Which accounting software pays bookkeepers and accountants a referral commission?

Intuit pays ProAdvisors a 30% revenue share on a referred client's QuickBooks Online subscription for 12 months; its ProPartner program, replacing ProAdvisor in early 2027, pays 10% to 25% by tier for three years. Xero's partner program pays no commission on client subscriptions; partners get a free Xero subscription, discounts and a directory listing instead. BizBooks Pro pays Certified Partners 35% of what each referred client pays, every year the client renews, with no end date.

Is there free accounting software for bookkeepers and accountants?

Yes, from several vendors. Intuit gives ProAdvisors QuickBooks Online Advanced for the firm's own books, and Xero gives partners a free Xero subscription. BizBooks Pro gives partners a free practice licence covering two sets of books (your own practice and one hosted client), plus unlimited clients who hold their own licences. It renews yearly while you have a referred client on a paid plan or a paid plan of your own.

Accountant Partner Programs in 2026: Who Pays You, and for How Long

Q: Does Xero pay accountants for referring clients?

Not on client subscriptions. Xero's partner program is free and gives the firm a free Xero subscription, subscription discounts for clients from Bronze status up, Partner Hub and an advisor directory listing, but it does not mention any revenue share. Xero's US referral reward of $500 is for referring another accounting or bookkeeping practice that onboards a paying client, not for referring a business client.

Q: What is Intuit ProPartner?

The program replacing Intuit ProAdvisor in early 2027, with tiers from Member to Elite. Revenue share on client subscriptions moves from 30% for 12 months to 10% to 25% for three years, depending on tier. Preferred Pricing and free QuickBooks Online Advanced for the firm's own books continue, and Intuit adds client-firm matchmaking.

The short answer. On a client you refer:

Intuit ProAdvisor pays 30% of the QuickBooks Online subscription for 12 months. ProPartner, from early 2027, pays 10–25% by tier for three years.
Xero pays nothing on client subscriptions. Its partner program gives you a free subscription, client discounts and a directory listing instead.
BizBooks Pro (ours) pays Certified Partners 35% every year the client renews, with no end date.

All three give the firm free software for its own books. Intuit's program pays more on a large client in the early years; ours pays less per year on a cheaper product, but doesn't stop.

Disclosure: I build BizBooks Pro, so weigh my description of our own program accordingly. Intuit's and Xero's terms below come from their own published pages, linked at the end; programs change, so check the current terms before you plan around them.

Why this matters more in 2026

QuickBooks Online Accountant retires on December 31, 2026. Firms move to Intuit Accountant Suite, whose Accelerate tier is $149 a month and whose Books Close add-on is billed per client. ProAdvisor becomes ProPartner in early 2027. At the same time, QuickBooks Online Plus has reached $140 a month. If you advise small businesses on software, the economics of both your own tools and your recommendations shifted this year. Our QBOA retirement explainer covers the Intuit side in detail.

The comparison

	Intuit ProAdvisor (now)	Intuit ProPartner (early 2027)	Xero partner program	BizBooks Pro partners
Commission on a referred client	30% revenue share	10–25% by tier	None on client subscriptions	35% (Certified Partner); 20% first year on the free affiliate track
For how long	12 months	Three years	—	Every year the client renews; no end date
Alternative to commission	30% Preferred Pricing discount passed to the client	Preferred Pricing kept	Client subscription discounts (Bronze and up)	—
Free software for the firm	QuickBooks Online Advanced for your own books	Same	Free Xero subscription for your practice	Free practice licence: two sets of books, plus unlimited clients on their own licences
Other benefits	Directory listing, training	Client-firm matchmaking; Accelerate free in upper tiers	Partner Hub, advisor directory, Syft Analytics, practice management from Silver	Free certification and directory listing; 5% override on partners you recruit
Practice tools cost	QBOA free until Dec 31, 2026	Accelerate $149/mo; Books Close $6–8 per client per month	Included	Included in the free licence

What one referred client is worth

Rates only mean something next to the price they're a percentage of. Here is one client, at list price, over ten years. QuickBooks Online Plus is $1,680 a year; BizBooks Pro Professional is $540 a year, locked for 12 years at sign-up, so the commission on it can't be cut by a price change either way.

Program and client	Year 1	Years 1–3	Years 1–10
ProAdvisor, 30% × 12 months, QBO Plus	$504	$504	$504
ProPartner Member, 10% × 3 years, QBO Plus	$168	$504	$504
ProPartner top tier, 25% × 3 years, QBO Plus	$420	$1,260	$1,260
Xero partner program	$0	$0	$0
BizBooks Pro Certified, 35% of Professional ($540)	$189	$567	$1,890
BizBooks Pro Certified, 35% of Basic ($299)	$105	$314	$1,047

Read honestly, that table says two things. On a big QuickBooks client, Intuit pays more up front, and at the top ProPartner tier it pays more than we do for the first six years. Ours is the only one still paying in year four, and the client is paying a third as much for their software, which is usually the reason they'd switch. Which matters more depends on your practice: a firm that turns clients over quickly benefits from front-loaded pay; a firm that keeps clients for a decade benefits from recurring pay.

None of these programs should drive the recommendation itself. Recommend what fits the client; then it's fair to know what each vendor pays you for doing it.

Each program, briefly

Intuit ProAdvisor, becoming ProPartner

The largest accountant program, with the biggest client base and the most firms already in it. Today ProAdvisors choose between a 30% revenue share for a client's first 12 months or passing a 30% Preferred Pricing discount to the client. ProPartner, from early 2027, stretches the revenue share to three years at 10–25% by tier, keeps Preferred Pricing and free QuickBooks Online Advanced for your own books, and adds client-firm matchmaking, which may be worth more than the commission for a growing firm. The cost side moves too: QBOA retires, and Intuit Accountant Suite Accelerate is $149 a month (free in upper tiers) with Books Close at $6–8 per client per month.

Best for: firms whose clients are, and will stay, on QuickBooks Online, especially larger clients.

Xero partner program

Free to join with no ongoing cost, and genuinely generous on tools: a free Xero subscription for your practice at every tier, Partner Hub with unlimited users, an advisor directory listing, Syft Analytics, and practice management (jobs, time, billing) from Silver status up. What it doesn't do is pay you on client subscriptions; the value reaches clients as discounts instead. Xero's US $500 referral reward is for referring another accounting or bookkeeping practice to Xero, not a business client.

Best for: cloud-first firms that value free practice tools and client discounts over commission income.

BizBooks Pro partners (ours)

Affiliate 20% first year (free) • Certified Partner 35% recurring (free; certification lifts you to 35%) • Enterprise 50% and Reseller 70% (paid buy-ins)

The free practice licence covers two sets of books in your own installation: your practice, and one hosted client. Clients who buy their own licence don't count against that, and you can serve an unlimited number of them by remote connection. A person checks your practice (firm site, professional listing or LinkedIn), usually within a business day, and you claim the licence in the partner portal. It renews each year while you have a referred client on a paid plan, or a paid plan of your own, and if it lapses your books stay readable and exportable.

Commissions split when the client's card clears, so there's no invoicing us or waiting on a payout run. The recurring 35% stops if the client cancels, and nothing already paid is clawed back.

The honest limits: BizBooks Pro is Windows desktop software, so it fits clients who want their books on their own PC, not every client; the free licence is one user and doesn't include the industry editions (law firm, construction, real estate, travel); and we're a small company with a fraction of Intuit's or Xero's client base, so there's no matchmaking pipeline to speak of yet.

Best for: bookkeepers with long-term clients who want to stay on the desktop, especially QuickBooks Desktop users facing $1,351 renewals.

Get the free practice licence

Join as a partner, have your practice checked, and run your own books on BizBooks Pro.

How the free licence works

Frequently asked questions

Which accounting software pays bookkeepers a referral commission?

Intuit (30% for 12 months as a ProAdvisor; 10–25% for three years under ProPartner from 2027) and BizBooks Pro (35% every year the client renews, as a Certified Partner). Xero pays no commission on client subscriptions.

Does Xero pay accountants for referring clients?

Not on client subscriptions. Its benefits are a free subscription, client discounts, Partner Hub and a directory listing. The US $500 referral reward is for referring another accounting practice.

What is Intuit ProPartner?

The program replacing ProAdvisor in early 2027, with tiers from Member to Elite and a revenue share of 10–25% for three years.

Is there free accounting software for bookkeepers?

Yes: QuickBooks Online Advanced for ProAdvisors' own books, a free Xero subscription for Xero partners, and BizBooks Pro's free two-book practice licence with unlimited licensed clients.

Sources (checked October 2026): Intuit ProAdvisor, ProPartner and Intuit Accountant Suite terms as sourced from Intuit's published pages in our QBOA retirement explainer (October 3, 2026); Xero, Grow with the Xero partner program; Xero, accountant and bookkeeper referral reward; BizBooks Pro, partner program terms. Commission examples use list prices and ignore discounts, taxes and churn. Programs change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.