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Read More Mar 8, 2023 Filed under: Accounting, Bookkeeping, Invoicing, Small Business
Zoho Books Review
Thanks to competitive pricing and great usability, Zoho Books shines as an accounting app for small businesses, though it may be too limited for some larger companies.
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Expert Analyst & Reviewer
UPDATED
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Zoho Books
| Total Rating | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Good |
| Features | Excellent |
| Customer Service | Excellent |
| Integrations | Fair |
| Reviews | Excellent |
Accounting Method
Accrual & Cash BasisPricing
$0-$275/monthBusiness Size
Best suited for small to mid-sized with 15 or fewer users but some larger business could take advantage of Zoho Books with its added payroll functionalityZoho Books At A Glance
- Zoho Books is feature-rich accounting software that is highly scaleable for small to medium-sized businesses and has a free plan option
- It has some of the highest ratings for ease of use among accounting software programs on the market, and its mobile apps are also reviewed exceptionally well
- Zoho Books continues to improve its feature set, adding new integrations and payroll functionality, making an even better all-in-one product
Pros
- Competitive pricing plans
- Easy to use
- Good mobile apps
- International invoicing
- Excellent customer support
Cons
- Unsuited for large businesses
Table of Contents
What Is Zoho Books?
Zoho Books is a complete accounting package with excellent invoicing, ample features, and a payroll integration, which was a big feature gap. With new features and the same excellent customer service, Zoho Books is a great choice for small business owners and is a great alternative to QuickBooks Online.
Continue reading to learn about the new Zoho features and to see if Zoho Books is a good fit for you.
Zoho Books Pricing
| Zoho Books Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho Books Free | Free | You have 1 user and under $50K in revenue yearly |
| Zoho Books Standard | $20/month ($15/month billed annually) | You have 3 or fewer users and 5,000 or fewer invoices |
| Zoho Books Professional | $50/month ($40/month billed annually) | You need advanced accounting features, such as purchase orders |
| Zoho Books Premium | $70/month ($60/month billed annually) | You have multiple branches |
| Zoho Books Elite | $150/month ($120/month billed annually) | You need advanced inventory management, including Shopify Store integration |
| Zoho Books Ultimate | $275/month ($240/month billed annually) | You need advanced analytics with real-time data displays |
Zoho Books offers six pricing plans, including a free plan. You can sign up for a free 14-day trial of any of the paid plans. No credit card or banking information is required, and you can cancel the trial period anytime.
Subscription payments are made monthly; however, if you commit to a year-long plan, you can receive a discount. It’s possible to cancel the service at any time, even year-long plans (year-long users can receive a prorated refund).
One thing to note is that the prices prominently displayed on Zoho Books’ website are for its Global plan. You have to toggle to the US plan for rates within the United States, which are higher.
Zoho Books US pricing is as follows:
Zoho Books Free Plan
This plan is for businesses making less than $50K/year and includes:
- 1,000 invoices
- Contact management
- Invoicing
- Expense tracking
- Bank reconciliation
- Mileage tracking
- Chart of accounts
- Journal entries
- Reports
- 1099 contractor management
- Email support
- One user, one accountant
Zoho Books Standard Plan
The Standard plan costs $20/month or $15/month when billed annually and includes everything in the Free plan, plus:
- 5,000 invoices
- Live bank feeds
- Use permissions
- Project management
- Custom views and fields
- Transaction locking
- Bulk updates
- Reporting tags
- Email, voice, and chat support
- Three users
- Payment gateway integrations
- Timesheet and billing
- Sales tax tracking
- Avalara and Zendesk integrations
Zoho Books Professional Plan
The Professional plan costs $50/month or $40/month when billed annually and includes everything in the Standard plan, plus:
- Retainer invoices
- Bills
- Sales orders
- Purchase orders
- Multicurrency support and adjustments
- Automatic exchange rates
- Stock tracking
- Custom user permissions
- Job costing
- Journal templates
- Up to 10 workflows
- Five users
- Vendor credits
- Timesheet approval
- Project profitability
- Tasks
- Price lists
- Contextual chats
- Sales approval
Zoho Books Premium Plan
The Premium plan costs $70/month or $60/month when billed annually and includes everything in the Professional plan, plus:
- Custom domain
- Vendor portal
- Budgeting
- Custom buttons
- Web Tabs
- Ten users
- Multi-transaction number series
- Validation rules
- Related lists
- Ten custom modules
- Up to 200 workflow rules
- Zoho Sign and Twilio integrations
Zoho Books Elite Plan
The Elite plan costs $150/month or $120/month when billed annually and includes everything in the Premium plan, plus:
- Up to two Shopify Store integrations
- Manage up to five warehouses
- Serial number tracking
- Batch tracking
- Shipping label printing
- Shipment tracking
Zoho Books Ultimate Plan
The Ultimate plan costs $275/month or $240/month when billed annually and includes everything in the Elite plan, plus:
- Real-time reports and dashboards
- Key financial metric tracking
- Customizable reports and dashboards
- Combine Zoho Books data with other data sources
- Report collaboration
- Embed reports in apps and websites
- Records/rows (up to 5 million)
Zoho Finance Suite
Outgrown Zoho Books? In addition to Zoho Books’ six pricing plans, Zoho also offers a full financial package called Zoho Finance Plus, which includes:
- Zoho Books
- Zoho Invoice
- Zoho Inventory
- Zoho Subscriptions
- Zoho Expense
- Zoho Checkout
If you are planning on purchasing more Zoho products than just Zoho Books, Zoho Finance Plus could be an affordable way to get all the features you need. Zoho Finance Plus starts at $249/month or $199/month if billed annually per organization and includes ten users. Contact Zoho directly for more details.
Extra Zoho Books Costs
| Zoho Books Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Additional Users | $3/month per user ($2.50/month per user billed annually) |
| Advanced Autoscans (50 Scans/Month) | $8/month |
| Snail Mail | $2/credit |
Before purchasing Zoho Books, there are a few additional costs to be aware of:
- Extra Users: Additional users cost $3/month per user or $2.50/month per user when billed annually.
- Snail Mail Credits: You can send invoices and estimates by mail directly through Zoho Books if you purchase snail mail credits. The cost is $2/credit. One credit is needed for US mail, and two credits for international mail.
- Auto Scans: This addition allows you to scan receipts and documents to upload and store them in Zoho Books. Zoho has cut the price on auto scans, so you can now purchase 50 auto scans for $8/month.
Unfortunately, users on Zoho Books’ free plan cannot purchase add-ons, including extra users.
Is Zoho Books Easy To Use?
Zoho Books’ attractive UI is easy to set up and well-organized. The accounting software is generally intuitive and easy to use, although it can be a bit difficult to navigate at times — there are so many features that some get hidden within each other.
Once you get used to the nuances, Zoho Books accounting software is a joy to use. The company provides excellent customer service and support resources to help you understand the software.
Zoho Books Features
| Zoho Books Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Budgeting | |
| Tax Support | |
| Invoicing | |
| Estimates | |
| Client Portal | |
| Contact Management | |
| Expense Tracking | |
| Bank Reconciliation | |
| Chart Of Accounts | |
| Accounts Payable | |
| Inventory | |
| Time Tracking | |
| Project Management | |
| Number Of Reports | 20+ |
Zoho Books offers a robust set of features that closely rivals QuickBooks Online, with quite a few unique touches thrown in. Here’s an overview of Zoho Books’ most notable features.
Dashboard
The Zoho Books dashboard is appealing and makes it easy to view your financial state. The dashboard features graphs for Total Receivables, Total Payables, Cash Flow, Income and Expenses, Your Top Expenses, Projects, and Bank and Credit Cards. You can also change the color theme of your whole dashboard and main menu, which is a cool touch.
- Web Tabs: Zoho offers a unique web tabs feature where you can embed URLs that your company often uses into the software for quick access on your Zoho dashboard.
Invoicing & Estimates
With 16 templates and tons of invoice customizations, Zoho Books’ invoicing feature is hard to beat. You can send recurring invoices or auto-schedule invoices to be sent in advance. You can add discounts, shipping charges, and attachments. You can also opt to add a salesperson field to each invoice as well as custom fields. Zoho Books supports retainer invoices as well.
Zoho Books offers invoice reminders and the unique option to send invoices in 13 languages and encrypt your .pdf invoices for added security.
Invoices can be sent via email or traditional mail.
There are 15 estimate templates to choose from. You can easily create estimates and convert them into invoices or projects. Clients can view their home dashboard, estimates, invoices, and project details and make partial or full invoice payments through the portal. They can comment on estimates as well. The best part is that you get real-time notifications about when your invoices and estimates have been viewed and paid.
With the Premium plan, there is also a vendor portal.
Contact Management
You can manage both customers and vendors in Zoho. You can add basic contact information, multiple contact persons, custom fields, reporting tags, and internal notes.
When you click on a contact, you’re taken to a beautiful dashboard where you can see an overview of that contact’s information, sales, comments, and statements. Even better, you can request reviews and testimonials directly from your clients within Zoho Books.
- Default Email Messages: You can set default email messages for 16 preset templates or any number of customizable templates.
Bookkeeping
- Expense Tracking: You can enter expenses by hand (individually or in bulk), manually import bank statements via .csv and .tsv, or connect to your bank account directly. You can also upload your receipts into the software. Unfortunately, Zoho Books does not automatically categorize your expenses, although you can set bank transaction rules. Note: Like almost all software using bank live feeds, Zoho Books partners with Yodlee, which may violate some banks’ Terms and Conditions. Consult with your bank to see whether live bank feeds are a good choice for you.
- Bank Reconciliation: You can reconcile your bank accounts in Zoho Books.
- Chart Of Accounts: Zoho Books provides a default chart of accounts that can be customized to fit your business’s needs.
- Fixed Asset Management: The software also offers fixed asset management (but no built-in depreciation like you’d find with Xero).
- Accounts Payable: Through Zoho Books, you can create bills, recurring bills, and payment reminders. Zoho Books allows you to add attachments and internal notes to bills.
- Checks: You can print checks directly from Zoho Books.
Inventory
Each Zoho Books plan offers a basic items list, but only the Elite Plan or higher offers full inventory capabilities. For each inventory item, you can add an item name, unit, rate, sales cost, a link to a specific account, and choose whether or not the item is taxable. You can set reorder levels and alerts for when stock is low. You can also add images and SKUs to your items. Additionally, Zoho Books has a feature called “Price List,” where you can create multiple pricing levels for your items.
Project Management
The UI makes it easy to create projects, tasks, and budgets. You can budget by total project cost, total project hours, hours per task, or hours per staff. You can assign projects or specific tasks to staff members and set detailed user permissions for each member.
When you click on each new project, you are taken to a project dashboard that includes charts and graphs showing the real-time progress of your project. You can easily comment on projects and attach time, bills, and expenses to them as well. Zoho Books makes it easy to turn projects into invoices. You can opt for clients to be able to see the progress of projects through their client portal. You can also request a weekly project summary report. Job costing is now available on the Professional plan and up.
Zoho Books Customer Service
| Zoho Books Support | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
Zoho Books offers excellent customer service. Not only are there plenty of support options available, but customer service representatives are also informative and quick to help. The live chat reps are quick to respond, helpful, and refreshingly knowledgeable about the software (rather than just being salespeople).
To make your life even easier, nearly every support option can be accessed directly from within the software. Customer service is available at all hours, Monday through Friday.
Here are all of the customer service options Zoho Books offers:
- Phone: You can contact Zoho Books via phone. Wait times are short, and representatives are generally helpful.
- Email: You can also email Zoho Books for help.
- Contact Form: You can submit an online support form as well. This service is much more actively maintained than the last time we reviewed this software.
- Live Chat: For quick responses, there’s a live chat feature on the Zoho Books site and within the software itself. The responses are well-worded, informative, and fast — I mean, can you beat a less than 60-second initial response time?
- Knowledgebase: There is a comprehensive knowledgebase, which features help articles, FAQs, blogs, videos, business guides, migration guides, a welcome guide, and a community forum. This information is accessible from within the software, and there’s a well-developed search bar.
- Webinars: You can sign up for weekly webinars on Zoho products in general, although they are not always pertinent to Zoho Books. You can also watch a prerecorded Zoho Books demo.
- YouTube: Zoho has a YouTube channel, but there aren’t many videos specific to Zoho Books.
- Accountant Finder: Zoho Books can help you find an accountant near you.
- Feature Timeline: While Zoho Books doesn’t reveal upcoming feature releases, the company does provide a timeline of past updates.
- Social Media: Zoho maintains active Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Zoho Books Integrations
Zoho Books has steadily increased its integration offerings to more than 30, including payment processing apps, SurePayroll integration, and Zapier (which connects Zoho Books to 1,000+ other apps).
You can also connect your Zoho Books account with seven other Zoho products, such as Zoho Inventory or Zoho Projects. Zoho Books API is available for developers.
Zoho Books Reviews
Negative Zoho Books Reviews & Complaints
For the most part, Zoho Books customer reviews are positive, and the majority of negative reviews are outdated and have been resolved (for example, many users used to complain of frequent outages and downtime, but this isn’t an issue as of late). Still, there are a few things Zoho Books customers would like to see improved:
- Lack Of Integrations: This was the most frequent complaint for quite a while. And while there are a few users still begging for certain integrations, the company has added a good number of integrations and payment processors. More recently, users have been calling for the Zoho Books and Zoho CRM integration to be improved.
- More Functionality: While many users appreciate Zoho Books’ feature set, several people are calling for more customizable reports, better user permissions, a budgeting feature, and a more seamless migration from QuickBooks Online.
- Non-Responsive Customer Service: Multiple reviews mentioned that customer service representatives either took an excessively long time getting back to them or never returned requests for help.
Positive Zoho Books Reviews
For the most part, customers that leave a Zoho Books review enjoy the software. The software receives 4.4/5 stars on Capterra (based on 483 reviews), 8.3/10 stars on TrustRadius (based on 113 reviews), and 4.5/5 stars on G2Crowd (based on 117 reviews).
Here are a few reasons why people like the software so much:
- Easy To Use: This is by far the most common praise of Zoho Books. Users find the software easy to learn, set up, and use. Users say Zoho Books’ intuitive interface and numerous automations save valuable time.
- Affordable: One of the most common praises is how affordable Zoho Books is.
- Mobile Apps: Users love the mobility and robust feature set of Zoho Books’ mobile apps.
- Good Customer Support: Many users report positive experiences with Zoho’s customer support.
- Feature Updates: Several users are impressed by the updates Zoho Books has implemented because of customer suggestions.
Is Zoho Books Secure?
Zoho Books takes strong security measures, including data encryption, two-factor authentication, and regular virus detection and prevention scanning. The company complies with the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework.
Additional physical measures are taken to ensure data security, such as 24/7/365 surveillance, video monitoring, and bullet-resistant walls. Zoho Books backs up data regularly onto multiple servers in undisclosed locations.
How Does Zoho Books Compare To Other Accounting Software?
Zoho Books is one of the best accounting platforms for smaller businesses that just need a basic feature set. If you have strong invoicing needs, ZohoBooks should probably be at or near the top of your list. But other good accounting programs can compete.
| Zoho Books | QuickBooks Online | Wave | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0-$275/month | $30-$200/month | $0/month |
| Business Size | Small to mid-sized businesses | Small to mid-sized businesses | Smaller businesses |
| Number Of Users | 20+ | Up to 25 | Unlimited |
| Accounting Method | Accrual and cash-based | Accrual and cash-based | Accrual and cash-based |
| Quality Of features | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Quality Of Support | Good | Fair | Fair |
Zoho Books VS QuickBooks Online
Zoho Books has carved out a niche as an alternative to accounting behemoth QuickBooks. It provides more cost-effective accounting software with a great mobile app and strong invoicing versus QuickBooks Online, which has a more advanced feature set, but that comes at a price. One of its biggest benefits is that it comes with integrated payroll, and if you’re already familiar with QuickBooks, it’s a natural transition.
Zoho Books VS Wave Accounting
Conversely, if you’re looking to save even more money on your accounting, Wave may be worth considering. Wave offers free software for its basic plan and has an exceptionally intuitive interface. When it comes to Zoho Books vs. Wave, Zoho stands out with its mobile app and its more advanced feature set. But if you’re just wanting free accounting and don’t need many add-ons, Wave is worth a look.
The Final Verdict: Is Zoho Books Worth It?
| Zoho Books Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Accounting Method | Accrual & Cash Basis |
| Pricing | $0-$275/month |
| Pricing | $0-$275/month |
| Choose If You Need |
|
Zoho Books is accounting software that is loaded with features at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. Zoho Books is easy to use and includes everything you need to balance your business’s books. Features such as auto-scheduling invoices, reporting tags, and inventory put Zoho Books on par with QuickBooks Online. Several unique touches are hard to beat, including a client portal and the ability to send invoices in 13 languages. Add in great customer support and numerous integrations, and it’s no wonder Zoho Books is such a hit with small businesses.
For small businesses looking for strong features and good customer support, Zoho Books could be a good option. The software is ideal for invoicing, especially international invoicing.
Still on the fence? Compare leading accounting software to find the right option for your business.
Zoho Books FAQs
Matt Sherman
Expert Analyst & Reviewer at Merchant Maverick
A former sports editor and journalist, Matt Sherman has been writing about and researching small business software since 2015, with a special emphasis on retail and restaurant sales. Matt's expert opinions are cited in various industry publications, including Fox Business. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon.
View Matt Sherman's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Zoho Books |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Zoho Books for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Zoho Books |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Zoho Books for yourself.
Organization Name: La Maison, LLC
Zoom Books was not appropriate for my business. As soon as I realized this, I cancelled it. They refused to recognize my cancellation. They kept charging me different amounts. First they charged me $150, then they charged me $28. They are not even in the US. Do you want your books outside the US? These people are flat out thieves. I received very dishonest replies to my emails and each was from a different person who claimed to have never seen my cancellation email even though I attached it to every email. DON’T USE THEM!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Ferox Therapeutics
This experience was an unmitigated disaster. Zoho books is not able to consistently discern debits from credits (rather a fundamental problem for accounting software.) Had an issue with multiple transactions, wasted a tremendous amount of time trying to fix, via chat and over the phone (they were very nice), but after a month I have called it quits. I think in the end I was attracted by the price, but this experience clearly proves the maxim, you get what you pay for.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Essensia Tech
Zohobooks is no doubt a good accounting software, but it is lacking the most essenstial feature to run any project based company. Zoho is lacking project costing and project profitability feature. So, zoho is completely ignoring the market of Project based companies. Moreover, the are lacking with performa invoice.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Cachet Security & Transportation
So what software did you go with if you are looking for low cost with project management?
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Expressions By Design
I LOVE having something with the functionality of Quickbooks. The phone ap is fabulous and the custom price lists and ease of AR is amazing. My the only 2 things I don’t really like is the bank reconciliation and that it doesn’t have a payroll option which aren’t very big deal at all. I’m so impressed! Thank you Zoho!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
False representation from ZOHO. I have been using ZOHO Invoices and ZOHO CRM for over a year now. After comparing various acounting solutions I decided to go with ZOHO Books. One of the key feature was the ability to automate the Account reconciliation through a feed from my financial institution. To make sure it was available to me before I start investing time and energy I checked on the site to make sure my bank was part of the financial institutions list that can integrate into Zoho books. I even called Customer support and both sources confirmed me that I was ok After having done 2 days worth of work to get ready for the switch I couldn’t set-up the bridge with my banks, After a few calls, tickets and emails, I was told that my bank wasn’t supported and was given no timeline when thi would be made available. Quite a lousy experience . They didn’t even offer any alternative solutions or credit to retain my business.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
I have been using Zoho Books for several months and I’m extremely happy with the online software. It has taking me three months to find the right software that works for my company and my clients. It has integrations beyond the big competitors and has a customer portal for viewing and paying invoices. Very user friendly with 24/7 support. Highly recommend bookkeeping software.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Hi, i am trying Zoho Books for my company situated in Lima, Perú. This software actually has a lot of accounting stuff but, as you say, lacks of some stuff that helps checking profits of products or services, and also a lack of user control (permissions),.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: CCC
Zoho is a wonderful app. I own a startup and my accounts team is stuck with an age old app – Tally. The old bookkeepers can’t keep up with the pace of operation in the current dynamic marketplace. They were hampering operational efficiency with their irrelevant documentation. Zoho keeps came to my rescue. With the solutions that it offers, I was actually able to streamline my operations to fit with the accounting process and voila! Win win for both. As a startup, I fine tune by just following process outlined in Books, I hit the sweet spot where both worlds met. The accounts team is still skeptical but screw them! I mean really. As a business owner juggling and balancing is about everything. Integration with other native and 3rd party apps is really amazing. I like how they have intertwined the intricacies of different applications like their Inventory app for example. The budgeting feature is already out in Books. Their Payroll application is quite good but am not sure about their integration.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.