The Xero partner programme explained: status levels, points and what each one includes

How the Xero partner programme works

The Xero partner programme is free to join. To join, your practice needs at least one registered accountant, one staff member who completes Xero’s Level 1 associate certification within 30 days, and at least one paid client subscription within 60 days. Xero’s partner terms were rewritten on 16 June 2026 and apply to existing partners from 16 August 2026.

From there, Xero calculates your partner points every day. Points come from the paid Xero subscriptions you own or are invited into as an advisor, and from using some Xero products in your own practice. Your points total sets your status level, and your status level sets your benefits.

The status levels and what each one includes

There are five levels. Xero’s public pages call the first one “partner”, and Xero Central calls it Blue. The benefits build as you go up.

How partner points are earned

Most of your points come from client subscriptions. What each one is worth depends on the client’s plan and on who pays Xero. When the client pays Xero directly and invites you in as an adviser, it earns more than when your firm subscribes and bills the client.

You can also earn points for using Xero products in your own practice: 5 each for Hubdoc, expenses, projects and payroll, as long as they’re actually used. Expenses, projects and payroll points drop off after 31 days without use. Each subscription counts once however many of your staff are invited into it, and for an advisor-role subscription someone from your firm has to have logged in within the last 120 days.

A worked example: a 10-person firm on the Silver line

Here’s a made-up Australian firm with 23 clients on paid Xero plans. Its client subscriptions alone come to 72.5 points, which is Bronze. Using Hubdoc in its own practice adds 5 more, which takes it to 77.5 points and Silver.

That one change is worth more than it looks. At Silver the firm gets Practice Management free instead of paying A$163.90 a month, and its discount on business plans goes from 5% to 10%. It also shows how thin the margin is: losing two Comprehensive clients would drop it back to Bronze.

What happens if your status drops

Your benefits follow your current status. Xero’s partner terms say that if you don’t meet your obligations, such as keeping a certification current or a paid client subscription, Xero may reduce or remove benefits, points, status or discounts from the start of the next billing cycle. For material changes to the programme, Xero aims to give 60 days’ notice.

Xero doesn’t publish a grace period for a firm that drops below Silver. If Practice Management matters to your firm, keep an eye on your points in Partner Central, especially before a client moves to another firm or changes plan.

The UK, New Zealand and the US

The points thresholds are the same in Australia and the UK, but what each level includes differs by country, and so do the prices below Silver.

Where AccountKit fits

Partner status decides which of Xero’s practice tools you get free. It doesn’t change how much of the client’s work sits outside them. AccountKit works alongside XPM at any status level: it syncs client details both ways, sends time to XPM, and adds workflow, compliance tools such as inter-entity loans and equipment finance, correspondence and document links around each client group.