A Xero alternative in Ireland built around AI bookkeeping

Your VAT3 process stays familiar. HelloBooks computes T1 to T4 from the coded ledger and shows the transactions behind each figure; you enter the totals in ROS as many Xero users did before its export feature arrived. Your accountant can still work in your books, from their own login, at no cost to you.

The result is fewer evenings on bookkeeping and a cleaner ledger for the accountant.

• Bank lines arrive with a proposed account and VAT rate, ready to confirm.
• Receipts and supplier bills are read by AI from a photo or PDF.
• Multi-currency is on the Pro plan, not reserved for the top tier.
• No limit of 20 invoices or 5 bills on the entry plan.

Two things work differently from Xero. Irish payroll is not included, so keep your payroll product and post the totals each pay run until the payroll journal import arrives. Bank activity comes in by statement upload while direct Irish connections roll out. Neither stops a typical small business from switching, but you should know before you move.

Choose the first day of a VAT period. Export a trial balance, aged receivables and aged payables from Xero at the close of the previous period, load them through HelloBooks’ CSV templates, and upload bank statements from that date. File the last Xero-period VAT3 from Xero and the next one from HelloBooks.

Compare the full year, not the first months. Xero’s introductory offers and HelloBooks’ free plan both lower the early cost, so look at the plan you would actually need after twelve months, the add-ons you would buy, and the hours each product saves. An hour of an owner’s time each week is worth more than most subscription differences.

If you depend on a particular app in Xero’s marketplace, if your practice will only work in Xero, or if a ROS export file is essential, staying may be the right call. Everyone else can try HelloBooks free on a month of real transactions and decide on evidence.