Zoho Books VS QuickBooks Online Comparison

QuickBooks Online is one of the biggest small business accounting software applications, but Zoho Books is also a solid accounting option. If you’re stuck trying to choose between these two accounting programs, you’re in luck. In this post, we’re pitting Zoho Books vs. QuickBooks to help you choose the right accounting software for your business.

We’ve done the testing and the research for an in-depth look into features, pricing, and other factors that can help you determine which accounting software is worth your investment and which doesn’t quite make the cut.

Zoho Books VS QuickBooks Online Comparison: Quick Summary

Zoho Books and QuickBooks Online each bring something to the table, but which accounting software is right for you? From features and ease of use to pricing and the quality of customer support, we’ll cover it all to help you choose the right software for your business.

Zoho Books Overview

Zoho Books is ideal for small businesses looking for easy-to-use accounting software with strong mobile apps and plenty of features. Add in competitive pricing and quality customer service, and Zoho Books is a clear contender against the biggest competitors in the accounting software space. And if you’re still not convinced? You can take a 14-day trial run of the software to make sure it’s a good fit.

Choose Zoho Books If…

Zoho Books is best for:

• Businesses that want to manage their finances on the go with strong mobile apps
• Businesses that want accounting software that doesn’t cost a fortune
• Businesses that need intuitive software that’s easy to set up and use
• Businesses that require international invoicing
• Businesses that want software that comes with excellent customer support

QuickBooks Online Overview

QuickBooks Online is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses needing strong accounting. The software offers strong accounting, decent mobile apps, ample integrations, and beautiful invoicing. Although navigating through all of its features can be tricky, the QuickBooks Online UI is quite intuitive. And if you’ve heard the horror stories of QuickBooks Desktop’s learning curve, rest easy — QBO is significantly easier to use, even for users with little to no accounting experience.

On the downside, though, customer support is somewhat lacking, and pricing can be a bit much for businesses that aren’t taking advantage of all that QuickBooks Online offers.

Choose QuickBooks Online If…

QuickBooks Online is best for:

• Businesses that need integrated payroll
• Businesses that want numerous features and integrations
• Businesses that want a quick and easy lending option built into their accounting software
• Businesses that want software that’s easy to learn
• Businesses that need time-saving automations

The Key Differences Between Zoho Books VS QuickBooks Online

While Zoho Books and QuickBooks Online have many similarities, there are quite a few differences that can help you determine which software is the best option for your business. Let’s break down these key differences.

1. Integrations: If you want to integrate your accounting software with other software and apps, you won’t be disappointed by QuickBooks, which has more than 650 integrations. Zoho Books has just over 30 — significantly lower than what’s offered by QBO.
2. Pricing: Previously, Zoho Books was the clear winner in terms of pricing. However, a new pricing structure has made Zoho Books’ top-tier plan significantly more expensive than QuickBooks’ highest-tier plan. However, Zoho Books does offer a free plan — something not offered by QBO — although it is limited in features and is best suited for very small businesses.
3. Customer Support: Users who value excellent customer support will find more satisfaction in the support options and resources offered by Zoho Books. Low wait times, fast responses, and knowledgeable agents give Zoho Books the edge. A lack of email support, longer wait times, and support reps that are hit-or-miss when answering your questions are potential downfalls you may face when using QuickBooks Online.
4. Lending: If you want a one-stop shop for your accounting and lending, consider giving QBO a shot. The built-in QuickBooks Capital simplifies getting additional working capital for your business. Zoho Books does not offer a comparable product.
5. Mobile Apps: Zoho Books and QuickBooks Online both have solid mobile apps, especially compared to other accounting software. However, Zoho Books has a slight edge, as its mobile apps are available for Android and Apple products, Windows tablets and devices, and the Kindle Fire. QBO is available only for Apple and Android products. QBO’s mobile apps have also received a few customer complaints surrounding bugs and crashes.

Zoho Books VS QuickBooks Online: Pricing

Zoho Books has six pricing plans ranging from $0-$275/month. The free plan is a new addition that is best for businesses with revenue of less than $50,000 per year. For paid plans, you can opt to purchase an annual subscription which gives you access for 12 months for the price of 10. With the more expensive plans, you get more contacts, users, and workflows, as well as access to billing, purchase orders, and sales orders. A 14-day trial of any plan is available, and no credit card is required to take advantage of this offer.

QuickBooks Online has four plans ranging in price from $30-$200/month. The more expensive plans support more users and have advanced features, such as automated workflows, batch invoicing, and inventory tracking. You can give QBO a try with a 30-day free trial. However, taking advantage of the free trial makes you ineligible for software discounts offered by Intuit.

There are a few additional costs associated with each software. Zoho Books charges additional fees for extra users, snail mail credits, and auto-scans; QuickBooks charges additional fees for payroll and its live bookkeeping service.

Zoho Books VS QuickBooks Online: Features

Zoho Books and QuickBooks Online are mostly on par in terms of features. Each offers beautiful invoicing templates and invoicing automation, as well as inventory, contact management, expense tracking, accounts payable, and project management. While Zoho Books puts up a great effort, QuickBooks Online edges out the competition — but just barely.

The sheer number of features to compare with QuickBooks Online vs. Zoho can be overwhelming, which is why we’re going to break down the notable differences. Keep reading to learn more about the features of each, so you can pinpoint which is a better option for your business.

Invoicing

Both Zoho Books and QuickBooks Online offer advanced invoicing features that make it easy to create and send invoices to your clients and customers.

QuickBooks Online has six fully customizable invoice templates, or you can import your own template. Some subscription plans include invoicing features, such as recurring invoices, reminders, and batch invoicing. You can also use auto-scheduling to automate your invoicing process and track invoices so that you know when your customers have seen them. Most recently, QuickBooks added multilingual invoicing, allowing you to invoice customers in six different languages.

Zoho Books has a slight edge over QBO in terms of invoicing. This software offers an impressive 16 invoice templates, each of which can be fully customized and branded for your business. Your Zoho Books subscription includes recurring invoices, auto-scheduling, and reminders. Zoho Books also supports 13 languages and encrypts PDF invoices for enhanced security.

Budgeting

With QuickBooks Online, you can add multiple budgets if you subscribe to the Plus or Advanced plan — a feature not even available with QuickBooks Desktop. You can use QBO to create monthly, quarterly, or annual budgets. Data from previous years can be used to create your budget, and a number of budgeting reports are available to run.

Zoho Books recently added a budgeting feature and basic job costing.

Payroll

If running payroll is part of the reason you want accounting software, QuickBooks Online has you covered. There are three different QBO payroll plans to choose from. It is important to note that payroll is not included in your QBO subscription and costs an additional fee.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Zoho Books was that it didn’t offer integrated payroll. Fortunately, Zoho recently added a SurePayroll integration to cover your business’s payroll needs. Additional fees will apply if you opt to use SurePayroll.

Client Portal

Both QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books have secure client portals. With QBO, the client portal is fairly limited, only allowing customers to view, print, pay, or send questions about their invoices. Zoho Books offers far more in terms of its client portal, where customers can view documents and information, including invoices, estimates, and project details. They can also make full or partial payments directly from the Zoho Books client portal.

Expense Tracking

The expense tracking feature on both QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books is pretty similar. Both allow for manual uploads, live bank feeds, and receipt capture. QBO takes things a step further with automatic matching of transactions, a feature not available on Zoho Books.

Project Management

To manage your projects, you can use either QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books to get organized. Both programs include project creation, adding billable and unbillable hours, and tracking expenses for your project. Zoho Books lets you add tasks — a feature not found in QuickBooks Online.

Reporting

QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books offer an extensive number of reports. While both have more than what you’d find with other accounting software, QuickBooks Online has more reports available — more than 80, compared to Zoho Books’ 50+ reports.

Lending

One unique thing about QuickBooks is that it features built-in lending. With QuickBooks Capital, you can access working capital to manage cash flow better. You can apply for QuickBooks Capital right within the QBO platform. Zoho Books does not offer built-in lending.

Integrations

QuickBooks Online, hands-down, takes the crown for integrations. QBO has over 650 integrations, including multiple payment gateways. While Zoho Books has added more integrations, it has just over 30. However, Zoho Books has multiple payment gateways and a Zapier integration that connects the software to 1,000+ apps.

Is Zoho Books Or QuickBooks Online Easier To Use?

No one wants to deal with complicated, outdated accounting software; fortunately, that won’t be a problem whether you choose Zoho Books or QuickBooks Online. Zoho Books has a well-organized UI that’s relatively easy to navigate. Some features are hidden within other features, so you may face occasional navigational difficulties. However, these issues are pretty uncommon, and Zoho Books has some resources to help you when you get stuck.

QuickBooks Online is similar. While it’s mostly easy to navigate, some hidden features may be difficult to find at first. Fortunately, a built-in support option helps you get back on track.

Do Users Like Zoho Books Or QuickBooks Better?

User reviews for Zoho Books are overwhelmingly positive. They most enjoy the affordable pricing, strong mobile apps, good customer support, and ease of use. However, there are a few complaints surrounding the lack of integrations, and many users would like to see enhanced features, such as customizable reports.

QuickBooks Online also has its fair share of positive reviews, with reviewers praising the software for its numerous features and integrations, ease of use, and mobility. But there are quite a few negative reviews surrounding its customer service, bugs and crashes, and expensive pricing.

The Bottom Line On Zoho Books VS QuickBooks

Zoho Books definitely gives QBO a run for its money. However, there are a few areas where QuickBooks Online beats out its opponent. QuickBooks Online is best for businesses that need strong accounting. This software offers more integrations and more advanced features.

However, Zoho Books has a lot going for it as well. This software is ideal for businesses that want easy-to-use software with strong mobile apps, excellent customer support, and lots of great features. It’s also a great choice for businesses that need international invoicing.

Or, maybe after reading this post, neither option seems right for you. If that’s the case, check out our top alternatives to QuickBooks Online for more choices in accounting software. Don’t forget to sign up for free trials and get hands-on with any software that piques your interest to see if it’s right for you.

Zoho Books VS QuickBooks FAQs