Best CRM for Xero

As a Xero user, managing your financial data is already streamlined, but keeping track of client relationships, sales pipelines, and communications can be challenging without the right tools.

A CRM system that integrates with Xero can help you manage your contacts, automate follow-ups, and track deals, all while syncing seamlessly with your accounting data. With the right CRM, you can improve efficiency, streamline your workflows, and ensure no client or lead slips through the cracks. Keeping accounting and customer data synchronized also supports debt collection automation, allowing overdue invoices to trigger timely and consistent follow-ups.

In this blog post, we'll explore the best CRM options for Xero users like you, highlighting tools that will enhance both your financial and client management efforts.

What Is Xero?

Xero is cloud-based accounting software built for small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers. It centralizes invoicing, payments, bank reconciliation, expenses and financial reporting in one platform.

Businesses commonly use Xero to:

• Create and send quotes and invoices
• Record payments and monitor overdue balances
• Connect bank accounts and reconcile transactions
• Track bills, expenses and cash flow
• Store customer and supplier accounting records
• Generate financial reports
• Collaborate with accountants and bookkeepers

Xero manages financial activity, but it is not a complete sales CRM. It does not provide the pipeline management, prospecting, contact enrichment or communication tracking that sales teams need before and after an invoice is created.

Connecting Xero to a CRM closes this gap. The CRM manages leads, opportunities, conversations and follow-ups, while Xero remains the source of truth for invoices, payments and accounting records.

Xero vs CRM: What Belongs Where?

Xero and a CRM manage two different sides of the customer lifecycle. Xero records the financial transaction, while the CRM tracks the relationship that led to it. Connecting them gives sales and finance teams a shared view without forcing either team to work in the wrong system.

Xero should remain the source of truth for invoices, payments, taxes and accounting records. The CRM should own prospecting, conversations, deal stages and follow-ups. Sync only the information each team needs to avoid unnecessary fields and conflicting records.

How We Evaluated the Best CRMs for Xero Users

We evaluated each CRM around the full lead-to-payment workflow. The strongest options do not simply export a list of contacts to Xero. They reduce duplicate entry, preserve sales context and give account owners enough financial visibility to act at the right time.

Our assessment covered:

✅ Xero connection: Whether the CRM connects through a native integration, Zapier, Make or a custom API.

✅ Sync direction: Whether information moves one way or updates both systems.

✅ Data coverage: The types of records supported, including contacts, products, quotes, invoices and payments.

✅ Invoice visibility: Whether sales teams can see invoice status without opening Xero.

✅ Payment updates: Whether paid, partially paid and overdue statuses can update CRM records.

✅ Contact matching: How the integration identifies existing customers and prevents duplicates.

✅ Pipeline management: The ability to track opportunities, owners, deal values and next steps.

✅ Workflow automation: Options for creating invoices, assigning tasks or triggering follow-ups after a status change.

✅ Communication history: Email, meeting and note synchronization on each customer record.

✅ Reporting: Visibility into pipeline performance, closed revenue and customer activity.

✅ Setup and maintenance: The technical work required to configure and maintain the connection.

✅ Pricing: The subscription tier and integration costs required to run the workflow.

We gave greater weight to reliable synchronization and practical sales-to-finance workflows than to the total number of features. A CRM scored lower when its Xero connection required extensive custom development or transferred too little information to reduce manual work.

The 5 best CRMs for Xero

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting. For small businesses and accounting firms with teams of 20-50 people using Xero, folk CRM stands out as the ideal solution that scales perfectly with growing organizations.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn and Sales Navigator to track contacts within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Mail merge and email sequences: Full email sync compatible with Gmail and Outlook, with access to templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry. Connect with Xero through Zapier.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to non-technical users with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
• All-in-one: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving time and money.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Cons

• Reporting: folk offers advanced analytics, including pipeline and deal stage reporting, revenue forecasting with weighted probabilities, performance breakdowns by owner/channel/industry/region/custom fields, and revenue insights.
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $24 per user, per month.
• Premium: $48 per user, per month.
• Custom: Starts from $80 per user, per month.

2. HubSpot

HubSpot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations efficiently.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Perfect for generating and nurturing leads, this feature includes email marketing, ad tracking, and landing pages, seamlessly integrating with Xero to manage customer data.
• Sales Hub: Essential for tracking deals and managing sales pipelines, this feature offers sales automation and reporting that syncs effortlessly with Xero, ensuring your customer data is always up-to-date.
• Service Hub: Provides robust customer service tools like ticketing and live chat, helping you manage customer inquiries and support tickets directly linked to your Xero contacts.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, including Xero, to streamline your operations and ensure data consistency.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency, making it easier to focus on high-potential customers recorded in Xero.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive design makes it easy for users of all skill levels to navigate and manage leads and customers synced with Xero.
• Comprehensive free plan: Offers a robust free version that includes essential CRM features, ideal for small businesses using Xero.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: Integrates smoothly with its marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform for managing Xero contacts.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing and lead nurturing, saving time and improving efficiency for Xero users.
• Customizable dashboard and reports: Allows users to create customized dashboards and reports to track metrics and gain insights into business performance, directly linked to Xero data.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: Pricing can become expensive as you move to higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for small businesses scaling their Xero operations.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan and lower tiers have limited customization options, restricting flexibility for growing businesses using Xero.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted by limits on the number of emails you can send, a drawback for businesses with larger lists in Xero.
• Additional costs for add-ons: Many useful features come as paid add-ons, increasing the overall cost for businesses looking to enhance their Xero integration.
• Dependence on HubSpot ecosystem: The platform works best when fully integrated with HubSpot's other tools, which can limit flexibility if you use other software alongside Xero.

Price and plans

‍
Xero users may be more likely to make use of HubSpot's Sales Hub. Its annual subscription plans are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $90 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $150 per user, per month.
  

3. Salesforce

Salesforce is a robust CRM platform for large enterprises, offering tools for sales, marketing, service, and analytics, with extensive scalability.

Key features

• Comprehensive ecosystem: Salesforce offers a unified platform that includes CRM, marketing automation, and customer service, making it ideal for managing leads and customers in Xero.
• Customization and scalability: The platform is highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor it to their specific needs, such as tracking customer interactions and financial data in Xero.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) integration: Salesforce Einstein provides AI-driven insights and automation, helping businesses optimize customer management and sales strategies.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Salesforce integrates seamlessly with Xero, enabling smooth data flow and comprehensive financial management.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Powerful analytics tools allow businesses to gain deep insights into customer data and financial performance, enhancing decision-making.

Pros

• Comprehensive feature set: Salesforce offers extensive features covering sales, service, and marketing, making it a powerful tool for managing all aspects of customer relationships alongside Xero.
• Highly customizable: Businesses can tailor Salesforce to their specific needs with custom fields, objects, and workflows, enhancing their Xero integration.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Salesforce integrates with a wide array of third-party applications, including Xero, ensuring seamless data flow across platforms.
• Scalability: Salesforce is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, with the ability to grow alongside your business needs.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: The platform provides robust analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to gain insights into their data and make informed decisions.

Cons

• High cost: Salesforce can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized businesses, with high licensing fees and additional costs for add-ons and customization.
• Steep learning curve: Due to its extensive feature set and complexity, Salesforce often requires significant time and training for users to become proficient.
• Complex setup and customization: Initial setup and customization can be challenging and often require expert help or certified consultants, which adds to the overall cost.
• User interface: Some users find the Salesforce interface to be outdated and not as intuitive as other modern CRM platforms, which can hinder usability.
• Overwhelming for small teams: Salesforce's robust features may be overkill for smaller teams or businesses, leading to underutilization of the platform's capabilities.

Price and plans

On an annual subscription, Salesforce's Service Cloud plan is as follows.

• Starter suite: Starts from $25 per user, per month.
• Pro suite: Starts from $100 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Starts from $165 per user, per month.

4. Zoho

Zoho is a CRM system with a strong sales focus. It has journey orchestration, sales process management, and workflow automation features. There's also something for marketing teams, including event management and customer segmentation.

Key features

• Sales automation: Automates sales tasks like lead management, deal tracking, and follow-up actions, ensuring a streamlined workflow that complements Xero's accounting processes.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows users to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth analytics, making it easier to track financial metrics and customer interactions.
• Lead and contact management: Manages customer information, tracks interactions, and segments contacts for targeted campaigns, integrating seamlessly with Xero's contact management.
• Email integration: Integrates with popular email services for seamless communication and email marketing, enhancing customer relationship management alongside Xero's invoicing and billing.
• API and integrations: Supports integration with third-party applications and services via APIs, including Xero, ensuring smooth data flow between your CRM and accounting software.

Pros

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to small and medium-sized businesses using Xero.
• Customization: Extensive customization options allow businesses to tailor the CRM to their specific needs, including custom fields, modules, and workflows that align with Xero's features.
• Integration with Zoho suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products (like Zoho Books, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Campaigns) creates a comprehensive ecosystem for managing different business functions alongside Xero.
• Multi-channel communication: Zoho CRM supports email, phone, social media, and live chat, enabling businesses to manage all customer interactions from a single platform, complementing Xero's financial management.
• AI-powered features: Zia, the AI assistant, provides intelligent insights, predictive analytics, and task automation, helping to improve sales and marketing efficiency, which can be directly beneficial for businesses using Xero.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: The extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a significant time investment to master the platform and its integration with Xero.
• Complex setup: Initial setup and configuration can be complex, particularly for businesses without technical expertise or dedicated IT resources, especially when integrating with Xero.
• Performance issues: Occasional reports of slow performance, especially with large datasets or complex operations, can hinder productivity, impacting the efficiency of Xero integration.
• Limited third-party integrations: While Zoho integrates well with its own suite of products, integration with third-party applications can be limited or require additional effort, potentially complicating its use with Xero.
• Feature limitations in lower tiers: The lower-priced plans may lack advanced features, pushing users to upgrade to more expensive tiers for essential functionality, which may be necessary for full Xero integration.

Price and plans

Zoho's free plan is limited to three users. After that, for more features and seats, an annual subscription plan is as follows:

• Standard: $14 per user, per month.
• Professional: $23 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $40 per user, per month.

5. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a web-based CRM for small businesses, offering lead management, automation, email integration, and customizable pipelines to optimize sales.

Key features

• Lead and deal management: Centralized tools to manage customer data, interactions, and sales pipelines, helping teams act quickly on opportunities.
• Sales automation: Workflow automation to handle repetitive tasks, such as lead routing, follow-ups, and email sequences, allowing sales teams to focus on closing deals.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Real-time data analytics and custom reporting tools to track sales performance, forecast revenue, and gain actionable insights.
• Customization and security: Options to customize pipelines, fields, and user permissions, with robust security measures to protect data.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The CRM is known for its intuitive and visually appealing interface, making it easy for users to navigate and manage their sales pipelines.
• Sales pipeline focus: Specifically designed for managing sales pipelines, offering a visual approach that helps sales teams track deals and activities effectively.
• Customization: Allows for a high degree of customization, enabling users to tailor the platform to their specific sales processes with custom fields and workflows.
• Affordability: Offers competitive pricing, making it accessible to small and medium-sized businesses without sacrificing essential CRM features.
• Automation features: Includes automation tools that help streamline repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails and moving deals through the pipeline, saving time and boosting productivity.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks some of the more advanced CRM features, such as extensive marketing automation and AI capabilities, which are available in other platforms.
• Basic reporting in lower tiers: The reporting and analytics features in the basic plans are somewhat limited, requiring upgrades to access more in-depth insights.
• No built-in email marketing: Does not include built-in email marketing features, requiring users to integrate with third-party email tools for such functionality.
• Limited customer support hours: Customer support is not available 24/7, which can be inconvenient for businesses operating in different time zones or needing immediate assistance.
• Price increases with add-ons: The cost can increase quickly when additional features or integrations are added, making it less cost-effective for businesses with growing needs.

Price and plans

Pipedrive's annual subscription plan basis is as follows.

• Essential plan: Starts from $24 per user, per month.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $44 per user, per month.
• Power plan: Starts from $79 per user, per month.
• Enterprise plan: Starts from $129 per user, per month.

What Data Should You Sync Between Xero and Your CRM?

Syncing every available field creates clutter and increases the risk of conflicting updates. Start with the information that helps sales and finance teams identify the same customer, complete the handoff and respond to payment events.

Conclusion

👉🏼 Try folk now to never miss a follow-up by syncing deals and contacts with Xero

Choosing the best CRM for Xero can significantly enhance your business operations by streamlining workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and improving customer relationships. Whether you opt for the robust and scalable features of Salesforce, the user-friendly interface of Hubspot, the affordability and customization of Zoho, or the sales-focused tools of Pipedrive, integrating a CRM with Xero will help you manage your business more efficiently. However, for growing businesses with teams of 20-50 people, folk CRM emerges as the clear winner, offering the perfect balance of modern features, intuitive design, and scalable pricing that matches the needs of mid-sized Xero users. For those looking for a modern, all-in-one solution, folk offers a comprehensive platform with seamless LinkedIn integration, AI-powered tools, and extensive app compatibility. Don't miss out on the opportunity to boost your business's productivity and growth—try folk for free here.

Need a helping hand? Use our free tool to find your perfect CRM match.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Xero have a built-in CRM?

No. Xero stores customer and supplier details for accounting purposes, but it does not provide a complete sales pipeline, lead qualification system or centralized communication history. Businesses that need those functions should connect Xero to a dedicated CRM.

What is the best CRM for Xero users?

The best option depends on the required integration depth. folk CRM suits lean teams that want flexible pipelines, contact enrichment and relationship tracking, with Xero connected through Zapier, Make or the API. HubSpot and Method CRM are stronger options when native or deeper financial synchronization is a priority.

Can folk CRM connect to Xero?

Yes. Teams can connect folk CRM to Xero through Zapier, Make or a custom API workflow. For example, a closed deal in folk can trigger contact or invoice creation in Xero, while an updated payment status can trigger a task in folk.

What information can a CRM sync with Xero?

Depending on the integration, a CRM can sync contacts, companies, products, quotes, invoices, payment amounts and invoice statuses. Some integrations only support one-way transfers, while others update information in both systems.

Can a CRM create invoices in Xero?

Yes, if the integration supports invoice creation. A common workflow creates a Xero contact and draft invoice when a deal reaches the closed-won stage in the CRM. The finance team can then review and send the invoice from Xero.

Should payment statuses sync back to the CRM?

Yes. Syncing paid, partially paid and overdue statuses gives account owners financial context without requiring access to Xero. These updates can also trigger reminders, tasks or customer follow-ups.

Is a native Xero integration better than Zapier or Make?

A native integration usually supports more records and requires less maintenance. Zapier and Make provide greater flexibility for simple, event-based workflows, but they may not offer complete two-way synchronization. The better option depends on the amount of data and the complexity of the workflow.

How do you prevent duplicate contacts between Xero and a CRM?

Use a stable identifier such as the Xero contact ID and define clear record-matching rules. Email addresses, company domains or registration numbers can provide secondary matching criteria. One platform should also own each field to prevent conflicting updates.

Should Xero or the CRM be the source of truth?

Xero should be the source of truth for invoices, taxes, payment information and accounting records. The CRM should control leads, deal stages, contact ownership, communication history and follow-up activity.

Do small businesses need both Xero and a CRM?

A small business may need both once leads, customer conversations and follow-ups become difficult to manage through email or spreadsheets. Xero manages the financial relationship, while the CRM manages the commercial relationship.