QuickBooks Online Singapore vs Xero Singapore; which one is the one for my business?

In recent years the buzzword ‘cloud’ seemed to be everywhere. Cloud storage, cloud software, cloud everything. People have evolved from saving the photos they took in their phone to saving them on cloud storage; so that those precious photos remain safe in case they lose their phones. In the cloud software arena, you might hear of cloud CRM, cloud HR management systems, and cloud accounting. So what is cloud accounting?

Cloud-based accounting software is different from its predecessors. The older accounting software is standalone applications; either require installation from CDs or downloaded from the software provider’s website. The IT personnel from the business would need to install the application one by one into the account departments’ desktop computers. And from time to time they will update the applications one by one. As the account files are needed to access by the accounting staff, sometimes a server is required to host the files.

There are several cloud accounting software on the market at the moment. However, two of them are highly popular with small businesses and they are QuickBooks Online and Xero. Let’s examine the differences among them and which is more suitable for your business.

Feature Comparison

To properly evaluate software, a demo download or free trial is a must. Fortunately, QuickBooks Online and Xero offer a 30-days trial.

Ease of use

To help small business owners and accountants work efficiently, a user-friendly dashboard is a must. Unfortunately, this is often overlooked when businesses shortlist cloud accounting software.

QuickBooks Online offers a comprehensive dashboard. Users can have a glance at profit and loss, expenses, payroll, bank accounts, invoices, sales, and some tips from QuickBooks. The dashboard is designed to be quick to set up. It is also highly customisable so users can add as much or as little information as required and add the rest later.

There is also a detailed menu on the left where the users can find more functions they required.

Users of Xero are greeted with a simple dashboard. Xero’s dashboard is easily customisable and offers a minimalist interface. Users can see categories like dashboard, accounting, business, contacts, and projects. The setting up Xero dashboard may take a longer time and be challenging compared to QuickBooks as it requires users to input all the business information before they can start using the software. Users can also explore the software with the demo account that is pre-built in the software.

As the world is learning to live with the current pandemic, businesses have also learned that working on the go and working from home is important to keep a business going.

Fortunately, each software has mobile app versions of their software. While users cannot expect 100 percent functionality compared to the browser version, the apps are still a force to be reckoned with. Each app can send and manage invoices, track expenses, monitor profit and loss, and more from any device, anywhere.

Features

QuickBooks Online and Xero are highly popular now, and it’s easy to see why. They each offer many great features and they were built with a focus for small business owners. Below are just some of the useful features.

Which is the right one for my business?

With the list of features above it is time to ponder over what is more suitable for your business. And with each software providing industry-leading features, perhaps we can offer some examples that might help you in your decision.

If your business is a small consultancy such as business consulting, a digital marketing agency, or an architecture company, QuickBooks Online might be suitable for you. QuickBooks Online’s advanced reporting feature offers many detailed reports as their plans tier move upwards, businesses that need advanced insights might find it very useful as they chart out plans.

With more affordable pricing plans, small businesses will appreciate the features that QuickBooks Online offers; even with the entry-level plan. It offers time tracking features in all plans; a god-send for consultancies that require tracking how much time was spent in projects. Unlimited quotes and invoices feature that comes in plans of all tiers will come in handy when businesses have more than 20 quotes and invoices to send each month.

If your business deals with inventory such as an eCommerce or retail; look no future than Xero. Xero allows unlimited users; whereby multiple employees can use the software at the same time. It is also suitable for a company with a more sizeable staff strength. All Xero price plans include inventory management software subcategories third-party and eCommerce. Retail or similar types of business can rejoice as they can easily keep track of what’s in stock and what is not. Xero also populates invoices and orders with items you buy and sell. Xero is also noted for much more choices when it comes to integration options compared to QuickBooks Online. This is important as it means businesses are spoilt for choices as they grow and needed to connect to more software.

Great price with government funding

While QuickBooks Online and Xero are relatively affordable, the current economic climate means businesses think twice before putting already-limited resources into the new software. Time, manpower, and subscription fees are all costs to a business.

Singapore small businesses (SMEs) will be happy to know that there is a silver lining in every dark cloud. Singapore’s government has been actively promoting the automation of existing processes and improving productivity for some time. The Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) was launched to support companies keen on adopting IT solutions and equipment to enhance business processes. From 1 April 2023 onwards, the maximum support level will be up to 50%.

The SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC), on the other hand, encourages employers to invest in the enterprise transformation and capabilities of their employees. Eligible employers will receive a one-off S$10,000 credit to cover up to 90% of out-of-pocket expenses on qualifying costs for supportable initiatives, over and above the support levels of existing schemes. Singapore businesses can use this credit to fund the training of their employees to use QuickBooks Online or Xero.

Acc Pro (Singapore) Group has been actively helping local SMEs to digitalize their business operations and move the accounting online. If you would like to move your accounting to the cloud and grab the government funding; why not contact us today and see how we can help you?

References: QuickBooks Online Singapore and Xero Singapore