Xero Simple for landlords — review

Xero is the most widely used accounting platform in UK practices, and its entry-level Simple plan (from around £7 a month, excluding VAT) is aimed squarely at MTD for Income Tax. But “most popular with accountants” and “best for a landlord” aren’t the same thing — here’s where it fits.

The real reason to choose Xero

For most landlords, the deciding factor isn’t features — it’s your accountant. If they already live in Xero, using it too means they can review and file for you with no friction, and you’re speaking the same language at year end. Xero has solid bank feeds, a good mobile app, agent access and the full quarterly-plus-final-declaration flow. If your accountant doesn’t use Xero, a lot of its advantage evaporates — ask them first.

How it handles property

Xero records all your UK property as a single income source, using tracking categories to tell properties apart. That’s workable for a solo landlord with a few properties. Where it gets fiddly is co-ownership: splitting income between owners for separate filings is manual, and producing genuinely separate submissions per income source needs the multi-business feature on the Standard plan and above. That’s why we rate its joint-ownership handling as Partial rather than built-in.

Watch-outs

• No foreign property. Overseas rental income isn’t supported.
• Co-owner splitting is manual compared with purpose-built landlord tools.
• No free plan — there’s a 30-day trial, but you’ll pay from month one after that.

Who it’s for — and the alternatives

Choose Xero Simple if your accountant already works in Xero and you value that continuity. If you co-own and want the software to split ownership automatically, a tool like FreeAgent or RentalBux will suit you better — see the couples guide. If you’re comparing Xero against QuickBooks, both are general platforms; the tie-breaker is almost always which one your accountant supports. Run the picker or check the full comparison to see Xero next to the landlord-specific options.