Comparison
EU-first bookkeeping vs. an APAC/UK tool in Europe
Xero is a polished, well-designed accounting platform that excels in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. But its European presence is thin: no Peppol e-invoicing, no Belgian VAT support, and limited localization for continental Europe.
| Feature | Financica | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| Peppol and UBL e-invoicing | Yes | Not in the EU |
| AI-powered transaction categorization | Yes | Basic auto-suggest |
| Belgian VAT return (Intervat XML) | Yes | No |
| Belgian VAT current account tracking | Yes | No |
| Belgian corporate income tax computation | Yes | No |
| Annual accounts filed with the National Bank (XBRL) | Yes | No |
| Year-end close checks and period lock | Yes | Lock dates only |
| Shared founder-accountant workspace | Yes | Advisor role |
| Multi-currency accounting | All plans | Premium plan only |
| Fixed-asset register with automatic depreciation | Scale, and on practice plans | Yes |
| Invoice OCR | Yes | Via add-ons |
| Factur-X and ZUGFeRD invoices | Yes | No |
| Conversational AI assistant over your books | Core and above | Just Ask Xero (JAX) |
| Assistant in Claude, ChatGPT, Telegram and email | Core and above | No |
| Automatic invoice import from your cloud and payroll vendors | Yes | Via app marketplace |
| Burn rate and cash runway | Yes | No |
| Free Peppol e-invoices, no per-document fees | Yes | No |
| Belgian chart of accounts | Yes | No |
| EU bank feed coverage | Strong (EU-focused) | Limited in EU |
| Third-party app ecosystem | Growing | 1,000+ apps |
| Mobile app | Web-based | Yes |
Financica supports Peppol e-invoicing, Belgian VAT returns and PFORM671 extraction. Xero's e-invoicing targets Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, it has no Belgian localization, and EU requirements fall to third-party tools.
VAT returns as Intervat XML, a year-end close that lists what is still wrong in the ledger, a corporate tax computation you can simulate and book, and the annual accounts as the XBRL file the National Bank accepts. Xero stops at the reports: no Intervat XML, no Belgian corporate tax, no filing with the National Bank.
Financica includes multi-currency accounting on all plans. Xero locks multi-currency behind its most expensive Premium tier.
Financica is designed as a shared workspace where both founder and accountant work from the same ledger. Xero has a good advisor portal, but the collaboration model is still role-separated rather than truly shared.
Financica includes free e-invoices with no per-document fees, unlimited on Core and above. Xero does not support Peppol natively, and bolt-on e-invoicing tools come with per-document charges.
Xero is a New Zealand-based cloud accounting platform known for its clean UI, strong bank reconciliation, and large integration ecosystem. It has a good accountant advisor portal. However, its EU localization is minimal, with strongest support for the UK market.
Xero is a strong choice for UK or APAC businesses that value design and integration breadth. Financica is the better choice for EU businesses that need native Peppol e-invoicing, VAT compliance, and a workspace purpose-built for founder-accountant collaboration.
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