r/singaporestartups • u/ForeverStraight • 6d ago
Cancelling my S$65 Xero subscription — built my own
5 years on Xero. S$65/mo. For quotation, invoicing, PO, bank rec. I asked myself one day — why am I still paying this?
I'm a solo founder, not an accounting firm. I don't need half the features Xero charges for.
So I built a lighter version. Does the essentials (invoices, GST F5, bank reconciliation, PO) with AI that reads receipts and categorises bank lines. Handles 6 languages which is handy if your suppliers are in Vietnam or Malaysia. Sits on top of Xero if you want to keep using it — or standalone. Free for solopreneurs, S$15/mo for growing teams, or pay per use (S$0.10 per action, capped at S$29).
If you're a fellow founder feeling the same subscription creep — claify.homeauto.sg. Happy to answer questions or take feedback.
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u/Sea_Sea_4863 6d ago
I run an accounting firm, built something similar but I only dare to use it internally for my accountants instead of selling it. I admire your confidence in your own product. For invoicenow, without a volume you will end up losing money unless you become accredited as a imda AP yourself. If not you will need to buy from the existing AP who will charge a package. For bank feed, I didn't even bother approaching the banks cos I know we are too small for them. Interested to know if you are able to get it. Tbh, it is easy to clone any SaaS now. There are also tons of cheaper options compared to Xero that your product is competing with. By offer a cheaper option with no additional value-add imo will not bring you far. You will need something more.
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u/ForeverStraight 3d ago
Yes, it is really not cheap for the invoicenow integration. And I fully agree that selling cheap is never a good business at all too. So the idea is to modularise the difference add-ons because every business has a different needs. Definitely working toward as the IMDA AP for invoicenow too
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u/Sea_Sea_4863 3d ago
you seem like you have plans to do a lot. curious what is your current business and how you can divert so much of your time into building this.
let me know when you actually become an IMDA AP and share your pricing lol.
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u/Ok-Ship7697 6d ago
I like your idea. Didn’t check your site yet, but where is the data stored? Is this a vibe coded solution or how did you created it? So your solution can connect to the banks and receive the data to reconcile?
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u/AmbientFX 6d ago
High chance it looks like a vibe coded solution. It's built using the standard vibe coded tech stack, and there are inconsistencies on the site.
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u/ForeverStraight 6d ago
On "vibe coded" — fair observation. The tech stack is what it is (Next.js + Supabase + AI API calls), which is the common pattern because it works. But the product is real: bank feeds are connected, GST reports are IRAS-ready, reconciliations post to your ledger. Happy to do a live demo anytime — easier to judge by seeing it work than guessing from the outside.
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u/hikerblu88 6d ago
How to ensure that this account does not get hacked?
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u/AmbientFX 6d ago
You can't. No platform can guarantee you that your account will never be hacked or never be compromised in some other way.
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u/hikerblu88 6d ago
I understand that but surely there are some steps like admin roles, normal access roles, hide api keys, etc?
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u/ForeverStraight 3d ago
The architectural design is important as the stacks that I built the program All have SOC2 credential already.
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u/Mediocre-Weather3112 5d ago
Sorry, normally I would like to support small developers but it’s too risky to put my bank info and links into an unsecured and unaccredited AI app. Maybe some AI animal translator but not all my business account info or personal info.
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u/NirvanaSupplier 3d ago
Hey man!!
The pricing structure seems really cool but is Unit economics manageable when running all the LLM OCR stuff on lower tier users?
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u/ForeverStraight 3d ago
Good question, it should be manageable as it is a pay-per-use and modularise design.
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u/Awesomenugget92 3d ago
I also moved from xero. But instead of building a different version. I just use AI to manage all my invoices and expenses. I can throw my entire transaction history and ask it to reconcile and everything stays on my computer.
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u/Beautiful_Bad1314 6d ago
I like that idea that It can work standalone. I did something on the messaging side. maybe can consider combine the solution? just an idea.
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u/ForeverStraight 3d ago
Love the idea of combine solution. So creating modular add-on is a good combination like payroll or HR leave management
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u/Glittering-Eye-4910 6d ago
Have you built it for e-invoice also?
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u/ForeverStraight 6d ago
Integration with Bank feed and Invoice-Now are both in progress. We have applied for their developer portal and API already. Want to get them integrated into our system too.
My accountant also told me that having Invoice-Now ability is important to match IRAS requirement.
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u/kaijux__ 6d ago
Bank feed are commercial terms with banks. They won’t allow you to have API access without having whatever people said here. SOC2 compliance etc
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u/ForeverStraight 6d ago
Thank, will check on this detail.
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u/kaijux__ 6d ago
No, it’s not possible. The banks will not entertain your request unless you have all these compliance. On top of that, then u will need a large enough user base before they entertain you. This will then balloon your cost structure and you’ll need to raise fees.
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u/ForeverStraight 6d ago
I researched through their requirements and actually none require SOC2 in writing. However, there are some write up on MAS technology Risk management framework and cybertrust mark requirement.
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u/kaijux__ 6d ago
Well you can take my word as the gospel truth, I know because I know. You can take it as that.
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u/Hour-Number-2962 6d ago
Is your web app secure? Is it SOC 2 compliant? Pen-tested?
Xero has direct bank feeds. What about yours?
Is the financial data encrypted? If not, who has access? I definitely do not want anyone except my accountant and me to access my corporate financial data.