Xero Certified Associate (Level 1 Xero certification)

Xero's certification now comes in three levels, which must be taken in order. The name many bookkeepers still use, advisor certification, no longer appears on Xero's page; the entry credential is now Level 1, the Xero Certified Associate. It covers what someone new to Xero needs to set up an organisation and enter financial information correctly. Level 2, professional, moves to the harder features and period-end reporting. Level 3, specialist, covers the full advanced toolset.

Three ways in, one way to stay

• Self-paced course, for newcomers who want to learn and be tested in one sitting of study.
• Live webinar with a Xero trainer, for those who learn better with someone to ask.
• Assessment only, for experienced users who want the badge without the lessons.
• Annual recertification, a short scenario-based check for your highest level only, with an 80 % pass mark.

The choice of route matters for one reason beyond learning style: Xero awards CPD or CPE points only when the learning content and the assessment are both completed. An accountant who needs the hours should not take the assessment-only shortcut. Passing earns a digital badge and a PDF certificate showing the name, date and expiry. Both can be shared, which is how clients usually meet the credential.

Why practices care

For a firm, the certification is the key to Xero's partner programme: at least one person in the practice must hold an active Level 1 or higher to keep partner status and its benefits. Specialist badges, such as payroll, sit outside the three levels and need their own yearly recertification. Recertification now focuses on the key releases since you were last certified, while product updates arrive separately as short monthly videos and twice-yearly regional webinars. Recertification assessments for Level 1, Level 2 and the payroll badge have been live since July 2026; the Level 3 equivalent is marked as coming soon.

Xero publishes almost nothing about the first assessment itself: no question count, no time limit and no pass mark on the page read, although the recertification is described as scenario-based with an 80 % threshold. That suggests the sensible preparation for either. Rather than memorising menus, work through the tasks a bookkeeper meets each month in a demo organisation: bank reconciliation, invoices and bills, credit notes, a period-end report. An experienced user who has not done a particular task recently will find the course modules on it quicker than guessing under assessment conditions.