Karbon vs XPM
Karbon or XPM? Choose by how your team works
Karbon is built around shared email and workflow. XPM is built around Xero: time, billing and the link to Xero Tax. Both are good at what they’re built for. Here’s how to tell which fits your firm, and where AccountKit comes in.
WorkflowInteractive preview · sample dataPractice-wide work
Illustrative AccountKit-style view · sample data
Interactive demonstration with sample data, based on the AccountKit interface.
What you’re really choosing
The real difference is where your team’s day starts.
If your team lives in a shared inbox, Karbon’s model will feel natural. If your day runs from Xero and the tax calendar, XPM keeps the work on one Xero client record.
01Karbon
Karbon puts email, workflow and client requests in one shared workspace.
It includes time, billing and payments, syncs invoices and payments with your Xero ledger, and syncs contacts with XPM.
02XPM
XPM keeps jobs, time, billing and WIP on the Xero client record.
It links jobs to returns in Xero Tax, and it’s free for Silver partners and above.
03AccountKit
AccountKit works with XPM, so it fits the XPM path.
It adds workflow, compliance tools, correspondence and documents around XPM. It doesn’t connect to Karbon.
See what syncs with XPM
Side by side
Karbon, XPM and what AccountKit adds, line by line
The first two columns are the choice. The third is what AccountKit adds if you choose XPM.
| What you’re weighing | Karbon | XPM (Practice Management) | AccountKit adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built around | Shared email, workflow and client collaboration. | Xero: client records, time, billing and WIP. Works with Xero Practice Manager | One view of each client group over XPM and Xero. Works with AccountKit |
| Workflow | Work templates, automation and capacity planning. | Jobs, templates and scheduling.Works with Xero Practice Manager | Status flows, work types, recurring templates and a daily plan for each person.Works with AccountKit |
| A shared team inbox with triage and AI summaries, connected to Microsoft 365, Outlook or Gmail. | Not listed on Xero’s Practice Management page. | Outlook or Gmail email captured against the client in the correspondence register.  Works with Outlook, Gmail | |
| Time and billing | Time, billing and payments built in, with invoices and payments syncing to Xero. | Time, invoicing and WIP.Works with Xero Practice Manager | Time recorded in AccountKit syncs to XPM.Works with AccountKit, Xero Practice Manager |
| Xero connection | Two-way sync with your Xero ledger (contacts, invoices, payments) and contact sync with XPM. | Part of Xero Partner Hub, with jobs linked to returns in Xero Tax. Works with Xero Practice Manager, Xero | Client details sync both ways with XPM, and compliance tools post journals to Xero.Works with Xero Practice Manager, Xero |
| Documents | Connects SharePoint, OneDrive and SuiteFiles. | Not listed on Xero’s Practice Management page. | Connects SharePoint, OneDrive, FYI, SuiteFiles or Google Workspace.    Works with SharePoint, OneDrive, FYI Docs, SuiteFiles |
| Pricing | Per user: the Team plan is US$59 a user a month, billed annually. | Free for Silver partners and above. Otherwise a flat fee for up to 10 users (A$163.90 incl. GST in Australia). | From AUD $55 a user a month (ex GST), five-user minimum. |
Checked 2 October 2026 against each vendor’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 (12)
- Karbon: pricing
- Karbon: integrations
- Karbon: Xero integration
- Karbon release notes: XPM contact sync (April 2023)
- Karbon: about
- Xero AU: Partner Hub plus Practice Management, features and pricing
- Xero UK: Partner Hub plus Practice Management
- Xero NZ: Partner Hub plus Practice Management
- Xero US: Partner Hub plus Practice Management
- Xero blog: Introducing Xero Partner Hub
- AccountKit: Xero Practice Manager integration (what syncs)
- AccountKit: pricing
Making the call
Which fits your firm
Pick the column that sounds like your team on a Monday morning.
Karbon may suit you if…
- Your team works from a shared inbox and wants email and workflow in one place.
- You want time, billing and payments outside Xero’s practice tools.
- You’re happy for your practice records to live outside XPM.
XPM may suit you if…
- You want time, billing and WIP on the Xero client record, linked to Xero Tax.
- You’re a Silver partner or above, so it’s included.
- Your other apps already use XPM as their client list.
XPM with AccountKit suits you if…
- You want XPM’s record plus workflow and a daily plan for each person.
- You want email, documents and compliance tools in one view of each client.
- You’d rather build on Xero than run a separate system beside it.
How it comes together
Choose XPM, and AccountKit brings the rest of your stack to it
If XPM is your choice, this is how the pieces fit together. AccountKit works with XPM and Xero, not with Karbon.
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 moved its workflow out of spreadsheets
Scope Accounting stopped jobs stalling and caught up on its lodgements.
“It’s all interactive and it’s in one spot. We’re not looking at various Excel spreadsheets. It’s honestly all about visibility.”
- years on the lodgement statistics dashboard
- 4+
- of this year’s work already done, in Chris’s words
- 80%
- people on the team now, grown from a two-person operation
- 14
From the Xero App Store
What firms say about building on XPM with AccountKit
★★★★★
I've been using AK for about a year now and have found it to be a great help in tying our systems together. We use Nimbus and Xero (XPM and tax).…
★★★★★
We use Account Kit every day. It's a great tool to utilise everything in the one place. :)
5.0 out of 5 from 83 reviews. Read them all on the Xero App Store
Questions
What firms ask when choosing between Karbon and XPM
Does Karbon integrate with Xero Practice Manager?
Yes, for contacts. Karbon’s XPM integration syncs contacts both ways, and Karbon also syncs contacts, invoices and payments with your Xero ledger. Karbon doesn’t publish whether jobs, time or WIP move across from XPM.
Does AccountKit work with Karbon?
No. AccountKit connects to Xero Practice Manager and to Xero, not to Karbon. It’s built for firms that keep XPM as their practice record.
How much does Karbon cost?
Karbon lists per-user pricing: the Team plan is US$59 and Business US$89 a user a month billed annually (US$79 and US$99 billed monthly), and Enterprise is priced on request. Check Karbon’s pricing page for your currency.
Is XPM free?
For Xero Silver partners and above, yes. Otherwise it’s a flat fee for up to 10 users: A$163.90 including GST in Australia, £99 ex VAT in the UK, NZ$149 ex GST in New Zealand and US$149 in the US.
Is XPM being discontinued?
No. Xero is moving XPM into Xero Partner Hub as Partner Hub plus Practice Management, and says core features and pricing stay the same.
Does AccountKit replace XPM?
No. XPM keeps your time, billing and WIP. AccountKit syncs client details both ways with XPM and sends time to it, and its workflow jobs stay in AccountKit.
The heart of your firm
If XPM is your choice, bring the rest of your stack to it
Start a free trial, connect XPM and Xero, and see each client with workflow, tools and documents around it.
Start a free 14-day trial
Create the account and bring in the client list your firm already works from.
Shape your AccountKit
Choose the tools, views and workflows that match the jobs your team needs to run.
Put it to work
Use AccountKit with real client work and decide what belongs in your practice stack.