This is one of the most common questions WAO receives, and we are going to answer it honestly — which means the answer is not always "move to Odoo." Xero is an excellent accounting tool. Cin7 is a capable inventory management system. Together, they form a credible operational stack for a certain type and size of business. But there is a growth threshold beyond which Xero + Cin7 stops being the right answer, and moving to Odoo Australia becomes not just sensible but necessary.
What Xero + Cin7 Does Well
Xero's user interface is genuinely excellent — intuitive, clean, and well-designed for business owners who are not accountants. Its bank reconciliation engine is best-in-class. Its ANZ compliance (BAS, STP) is solid out of the box. Cin7 is a genuinely capable inventory management system for a certain profile of product-based business — strong B2B order management, extensive 3PL integrations, and well-suited to businesses with complex SKU structures.
Together, for a business under $10M revenue with no manufacturing and a finance team comfortable with the reconciliation overhead — Xero + Cin7 Australia is a reasonable answer.
The Five Signals You've Outgrown Xero + Cin7
Signal 1: The Integration Is Becoming a Problem
The Xero-Cin7 integration syncs financial data between the two systems — but it is an API connection, not a shared database. When it works, it is seamless. When it breaks — and over a multi-year period in a growing business, it will break — the fix requires developer involvement and the downstream impact on your BAS and management accounts can be significant.
Signal 2: You've Added Manufacturing
Cin7 was not designed as a manufacturing system. It handles finished goods inventory well. It does not handle bills of materials, work orders, production routing, or real-time WIP valuation. If your business has moved from pure distribution to any form of manufacturing or assembly, the gap in Cin7's capability becomes a serious operational constraint.
Signal 3: Your Reporting Requires a Third Tool
When Xero's reporting is insufficient — which for most businesses with more than a few cost centres it is — the solution is a reporting add-on (Spotlight Reporting, Fathom, Power BI) or a management report built in Excel. Your financial intelligence now lives in a third system, further from the operational data and further from being reliable.
Signal 4: Your eCommerce Is Growing
Shopify connects to Cin7 via integration. For a high-volume eCommerce business — more than 100 orders per day — the integration lag and reconciliation overhead becomes a genuine operational risk.
Signal 5: You're Over $10M Revenue and Growing
Beyond $10M, the operational complexity of most product-based businesses exceeds what a two-tool stack with a manual integration can handle cleanly. The signals above compound, and the cost of the integration overhead grows.
The Honest Decision Framework
Stay on Xero + Cin7 if… | Consider Odoo if… |
Under $8M revenue | $8M+ revenue |
No manufacturing or complex assembly | Manufacturing with BOMs and work orders |
Fewer than 20 staff | 20+ staff and growing |
Simple eCommerce, low volume | High-volume or multi-channel eCommerce |
P&L production is fast and reliable | Month-end close takes more than 5 days |
No integration reliability issues | Recurring integration issues or sync errors |
WAO's Position
We will tell you honestly if Odoo is not the right move for your business. Our reputation is built on implementations that succeed — not on projects that should never have started.If your business fits the "stay on Xero + Cin7" profile, we will tell you that in the first 15 minutes, and we will tell you what you should be doing instead.
Ready to take the next step?
Book a free, no-obligation System Process Audit with one of WAO's chartered accountants. 45 minutes. No sales pressure. Just clarity.
The information and tips shared on this blog are meant to be used as learning and personal development tools as you launch, run and grow your business. While a good place to start, these articles should not take the place of personalised advice from professionals. As our lawyers would say: “All content on WAO’s blog is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be considered legal or financial advice.” Additionally, WAO is the legal copyright holder of all materials on the blog, and others cannot re-use or publish it without our written consent.
