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Daniel Grech
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For bookkeepers & accountants
Xonboard vs Canyou: which fits your client?
Xonboard is an onboarding app for businesses on Xero Payroll, with a free plan that covers a lot. It onboards each new starter once. Canyou keeps running after that: the right workflows for each role, the right people notified, policies that repeat each year, reminders before anything falls due, and your own details on every worker. Moving a client up is easy: staff import from Xero, pay runs stay in Xero, and setup takes about 10 minutes.
Workflows that assign, notify, repeat and remind on their own
Licences, visas and any date tracked before it falls due
15 min per worker, down from 6–10 hrs
The graduation path
Three steps, all ending in Xero Payroll
Xonboard is often the step after Xero’s own onboarding: it adds the paperwork Xero’s form leaves out. Clients move on to Canyou when onboarding becomes an ongoing job: roles with different requirements, managers with a part to play, things that expire or repeat, and details the business needs to report on.
- Step 1
Xero’s own onboarding
A few new starters a year, one simple payroll, no visa holders or licences
Built into Xero Payroll
Move on when: you want super stapled and default fund registration handled, or the Fair Work Information Statement, documents or a contract in the same flow
When Xero’s own is enough → - Step 2
Xonboard
Regular hiring on Xero Payroll, with paperwork beyond tax, super and bank
Free plan; Premium per onboard
Move on when: onboarding becomes an ongoing job: policies and training that repeat each year, managers who need to act or be notified, licences, visas and other dates tracked before they fall due, and your own details on every worker
You're reading this guide - Step 3
Canyou
Teams with roles to manage, work that repeats or expires, visa holders and licensed roles
Flat monthly plans from $49
See Canyou employee onboarding →
For bookkeepers
When to recommend each
Both get new starters into Xero Payroll without paper. The question is what else the client’s workers need before they start, and after.
Recommend Xonboard when…
The client is on Xero Payroll and wants onboarding at no cost
New starters need tax, super and bank details and the Fair Work statements
Contracts and policies in the same flow, on Premium, suit the client
Nobody needs a visa checked before they start
You look after many client organisations and want advisor access to each
Recommend Canyou when…
Each role needs its own workflows, licences and inductions, assigned automatically when someone joins or scans a QR code
Policies, inductions or training have to be redone every year, or a set time after the last one
Managers, supervisors or payroll need to be notified, or do their part, as a workflow runs
Licences, visas, probation reviews or any other date need reminders before they fall due
The business tracks its own details on each worker, like uniform size or apprenticeship start, and wants to filter and export them
Contracts need more than one signer, in order, with every field checked
Workers on visas need their work rights checked with the Department of Home Affairs
The client uses MYOB, Cloud Payroll or Deputy as well as, or instead of, Xero
Completed workflows, forms and approved licences need to be filed automatically in another system
Customer story · Bookkeeping
O’s Accounting & Advisory cut new-starter admin from 30 minutes to 5.
A 3-person firm doing payroll for cafes, restaurants and retail. Each client got one QR code: new staff onboard on their phone, and the details sync into Xero.
“It’s easy to use, it saves time and the cost is very reasonable. Honestly, I’d be happy to pay more. No joke.”
Time to move on
Signs a client has outgrown Xonboard
Xonboard onboards a new starter into Xero Payroll, once. These are the moments a client needs something that keeps running.
Policies come round every year
A Xonboard template is chosen when you invite someone. In Canyou you set a schedule on a position once, and the workflow goes back to everyone in that role on the same dates each year, or to each person a set time after they last finished it.
Other people have a part to play
A supervisor runs the site induction, a manager countersigns the contract, payroll needs to know when paperwork is done. Canyou workflows give each person their own task, unlock steps in order and notify the people you choose when a workflow is finished.
Dates keep slipping
Canyou sends reminders before anything falls due: at 90, 30 and 7 days for a licence, to the worker and admins; a probation review 3 months after a start date; an apprenticeship anniversary; an insurance renewal. Unfinished work gets chased at the intervals you set.
The spreadsheet is doing the real work
Create your own fields, like uniform size, site or apprenticeship start. Form answers fill them in, workflows can set them automatically, and the Users page filters, saves and exports by any of them, along with licences and visa details.
Visa holders join the team
Xonboard doesn’t check visas. In Canyou your team checks work rights with the Department of Home Affairs, the result stays on the worker’s record, and you get notice before the visa expires.
A lapsed ticket would stop work
Xonboard collects licences and certificates as documents. Canyou ties each licence to the role, approves or rejects each upload, tracks the expiry and asks the worker for the renewal before it lapses.
Crews start at the gate
Put a Canyou QR code on site or a link in a job ad. Workers, contractors and subbies pick their role and onboard on their phone, get that role’s workflows and licences automatically, and you can approve them before they start.
Someone asks who is cleared to work
Canyou’s dashboard lists what needs fixing, reviewing, renewing or chasing, across every business you manage. Every check, licence, signed document and repeat of a workflow stays on the worker’s record, so the client has ISO audit-ready records when someone asks.
Correct as at 3 November 2026
Xonboard and Canyou side by side
FeatureXONBOARDCANYOU
What it is
Xonboard
An onboarding app for businesses on Xero Payroll, from an Australian company
Canyou
Employee onboarding that keeps running: workflows, reminders and records that keep every worker cleared to work
Pricing model
Xonboard
Free plan; Premium listed at $15 per onboard, pay as you go (shown at $0 until January 2027)
Canyou
Flat monthly plans from $49, with onboards included (about $2.58 each on Pro)
Tax, super and bank
Xonboard
TFN declaration, bank details and super choice, with ATO super stapling and default fund registration
Canyou
The same super choice, with ATO super stapling and default fund registration; TFN and bank details validated before payroll
Documents and policies
Xonboard
Fair Work statements; document collection and policy acknowledgement on Premium
Canyou
Forms, documents, policy acknowledgement and training videos with questions on every plan
E-signature
Xonboard
On Premium: signature, date, text and checkbox fields, signed by the employee
Canyou
Signature, text, dropdown, checkbox, date and prefilled fields; TFN, ABN, BSB, phone, email and date checked as typed; several signers, in order or at once; a certificate of completion
Workflow builder
Xonboard
Set onboarding steps; Premium adds contracts, documents, signatures, a welcome video and policies
Canyou
Build any workflow from forms, documents, videos, e-sign, payroll and visa tasks, in steps that unlock in order
Role-specific onboarding
Xonboard
A template, chosen at each invite, groups the documents, policies and videos
Canyou
Positions carry each role’s workflows and licences, assigned automatically; one worker can hold several positions
Repeating work
Xonboard
Onboarding runs once per invite; existing staff can be re-onboarded
Canyou
Workflows repeat on set dates each year or a set time after completion, with a history of every run
Team notifications
Xonboard
Updates to your users on onboarding progress
Canyou
Tasks for supervisors and managers inside the workflow; the people you choose notified when it’s finished
Reminders
Xonboard
Daily reminders to the employee until onboarding is done
Canyou
Reminders at the intervals you choose for unfinished work, licence and visa expiry, and any date on a worker’s profile
Your own data
Xonboard
Not listed in its Help Centre
Canyou
Custom fields filled from form answers or set automatically; shared saved filters; CSV exports with licences and visa details
Day-to-day view
Xonboard
Onboarding status for each employee
Canyou
A dashboard of what needs fixing, reviewing, renewing or chasing, across every business you manage
Automations
Xonboard
Finished onboards sent to Xero Payroll
Canyou
Payroll sync when a step starts, fields set automatically, and completed workflows, forms and approved licences filed as PDFs in your other systems
Work rights (VEVO)
Xonboard
Not available
Canyou
Checked with the Department of Home Affairs, with notice before a visa expires
Licences and tickets
Xonboard
Collected as documents
Canyou
Tied to each role, each upload approved, and tracked to expiry with reminders to the worker and admins
On-site onboarding
Xonboard
Invites by email, one at a time or in bulk
Canyou
QR code at the gate, with “approve before starting” if you want it
Payroll
Xonboard
Xero Payroll; CSV export for other systems
Canyou
Syncs to Xero, MYOB, Cloud Payroll and Deputy
For bookkeepers
Xonboard
Unlimited Xero organisations and advisor users on the free plan; a partner program
Canyou
Several businesses in one account; a free practice account and a partner program
This comparison is correct as at 3 November 2026. Xonboard details are from xonboard.com.au, its Help Centre and its Xero App Store listing. Features, plans and prices change, so check with Xonboard before you decide.
Pricing
Pricing compared
Xonboard’s free plan costs nothing, and its Premium plan is priced per onboard. Canyou is a flat monthly plan with onboards included, and visa checks priced per check.
Xonboard
Free
$0
Unlimited onboards, Xero connections and users; TFN, super stapling and bulk invites
Premium
$15 per onboard
Shown at $0 until January 2027. Adds contracts, documents, signatures, a welcome video and policies
Pay as you go. As listed on xonboard.com.au, 3 November 2026.
Canyou
Essentials
$49/month
10 onboards a month
Pro
$129/month
50 onboards and 30 licence profiles
Scale
$349/month
200 onboards and 150 licence profiles
Visa checks billed per check. All prices excluding GST. No credit card required. Cancel any time.
If a client only needs new starters onboarded into Xero once, Xonboard’s free plan is hard to beat. Once onboarding becomes an ongoing job, compare per onboard: Xonboard Premium is listed at $15 (shown at $0 until January 2027), so 20 onboards a month would be $300. Canyou Pro is $129 a month with 50 onboards and 30 licence profiles included, about $2.58 an onboard when they’re used, plus $8 per visa check.
What Canyou adds
Where the two products differ
Workflows that repeat
Annual policies and refreshers, sent without anyone remembering
Set a schedule on a position once. Canyou reassigns the workflow to everyone in that role on the same dates each year, or to each person a set number of days after they last finished it. Steps unlock in order, supervisors and managers get their own tasks, and the people you choose are notified when it’s done. See how workflow scheduling works.
Specific dates, or a set time after completion
A history of every run for every worker
Still cleared to work next month
Onboarding gets them into payroll. It doesn’t keep them legal to work. Canyou keeps watching visas and tickets after day one.
Reminders and your own data
Every date that matters, not only expiry dates
Point a reminder at any date on a worker’s profile, like a start date or an apprenticeship start, or at one date for the business, like an insurance renewal. Track a date before or after it, repeat it every year, and choose who hears about it and when. Your own fields fill in from form answers, and the Users page filters and exports by any of them. See how reminders work.
Probation reviews, anniversaries and renewals
Custom fields, saved filters and exports
Work rights
Visa checks with Home Affairs
The worker enters their visa details on their phone during onboarding, your team runs the check with the Department of Home Affairs, and the result stays on their record as an audit trail. You get notice a set number of days before the visa expires. See how work-rights checks work.
Visa status, class, expiry and conditions
Billed per check, by plan
Licences and tickets
From a file on record to a ticket tracked to expiry
Collecting a licence is the start. Canyou ties licences to each position, so new starters are asked for the right tickets, then tracks every expiry and reminds the worker and your admins before it lapses, so the renewal is uploaded in time. See licence and certification tracking.
White Cards, high-risk work licences, WWCC and your own
Reminders at 90, 30 and 7 days, or any days you set
Approve or reject each upload
E-signature
Contracts signed by everyone who needs to sign
Place signature, text, dropdown, checkbox and date fields on your PDF, or fields that fill in from the worker’s profile. Add the manager or a director as a second signer and choose the order. Canyou checks each answer as it’s typed, and the signed PDF comes back with a certificate of completion as the audit trail. See how e-sign templates work.
TFN, ABN, BSB, phone, email and date checks
Signers in order, or all at once
On site
Onboarding from a QR code at the gate
Put a QR code on site or a link in a job ad. Each person picks their role and onboards on their phone, and with “approve before starting” you choose their position before they begin. See QR code site sign-in.
Workers, contractors and subbies
As many entry points as you have sites
Payroll
Xero Payroll, and more than Xero
Canyou sends validated tax, super and bank details into Xero Payroll in one click, and syncs new starters to MYOB, Cloud Payroll and Deputy too. How Canyou syncs with Xero.
Official Xero connected app
Also syncs to MYOB, Cloud Payroll and Deputy
For business owners
Running the business yourself?
If you’re on Xero Payroll and new starters only need tax, super and bank details, the Fair Work statements and a few documents, Xonboard’s free plan is a sensible choice. Look at Canyou when onboarding becomes an ongoing job: roles with different requirements, policies that repeat, licences and visas that expire, or details you track in a spreadsheet.
Used by 6,000+ Australian businesses
Try Canyou for free. No credit card required
Keep Xero Payroll: Canyou syncs each new starter into it
Australian support, with sensitive data stored in Australia
For bookkeepers & accountants
Referring clients? Join the partner program
Bookkeepers and accountants get a free Canyou practice account to demo with and help setting up every client. For each client, choose a referral for your practice or a discount for the client. For example, 3 clients on Pro earn your practice $38.70 a month at Silver, every month they stay (illustrative, excluding GST).
Xonboard or Canyou: questions
Anything else, start a live chat or book a 30-minute call with our Australian team.
Book a 30-minute demo →Is Canyou an alternative to Xonboard?
Yes, for teams that need more than a one-time onboarding. Both get new starters into Xero Payroll. Canyou keeps running after that: workflows assigned by role and repeated on a schedule, the right people notified, reminders before licences, visas or any other date fall due, your own fields with saved filters and exports, and work rights checks with the Department of Home Affairs.
Is Xonboard free?
Xonboard has a free plan with unlimited onboards. As at 3 November 2026 its Premium plan, which adds contracts, documents, signatures, a welcome video and policies, was listed at $15 per onboard and shown at $0 until January 2027.
Does Xonboard check visas?
No. As at 3 November 2026 Xonboard doesn’t offer visa (VEVO) checks. Canyou checks work rights with the Department of Home Affairs, from $7 per check.
Can Xonboard collect e-signatures?
Yes, on its Premium plan. As at 3 November 2026 Xonboard’s Help Centre listed four field types (signature, date, text and checkbox), signed by the employee. Canyou adds dropdowns and prefilled fields, checks TFN, ABN, BSB, phone, email and date answers as they’re typed, and lets several people sign in order, with a certificate of completion.
What does Canyou do after a worker starts?
It keeps running. Workflows repeat on a schedule for refresher training or policy updates, managers are notified as work is finished, licences and visas get expiry reminders, any date on a worker’s profile can trigger a reminder, and the dashboard shows who needs renewing, reviewing or chasing.
Is super handled differently in Xonboard and Canyou?
No. Both staple each new starter’s existing fund from the ATO and register anyone who chooses your default fund, so moving a client to Canyou changes nothing on super. The difference is everything around it: workflows that repeat, notify and remind, your own data on every worker, e-signatures with more than one signer, visa checks and licence tracking.
Does Canyou work with Xero Payroll?
Yes. Canyou is a Xero connected app. It syncs each new starter’s validated tax, super and bank details into Xero Payroll, and also syncs to MYOB, Cloud Payroll and Deputy.
Where does Xero’s own onboarding fit?
Xero Payroll has its own self-onboarding form for personal, tax, super and bank details. For many small teams that’s the first step, then Xonboard, then Canyou. Our Xero page covers when Xero’s own form is enough.
Is there anything in it for my practice?
Yes. The Canyou partner program is free to join. For each client, choose a referral for your practice or a discount for the client.
Ready when a client needs more than paperwork
Try Canyou for free with a client’s next new starter, or book a demo and we’ll walk you through it. Setup takes about 10 minutes.
No credit card required · Cancel any time · Australian support 🇦🇺
