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360books vs Xero, Sage & QuickBooks — for South Africa
Xero, Sage and QuickBooks are excellent, mature accounting tools. But most were built for other countries and bolt South Africa on afterwards. Here's a straight comparison for an SA business.
| Feature | 360books | Xero | Sage | QuickBooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for South Africa (SARS-native) | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| VAT201 return prepared for you | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Payroll: PAYE, UIF & SDL | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| IRP5 & EMP501 | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Provisional & company tax estimates | ✓ | ✗ | ~ | ✗ |
| AI CFO — ask your numbers anything | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI bank categorisation | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Bank reconciliation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invoicing, quotes & customers | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Priced in Rands (from R199/mo) | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| Free accountant seat | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ~ |
| Import from Xero / Sage | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
✓ = built in · ~ = partial or via a separate product/add-on · ✗ = not available. Comparison reflects our understanding of typical SA offerings and may change — check each provider's current features.
Where 360books is different
1. It's SARS-native, not localised
VAT201, EMP201, IRP5, EMP501, ETI, provisional tax and the SARS compliance calendar are built in — not add-ons or a separate payroll product. You prepare your SARS submissions from the same place you keep your books.
2. There's an AI CFO
Ask "how did we do last month?" or "can I afford to hire?" and get a plain-English answer grounded in your actual numbers. AI also categorises your bank transactions and reviews your books for issues.
3. It's priced in Rands
Plans start at R199/month including VAT, with a free accountant seat — no currency conversion, no surprises.
When one of the others might suit you better
To be fair: Xero and QuickBooks have huge global app ecosystems and integrations; Sage has deep enterprise and industry-specific products in South Africa. If you need a specific third-party integration or you're a large, complex operation, they're worth a look.
But if you're a South African small business that wants invoicing, banking, SARS and payroll in one place — with an AI CFO and local pricing — that's exactly what 360books is for. And if you're already on Xero or Sage, you can bring your history across in minutes.
Switch to books built for South Africa
Try 360books free — invoicing, banking, VAT, payroll and an AI CFO, from R199/month.
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