Xero vs QuickBooks for Australian Businesses
Plans, payroll, reporting and stock compared in plain English, plus what moving from QuickBooks to Xero really involves.
The Short Answer
For most Australian businesses with 10 to 200 staff, Xero is the easier choice: payroll is built into its larger plans, you don't pay per user, and many Australian accountants and bookkeepers already use it. QuickBooks Online is a sound choice if you report by many classes or locations, want award interpretation from its Advanced Payroll option, or already run it well. If you are on QuickBooks now and it works, you may not need to move at all.
We don't sell either product. We help businesses move between accounting systems and connect them to the rest of their software, so this guide sets out the differences that matter once you have staff, several systems and more than one person relying on the numbers. Prices and features were checked on Xero's and QuickBooks' Australian websites in October 2026.
Which One Suits You?
- Choose Xero if many people need to log in, you want payroll in the plan, or your accountant and your other apps already work with Xero.
- Choose QuickBooks if you report by lots of classes or locations, need award interpretation in payroll, or a small number of users suits you.
- Already on QuickBooks? Move only for a specific reason, such as user limits, an app you need, or your accountant's preference. Moving for its own sake costs time and money.
- Several companies, lots of stock or job costing across many jobs? The accounting system matters less than how it connects to your job, stock and reporting systems.
Plans and Prices for Businesses With Staff
As at October 2026, in AUD. Both vendors run introductory discounts, so compare the price you will pay after the first few months.
Xero
Payroll for 5 people, multi-currency, expense claims for 5 users, 90-day cash flow forecast
Payroll for 10 people, Xero Projects for 10 users, performance analytics, 180-day cash flow forecast
As Ultimate 10, with payroll for 20 people
As Ultimate 10, with payroll for 50 people
Xero also has smaller Ignite and Grow plans (Grow includes payroll for 2 people), and Ultimate plans for up to 100 people on payroll. No per-user licence fees on any plan.
QuickBooks Online
1 user plus your accountant. Invoices, quotes, GST and BAS lodgement, bank feeds.
3 users. Adds bills, recurring transactions and multi-currency.
5 users. Adds project management, inventory tracking, budgeting and up to 40 classes and locations.
25 users. Adds unlimited classes and locations, automated workflows, custom permissions and more custom fields.
Payroll is added to any plan: Standard Payroll is $6.00/month per active employee (incl. GST); Advanced Payroll costs more and adds award interpretation and rostering. Check QuickBooks' Australian pricing page for current plan prices.
How the maths changes with staff numbers: Xero's price rises in steps as more people go on payroll, while QuickBooks' payroll cost rises with each active employee and its plans cap the number of users. For example, if your business has 30 staff on payroll and eight people who need to log in to the accounts, work out the full monthly cost on both, including the apps you will add for stock, jobs or timesheets. Those apps often cost more than the accounting plan itself.
Xero vs QuickBooks: Side by Side
| What matters | Xero | QuickBooks Online | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays per user | No per-user licence fees on any plan | Plans include set users: Simple Start 1, Essentials 3, Plus 5, Advanced 25 (plus your accountant) | Matters once more than a handful of staff need to log in |
| Payroll | Built into the plan: Grow covers 2 people, Comprehensive 5, Ultimate plans 10 to 100 | Add-on: Standard Payroll $6.00/month per active employee (incl. GST); Advanced Payroll adds award interpretation and rostering | Both lodge Single Touch Payroll (STP) with the ATO each pay run |
| Multi-currency | Included from Comprehensive up | Included from Essentials up | Both handle overseas customers and suppliers on mid-tier plans |
| Reporting by area of the business | Tracking categories: up to two active at once | Classes and locations: up to 40 on Plus, unlimited on Advanced | QuickBooks gives more ways to slice the numbers inside the accounts |
| Projects and job costing | Xero Projects on Ultimate plans (10 users included) | Project management on Plus and Advanced | Both suit simple job tracking; builders and trades usually add a job system |
| Stock (inventory) | Basic stock tracking; many businesses add an inventory app | Inventory tracking on Plus and Advanced | Neither replaces a proper stock system once you have many lines, sites or batches |
| Add-on apps | 1,000+ apps that connect to it | Its own app marketplace | Check that the apps you rely on connect to the system you choose |
| Several companies | Each company (organisation) is its own subscription | Each company is its own subscription; QuickBooks offers discounts for multiple accounts by phone | Neither consolidates a group on its own; you need an app or a reporting layer |
Features and limits as published by Xero and QuickBooks (Intuit) on their Australian websites and help centres, October 2026. Both change their plans regularly.
The Three Differences That Matter Most
1. Payroll for an Australian team
Both lodge Single Touch Payroll (STP) with the ATO each pay run. Since 1 July 2026, Payday Super means super is paid with each pay rather than quarterly; QuickBooks describes its payroll as Payday Super ready, and Xero pays super to employees' funds electronically from the pay run. Our Payday Super checklist covers what to check. Xero includes payroll in its plans, priced by how many people you pay each month, with leave balances and phone timesheets for staff through Xero Me. QuickBooks Payroll is powered by Employment Hero and added to your plan; its Advanced Payroll option includes Modern Award interpretation and rostering. If your staff are on awards with penalty rates and shift loadings, test that part properly before choosing, on either system.
2. Reporting by location, department or job
This is where QuickBooks has a real edge. Plus allows up to 40 classes and locations, and Advanced allows unlimited. Xero allows two active tracking categories at a time. If you need the profit and loss by site, by department and by job, Xero can still do it, but usually through Xero Projects, an add-on app or a reporting layer on top. Read more on what to do when you need more than two tracking categories in Xero.
3. Jobs, stock and everything else you run
Both have project tracking and basic stock on their mid and upper plans. Neither is a full job costing or stock system. Once you have many jobs, several warehouses or products made from parts, the real work is in the job or stock system you add and how cleanly it talks to the accounts. So list the apps you rely on and check each one connects to the system you are leaning towards.
Xero Suits You If...
- Your accountant or bookkeeper works mainly in Xero
- More than five people need to log in, and you would rather not pay per user
- You want payroll included in the plan rather than priced per employee
- The apps you rely on (job, stock, ecommerce, rostering) are built for Xero
- You report by one or two dimensions, such as location and department
QuickBooks Suits You If...
- You report by many classes or locations and want that inside the accounts
- You need award interpretation and rostering from your payroll (QuickBooks Advanced Payroll)
- A small team of users is enough, and the user limits suit you
- You already run QuickBooks well, and your reports are trusted
- Your accountant knows QuickBooks and is happy to keep supporting it
Moving From QuickBooks to Xero: Beyond the Conversion Tool
Conversion services such as Jet Convert and MMC Convert, listed on the Xero App Store, move your chart of accounts, contacts and transaction history. For a single company with a tidy file, that is often all you need. Where a business with staff gets stuck is everything around the file.
Rebuilding how you report
Reconnecting your other systems
Checking the balances match
Fixing the process, not just the software
For example, if you are a wholesaler on QuickBooks Plus with classes for each sales channel, a warehouse app feeding stock movements and a CRM pushing invoices, the conversion tool moves the ledger. Someone still has to decide how those channels are reported in Xero, point the warehouse app and CRM at Xero, test that invoices and stock land correctly, and check the first BAS. That is the work we do.
See our QuickBooks to Xero conversion service for the detail, or signs you have outgrown QuickBooks if you are still working out whether the problem is the software. Comparing conversion services? Read Jet Convert vs MMC Convert.
When You Don't Need Us
- You have one company, a clean file, and only need opening balances and open invoices moved. A conversion service and your bookkeeper will do it for less.
- The only systems connected to your accounts are well-known apps that already connect to Xero. Your bookkeeper can reconnect them.
- QuickBooks is doing the job and your numbers are trusted. Stay where you are and spend the money elsewhere.
Who Does the Work
Kenomont is founder-led by Aaron Chambers, based on the Gold Coast, with 20+ years building and connecting business systems. We work with businesses across Australia remotely and travel when a project needs it. We work alongside your accountant or bookkeeper rather than replacing them.
Every job is scoped and given a fixed quote after a free initial chat. If you know something isn't working but not what to fix first, the $5,000 Process & Systems Audit maps your processes and systems and gives you a written report. We also connect Xero to your other systems when no app does the job, and build reports and dashboards across Xero and your other software.
The Technical Side
For whoever looks after your systems.
- QuickBooks sub-customers (Customer:Job) don't exist in Xero, where contacts are flat. Jobs usually map to a tracking option, a Xero Project or an invoice reference, agreed before any data loads.
- Classes and locations map to at most two active Xero tracking categories. Anything beyond that moves to Projects or a reporting layer that reads both the accounts and your operational systems.
- Every integration that posts to QuickBooks (invoices, bills, payments, stock movements) needs its account codes, tax rates and tracking re-mapped to Xero and tested in a demo or copy organisation before go-live.
- GST tax codes are mapped to Xero tax rates and checked against your last lodged BAS so the first BAS out of Xero lines up.
- Payroll is cleanest to move at 1 July. A mid-year move needs year-to-date figures loaded so STP reporting stays correct for each employee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Moving Off QuickBooks?
Tell us what you run and what connects to it. We'll tell you whether a conversion service will do, and if not, what the move involves and what it costs.
Free initial chat. No sales pressure - if we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
Prefer to talk? Call 1300 470 091
Got a spec or files? Email [email protected]