Best Accounting Software for Small Business in Australia: Xero vs MYOB vs Reckon vs QuickBooks

Short answer: for most Australian small businesses Xero is the safest default, MYOB Business is the better pick when payroll, inventory or an upgrade path to ERP matter, Reckon One is the cheapest modular option for simple books, and QuickBooks Online suits sole traders who want a clean, simple interface. On Reckon vs MYOB specifically: Reckon wins on price, MYOB wins on depth and on how many accountants and bookkeepers already use it.

The best choice depends less on feature lists than on six things: what your accountant uses, how complex your payroll is, whether you carry stock, which other apps you need to connect, where the business will be in three years, and what it costs to switch. This guide compares the four on those points, with prices taken from each vendor's own pricing page.

Xero vs MYOB vs Reckon vs QuickBooks at a glance

Prices are the vendors' standard prices as shown on their pricing pages on 16 October 2026. Xero states its prices are in AUD and include GST. All four run introductory discounts that change often, so treat these as a guide and check before you buy.

Is Reckon better than MYOB?

It depends on what you need the software to do.

Choose Reckon One if you run a small business with straightforward books, a handful of staff and a tight budget. Reckon One is modular: you pay for accounting and add payroll, projects or other modules only when you need them. On its own comparison page Reckon prices Accounting Plus at $24 a month and payroll from $16 a month for up to four employees.

Choose MYOB Business if you have more complex payroll, carry inventory, need sales orders, or expect to grow into a larger system. MYOB Business Pro ($70 a month as listed) and Plus ($165 a month) cover unlimited bank accounts, sales orders and payroll for more employees at $3 per employee a month. MYOB also offers MYOB Acumatica as an ERP when you outgrow MYOB Business.

The factor most people underrate is your accountant. Far more Australian accountants and bookkeepers work in MYOB and Xero every day than in Reckon. If yours already uses MYOB, the time you save on BAS and year-end usually outweighs the subscription difference.

Is Xero better than MYOB?

For most small businesses, yes, mainly because of the app marketplace and how many advisors use it. Xero connects to more of the tools Australian businesses already run (e-commerce, job management, inventory, expense and payroll apps), and its bank reconciliation is a common reason people stay.

MYOB is the better fit where payroll and inventory sit at the centre of the business, such as trades, construction and retail with stock, or where you want a single vendor path to ERP through MYOB Acumatica.

Xero's plans now include payroll for a set number of people (one on Ignite, two on Grow, five on Comprehensive, more on the Ultimate tiers). Check the Ignite plan's limits carefully: Xero caps the number of bills on Ignite and applies invoice limits.

Reckon vs Xero: which is better value?

Reckon One is cheaper at entry level. Xero is better value once you count the apps and integrations you would otherwise have to work around. If you are a sole trader or a small service business that sends a modest number of invoices, Reckon One is a sensible way to keep costs down. If you need to connect Shopify, a job management system, an inventory app or a CRM, Xero's ecosystem usually saves more than it costs.

Is QuickBooks Online a good choice in Australia?

QuickBooks Online is a capable product with a clean interface and suits sole traders, contractors and micro businesses that want simple books. It handles GST, BAS and STP. The trade-off in Australia is a smaller local app ecosystem and fewer Australian accountants who use it daily than Xero or MYOB. We could not read Intuit's Australian pricing page when this guide was updated, so check current prices at quickbooks.intuit.com/au.

What about payroll, STP and Payday Super?

All four products support Single Touch Payroll (STP), which Australian employers use to report pay and super to the ATO.

Payday Super started on 1 July 2026. Employers now pay super guarantee for each payday instead of quarterly, and the money must reach the employee's fund within 7 business days after payday. Super is calculated on qualifying earnings and reported through STP, according to the ATO. The ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House closed after 30 June 2026, so businesses that used it now pay super through their payroll software or another clearing service.

When you compare software, check three things:

1. Does payroll pay super automatically for each pay run, and how long does the clearing service take to reach the fund?
2. Does it report qualifying earnings and super liability through STP correctly?
3. Can you see, per employee and per pay run, that super was received?

Xero says automated super is included in every plan. For the detail on running Payday Super in Xero, see our Xero Payday Super guide.

How to choose: six questions

1. Who is your accountant or bookkeeper?

If your advisor works in Xero, choose Xero. If they work in MYOB, choose MYOB. Changing advisors to suit software is rarely worth it.

2. How complex is your payroll?

A few salaried staff: any of the four will do. Awards, casual loadings, allowances and shift work: MYOB, or Xero with a specialist payroll app.

3. Do you carry stock?

Light stock with no manufacturing: any of the four. Multi-warehouse stock, landed costs or bills of materials: Xero or MYOB with a dedicated inventory app, or an ERP.

4. Which apps must it connect to?

List the systems you rely on (e-commerce, CRM, job management, payroll) and check each vendor's marketplace before you decide. Our Xero integration service covers connecting Xero to the rest of your stack.

5. Where will you be in three years?

If you expect to outgrow small business software soon, pick the product with the cleanest path forward. MYOB has MYOB Acumatica; Xero integrates with most mid-market ERPs. See moving from MYOB, Reckon or Xero.

6. Is switching worth the cost?

Moving accounting systems takes time, data cleanup and retraining. Unless you have hit a real limit, an integration or add-on app is usually cheaper than a migration.

When to stop looking at accounting software and look at ERP

Accounting software stops being the right tool when you see signs like these:

• Several entities consolidated in spreadsheets every month
• Manufacturing with bills of materials and production planning
• Job or project costing across many active jobs
• Stock held in several locations
• So many add-on apps that nobody trusts which system is right

At that point the question is which ERP, and how Xero or MYOB fits around it. Start with what ERP is and our ERP selection service, which compares options without a vendor's sales target behind it.

The bottom line

Pick the software your accountant knows, that your team will actually keep up to date, and that connects to the rest of your systems. For most Australian small businesses that is Xero. MYOB is the better choice for payroll-heavy and stock-heavy businesses, Reckon One for tight budgets and simple books, and QuickBooks Online for sole traders.

If you are weighing a switch, or wondering whether you have outgrown accounting software altogether, talk to us. We will look at how your business runs today and tell you plainly whether a new system, an integration or nothing at all is the right move.