- Keep Xero or QuickBooks if you have employees on payroll, more than one business, loans or vehicles to account for, or an accountant who works inside it and charges less for it.
- Move to PackOffice if you are a sole trader or small team paying contractors, your income is sessions, programs, classes and some gear, and your accountant does one return a year from your figures.
What Xero and QuickBooks do well
Credit where it is due. Both are proper double-entry accounting software with a huge network of Australian accountants and bookkeepers who know them inside out. Both handle payroll with Single Touch Payroll, both track GST, and QuickBooks lodges the BAS from the software on every plan. If your business needs a balance sheet, PackOffice is not a substitute.
- Choose Xero if your accountant or bookkeeper lives in it, or you need payroll for a few people in one ledger.
- Choose QuickBooks if you want unlimited invoices on the cheapest plan and BAS e-lodgement included.
What neither does for a trainer
Accounting software starts once the money exists. Everything before that is still yours to do or to stitch together with another app:
- Clients choosing a time from your real availability
- Intake questions landing in the client's file
- Reminders before each session, and a message to the whole class if it rains
- Session 3 of 6 tracked on a program, and a nudge to book the next one
- Class caps, waitlists and check-in at the gate
- Payment plans that send the next instalment and chase it
So trainers add Calendly, Acuity or Square Appointments for bookings, and copy between the two. That copying is where the evenings go.
Where the time goes
The work in between, booking, reminders, programs, payment plans, class rosters and copying figures across, is where the evenings go. A working trainer's own practice put it at about 70 minutes per new client. PackOffice does most of it for you and keeps the books in the same place.
Side by side
| Job | Booking app + Xero or QuickBooks | PackOffice |
|---|---|---|
| Online booking and reminders | In the booking app | Included |
| Programs and session counts | By hand | Included |
| Payment plans with automatic nudges | By hand, or invoices raised one at a time | Included |
| Group classes, waitlists, check-in | Depends on the booking app and plan | Included |
| GST tax invoices | In Xero or QuickBooks, typed from the booking | Created from the booking |
| Bank matching | In Xero or QuickBooks | Card payouts and transfers matched to invoices |
| GST figures for the BAS | Yes | G1, 1A and 1B by quarter |
| BAS lodged from the software | QuickBooks on every plan; Xero yes | No, you or your agent lodge |
| Payroll and Single Touch Payroll | Yes (Xero by headcount; QuickBooks from A$6 per employee) | No. Studio works out contractor pay per session |
| Balance sheet, loans, assets, several businesses | Yes | No |
| Logins to manage | Two or more | One |
Xero lists GST, BAS and payroll on its plans; QuickBooks lists GST tracking, BAS e-lodgement and Standard Payroll at A$6 per employee a month (quickbooks.intuit.com/au/payroll), read 27 October 2026.
Switching without upsetting your accountant
- Ask your accountant first and show them a sample PackOffice export. What they get.
- Switch at the start of a BAS quarter, so each quarter sits in one system.
- Export your Xero or QuickBooks history and keep it: records must be kept for five years.
- Run one quarter's GST figures side by side before you cancel.
General information only, not tax advice.
Questions
Can PackOffice replace Xero or QuickBooks for a dog trainer?
For most solo trainers, yes. PackOffice issues GST tax invoices, records expenses, matches payments to the bank and gives the G1, 1A and 1B figures for the BAS. Keep Xero or QuickBooks if you run payroll for employees, own several businesses, or want BAS lodged from the software.
How many invoices does Xero Ignite allow?
20 a month, as published by Xero on 27 October 2026. For more, Xero points you to Grow at A$78 a month including GST.
Does QuickBooks limit invoices?
No. QuickBooks Online Australia lists unlimited invoices on every plan, and GST tracking with BAS e-lodgement from Simple Start, as published on 27 October 2026.
Will my accountant accept PackOffice records?
Usually. Accountants need accurate income, expenses, GST and bank records, not a particular brand. PackOffice exports income and expenses as CSV for any financial year. Ask yours before you switch.
Bookings and books, in one place
PackOffice is built only for dog trainers, from A$59 a month including GST. Founding trainers keep today's prices for as long as they stay subscribed, with their clients imported for them.
Apply for founding accessTake the tourXero is a trademark of Xero Limited and QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. This is an independent comparison by PackOffice using information each company publishes. If anything here is out of date, email [email protected] and we will correct it within two business days.