I have noticed discussions about Xero, but most posts are two to three years old. I am hoping to hear from anyone with recent experience in purchasing and implementing Xero for a growing business.

My client is a startup health services company that currently has only two employees. However, the plan is to expand to roughly 50 employees across two or three locations within the next year. Additionally, they expect to operate three or four distinct legal entities for physicians providing services in different states over the same period.

QuickBooks was my initial recommendation, but I have heard positive remarks about Xero from various sources. Given the anticipated complexity—multiple entities, geographic expansion, and rapid headcount growth—I would value insights on how Xero handles such scenarios compared to QuickBooks.

Specifically, I am interested in:

  • Ease of setup and migration from another system (if applicable).
  • Multi-entity support and intercompany transactions.
  • Scalability for a team growing from 2 to 50 employees.
  • Integration with payroll and healthcare-specific tools.
  • User experience for non-accounting staff.

If you have used Xero recently—especially in a startup or multi-entity environment—please share your practical experiences, including any pitfalls or advantages over QuickBooks.