Xero - Version for Local Government
Hi Xero team,
I’m reaching out from a regional local government in Western Australia. We want to use Xero and appreciate its simplicity and usability. However, we’ve found that Xero’s current design is limiting for local government requirements — particularly in terms of transaction volume, internal controls, audit reporting, governance, and integrated project accounting.
I believe there’s a compelling opportunity for Xero to consider developing a dedicated “Local Government” edition or expansion, especially tailored for smaller regional councils. There are over 500 local governments in Australia, many of which are seeking modern, cloud-based, ERP solutions that balance simplicity with the robust governance and reporting requirements of the public sector.
If Xero were to build compliance-friendly modules for public sector accounting (multi-fund reporting, approval workflows, grant tracking, audit trails, etc.), you’d be well-positioned to offer an affordable alternative to the more complex and expensive ERP systems currently on the market.
I’d be happy to provide further context from the local government side or connect you with peers who are facing the same constraints. Please let me know if this is something your team would be open to exploring further.
Alex Bell
shared this idea
Hi Alex, thanks for suggesting this. We understand that local government entities operate under different rules and standards than private businesses, and that can make using a general-purpose accounting system more complicated.
While Xero’s designed mainly for small to medium businesses, we’ve seen some local government users make it work by customising their Chart of Accounts and working with accountants who understand the specific reporting needs. That said, we totally see the value in a more tailored solution that better supports the public sector.
This idea is currently in the Gaining Support stage, and your feedback is essential in helping us assess demand. We’ll continue to track the conversation and share any updates should the demand for this idea grow.
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Anura Ranasinghe
commented
This is vital requirement and we use XERO for local authorities . We need increase limit of number of invoices as the issue one invoice per customer per year. On the other hand they have large customer base but very few transactions per customer