Switching accounting software
How to switch from Xero to Bookless without losing your history
TL;DR: The only scary part of switching accounting software is the fear of losing your data. Bookless has a dedicated, guided Xero migration that brings your history across — chart of accounts, contacts, invoices, bills, payments, bank transactions and more — so you switch in days, not months, and nothing important gets left behind.
Why people leave Xero (and why "later" never comes)
Most owners don't switch because change feels risky: re-entering data, retraining the team, the nagging worry that something won't carry over. So they stay on a tool that feels built for accountants and put up with the friction.
The trouble is that the cost of staying compounds quietly — month-end scrambles, reports you don't fully understand, busywork that eats your evenings. A switch you keep postponing is a tax you keep paying.
What actually carries over
The whole point of a real migration — as opposed to a clean-slate restart — is continuity. Last year's numbers should still mean something, your accountant should still recognise the file, and your reports should run from day one.
Bookless has a guided Xero migration that brings the records that matter:
- Tax rates
- Chart of accounts
- Bank accounts
- Contacts (customers and suppliers)
- Products & services
- Invoices and bills
- Quotes and purchase orders
- Invoice payments and bill payments
- Manual journals
- Bank transactions
It runs in dependency order — foundational records first (tax rates, accounts, bank accounts), then contacts and items, then your invoices, bills and transactions — so your books rebuild coherently instead of as a pile of disconnected entries. You choose what to bring, watch the progress as it runs, and see a clear record of anything that needs a second look.
The switch, step by step
- Connect Xero to Bookless. Authorise the migration from Settings → Migration. Bookless reads your Xero organisation directly — no manual re-keying.
- Choose what to bring. Select the records you want (most people bring everything). Bookless maps them into your new books in the right order.
- Run the migration and watch it go. You'll see live progress by entity and a clear list of anything skipped or flagged, so there are no silent surprises.
- Connect your bank and payments. Reconnect your bank feed and your payment gateways — Bookless integrates Stripe and PayPal — so money in and money out keeps flowing.
- Reconcile and sanity-check. Run bank reconciliation and confirm opening balances match. Bookless does AI-assisted reconciliation and categorisation, so the catch-up is lighter — and nothing posts without your approval.
- Pull your reports. Run Cash Flow, Balance Sheet, and Aged Receivables/Payables to confirm everything ties out.
- Go live. Once balances match, you're running on Bookless — books current, busywork automated, you in control.
What's different once you're on Bookless
You get accounting that's clear by default: plain-language answers to "money in / money out," "what I'm owed," "what I owe," and "are we profitable?" — with precise accounting underneath where it matters.
The AI handles the tedious part with you — categorising and matching transactions — and you approve and decide. Your books stay live, so you're acting on today's reality, not last month's.
Will my accountant be okay with it?
Yes. Bookless has granular permissions, so you can give your bookkeeper or external accountant exactly the access they need and nothing more. Clean data, clean handoff — and because the chart of accounts and history come across intact, the file they open looks familiar.
How long does it take?
Because Bookless reads your Xero data directly and rebuilds it in order, the migration is measured in days, not months — no clean-slate restart, no re-keying a year of transactions by hand. For most small businesses, the data move itself is a same-day job; the time you spend is mostly reviewing and reconciling, not data entry.
The honest version
Switching is never literally zero effort — you'll reconnect your bank and payments and give your new books a once-over. But the part everyone fears, losing your history, is the part Bookless is built to handle. Bring it all across, check it ties out, and get back to running your business.
CTA: Ready to leave the feature-maze behind? Switch from Xero with your history intact — start your migration with Bookless →
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Frequently asked questions
- What carries over when I switch from Xero to Bookless?
- Bookless's guided Xero migration brings your tax rates, chart of accounts, bank accounts, contacts, products and services, invoices, bills, quotes, purchase orders, invoice and bill payments, manual journals and bank transactions — rebuilt in dependency order so your books stay coherent.
- How long does a Xero migration take?
- Because Bookless reads your Xero data directly and rebuilds it in order, the data move is measured in days, not months — for most small businesses the move itself is a same-day job, with the rest of your time spent reviewing and reconciling rather than re-keying.
- Will my accountant be okay with Bookless?
- Yes. Bookless has granular permissions, so you can give your bookkeeper or external accountant exactly the access they need. Because the chart of accounts and history come across intact, the file they open looks familiar.
Ready to make the switch? Bring your history across in days, not months.
Start a free trial — switch from Xero with your history intact, books that stay current, and AI that does the busywork with you.
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