Suma vs Xero
Use Xero if you want a standard, off-the-shelf accounting ledger that your accountant already works in. Consider Suma if you want software built around how your business runs, with our partner CPA firm reviewing and filing what it produces. Every Xero fact on this page links to Xero's own pages.
Disclosure: Suma wrote this page and is one of the two options it compares. Facts about Xero come only from Xero's own public pages, linked below. Checked on .
At a glance
| Topic | Suma | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A custom app built around your business's own workflows, with the books kept inside it. | Online accounting software sold in plans covering invoices, bills, payments, bank reconciliation, document capture and reports.[1] |
| Fit to your workflow | Custom development is central to Suma: we scope and build the workflow, report or capability your business needs. | A standard product: what you get is the feature list of the plan you choose.[1] |
| Working with your accountant | Our partner CPA firm, W. M. Sum & Company, provides professional review, licensed CPA sign-off and statutory filing. | Accountants and bookkeepers can partner with Xero, and you can share access and collaborate with your team, your clients and Xero support.[2] |
| Bank reconciliation | Where a bank account is connected, a payment is matched against your rules and posted as a balanced double-entry line. Anything uncertain is asked once, as a yes or no. | Bank reconciliation is listed on every plan, and auto-reconciliation on the Standard plan. Starter can add auto-reconciliation for US$5 a month.[1] |
| Day to day view | Your own app, with an assistant that answers questions about your books in plain language. The assistant reads and suggests; it cannot post to the ledger. | Reports on every plan, with dashboards, budgeting and longer cash flow forecasts on the higher plans.[1] |
What Hong Kong law asks, either way
- Section 51C of the Inland Revenue Ordinance requires every person carrying on a business in Hong Kong to keep sufficient records, in English or Chinese, of income and expenditure, and to retain them for not less than 7 years. That applies whichever software keeps them.[3]
The guides go further: Bookkeeping requirements for Hong Kong companies.
When Xero is the better choice
- You and your accountant want a standard, off-the-shelf ledger, and your accountant already works in Xero.
- Your process already fits a standard accounting package, and you need no custom workflow or report.
- You want to pick a plan and start today, without a scoping call first.
- You are an accountant or bookkeeper who wants one standard product across many clients.
Where Suma fits
Suma fits clinics, tutoring centres and F&B businesses that want a custom app built around how they already work, with the books kept current inside it and our partner CPA firm reviewing and filing what the software produces.
Suma's price depends on your records, workflows and custom requirements, so it is set in a proposal after a call.
Book a callPricing
- Suma: Depends on your records, workflows and custom requirements, and is set in a proposal after a call. Suma publishes no figure before then.
- Xero: Prices published in USD on Xero's Hong Kong pricing page, per month, excluding the introductory discount for new customers: Lite US$7, Starter US$29, Standard US$50, Premium US$75. Prices as listed on 16 Oct 2026; Xero has announced increases from 1 Nov 2026.[1]
Sources
- Xero: Pricing plans (Hong Kong page) Checked on
- Xero: Accountants and bookkeepers (Hong Kong page) Checked on
- Inland Revenue Department: Record keeping Checked on
General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Confirm the current requirements with the IRD, the Companies Registry or a licensed practitioner.