Best Small Business Accounting Software in Ireland: Sage, Xero, QuickBooks and NumWise Compared

We make NumWise, so weigh this comparison accordingly. Every price and plan detail for the other three products comes from their own Irish pricing pages, checked on 28 September 2026 and linked below. Where a pricing page is silent, the table says so. Prices change: Xero, for example, says its prices go up on 1 November 2026. Check each page again before you buy.

At a glance

List prices are the regular monthly prices after any introductory offer. On 28 September 2026 Sage offered 90% off for 3 months, Xero 80% off for 3 months and QuickBooks 90% off for 6 months.

Sage Accounting

Two plans. Accounting Start is for one user; Accounting allows unlimited users and adds quotes, purchase invoices, receipt capture, cash flow forecasts, multi-currency and inventory. Sage quotes both prices plus VAT, and its pricing page lists calculating and creating VAT returns. Payroll is a separate add-on, from €14 + VAT a month for 5 employees.

Suits you if you want VAT returns, several people in the books, or payroll from the same supplier.

Xero

Three plans on the Irish pricing page: Starter, Standard and Premium. Xero lists its Irish prices in US dollars, so what you pay in euro moves with the exchange rate. Starter is limited to quotes, 20 invoices and 5 bills; Standard and Premium remove those limits, and only Premium handles multiple currencies. Expense claims and project tracking are paid add-ons. Xero's pricing page also carries a note that bank feeds for Irish banks depend on its regulatory status and may need transactions imported manually, so ask about your own bank before you commit.

Suits you if you want a large app ecosystem and are comfortable paying in dollars.

QuickBooks Online

Four plans in euro: Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced, for 1, 3, 5 or 25 users, each with access for your accountant. Every plan lists automated bank feeds. You choose between a 30-day free trial and the introductory discount; the discount terms say you cannot have both.

Suits you if you want bank feeds and expect your team to grow.

NumWise

Four plans in euro: Lite, Starter, Business and Professional. The price shown is the price charged; nothing is added at checkout. Each invoice line takes its own Irish VAT rate, and the VAT report and VAT3 draft are built from your invoices and costs for you and your accountant to check. NumWise does not file anything with Revenue.

Bank transactions come in from the statement files your bank lets you download (CSV, Excel, OFX, QIF, MT940, CAMT.053 or PDF). NumWise never asks for your online banking login, and it has no live bank feeds. Payroll, stock, RCT (Relevant Contracts Tax), a balance sheet and tax filing are outside its scope. The owner can download every record as one Excel workbook at any time.

Suits you if you are a sole trader or small business that wants a low monthly cost, Irish VAT drafts and records your accountant can check, and you do not need payroll or live bank feeds.

Quick answers

Which is cheapest? By list price for the entry plan: NumWise €9, Sage €19 + VAT, QuickBooks €21 and Xero US$29 a month. Entry plans differ in limits, so compare the plan you would need: NumWise Lite, for example, covers 5 invoices and quotes a month.

Xero or QuickBooks? Both have free 30-day trials. QuickBooks prices its Irish plans in euro and states a user count for each plan; Xero prices in US dollars and limits Starter to 20 invoices and 5 bills. Multi-currency is on Xero Premium only.

Sage or QuickBooks? Sage has two plans, quotes them plus VAT and lists VAT returns and a payroll add-on. QuickBooks has four plans with a fixed user count each and lists automated bank feeds on all of them.

Which works for a sole trader? Any of the four entry plans is sized for one person. The deciding questions are usually volume (how many invoices a month), whether you need payroll, and how you want bank transactions to arrive.

Seven questions to ask any product

1. How do bank transactions get in? A bank feed, or statement files you download?
2. What does it do with VAT? Record it, prepare figures for review, or file a return?
3. How do receipts get in, and where do they stay?
4. Who can log in, and does your accountant need a seat?
5. What does it cost after any introductory offer, and what happens when you stop paying?
6. Can you take everything with you if you leave?
7. What is outside its scope, such as payroll, stock or RCT?

Revenue explains the VAT return itself in How do you complete a VAT 3 return?

Before you decide

Try each product with one real month of your own records: a few invoices, a handful of receipts and one bank statement. That shows more than any comparison page, including this one.

Sources

Checked on 28 September 2026:

• Sage Accounting pricing, Ireland: sage.com/en-ie
• Xero pricing plans, Ireland: xero.com/ie
• QuickBooks Online pricing, Ireland: quickbooks.intuit.com/ie
• NumWise pricing: numwise.eu/pricing

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