The Xero Practice Manager alternative that is not tied to your ledger
XPM is free for Silver partners and above and built for Xero-only practices, with a rebuilt version still catching up to the old one. ZenWorkflow runs workflows, clients, time, billing, leave and AML/KYC for any firm, from €39 per user per month.
Choose ZenWorkflow if you want
- A practice that is not Xero-only, or not a Silver-plus partner
- Client ownership records and AML/KYC on the same platform
- Staff leave, capacity and several entities in one place
- A product with its own roadmap rather than a rebuild in progress
Xero Practice Manager is the better fit if
- You are a Silver, Gold or Platinum Xero partner, so XPM is free
- Every client is in Xero and you want the shared client record with Xero HQ
- Xero Workpapers is central to your year-end process
- Invoice reconciliation into Xero matters more than anything else
ZenWorkflow vs Xero Practice Manager at a glance
XPM makes sense when Xero is the whole practice. ZenWorkflow makes sense when the practice is more than its ledger.
| ZenWorkflow | Xero Practice Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From €39/user/month | Free for Silver+ partners; else ~$149/month for 10 users |
| Free plan | Free plan for one user and 10 clients | Free only by partner status |
| Workflow and job management | Templates, checklists, owners, budgets and approvals | Jobs, tasks and recurring jobs |
| Client records and ownership | Contacts, directors, shareholders, ownership and history | Shared client record with Xero HQ; no ownership structure |
| Time tracking and timesheets | Weekly timesheets with submit-and-approve | Time and job costing |
| Invoicing, estimates and credit notes | Invoices, estimates, credit notes and receipts | Invoices into Xero |
| AML/KYC screening and risk assessment | PEP and sanctions screening, risk assessments, document expiry | |
| Staff leave and capacity | Requests, balances and a team leave calendar | |
| Multiple firms or entities | Several firms or entities from one login, fully isolated | One practice per account |
| Client portal | Secure magic-link sharing, no full client portal | |
| Integrated email inbox | ||
| Document storage | Per-client files, Google Drive sync | Workpapers; limited general documents |
| AI assistant | In-app assistant plus Claude and ChatGPT connection | |
| Reporting | Capacity, profitability, compliance and billing reports | Productivity and WIP reports |
| Contract | Monthly or yearly, no minimum seats | Monthly; depends on Xero partner tier |
Xero Practice Manager details from its public pricing and feature pages and independent reviews, checked October 2026. Plans change: confirm on their site before deciding.
From €39/user/month (Practice) or €58/user/month with AML/KYC, billed monthly or yearly.
Everything is included at each tier: workflows, clients, time, billing, leave, reporting and the AI assistant, with AML/KYC on the Practice + AML plan. There are no per-module fees and no minimum number of users, and the free plan covers one user and ten clients.
Free for Silver, Gold and Platinum Xero partners; otherwise about $149 a month for up to 10 users.
Bronze and new partners pay a flat monthly fee (single-user and three-user options are also listed). Xero Workpapers is bundled. Job management, time and invoicing into Xero are the core; AML/KYC, staff leave, multi-entity and a modern client record are not part of XPM, and the rebuilt XPM is still working toward parity with the version it replaced.
Why firms move from Xero Practice Manager
XPM is convenient when it is free. Firms move when the convenience stops covering the gaps.
Tied to one ledger
XPM assumes every client is in Xero. ZenWorkflow is independent of your accounting software.
A rebuild in progress
The new XPM is still reaching parity with the old one. ZenWorkflow ships complete.
No AML/KYC
Due-diligence lives elsewhere. ZenWorkflow screens and risk-assesses on the client.
No leave, no ownership records
Capacity and client structure are out of scope. ZenWorkflow includes both.
Budget against actual on every job
Budgeted hours and fees sit on the engagement with time and expenses captured against it, so recovery and write-offs are visible before the invoice, whatever ledger you use.
A client record with the whole structure
Directors, shareholders, beneficial owners, services and documents on one record, which XPM's contact card does not hold.
AML/KYC built into onboarding
Screen clients and owners, complete a structured risk assessment and track document expiry, all recorded with a defensible history.
Switching from Xero Practice Manager in three steps
Guided onboarding imports your data and validates it with you before go-live. Most firms are running within a few weeks.
Export clients and jobs
Export clients, contacts and job lists from XPM to CSV. Your Xero ledgers stay exactly where they are.
Import into ZenWorkflow
Import clients and jobs, add ownership details and services, and set budgets on recurring work.
Templates and go live
Recreate job templates in ZenWorkflow and run the next cycle there.
ZenWorkflow vs Xero Practice Manager: questions firms ask
Straight answers on pricing, migration and where each tool wins.
Yes for practices that are not Xero-only, that need AML/KYC, staff leave or client ownership records, or that do not qualify for free XPM. Silver-plus partners who run everything in Xero should weigh the free price and Xero HQ integration.
It is free for practices at Silver, Gold or Platinum Xero partner status. Bronze and new partners pay about $149 a month for up to 10 users, with single-user and three-user options also listed.
Not yet. Xero and QuickBooks Online integrations are on the roadmap; today ZenWorkflow manages the practice and your ledger software manages the accounts.
Yes. Export clients, contacts and jobs to CSV and import them with guided onboarding.
The Practice plan is €39 per user per month, or €390 per user per year. Practice + AML, which adds PEP and sanctions screening, risk assessments and KYC document tracking, is €58 per user per month or €580 per year. A free plan covers one user and ten clients, and every paid plan starts with a 14-day free trial. There are no module fees or minimum seat counts.
Yes. ZenWorkflow is built in the EU and is used by accounting, audit, tax, legal and corporate-services firms across Europe and beyond. It bills in EUR or USD, supports multiple entities from one login and includes the AML/KYC due-diligence that EU and UK regulated firms need, without a US-tax or Companies-House-only focus.
Yes. Start a free trial with no credit card, import a handful of clients and run one real engagement end to end. Book a demo if you would rather see your own workflows set up first.
See how ZenWorkflow compares with other tools.
Every comparison uses the same honest, side-by-side format.
See ZenWorkflow next to Xero Practice Manager on your own work
Start a free trial, or book a demo and we will set up one of your real engagements end to end.
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