Why I Won’t Use Xero Accounting Again After This Billing Experience
I’m honestly still shocked by this experience and wanted to share it so others are aware before signing up for one of Xero’s promotional offers.
I signed up during a 100% off for 6 months promotion. After the promotional period ended, billing resumed automatically on an account I was no longer actively using. I didn’t realize charges were continuing until multiple payments had already processed.
As soon as I discovered it, I contacted support and explained the situation. I wasn’t demanding anything unreasonable — I simply asked whether they could provide some level of goodwill refund or adjustment considering:
the account was inactive, I caught it shortly after discovering the charges, and I had not continued actively using the platform after the promo ended.
What surprised me most was the overall experience afterward. There was no phone support option available, and I couldn’t even properly access my own account to manage the cancellation until I enabled two-factor authentication. The cancellation process itself was much more difficult than expected.
After escalating the issue, their billing team ultimately told me: they do not monitor account activity, they do not send reminders before promotional pricing expires, and subscriptions continue indefinitely unless manually canceled.
Technically, I understand they can point to the terms of service. But from a business perspective, I genuinely do not understand burning a potential long-term customer relationship over roughly $150 on an inactive account instead of showing some flexibility or goodwill.
Just giving a heads up for anyone who is considering Xero as their accounting software.