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@Joana - they are money grabbing now as I see it with these increased costs - increased the Ignite Plan but no additional bill increase limit at all. I would move my one to that plan but as mentioned before the bill limit doesn't work so she is stuck with the Standard/Grow one unless I can find another package elsewhere that will reduce her costs.

Please revisit this.

We are currently on the Standard plan and payroll 2 people, but the new Grow plan will only allow 1 payroll. It will cost an extra $20 per month just so I can payroll 1 extra employee.

Has anyone looked at or used Instabooks New Zealand? They have a plan that is cheaper than what is currently the Standard and if paid for the year gives you 25% off for a limited time. Based on that alone if I moved my client who issues no invoices but has upwards of 20 bills a month would save her over $500 a year if I paid it based on the yearly one and it would also mean she doesn't have to worry about that cost each month. Just not sure if it's inclusive or exclusive of GST but either way still works out cheaper for her.
The first plan (Launch) has a disadvantage of not tracking GST but could be good for someone who isn't GST registered so doesn't require that and is again cheaper than even Xero's Starter/Ignite and even if GST is added to the cost would still be cheaper than Xero. That said would probably also depend on your invoices/bills per month in which case then the next one may be suitable.
You get the option of paying yearly or monthly as well which is a bonus.

The fact they've put the price of the Starter/Ignite up but no increase in the bill limit is just plain greed, so basically poor you if you have more than five bills a month we'll either make you have to upgrade into the next package or else really don't care if they lose those customers. Like some have said they issue very few invoices in a year but have way more bills. They have diverged from what they set out to do when they launched being for SME and competitive with other packages.
Maybe they need to lose 1/2 million customers worldwide and take a hit in their profits to wake up to what they are doing to loyal customers.

I agree - I have a client who will be have to stay with the Grow Plan just because of the number of bills per month. I can't downgrade her to the Starter/Ignite Plan as they only allow 5 bills - this has never been increased since it was brought in and I'm sure a lot of companies have more than 5 bills but I guess it's Xero's way of making you go to the next plan up and that sucks if you don't need everything in that plan. The invoices used to be 5 as well with limit of 20 reconciliation bank lines and the bank lines were insufficient as well. They increased those two but have never adjusted the bill limit.

I tried a journal to see if it could be a work around so I could downgrade her as cash flow is tight a lot of the time so being able to drop her down would have been great. She also doesn't issue invoices so doesn't need 20 a month, unfortunately it isn't as they don't appear on the payable's list which I use to see what needs to be paid or has been missed/overdue. As I see it the Ignite is still no different to the Starter version but costing more for no change anywhere.

I agree. 5 bills is not enough and I don't want to upgrade to the next plan just so I can add more bills each month!

I have been using Xero for the last 18 months as my old program didn't have a lot of the features Xero does. I have had to subscribe to the standard plan as the last 3 months have gone over 20 invoices. I have never gone over 40 per month and only recently gone over 30, it seems ridiculous to me that plans jump from 20 per month to unlimited. I feel there should be another option! I don't use payroll or bill payments at all, as my husband is a self-employed mechanic. I use Xero for invoicing and bank reconciliation.

i agree I use the standard plan as I occasionally go over 20 invoices a mth but never more than 35 it seems ridiculous to me that plans jump from 20 per month to unlimited. I feel there should be another option! I don't use payroll or bill payment at all.

I agree, my work involves the management of apartment block accounting. Bills for this sector are top heavy, however invoices can be on a 1/4 or yearly basis, most blocks have less than 50 apartments, some only 10. These companies are not-for-profit organisations and do not therefore pay any VAT. So we need the starter package with a yearly allowance for invoices and an allowance for more bills on a monthly basis, for repairs, refuse collection and some apartment blocks have 5 electricity bills alone bi-monthly. So a more flexible package for these companies would be fairer. At present we have to use a standard package for a small apartment block with less than 10 apartments.

If Xero are serious about being there for small companies, they must accommodate them.

Lynda

I like the idea of Ignite plan but think the number of invoices to bills should be swapped. I am sure most people would have more bills to pay than money coming in. Make it an option at least.

The pricing structure is very backward. I would just like to have some extra bills and my pricing would go from ~£20 to ~£40 just for that small facility. It would be helpful to have but not for double the price

With the current price rise for the starter plan I will be leaving Xero with my Australian office and do things manually. Being able to reconcile 5 maximum bills and a price rise I don’t think Xero is listening to small business.

I think the standard plan which I use for my UK business is a valid for and will continue to use, but not worth it for small business on the starter plan.

Hope Xero is reading this and doing something positive for small business, it’s not all about profit and the return to shareholders.

I agree with this post, I use Xero for a number of not for profit companies, they are management companies attached to apartment blocks, they do not have many invoices throughout the year (usually quarterly or annually, some as small as 10 apartments) but are heavy on bills each month which is typical of this type of company. We have to use the standard package as a result of the number of bills, the companies are exempt of VAT etc, so we do not use many features of the standard package. I have asked Xero to look at this but they obviously do not really facilitate small companies.

The latest pricing announcement is not great news for smaller businesses, especially removing payroll!

We are a not for profit so cost is prohibitive and eats into our funds for our purpose which is to support a school

Hi, I am a Bookkeeper/BAS Agent with multiple clients on Xero. I recommend Xero often but I am concerned about the Starter Plan with the increasing costs.

This is a great plan for a small business that can't afford the Standard Plan, but the 5 maximum bills is not adequate for the price, and the huge jump in price to access more capacity is not affordable for these clients. I believe that 15 - 20 Bills for this Plan would be fair for the price.

This helps Bookkeepers help their clients with small businesses and reduces the frustration of having to find alternative, more time-consuming ways to attach receipts and bills to spend monies.

You will still catch everyone who can afford the higher price, but this will help the Bookkeepers who recommend Xero.

Isn't it about time Xero changed the limitations on the starter package to allow small companies to use it.

I would like to see the invoice limit removed for the Starter Plan. I am a sole trader in healthcare (a psychologist) - no employees and therefore no need for payroll, but my client management software Halaxy (calendar, invoicing, etc) is synced with Xero so I can reconcile the transactions. I was surprised to see that each of these transactions counts as an "invoice", even though I am not using Xero to directly invoice my clients. I see 16 clients per week, so I realise now that 20 invoices per month is not going to work.

I would like the invoicing limit removed, or at least the option to pay a little extra to have the limit removed. I am reluctant to go back to using the Standard Plan because I have no need for the extras such as bulk reconcile transactions or payroll. I am seriously thinking that this platform will not work for a sole trader like me and am looking for alternatives (e.g., Quickbooks).

It is so annoying, and pricing is always increasing.
Am considering moving to another accounting program what with all the changes.

This package is not in line with Quickbooks.
I am trying to get a client to change from Quickbooks to Xero, but he does slightly more than 20 small invoices a month.
He won't change because he pays £14 for Quickbooks and would need the standard package at double the cost in Xero.

Do not post as a bill, recon the bank straight to the chart of account, and attached the document on the bank recon. Only times needed to load the bill, if there are payment terms, and bill is only paid at a later stage