ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE · MIGRATION GUIDE

Switching from FreshBooks to Xero

Xero imports contacts, unpaid customer invoices and unpaid bills from files, plus your chart of accounts and bank statements. FreshBooks exports all of these to CSV, so the move is mostly file work, with one decision about history.

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By Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 18, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

Switching from FreshBooks to XeroVerified Sep 18, 2026

Quick verdict: Export clients, invoices, expenses, vendors, items and your chart of accounts from FreshBooks as CSV, then import them into Xero one type at a time: Xero supports importing contacts, unpaid customer invoices and unpaid bills, a chart of accounts and bank statements, but not an entire data set at once. Bring over open items and opening balances, keep FreshBooks exports as your history, and add your whole team — Xero includes unlimited users on every plan.

Current Contact / Record Count 25,000

Active User Seats 10

Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.

Estimated Migration Time —

Data Friction Rating —

Total Hidden Switching Cost $0

Why teams move from FreshBooks to Xero

Unlimited users

Every Xero plan includes unlimited users at no extra cost, where FreshBooks charges $11/mo per extra team member.

Accountant-grade ledger

Xero is full double-entry accounting with bank reconciliation, budgets on Growing and multi-currency and projects on Established.

No client cap

Xero plans are not limited by billable clients; Growing removes the invoice and bill caps entirely.

How the migration actually works

Xero’s Conversion Toolbox for accountants does not list FreshBooks as a source, so this is a file-based move. Plan it around a clean cut-off date, such as the end of a month or quarter.

Step	What you do
1Choose the Xero plan	Early ($27/mo) caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month; Growing ($59/mo) removes the caps. Pick by monthly volume, not users.
2Export from FreshBooks	Export clients, vendors, items and expenses to CSV, invoices to CSV or PDF, and the chart of accounts to CSV (it includes active, archived and deleted accounts). Export your reports too.
3Set up the chart of accounts	Import a chart of accounts into Xero from a file, mapping FreshBooks accounts to Xero account codes and tax rates.
4Import contacts	Import your FreshBooks clients and vendors into Xero as contacts from a CSV file.
5Import unpaid invoices and bills	Import only open customer invoices and unpaid bills so balances match your cut-off date; Xero supports both from files.
6Connect bank feeds and import statements	Connect bank feeds in Xero; for earlier periods, import bank statements in OFX, QFX, QIF, PDF, CSV or QuickBooks formats.
7Invite your team and accountant	Add everyone who needs access (Xero has no per-user fee) and have your accountant confirm opening balances.

What this path doesn’t do for you:

Xero’s imports are type by type (“you can’t import an entire data set at once”, as Xero puts it), so paid invoice history, time entries and project data from FreshBooks stay in your exports rather than in Xero’s ledger. Payroll does not carry over automatically: Xero Payroll is a separate add-on powered by Gusto at $36/mo plus $6 per person.

Pricing side by side

Plan	FreshBooks	Xero
Free	No, 30-day free trial, no card required	No, 30-day free trial
Entry paid	Lite — $23/mo (5 billable clients)	Early — $27/mo (20 invoices, 5 bills)
Mid	Plus — $43/mo (50 billable clients)	Growing — $59/mo
Top	Premium — $70/mo (unlimited clients); Select by quote	Established — $97/mo
Users	1 included; team members $11/mo each	Unlimited on every plan
Payroll	$40/mo + $6/mo per person (powered by Gusto)	$36/mo + $6 per person (powered by Gusto)

List prices checked on xero.com/us/pricing-plans and freshbooks.com/pricing on September 18, 2026. Confirm current rates before you buy.

Feature parity check

Capability	FreshBooks	Xero
Users included	1; $11/mo per extra team member	Unlimited
Plan limit	Lite: 5 billable clients; Plus: 50	Early: 20 invoices, 5 bills a month
Exports / imports	Exports clients, invoices, expenses, items, vendors, chart of accounts (CSV)	Imports contacts, unpaid invoices and bills, chart of accounts, bank statements
Multi-currency	Not on the published Lite–Premium feature lists	Established plan only
Annual discount	10% off yearly	None — monthly billing
AI assistant	None listed on the pricing page	JAX — currently no additional charge

Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?

Read the Xero vs FreshBooks comparison Switching from Xero to FreshBooks instead?

Verified data

Security & access: what changes when you switch

Security, offline and access rules that differ between FreshBooks and Xero. Rows where both tools are the same (1) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: FreshBooks, Xero.

What changes	FreshBooks (today)	Xero (after)
SOC 2 report	SOC 2 Type Isource	SOC 2 reportType not stated by vendorsource
ISO/IEC 27001	Not published	Certifiedsource
Other certifications	PCI DSS Level 1source	PCI DSS v4.0 (SAQ A; Level 2 merchant)source
GDPR data processing agreement	Not published	DPA offeredsource
Two-factor authentication	YesEnforcement: All plans (2FA is required for email-and-password logins)source	YesEnforcement: All plans (MFA is mandatory for all users)source
Encryption	256-bit SSL in transitsource	Encryption in transit and at rest (algorithms not stated)source
Offline mode	Not documented	PartialIn the Xero mobile app you can draft invoices and capture receipts offline and they sync when you reconnect; everything else, including the web app, needs an internet connection.source
Office & room hardware	—	Tap to Pay in the Xero Accounting app (powered by Stripe) takes contactless in-person payments for invoices with no extra hardware or terminal.source

Editorial assessment

Before you cut over

Xero adds offline access (partial): install the mobile app for staff who work on the move.

Checked September 19, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Xero have a FreshBooks importer?

Not a one-click one. Xero says it supports importing contacts, unpaid customer invoices and unpaid bills, and it also imports a chart of accounts and bank statements from files. Its Conversion Toolbox does not list FreshBooks.

Can I bring my full FreshBooks history into Xero?

Not in one go: Xero imports data type by type. Most businesses import open invoices, unpaid bills and opening balances, and keep FreshBooks exports as the historical record.

What can I export from FreshBooks?

Clients, invoices (CSV or PDF), expenses, items, vendors, the chart of accounts (CSV) and reports.

Will Xero cost more than FreshBooks?

For one user, slightly: Xero Early is $27/mo against $23/mo for FreshBooks Lite. For teams Xero is often cheaper, because it includes unlimited users and FreshBooks charges $11/mo per extra team member.

Which Xero file formats work for bank statements?

OFX, QFX, QIF, PDF, CSV and QuickBooks file formats.

Canonical data for the tools on this page

Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page, with the date each figure was last verified.

FreshBooksPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›

XeroPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›

Xero vs FreshBooksHead-to-head comparison QuickBooks vs FreshBooksHead-to-head comparison QuickBooks vs XeroHead-to-head comparison

Xero to FreshBooksSwitching guide FreshBooks to QuickBooksSwitching guide QuickBooks to FreshBooksSwitching guide QuickBooks to XeroSwitching guide Xero to QuickBooksSwitching guide

Sources

Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

FreshBooks pricing (freshbooks.com)
Xero pricing (xero.com)

Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

Source links on this site are checked every month; last check October 4, 2026. How sources are checked.

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