AccountKit vs HandiSoft
Keep the jobflow detail you rely on in HandiSoft, now on Xero
You built your HandiSoft jobs task by task, and you don’t want to lose that. AccountKit gives you the same control on Xero, in a form a new starter can follow on their first morning.
- Checked against the vendors’ own pages on 2 October 2026
- Works alongside Xero and XPM, so you keep both
- Onboarding, training and support from our team
WorkflowInteractive preview · sample dataPractice-wide work
Illustrative AccountKit-style view · sample data
Interactive demonstration with sample data, based on the AccountKit interface.
Why firms move
Firms leave HandiSoft for how they want to work, not because they have to.
Picture a graduate’s first Monday. They open a job in AccountKit, see each step and who owns it, and can follow it from day one. Your partners get the same view without asking anyone where things are up to.
01Workflow detail
Your jobflow stays detailed, and anyone can still read it.
Statuses, work types, roles and practice authorities are set up to match your firm, and a partner sees where any job is up to at a glance.
See workflow02Microsoft 365
Everything your team does in Microsoft 365 meets in one place.
Outlook email is captured against the client, SharePoint or OneDrive folders link to each client, and updates post to Teams.
See the Microsoft 365 integration03One screen
You still start every job from one screen.
AccountKit sits over Xero and XPM, so the client’s jobs, tools, emails and files open from the same place.
See how it fits together04One ledger
Year-end happens in the ledger your client already uses.
Work over Xero and you stop moving client data into HandiLedger first, while XPM and AccountKit keep the client record in step.
See what syncs with XPM
How it fits together
Each product does one part of the job, and you work from one
You work in AccountKit. Xero keeps the books, XPM keeps time and billing, and Xero Tax lodges. Everything else connects in.
Xero
- XeroYour clients’ booksAccountKit tools post journals to Xero
- XPM in Partner HubTime, billing and WIPClient details sync both ways, time goes to XPM
- Xero TaxPrepares and lodges returnsNo data link: the job for the return runs in AccountKit
Where your team works each day
AccountKit
- Workflow and each person’s daily plan
- Compliance tools: Division 7A, inter-entity loans and more
- Correspondence register for every client
- Client Map of the family group
- Links to every client’s folder
Microsoft 365 and compliance apps
- OutlookClient emailEmails captured against the client
- SharePoint or OneDriveYour files, where they areEach client links to its folder, permissions kept
- Microsoft TeamsWhere the team talksClient notes and tool updates sent to Teams
- CAS 360 or NowInfinityCompany complianceAnnual reviews and ASIC payments shown with the client
A firm that shaped workflow to the way it runs
Wheelhouse Advisory turned firm-wide visibility into more hires and higher fees.
“It has just done a whole 360 on our whole entire firm. Everyone loved the overview of not just their own workflow, but everyone in the firm.”
- more staff hired, using the workflow overview to see where
- 3–4
- months since workflow moved into AccountKit
- 18
- people working from one overview across two teams
- ~25
Where everything goes
Each part of HandiSoft has a clear home after the move
Xero’s conversion tools and partners move the data. This is where each job is done afterwards.
- HandiTaxReturns lodged through SBRmoves to Xero TaxReturns are prepared and lodged here
- Practice Manager: JobflowJobs, tasks and Gantt chartsmoves to AccountKitWorkflow templates, statuses and each person’s daily plan
- Time + BillingTimesheets, billing and debtorsmoves to XPMTime, billing and WIP, with time sent from AccountKit
- HandiLedger and WorkpapersLedgers and work papersmoves to XeroClients’ books, with AccountKit’s journals posted in
- Contact ManagerDiary and contacts synced with Outlookmoves to OutlookClient email captured in AccountKit’s correspondence register
- Document ManagerFiles saved from Officemoves to SharePoint or OneDriveYour files in Microsoft, linked from each client in AccountKit
Side by side
HandiSoft next to Xero, XPM and AccountKit, line by line
The right-hand column is three products working together. We’ve said where AccountKit stops and Xero takes over.
| What you’re weighing | HandiSoft | Xero, XPM and AccountKit |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Installed in your office, or hosted by Access from a Sydney data centre. Access also sells separate browser products, Access Tax and Access Practice Management. | In the browser. There are no servers to run and remote staff log in like everyone else.  Works with AccountKit, Xero, Xero Practice Manager |
| Workflow | A real strength. Jobflow Manager tracks work by job, task, due date, staff member, manager or partner, with task-level status and Gantt charts. | AccountKit workflow: status flows, work types, roles that fill in when a job is created, practice authorities, recurring templates, and a daily plan for each person in Task Planner.Works with AccountKit |
| Permissions | Security Manager sets what each staff member can do in each module and for which clients. | User roles and practice authorities decide who a job goes to and what they’re authorised to do. Your SharePoint and FYI permissions still apply to files.  Works with AccountKit, SharePoint, FYI Docs |
| Microsoft | Contact Manager syncs diary and contact details with Outlook. | Outlook email captured against the client, sending from your own account, SharePoint and OneDrive document storage, and Microsoft Teams notifications.   Works with Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams |
| Tax and the ATO | HandiTax prepares, lodges and tracks returns, lodging with the ATO through Standard Business Reporting. | Returns are prepared and lodged in Xero Tax, part of Xero Partner Hub. AccountKit doesn’t lodge; it runs the job around the return.Works with Xero, AccountKit |
| Ledger and workpapers | HandiLedger and Workpapers, inside the suite. | Clients’ books stay in Xero. AccountKit’s compliance tools post their journals to Xero and export work papers to the client’s folder.Works with Xero, AccountKit |
| Time and billing | Time + Billing covers timesheets, billing and debtors. | XPM keeps time, billing and WIP. AccountKit sends time to XPM.Works with Xero Practice Manager |
| Documents and signing | Document Manager, plus a Client Portal for file sharing and digital signing. | AccountKit connects SharePoint, OneDrive, FYI, SuiteFiles or Google Workspace, with e-signing through FuseSign or Annature (their subscription).  Works with SharePoint, OneDrive, FYI Docs, FuseSign, Annature |
| The route to Xero | Xero’s conversion toolbox imports HandiSoft clients’ ledger data into Xero. | Xero’s Partner Consultants and certified Practice Studio Partners can run the whole move, and Xero runs a course on moving from HandiSoft.Works with Xero |
Checked 2 October 2026 against HandiSoft’s own published pages and the sources below. Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
Sources (13)
- The Access Group: Access HandiSoft (modules, deployment, ATO lodgment by SBR)
- The Access Group: HandiSoft Practice Manager (Jobflow, Contact and Security Manager)
- The Access Group: acquisition of Sage’s Australian and Asian businesses (2 June 2021)
- The Access Group: HandiTax Cloud renamed Access Tax
- Xero AU: Switch practice software (conversion toolbox, Partner Consultants, Practice Studio Partners)
- Xero AU: Partner Hub plus Practice Management, features and pricing
- Xero Learning Central: Migrate your practice to Xero
- AccountKit: Xero Practice Manager integration (what syncs)
- AccountKit: Microsoft 365 (Outlook) integration
- AccountKit: SharePoint integration
- AccountKit: Document management, including PDF editing
- AccountKit: Workflow
- AccountKit: Pricing and onboarding fees
Help with the switch
We set your team up, train them and stay on hand after go-live.
You won’t be left to work it out on your own. Here’s what you get from our team.
Setup
Onboarding sessions with the AccountKit team
Every new subscription starts with onboarding sessions with our team, so you’re set up properly from day one. It’s a one-off fee by plan, shown on the pricing page.
Talk to us about your setupTraining
Training built around your team
Book an AccountKit expert for a session built around your partners and staff, at $330 an hour. Use it before go-live, and again whenever someone new joins.
Book a training sessionSupport
Help that doesn’t end at go-live
Recorded deep dives and the support centre cover every tool, and our team answers when they don’t.
See the training library
From the Xero App Store
What firms say about moving to AccountKit
★★★★★
We recently transitioned to AccountKit to help us stay on top of the many tasks we manage across multiple teams—and we couldn’t be happier.…
★★★★★
…Matt and the team have been super helpful and always available for advise and training when we have any queries.…
5.0 out of 5 from 83 reviews. Read them all on the Xero App Store
Questions
What firms ask before leaving HandiSoft
What happened to Sage HandiSoft?
The Access Group bought Sage’s Australian and Asian businesses, including HandiSoft, in a deal announced on 2 June 2021. It’s now sold as Access HandiSoft, and handisoft.com.au redirects to Access’s site. HandiTax, HandiLedger, Workpapers and Practice Manager are still part of it.
Is HandiSoft being discontinued?
Not that we can find. As at 2 October 2026, The Access Group still sells and updates Access HandiSoft, on-premise and hosted, and hasn’t published an end date. Firms that move to Xero and AccountKit usually do it because of how they want to work, not because of a deadline.
Can AccountKit match HandiSoft’s workflow detail?
It’s set up differently, so plan it rather than assume a one-for-one copy. In AccountKit you build each job type as a template with its own steps, statuses, owners and timing, and roles and practice authorities decide who it goes to. Most firms rebuild their main job types during onboarding.
Does AccountKit prepare or lodge tax returns?
No. Returns are prepared and lodged in Xero Tax, which comes with Xero Partner Hub. AccountKit runs the work around them: the job, its steps, the client’s documents and correspondence, and compliance tools like Division 7A and inter-entity loans that post their journals to Xero.
Who moves our data out of HandiSoft?
Xero and its partners. Xero’s conversion toolbox moves HandiSoft clients’ ledger data into Xero, and its Partner Consulting team or a certified Practice Studio Partner can run the whole conversion. AccountKit doesn’t convert HandiSoft data. We set up AccountKit once your clients are in XPM. Xero doesn’t publish exactly which practice history moves, so ask them early about jobs, time, WIP and past returns.
Does AccountKit replace Xero Practice Manager?
No. XPM keeps your time, billing and WIP. AccountKit syncs client details both ways with XPM and sends time to it. AccountKit’s workflow jobs stay in AccountKit, which is where your team plans and runs the work.
What does AccountKit cost?
In Australia, plans start at AUD $55 a user a month (ex GST) with a five-user minimum, plus a one-off onboarding fee by plan. Team training is $330 an hour. Xero’s own products are priced separately: in Australia, Partner Hub plus Practice Management is free for Silver partners and above. Check the pricing page for your region.
The heart of your firm
Plan your move from HandiSoft with the people who’ll set you up
Show us how your jobflow runs today. We’ll show you the same work in Xero, XPM and AccountKit, and plan your onboarding and training around Xero’s migration timeline.
Tell us what you run today
A short call about your suite, your clients and how your team works, so we can plan the move around it.
Line up Xero’s migration help
Xero’s conversion toolbox and partners move client ledgers and practice data. We plan AccountKit around their timeline.
Onboard and train your team
Onboarding sessions and training get every person working in AccountKit from the first week.