Xero
Ranked 5 of 5 accounting software by recommenders
Cloud accounting software that connects to banks and other ledgers and handles small-business bookkeeping, especially in Australia. Critics find it complex to learn.
Cloud accounting software that connects to banks and other ledgers and handles small-business bookkeeping, especially in Australia. Critics find it complex to learn.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Connects to banks and expense tools
“they integrate with many banks and expense management platforms to automate closing”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Claude for Small Business” Cut overhead for a small business
“A decade ago Xero, Shoeboxed, Calendly, Payment Evolution, and a time tracker eliminated all my overhead.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Claude for Small Business” Solves Australian business accounting needs
“most of what you describe can be solved using Xero in Australia”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Tell HN: AI coding is sexy, but accounting is the real low-hanging target” Syncs with other ledgers
“synced to your ledger (Zoho, QB, Xero)”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: I built an AI that turns emailed PDFs into ledger entries in 60s”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Complex to learn
“learning a really complex software like XERO”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: How are UK sole traders preparing for quarterly tax reporting (MTD)?” “use the complex ones like excel or Xero”
Comment from 26 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: How are UK sole traders preparing for quarterly tax reporting (MTD)?”
Other accounting software people recommend
The four most recommended other accounting software, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beancount | 25 | 3 | 89% | 8 | 4 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| hledger | 17 | 3 | 85% | 6 | 3.5 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| GnuCash | 16 | 10 | 62% | 6 | 3 yrs3 owners | — |
| QuickBooks | 12 | 28 | 30% | 6 | — | — |
| XeroThis page | 5 | 5 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“But they didn't do anything for Israel.”
“they integrate with many banks and expense management platforms to automate closing”
“A decade ago Xero, Shoeboxed, Calendly, Payment Evolution, and a time tracker eliminated all my overhead.”
“much slower and more cumbersome fashion in the new AI tool than I can with the old search field”
“learning a really complex software like XERO”
“use the complex ones like excel or Xero”
“synced to your ledger (Zoho, QB, Xero)”
“most of what you describe can be solved using Xero in Australia”
“figuring out why Xero's API returns different JSON on Tuesdays”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.