Xero, the award-winning cloud accounting solution from New Zealand is really gathering pace and is now the dominant force in accounting solutions for SMEs. With 280,000 users in 100 countries and over $250m in investment Xero has truly come of age. Quickbooks, who were the dominant player with their desktop accounting system, are now playing catch-up.

Xero makes accounting quick and painless for small business owners. Bank transactions are automatically fed into your accounting software, eliminating the need for manual data entry. Invoices can be created, customized and sent on the fly. All your outstanding bills can be paid at once, with only a few clicks. Xero integrates with over 200 other applications, making it possible to connect all the tools you use to keep your business running smoothly. This online accounting software frees up time and energy that can better invested in the operation of your business.

You can try the full version of Xero free for up to 180 days, no credit card required. During this time, you can process up to 5 sales invoices, 5 bills, and reconcile up to 50 bank statement lines. You can also enter an unlimited number of historical invoices and bills. After the trial, Xero offers 5 pricing tiers. There are no contracts; you pay monthly and you can cancel the service at any time.