"I want to quit Xero. Which alternatives are great?"

That post on r/xero got 16 upvotes and 46 comments. It was posted two weeks ago. The top comment was: "Xero price up and reliability down."

If you're reading this because you're genuinely considering leaving Xero, here's an honest look at the situation — what's driving people away, what the alternatives actually look like, and what matters when you're making the switch.

Why Singapore SMEs Are Looking to Leave

Three things are driving the conversations:

Price increases. Xero has raised prices multiple times in recent years. The Starter plan that used to be a reasonable entry point now limits you to 20 invoices per month. If you need more — and most growing businesses do — you're on the Standard plan at SGD 65/month, or the Premium at SGD 88/month for multi-currency.

Bank feed reliability. DBS, OCBC, and UOB connections break repeatedly for Singapore users. The workaround — manual CSV imports — adds hours of work every month. This is a known, unresolved issue.

Singapore-specific gaps. No native PayNow integration. No InvoiceNow/Peppol support. No UEN field on customer records. These aren't cosmetic complaints — they're features that matter for operating in Singapore's specific business environment.

The Alternatives — Honest Assessment

QuickBooks Online Similar price range to Xero (SGD 27-65/month depending on plan). Also has bank feed issues with Singapore banks. Better for businesses that need US-style accounting workflows. Not meaningfully better than Xero for Singapore-specific compliance.

Zoho Books Cheaper, with a functional free tier for very small businesses. Built for the Indian market and adapted for Singapore. GST support exists but the product thinking isn't Singapore-native. The UI is more complex than it needs to be. Fine for basic needs, but the same manual workarounds apply for Singapore banking.

Financio Local product, Southeast Asia focused. Simpler than Xero. Better suited to very small businesses. Limited integrations, no AI features, no approval workflows. If your needs are basic and your team isn't tech-savvy, it works. If you're growing, you'll hit its limits quickly.

Wave Free. But no Singapore GST compliance, no PayNow, no IRAS-compatible exports. Not a realistic option for GST-registered businesses.

MYOB/ABSS Popular because of PSG grant eligibility. Perpetual licence around SGD 2,500 for 3 users. Good for traditional accounting workflows. Not cloud-native. No real-time collaboration. Bank feed issues similar to Xero for Singapore banks.

What to Actually Look For When Switching

Before you pick an alternative, be clear about what broke in Xero that you're trying to fix.

If it was price: calculate your actual annual cost including all the plan features you use. Some alternatives look cheaper until you add equivalent features.

If it was bank feeds: ask specifically about DBS, OCBC, or UOB integration. Ask whether it's a native integration or a third-party aggregator. Ask what happens when it breaks.

If it was Singapore compliance: check for native PayNow support, GST F5 report generation, UEN fields on invoices, IRAS-formatted exports.

If it was complexity: look for a setup time under 30 minutes for a non-accountant. If it requires professional implementation, that's a cost Xero doesn't have.

The Migration Question

Switching accounting software mid-year is painful. The practical advice: plan your switch for a new financial year or a quarter start. Export your data from Xero (Xero allows CSV exports of all your data). Set opening balances in the new system. Keep Xero read-only for historical reference.

Most Singapore SMEs can migrate over a weekend with the right tool.

What ArcPay Does Differently

ArcPay is not general accounting software. It's AP and AR automation — which is the part of accounting that Xero leaves mostly manual.

Xero records your transactions. ArcPay automates them. Invoice extraction from PDFs. Approval workflows. Automated payment reminders. PayNow integration. Real-time bank reconciliation with native Singapore bank feeds.

At SGD 29/month, it sits below Xero's entry price point. It connects to Xero if you want to keep using Xero for your ledger — the two work together. Or it can replace the parts of Xero you're actually using day-to-day.

If what broke about Xero was that it didn't save you enough time to justify the cost, that's the gap ArcPay addresses.

Start your free 14-day trial →

No credit card required. Import from Xero in under 10 minutes.