Best Accounting Software by Use Case

Your accountant's preference matters more than features. If they use QuickBooks, switching to Xero to save $816/year creates friction at tax time that costs real money. After that, three factors determine your best fit. First, user count: Xero includes unlimited users on every plan, while QuickBooks caps at 1-25 depending on tier and FreshBooks charges $11/mo per additional team member. A 5-person team on Xero Standard pays $47/mo total. On QuickBooks Plus, it's $115/mo and you're capped at 5 users. Second, feature needs: payroll is built into QuickBooks but requires third-party tools on Xero and Zoho; inventory tracking starts at $40/mo on Zoho, $80/mo on Xero, and $115/mo on QuickBooks. Third, your invoicing volume: Xero's Starter plan caps at 20 invoices/month, which most businesses outgrow in weeks.