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Apps to help solve small business pain points

Is manual admin getting in the way of growth for your business? Common business pain points like stalled cash flow, complex staff management, and disconnected data can hinder your success. Integrating specialised business apps with your Xero accounting software can help you automate repetitive tasks, gain real-time insights, and win more time back.

4 common pain points and how apps can help

1. Late payments and poor cash flow. Give your customers more ways to pay with payments software like Stripe and GoCardless, and automate invoice-chasing and accounts receivable with apps like Paidnice and Chaser. Connecting these kinds of apps to Xero can help you reduce long collection periods and bad debts, and stabilise your bank balance.

2. Time-consuming staff management. Rostering, timesheets, and payroll compliance can drain your energy and your time. Employee scheduling software like Deputy and Tanda simplify these processes and sync hours directly to Xero payroll, helping to ensure accuracy and save hours of manual data entry.

3. Manual expense and inventory tracking. Don’t let lost receipts and stock errors lead to more EOFY stress. Data extraction apps like Dext or EzzyBills capture expenses and bills instantly via your smartphone, while inventory management software like Unleashed provide total visibility over stock levels to prevent shortages.

4. Disconnected systems and data silos. Connecting your e-commerce or POS systems (e.g., Shopify or Square) via apps like A2X helps your sales data flow seamlessly into Xero for easy reconciliation.

Find Xero-connected apps to help

If these pain points sound familiar, explore the full list of apps we recommend to help. Click on an app to find detailed information on how it works and integrates with your Xero account, and see ratings and reviews by other Xero users. Want to try an app? You can then get started directly from the app listing page in just a few clicks.

  1. Featured app
    Payroll HR, Time tracking

    Deputy

    3.96 out of 5 stars
     146
    Payroll HR, Time tracking
    Simplify Shift Work with Staff Scheduling, Time Tracking & Labor Compliance. Generate Xero invoices in one click from employees' worked time!
  2. Featured app
    Debtor management, Invoicing and jobs

    Chaser

    4.98 out of 5 stars
     374
    Debtor management, Invoicing and jobs
    Automate and improve visibility over accounts receivable. Streamline your process. Save hours. Get paid faster. Reduce DSO. Maintain great customer relationships. Xero App Partner of the Year 2023, Best Technology Provider Credit Strategy Awards (2024), Management Today Best Use of Innovation (2023)
  3. Featured app
    Debtor management, Payments

    Kolleno

    5 out of 5 stars
     18
    Debtor management, Payments
    A global, 21st century, B2B accounts receivables management and credit collections platform.
  4. Accountant tools, Bills and expenses

    Dext

    4.81 out of 5 stars
     1088
    Accountant tools, Bills and expenses
    Automate your bookkeeping with Dext. Capture receipts, track expenses and mileage, and connect to Xero, 11,500+ apps, banks, and more. Save time, reduce errors, boost efficiency. Free trial!
  5. Bills and expenses, Invoicing and jobs

    ApprovalMax

    4.8 out of 5 stars
     607
    Bills and expenses, Invoicing and jobs
    ApprovalMax makes it easy for Xero customers to build robust financial controls across accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR).
  6. Invoicing and jobs, Time tracking

    ServiceM8

    4.58 out of 5 stars
     337
    Invoicing and jobs, Time tracking
    The job management app for trade contractors & service businesses, with everything to help you cut paperwork, complete more jobs & provide amazing customer service.
  7. Bills and expenses, Invoicing and jobs

    EzzyBills

    4.91 out of 5 stars
     179
    Bills and expenses, Invoicing and jobs
    EzzyBills automates bookkeeping by extracting line details and assigning account codes. It enriches your Xero data by customizing extraction from any invoice formats. Capture receipts via mobile. Manage expense claims. Enable multi-level approvals. Send job costs to your job management software.
  8. Accountant tools, Ecommerce

    A2X

    4.96 out of 5 stars
     885
    Accountant tools, Ecommerce
    A2X automates ecommerce accounting into Xero for sellers on Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, and PayPal. Trusted by 1000s of the world's leading ecommerce accounting professionals. Recent Awards: Xero Practice App of the Year!
  9. Ecommerce, Inventory

    Unleashed Software

    4.57 out of 5 stars
     390
    Ecommerce, Inventory
    Inventory management that’s perfect for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors everywhere. Thousands of product businesses in more than 100 countries worldwide rely on Unleashed every day.
  10. Accountant tools, Practice manager

    Ignition

    4.93 out of 5 stars
     529
    Accountant tools, Practice manager
    Ignition helps accounting and professional services businesses reclaim time, profitability and cash flow. Automate proposals, billing, payment collection and workflows in a single platform to transform how your firm engages clients, bills and gets paid.
  11. Accountant tools, Ecommerce

    Amaka

    4.94 out of 5 stars
     1339
    Accountant tools, Ecommerce
    Automate data entry and fast-track reconciliation in Xero for Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace, DocuSign and more. Free plan! Trusted by 65,000+ globally.
  12. Payroll HR

    Deel

    4.12 out of 5 stars
     8
    Payroll HR
    Deel is the all-in-one platform made to simplify all things HR, built for global teams. It helps companies simplify every aspect of managing an international workforce, from culture and onboarding, to local payroll and compliance.
  13. Debtor management, Invoicing and jobs

    Paidnice

    5 out of 5 stars
     67
    Debtor management, Invoicing and jobs
    #1 AR Automation for Xero. Automated Late Fees, Interest, Payment Discounts. Quotes, Email & SMS Reminders. Auto-send Statements & Charge Interest on Aged Debt. 🏆 Winner Xero Global Small Business App of the Year.
  14. Documents

    fileAI

    4.76 out of 5 stars
     37
    Documents
    fileAI leverages proprietary advanced AI OCR to extract and structure data from receipts, invoices, and bank statements, and more in real time. Eliminate manual entry, ensure always up-to-date, audit-ready records, and sync seamlessly with Xero for faster, more accurate bookkeeping.
Although Xero reviews each app in the Xero App Store, we can’t give any guarantees. It’s up to you to assess the performance, quality and suitability of any app before going ahead.