

As the name suggests, this tier is for businesses in their infancy. It’s a good fit for businesses that are just starting out and looking to grow, or even little side hustles run out of a garage.

Creating invoices with the Xero really straightforward, but its Early plan only lets you send off 20 a month. Source: Tech.co user testing

Xero Growing

• Best for businesses on the rise
• Price from: $47 per month ($4.70 per month with current deal)

Key features: 

You’ll have access to everything in the Early package, plus:

• Unlimited invoices and quotes
• Unlimited bills
• Optional access to advanced inventory features

The Xero Growing tier costs $47 per month, or $4.70 for the first three months, with Xero’s current promotional deal. The main (and only) difference between the Growing tier and the Early tier is that there is no limit on invoices, meaning you can send more than 20 invoices a month.

This tier is our favorite, as it carries all the features of the Early tier, while entirely removing the limit on monthly invoices. Most businesses would find themselves brushing up against the 20-a-month limit, if not breaking it entirely, so to have this removed is hugely beneficial.

Who would we recommend Xero Growing for?

If you find yourself running a business that is approaching 20 invoices a month, it’s a good idea to just opt for this tier – you might find yourself breaking that ceiling pretty soon, and it’s nice to not have to keep tabs on how many you’ve sent in a month.

Xero Established

• Best for International Businesses
• Price: $70 per month ($7 per month with current deal)

Features:

You’ll have access to everything in the Growing package, plus:

• Multi-currency support
• Project tracking
• Expense claiming
• Advanced cash flow predictions

Xero’s final tier, the Established tier, costs $80 per month, or $8 per month for the first three months with the provider’s current deal.

This price increase is almost double the previous tier, making it a big investment for businesses that won’t utilize the extra capabilities. However, if you’re serious about expanding your business bottom line with cash flow analytics, or if you manage multiple currencies, Xero Established is likely to pay for itself over time.

Who would we recommend Xero Established for?

It’s for this reason that the Established tier is best for businesses that are, well… established. Any businesses that ship or sell internationally and need to charge in Euros, Canadian dollars, or anything else, will benefit from this tier. Otherwise, stick to the Growing tier.

Does Xero Invoice Offer a Free Plan?

Unfortunately, Xero does not offer a permanently free plan. The provider does offer a 30-day free trial though, giving businesses a way to sample the software without committing to any lengthy subscriptions. You’re able to trial out any plan too, from Xero Early to Xero Established.

If you’re looking to manage your finances with a forever-free plan, there are a number of free accounting platforms that could meet the needs of self-employed individuals and small businesses with basic requirements. Lots of free plans miss out basic features like payroll and tax management, however, so in most cases it’s worth opting for a paid plan.

Xero Invoice Hidden Costs & Fees

Xero aims to be very up-front with its pricing structure to avoid its users getting caught out by surprise fees. However, there are some factors you should look out for if you’re new to accounting software in general.

While Xero doesn’t charge fees itself, if you use a third-party payment processor like Stripe or PayPal to collect payments through Xero Invoices, you’ll be subjected to transaction fees associated with that service. In certain countries like the UK, Xero charges a fee of £0.20 per bill when a direct bank transfer is used, but fortunately, these fees don’t apply in the US.

Unlike other popular invoicing platforms like FreshBooks, Xero doesn’t charge early termination fees, either. You will need to keep paying subscription fees until the end of your notice period, however, which will typically be one month.

Xero Invoicing Add-Ons & Integrations

Xero Invoicing comes with a ton of optional add-ons that can make operating the software a more streamlined process for your business.

Firstly, you can attach three email marketing platforms to your Xero account:

• Oncord (starting at $39 a month)
• Constant Contact (starting at $20 a month)
• Mailchimp (starting at $9.99 a month)

These can help you connect your client list to a list of existing customers, which can be helpful if you want to keep all your messaging in one place.

However, the integrations really ramp up when it comes to ecommerce and CRM. With 39 ecommerce integrations and 82 CRM integrations, there’s a lot you can add and change with your Xero account.

Xero’s app store lets you connect with tons of sector-specific apps like Square POS and Fresho Inventory. Source: Tech.co user testing

Some ecommerce highlights include A2X, which automates ecommerce accounting for Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, Walmart, and eBay sellers for $19 per month, and Link My Books, which creates invoices for anything sold on eBay and Amazon from $11 per month.

Some CRM recommendations are HubSpot and Constant Contact, which both allow you to stay on top of your customers’ behavior and relationship to your business.

Xero Invoicing Features

Xero has a solid array of features that allow it to stand among the greats. There aren’t any massive weaknesses, with the main one being its somewhat lackluster support resources. However, it makes up for this with very substantial invoice delivery tools, as well as analytics and reporting.

Creating Invoices

When creating invoices for your customers, you’ll be able to calculate taxes, attach files, and display discounts and tracked hours. And it’s not just invoices – you’ll also be able to create and send estimates, which can help land customers if they find your prices appealing.

When we tried our Xero, we found creating invoices with the platform really straightforward. Source: Tech.co user testing

When we tested Xero firsthand, we were impressed with how clearly signposted its invoice features were, however, we did find there was a lack of visual feedback when tasks were completed.

Sending Invoices

Once you’ve made your invoices, sending them out is the next step, and Xero has a lot of tools to help you out here. You’ll be able to set up recurring invoices for repeat customers, and payment reminders for clients who need a prod in order to pay your invoices. You can also track the invoices’ progress, and even send from a mobile device.

Receiving Payment

When it comes time for your customers to pay their invoices, they can use a chosen third-party payment processor, such as PayPal or Stripe. If your business is connected to one of these processors already, it’ll be very easy to connect the pre-existing account. This is the opposite of paying directly through the software itself.

These payment processors will charge additional fees, however, so you should be aware of these hidden costs before choosing which one to integrate with the software.

Reporting and Analytics

As mentioned, Xero has everything you’d want when it comes to reporting and analytics, which can help if you want to show off to customers or investors. This includes customizable reports that can include sales tax and receivables, both by customers and by time.

Xero also offers cash flow projection capabilities on its Enterprise tier. The feature lets you see a visualization of your business cash flow for the next seven or 30 days, making Xero a particularly good piece of software for businesses with complex revenue streams like restaurants or hotels.

Learn more about the best accounting platforms for hotels.

Xero’s profit and loss features give you a detailed overview of your business’s financial health. Source: Tech.co user testing

Multi-currency support

For businesses handling international payments, Xero does offer multi-currency support. The platform instantly converts international business transactions and records them in your accounting software, lets you view how exchange rate fluctuations and foreign currency markets affect your cash flow, and even produces reports in local and foreign currencies to help you see how your business is performing.

These features aren’t available in Xero’s Early and Growing plans, however, so you’ll have to invest a little extra if you require them.

Help Centre

Finally, if anything goes wrong, you might be interested in Xero’s support resources. The only way you can contact Xero is through email, but there are knowledge centers and community forums that can also help you out.

However, unlike alternatives like QuickBooks and Zoho Books, there are no phone lines or live chat options, which could be a roadblock if you prefer speaking to someone directly to resolve queries.

Alternatives to Xero Invoicing

Alas, no invoice software platform is perfect, so you might be on the lookout for other platforms that can pick up Xero’s slack.

Xero vs QuickBooks

If you’re looking for an alternative similar to Xero, QuickBooks will be your best bet. The platforms performed similarly in our research, due to their wealth of accounting and growth projection tools, and their relatively steep learning curves, which took our testers a bit of time to get acclimatized to.

This being said, QuickBooks’s interface is slightly more intuitive than Xero’s, however, and the platform offers a better help and support center to help smooth out any potential bumps along the way. This makes QuickBooks the better choice for businesses that require advanced accounting features, but don’t want to get overwhelmed by cluttered software.

What’s more, unlike Xero, QuickBooks offers invoicing templates and color customization options, making it a good option for businesses wanting to personalize their invoices with their branding.

Learn more about how the providers compare in our QuickBooks vs Xero guide

Xero vs Zoho Books

Zoho Books is our best-rated accounting platform and will be a great alternative to Xero due to its shallower learning curve, and superior core accounting features. The provider offers just as many useful invoicing features as Xero – including multi-currency support, payment reminders, and automated invoice sending – so businesses churning out high volumes of invoices won’t be short-changed.

Zoho Books also offers a permanently free plan that’s catered towards solopreneurs and micro businesses. This, combined with Zoho Book’s slick, modern interface, makes the software a better choice than Xero for users with relatively simple accounting and invoicing needs.

Xero vs FreshBooks

FreshBooks is another solid accounting platform that gives Xero invoices a run for its money. While FreshBooks’ reporting and financial projection tools aren’t as advanced as those offered by Xero, the platform’s help and support helpdesk is unmatched, and its average monthly price is a lot lower than competitors too.

First-party payment processing vs third-party payment processing is very much a matter of personal preference, but if you’d rather be paid through the software rather than through PayPal or Stripe, FreshBooks offers first-party payment. For larger businesses that ship overseas, the ability to charge in multiple currencies can be crucial. Xero doesn’t offer this unless you opt for the highest tier, so if you’re looking for a cheaper way to charge multiple currencies, then FreshBooks, all offer it on their lowest tiers.

Learn about FreshBooks’ pricing plans here