QuickBooks Online vs Xero

The default general ledger for US small businesses — widely used by real estate agents and brokerages, with add-ons for commission and trust accounting.

$35/mo (Simple Start)

Visit QuickBooks Online

Xero

A cloud-native general ledger alternative to QuickBooks, popular internationally and with agents who prefer its modern UI over QBO.

$20/mo (Early)

Visit Xero

QuickBooks Online vs Xero: feature comparison

Feature	QuickBooks Online	Xero
Real Estate-Specific Workflows	✗	✗
Commission Calculation	✗	✗
Trust / Escrow Accounting	✗	✗
1099 & Agent Tax Reporting	✓	✓
Bank / Credit Card Sync	✓	✓
Mileage Tracking	✓	✓
Financial Reporting Dashboard	✓	✓
CRM / TM Integrations	✓	✓

QuickBooks Online — Pros & Cons

Pros

Industry-standard GL — your CPA already knows it
Massive ecosystem of real-estate-specific add-ons
Bank feeds, receipt capture, mileage built-in
Scales from solo agent to multi-entity brokerage

Cons

Not real-estate-specific out of the box
No native commission management — need Brokermint/Loft47
Trust accounting requires careful setup
Pricing tiers add up as you grow

Xero — Pros & Cons

Pros

Modern, clean UI — less busy than QBO
Strong international coverage (Canada, UK, AU)
Native Loft47 integration for commission management
Unlimited users at every tier

Cons

US ecosystem smaller than QBO's
Not real-estate-specific out of the box
Early tier has invoice/bill caps
Payroll is an add-on, US-limited

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