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Xero is what every bookkeeper here uses — what would make me switch? This comparison is written for Australian Capital Territory specifically: GST and BAS are federal and identical across Australian Capital Territory, so the local variable is payroll tax: it starts once Australian wages exceed A$2,000,000, at rates up to 0.0685%, administered by ACT Revenue Office. HelloBooks in Australia is $22 – $55 per month, billed annually; Xero's pricing model is described rather than reprinted, so nothing on this page goes quietly out of date.
Showing Australian Capital Territory, Australia — AUD, GST, DD/MM/YYYY.
Xero is deeply embedded in Australia and its payroll and super handling are mature. HelloBooks is the better answer for multi-entity groups and for anyone whose bill keeps stepping up because of employee counts rather than accounting needs.
For a Australian Capital Territory business the practical test is narrow: does the product handle payroll tax from a$2,000,000 · up to 0.0685% without you configuring it per transaction, and can your registered BAS agent work in it without another licence? Payroll tax in Australian Capital Territory has a tax-free threshold of A$2,000,000 in annual Australian wages.
Sort by whichever product you are leaning toward, filter to differences only, and expand any row for the detail behind the label.
Showing 13 of 13 criteria.
| Criterion | Built for this market | Built for this market |
|---|---|---|
| Local tax return from the ledgerWhether the periodic indirect-tax return is built from posted transactions, or has to be assembled somewhere else. | BAS prepared from the ledger — Fully supported | BAS prepared and lodged — Fully supported |
| Bank feedsHow transactions get in: a live connection to the bank, or a file you download and upload. | Big four plus neobanks — Fully supported | Broad coverage — Fully supported |
| AI categorisationWhether transactions, bills, and receipts are classified by a model or by hand-written rules. | Included on every plan — Fully supported | Bank rules and suggestions — Supported with a caveat |
| Multiple entitiesWhether a second legal entity fits in the same subscription or needs a second one. | Included — Fully supported | One organisation per subscription — Not supported |
| Accountant accessWhether your advisor gets a login, and whether that login costs a seat. | Free, unlimited — Fully supported | Free advisor seat — Fully supported |
| Pricing modelHow the bill scales — per user, per company, per module, or per transaction volume. | Per organisation — Fully supported | Per organisation, payroll limits per tier — Limited |
| InventoryStock tracking depth, and whether it costs extra. | Included — Fully supported | Basic; deeper via apps — Supported with a caveat |
| Migration inHow much work it is to bring existing books across. | Assisted, included — Fully supported | Conversion tools and partners — Supported with a caveat |
| Local supportSupport in local hours, in local languages, by people who know the local rules. | AEST business hours — Fully supported | AEST support, large advisor network — Fully supported |
| Integrations and APIMarketplace breadth and whether there is an open API. | Open REST API + webhooks — Fully supported | Large app marketplace — Fully supported |
| Multi-currencyForeign-currency invoicing and revaluation, and which tier it starts at. | Included — Fully supported | Top tier only — Supported with a caveat |
| Mobile appWhat you can actually finish on a phone, not just view. | iOS and Android — Fully supported | iOS and Android — Fully supported |
| Works offlineWhether the product is usable without a connection. | Cloud only — Limited | Cloud only — Not supported |
Local tax return from the ledger
Whether the periodic indirect-tax return is built from posted transactions, or has to be assembled somewhere else.
Bank feeds
How transactions get in: a live connection to the bank, or a file you download and upload.
AI categorisation
Whether transactions, bills, and receipts are classified by a model or by hand-written rules.
Multiple entities
Whether a second legal entity fits in the same subscription or needs a second one.
Accountant access
Whether your advisor gets a login, and whether that login costs a seat.
Pricing model
How the bill scales — per user, per company, per module, or per transaction volume.
Inventory
Stock tracking depth, and whether it costs extra.
Migration in
How much work it is to bring existing books across.
Local support
Support in local hours, in local languages, by people who know the local rules.
Integrations and API
Marketplace breadth and whether there is an open API.
Multi-currency
Foreign-currency invoicing and revaluation, and which tier it starts at.
Mobile app
What you can actually finish on a phone, not just view.
Works offline
Whether the product is usable without a connection.
We do not reprint Xero's prices. Their pricing model is described in the cost section below, with a link to their own page and the date we last checked it.
Feature lists are long and mostly identical. These are the three or four places the two products genuinely diverge.
Why it matters: Trust plus company plus SMSF is a common Australian structure.
Why it matters: Seasonal casual staff should not change your accounting bill.
Why it matters: If payroll is your main workload, this is decisive today.
AUD billing with BAS prepared from the ledger.
Founded in the region; the reference product for Australian bookkeepers.
Same in Australian Capital Territory as everywhere else in Australia — pricing is national, not regional.
Prices are in AUD and exclude GST. Per organisation with unlimited users. Verified .
We describe the pricing model rather than reprinting prices. A copied price goes stale without warning; a pricing model does not.
Xero
Per organisation, tiered, with payroll employee limits per tier.
Current Xero pricing (opens on the vendor’s own site) ↗ · model checked
Whichever you pick, these are the obligations the software has to satisfy for a business registered in Australian Capital Territory.
| Requirement | What it demands | HelloBooks |
|---|---|---|
| BAS lodgementLegal requirement · ATO ↗ | GST-registered businesses lodge a Business Activity Statement monthly or quarterly, reporting GST collected, GST credits, and PAYG amounts. | Covered |
| Tax invoice requirementsLegal requirement · ATO ↗ | A tax invoice must show the supplier ABN, the words "Tax invoice", the GST amount or a statement that the total includes GST, and the buyer identity above the notified value. | Covered |
| Single Touch Payroll Phase 2Legal requirement · ATO ↗ | Every pay run must be reported to the ATO on or before payday with disaggregated gross income components. | Partly covered |
| PAYG withholding without an ABNLegal requirement · ATO ↗ | Where a supplier does not quote an ABN, the payer must withhold at the top rate and remit it. | Covered |
| Taxable payments annual report (TPAR)Legal requirement · ATO ↗ | Businesses in listed industries must report payments to contractors annually. | Covered |
GST and BAS are federal and identical across Australian Capital Territory, so the local variable is payroll tax: it starts once Australian wages exceed A$2,000,000, at rates up to 0.0685%, administered by ACT Revenue Office.
Region authority: ACT Revenue Office ↗ · Australian Capital Territory compliance guide
Partly. GST and BAS are federal and identical across Australian Capital Territory, so the local variable is payroll tax: it starts once Australian wages exceed A$2,000,000, at rates up to 0.0685%, administered by ACT Revenue Office. The national GST rules are the same wherever you are registered, so the software shortlist barely moves — what moves is the configuration. Anything you choose has to handle payroll tax from a$2,000,000 · up to 0.0685% correctly on every tax invoice without you remembering to set it per transaction.
Payroll tax in Australian Capital Territory has a tax-free threshold of A$2,000,000 in annual Australian wages. ACT has the highest threshold ($2M, beating SA's $1.5M and NT's $1.5M) AND the highest single rate (6.85%) in Australia. The high-threshold + high-rate combination means small-and-mid Canberra private-sector employers pay zero while above-threshold employers pay a meaningful rate. ACT Revenue Office is the authority to check for anything region-specific — see https://www.revenue.act.gov.au/payroll-tax.
Pricing is national, not regional: $22 and $55 per month, billed annually, in AUD, plus a free tier. Prices are in AUD and exclude GST. Prices are per organisation with unlimited users, so a business in Australian Capital Territory pays the same as one anywhere else in Australia.
Yes. Founded in the region; the reference product for Australian bookkeepers. GST codes, BAS preparation and lodgement, STP Phase 2.
We do not restate Xero's prices here, because a copied price goes stale silently and a stale price is worse than no price. Xero charges on this basis: Per organisation, tiered, with payroll employee limits per tier — check https://www.xero.com/au/pricing-plans/ for current figures. HelloBooks in Australia is $22 to $55 per month, billed annually, per organisation, with unlimited users.
Yes. Opening balances, customer and vendor masters, and transaction history are migrated as part of onboarding, and the migration is included rather than quoted separately. For a Australian Capital Territory business that also means your ABN details and GST settings are configured for payroll tax from a$2,000,000 · up to 0.0685% before you start posting.
In practice the shortlist here is usually Xero, QuickBooks Online, MYOB Business — those are the products with the most local install base and the most registered BAS agents who already know them. That familiarity is a genuine cost saving, and it is the main reason to stay put if nothing else is broken.
Yes, and at no extra cost. Advisors get their own login with their own permissions, and the seat is free — so bringing in a Australian Capital Territory-based registered BAS agent does not change your bill. That matters most where the advisor relationship, not the software, is the real switching cost.
Looking for the national view? HelloBooks vs Xero (global)
Each market has its own tax regime, currency, and shortlist of incumbents. Switch to the one where your business is registered.
Australia comparison hub · All states and territories · Australia compliance hub