Great books but you still need 3 more apps. Xero is $15-78/month for accounting alone — no CRM, no scheduling, no time tracking. Helix is $279 once for everything.
Bottom line: Xero Standard costs $504/year — but it's only accounting. Add Calendly ($144/yr), a CRM ($200-400/yr), and time tracking ($108/yr) and you're at $956-1,156/year. Helix is a one-time purchase of $279 that includes accounting, CRM, scheduling, invoicing, and time tracking. Break-even vs Xero alone: 4-18 months. Vs the full stack: ~3 months. Over 5 years, Xero + the stack costs $4,780-5,780. Helix costs $279.
Xero is pre-selected below. Add the other apps you use alongside it to see the real cost.
Xero Standard: $42/mo = $504/year. Break-even with Helix: ~7 months.
Xero is genuinely clean accounting software. The interface is modern, bank feeds work well, multi-currency is best-in-class, and the accountant sharing portal makes tax time painless. Unlimited users on every plan is a nice touch. For businesses with complex accounting needs — multi-currency, inventory, payroll — Xero is a strong choice.
Xero is accounting and nothing else. No CRM. No scheduling. No time tracking. Invoicing exists but it's basic compared to dedicated tools. Most Xero users end up bolting on Calendly for scheduling, a separate CRM, and Toggl or similar for time tracking. That's 3-4 subscriptions totaling $800-1,200/year, all because your accounting tool doesn't do anything else.
Most Xero defectors hit the same wall as QuickBooks and FreshBooks users: the stack grows. The triggers: (1) paying $500-900/year for accounting and still needing 3 more tools, (2) basic invoicing that requires a workaround for every non-standard scenario, (3) the realization that a solopreneur doesn't need enterprise accounting — they need one tool that does everything simply.
Export contacts, invoices, bills, and transactions as CSV from Xero. Takes about 15 minutes.
15-minute setup. Import your clients and financial data. Configure services and pricing.
Run both systems for a few days. Enter transactions in both. Make sure everything matches.
Cancel Xero, your scheduling app, your CRM, and your time tracker. One tool left.
Yes for solopreneurs. Helix includes accounting, invoicing, expense tracking, plus CRM and scheduling that Xero doesn't have. What Helix doesn't have: Xero's bank feed integrations, multi-currency support, payroll, and accountant sharing portal.
Starter $180/yr, Standard $504/yr, Premium $936/yr. You still need scheduling, CRM, and time tracking on top.
Xero alone: Standard is $504/yr vs $279 once. But the real cost is the stack: Xero + Calendly + CRM + time tracking = $956-1,156/yr. Helix replaces it all for $279 once. Over 3 years vs the stack: $2,589-3,189.
Xero has a cleaner interface, better multi-currency support, and unlimited users on every plan. QuickBooks has deeper US tax integration and more third-party apps. Both charge monthly, both lack CRM and scheduling, and both cost more than Helix over time.
Yes. Export contacts, invoices, bills, and transactions as CSV from Xero. Import into Helix. Most solopreneurs are fully migrated in under an hour.
Xero + the apps you need alongside it costs $956-1,156/year. Helix is $279 once.
Calculate Your Savings· Data sourced from official pricing pages