Cons

• Fewer third-party integrations
• Only a few reporting options

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Product Review

Zoho Books is an attractive and affordable accounting software for small and medium sized businesses, especially those looking for strong automation, smooth invoicing, and an ecosystem that extends well beyond bookkeeping. Zoho has continued to refine the platform with more workflow automation, better inventory controls, and quality-of-life upgrades that make everyday tasks easier for busy teams.

Here are some of its key features: 

• Invoicing: Customizable invoices that can be created and sent to clients, including the ability to set up recurring invoices and automatic payment reminders.
• Financial Reports: Generates a variety of financial reports, such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and tax reports, to aid in financial analysis and decision-making.
• Expenses Tracking: Allows businesses to record and categorize expenses, attach receipts, and track reimbursements, helping in managing cash flow effectively.
• Project Billing: Allows for project creation, assigning tasks, and billing clients based on project hours or fixed costs, making it suitable for freelancers and project-based businesses.

Like many of the other accounting products we recommend, Zoho Books has a clean, modern user interface that most find intuitive to use. We found it was easy to get started, with a guided setup experience that can have you up and running in just minutes. It’s also nice that invoicing and project tools are front and center, so you don’t have to go far to access the most-commonly used features. Other reviewers describe it as “simple but powerful,” noting that it hits the right balance between usability and depth.

The price of Zoho Books is also compelling. For very small businesses, there’s a free tier for businesses who make less than 50k revenue per year. Their standard tier is a very affordable $15 per month. Unlike the bottom tier of FreshBooks, you can collaborate with your accountant on any plan size.

Things get most interesting at the Professional tier, where you can begin integrating with Zoho People and Projects, their HR and project management software. In fact, the integration with the rest of the Zoho suite is one of the main selling points for this product; SMBs can conceivably run most of their business out of Zoho.

If you’re not interested in other products in the Zoho suite, however, you’ll have more limited integration options. Unlike competitor FreshBooks, which has an enormous set of third party integrations, Zoho has a limited set. Still, you’ll find options for integrating with most of the big players like Microsoft, Google, Zendesk, or Slack.

We also want to point out that while Zoho Books supports all essential reports, it lacks some of the advanced or highly customizable reporting features available in QuickBooks Online or Sage 50. That said, most small and midsize businesses find Zoho’s reporting library more than adequate and appreciate the clear layout and speed.

Other user feedback reflects this balance: many users praise the affordability, recurring invoice tools, and automation, saying they’ve cut billing errors and improved cash-flow clarity. Others mention slow customer support or hiccups with bank feeds, especially during setup. Some also note a learning curve when configuring complex workflows or linking multiple Zoho applications, though they typically find the long-term payoff worth it.

Why we love it:

• Affordability: With a free version and several options under $50 a month, Zoho Books provides lots of right-sized options for SMBs.

• Integration with Zoho Suite: If you’re already using Zoho HR, CRM, or Project Management software, this will be an easy integration.
• Scalability: While the lower tiers offer a solid base, higher tiers unlock inventory management and other advanced features that a swiftly growing business might need.

Overall, Zoho Books is a smart choice for SMBs that want a feature-rich accounting solution without the premium price tag, and a particularly strong fit for businesses already using (or interested in using) the broader Zoho ecosystem.

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