Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
75+ categories of best business software selections.
NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including payroll, accounting and payment processing. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Hillary Crawford writes about small-business software at NerdWallet and is certified in QuickBooks Online and web design. Her previous roles include news writer and associate West Coast editor at Bustle Digital Group, where she helped shape news and tech coverage. She's appeared on Cheddar News and also worked as a policy contributor for GenFKD. Hillary earned a bachelor's degree with high honors in political science from the University of Michigan.
Email: <a href="mailto:hcrawford@nerdwallet.com">hcrawford@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Ryan Lane is an editor on the small-business team and a NerdWallet authority on student loans. He spent more than a decade as a writer and editor for student loan guarantor American Student Assistance and was a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan’s work has been featured by The Associated Press, USA Today and MarketWatch, and he previously co-authored the U.S. News & World Report Student Loan Ranger blog. Email: <a href="mailto:rlane@nerdwallet.com”">rlane@nerdwallet.com</a>.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
75+ categories of best business software selections.
NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including payroll, accounting and payment processing. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Zoho Books
Overview
The bottom line:
Zoho Books users appreciate that Zoho is a one-stop-shop for all of their business software needs. We have some qualms with its interface. But its users agree that Zoho is pretty intuitive overall. Plus, its in-depth set of features is hard to beat for the price. Online reviews suggest Zoho’s customer support has room to improve, though.
Free plan for businesses making less than $50,000 annually.
Suite of in-house solutions for marketing, CRM, payroll, etc.
Workflow automations in Professional plan and up.
Cons
Fewer third-party integrations than competitors.
Poor customer service, according to user reviews.
Zoho launched its small-business accounting software solution, Zoho Books, in 2011, but its parent company was founded years before that in 1996.
Zoho Books has a wide selection of plans that can support businesses in a range of growth stages. In fact, we chose it as the best free accounting software because of that plan’s rich set of features. Meanwhile, its more expensive tiers support automated workflows and advanced inventory tracking for growing businesses.
One of Zoho’s defining characteristics is its in-house suite of other business management software. This includes solutions for payroll, social media marketing and customer relationship management, among other products. Zoho Books is a solid option for businesses that prefer to use a single platform for all of their business software needs (and not just accounting).
Businesses that would rather integrate their accounting software with third-party solutions may want to look elsewhere. The same goes for businesses that are concerned about customer service. Although Zoho Books’ paid plans include a variety of support options, customer reviews suggest the quality isn’t top notch.
Zoho Books is best for:
✔️ All-in-one business software.
✔️ Building automated workflows.
✔️ Keeping costs down.
Not a fit? Consider these competitors
QuickBooks Online: Better for brand familiarity. Zoho Books is used globally, but it doesn’t have the brand recognition that QuickBooks Online does in the U.S. If your accountant is unfamiliar with Zoho Books and you plan to work closely with them, QuickBooks Online might be a safer bet. Read our full QuickBooks Online review.
Xero: Better for third-party integrations. Zoho has lots of business software solutions under its own brand name, but it doesn’t integrate with many third-party options. If you want to mix and match business software brands, Xero integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps. Read our full Xero review.
Striven: Better for industry specificity. Unlike Zoho Books, Striven has different solutions for businesses in specific industries, like construction, retail, field services and professional services. Read our full Striven review.
Zoho Books offers 14-day free trials of its Premium plan.
Free
Standard
Professional
$0 for businesses with less than $50,000 in annual revenue.
$20 per month ($15 when billed annually).
$50 per month ($40 when billed annually).
Access for one user and one accountant.
1,000 invoices per year.
Recurring invoicing.
Client portal.
Automatic payment reminders.
1,000 expenses.
Receipt scanning.
Ability to manually import bank statements.
Bank reconciliation and transaction rules.
Mobile app for sending invoices on the go and tracking mileage.
Ability to manage 1099 contractors.
Basic reports.
Email support.
Everything in the Free plan, plus:
Access for up to three users.
5,000 invoices per year.
Ability to remove Zoho branding from invoices.
5,000 expenses.
Automatic bank feeds.
Up to 10 custom reports.
Reporting tags for tracking transactions by location, etc.
Sales tax tracking.
Ability to create custom fields for invoices, etc.
Live chat and phone support.
Everything in the Standard plan, plus:
Access for up to 5 users.
10,000 invoices per year.
Sales and purchase orders.
Multi-currency invoicing and transactions.
10,000 expenses and bills.
Vendor management.
Inventory tracking and ability to set reorder points.
25 custom reports.
10 workflow rules.
Project tracking and profitability tools.
Custom user roles.
Premium
Elite
Ultimate
$70 per month (or $60 when billed annually).
$150 per month (or $120 when billed annually).
$275 per month (or $240 when billed annually).
Everything in the Professional plan, plus:
Access for up to 10 users.
Ability to manage up to 3 locations.
25,000 invoices per year.
25,000 expenses and bills.
Vendor portal.
50 custom reports.
Cashflow forecasting.
200 workflow rules.
Everything in the Premium plan, plus:
Access for up to 10 users.
Ability to manage up to 8 locations.
100,000 invoices per year.
100,000 expenses and bills.
Unlimited custom reports.
Warehouse management tools.
Shipping label printing.
Connect with online sales channels and up to 2 Shopify stores.
Everything in the Elite plan, plus:
Access for up to 15 users.
Collaborate with colleagues to create reports.
What users say about Zoho Books
NerdWallet checked online forums like Reddit and reviews from sites like TrustPilot, G2, the App Store and Google Play to gauge how users feel about Zoho Books. We used an AI tool to help analyze this feedback. Here are the major trends we spotted.
👍 Suite of in-house apps
Online reviewers appreciate that Zoho offers numerous apps within the same platform. For example, lots of reviews mention Zoho Social and Zoho CRM. Commenters say these programs help them streamline their workflows and operate more efficiently. Plus, you can sync Zoho CRM directly with Zoho Books to centralize all of your customer data.
The Zoho platform also has in-house solutions for payroll, projects, marketing, human resources, analytics, e-commerce and security.
👍 Overall ease of use
Positive reviews of Zoho Books typically praise its ease of use, and that goes for both its web and mobile app versions. Online reviewers say the all-in-one platform helps simplify — and in some cases, even automate — their accounting tasks. Users that run global businesses also appreciate the fact that you can easily accept payment in foreign currencies.
👎 Customer support
On paper, we give Zoho Books’ customer service a 5-star rating, thanks to all of its support options. However, online reviews suggest that support could be better.
Such criticism is common when it comes to accounting software in our experience. Your best bet is to consider the types of complaints a company gets during your decision-making process.
For instance, poor online reviews of Zoho Books often cite long wait times and unhelpful email support. Such gripes are frequent for most products, unfortunately.
However, some users say customer support representatives direct them to join webinars or consult “how-to” articles they’ve already read. Others say emails go unanswered. The latter is potentially more worrisome.
👎 Blocked accounts
Some users say their accounts were blocked “for security reasons” when they had Zoho Books opened in multiple windows. Zoho representatives responded to these complaints in the company’s community forum. They said that the hold is temporary, and users should be able to access their accounts in 30-45 minutes.
Zoho added that these freezes are triggered by the number of API calls an account sends per minute. But that's basically impossible to measure on your own. We have not seen similar complaints for other software products. After months of issues, I can understand user frustration that Zoho hasn't come up with a solution.
Our experience testing Zoho Books
👋 I'm Hillary Crawford, a lead writer and content strategist for NerdWallet. I've been covering small-business accounting software since 2021 and am QuickBooks certified. I did the testing for Zoho Books.
To do that, I test drove Zoho Books’ demo account and evaluated its key components in April 2025. Here’s what stood out.
Dashboard navigability and layout
My take: Clean and informative.
Zoho Books’ dashboard incorporates lots of charts and graphs without being overwhelming. A quick glance gives you a visual of how your cash flow has fluctuated over time, along with how your income compares to your expenses each month.
I also like that you can hide the sidebar rail on the left.
Zoho Books' main dashboard.
There’s a search box (not pictured) that makes it easy to find information on certain customers or transactions, too.
Invoicing
My take: Comprehensive, but could offer more customization.
Right off the bat, I like that you can click a name from the “customer name” dropdown to autofill information, like billing and shipping address. There’s also a variety of fields beyond the basic “terms” and “due date” options. For example, you can add the name of the salesperson, shipping charges and any other remarks or notes.
Creating an invoice.
My one complaint is that you can’t rearrange invoice columns or create new ones from this page. Instead, you need to navigate to “settings” to add a new item field. Some competitors, like QuickBooks Online, let you customize which fields you’d like displayed without having to leave the “create invoice” page.
Invoice columns.
Running reports
My take: Standard, but filtering options could be better.
Like competitors, Zoho Books lets you “star” your most visited reports, so that they appear at the top of the list and are easily accessible. To evaluate customization options and readability, I ran the profit and loss report. You can change the date range and report basis (cash vs. accrual), and add comparison periods.
Profit and loss report.
However, Zoho Books doesn’t have as many preset filter options as some competitors. For example, you can’t easily filter the report by preexisting options, such as customer or employee, like you can with QuickBooks Online. Instead, you’d have to create custom reporting tags for those categories.
Bank reconciliation and transaction tagging
My take: Not my favorite user interface, but decent.
First off, I wasn’t immediately sure how to actually navigate to the reconciliation page. After you click the “banking” tab and select an account, you need to click on the small cog up top to access the “reconcile account” option. This process didn’t seem very intuitive, but once you figure it out, it’s not a huge deal.
The demo account didn’t include mock transactions for me to reconcile or categorize, but I watched a tutorial to get a feel for the process. To categorize a transaction or view its possible matches, you need to click on it. I’m not a big fan of this approach.
Categorizing and matching transactions.
I prefer when the transactions overview screen has a column for categories — like Wave does. That lets you quickly scroll through and make sure everything looks correct.
Project tracking
My take: Built-in time tracking is a plus.
The project overview dash is pretty standard and displays project name, billing method and rate. You can view much more information — including project hours, tasks, invoices and expenses — when you click on a specific project.
Most of all, I like that you have easy access to the time tracker, as well as employee timesheets.
Project breakdown.
Requesting support
My take: A nice variety of options.
The Zoho Books dashboard clearly displays the customer support phone number atop the screen and has a “contact support” module on the bottom. Once you click on that module, you can send a support ticket (and use a dropdown to specify how urgent your request is), request a demo or request a callback.
Submitting a support ticket.
At face value, these seem like great options for getting in touch with Zoho’s support team. However, customer reviews suggest the quality of that support could be better.
How we evaluated Zoho Books
NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products, like Zoho Books, across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. We collected the data from Zoho Books’ public-facing website and from company representatives.
Our accounting software ratings range from one to five stars overall. But we also score individual features to help business owners understand a product's strengths and weaknesses. Here’s how Zoho Books stacks up:
Zoho Books is excellent in the following categories:
Accounting standards compliance
Double-entry accounting: Yes.
Chart of accounts customization: Yes.
Cash- and accrual-basis reporting: Yes, you can change your report preferences.
Pricing transparency
Pricing listed on website: Yes.
Trial period
Free trial period: There is a 14-day free trial of the Premium plan.
Ease of sharing with accountants
Audit trails: Yes.
Bookkeeper certification: Yes, accountants can participate in the Zoho Books Training & Certification program.
Accountant access: All Zoho Books plans, including the free one, allow you to collaborate with an accountant.
Customer support
Phone support: All paid plans come with phone support, available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET five days per week. 24/5 support costs extra and starts at $49 per month. There is no phone support in the free plan.
Online support: All paid plans come with chat and email support, available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET five days per week. 24/5 support costs extra and starts at $49 per month. The free plan is limited to just email support.
Help library: Yes.
Zoho Books is excellent in the following categories:
Ease of use
Bank reconciliation: Zoho Books suggests matching bank statement lines and existing transactions for you. Transactions that have been matched or manually categorized will show up as reconciled. You can also create transaction rules to streamline the process. To reconcile any remaining transactions, you’ll need to pull up your bank statement, cross reference each transaction and click the checkmark next to it.
Bank feeds: Zoho Books’ paid plans support automatic bank feeds. Its free plan requires you to manually import your transactions.
Dashboard customization: You can create custom dashboards in the Elite and Ultimate plans.
Features
Reporting: Zoho Books has a little more than 50 reports available, which is less than competitors, like QuickBooks Online and Xero. It includes the basics, like a profit and loss statement, balance sheet and aged receivables report. All plans let you filter by date, but only paid plans let you create reporting tags.
Invoicing: All Zoho Books users can convert estimates to invoices, customize invoices with brand logos, set up payment reminders and accept payments online.
Inventory: You can track stock and add reorder points to items in the Professional plan and up.
Accounts payable: Yes, but only in the Professional plan and up.
Mobile app: All Zoho Books users have access to a mobile app that lets you send invoices, generate reports and snap photos of receipts on the go.
Project tracking: The Professional plan and up includes project-specific tracking, profitability and budgeting tools.
Transaction categorization: Zoho Books lets you categorize transactions by account and reporting tag.
Industry-specific reports: Not available.
Zoho Books is decent, but not the best, in the following categories:
Cost
Monthly pricing: $0-$275 per month.
Scalability
User limits: All Zoho Books plans let you invite an accountant to collaborate. Beyond that, plans include anywhere from 1 to 15 users, and additional users cost $3 each.
Capacity to support larger small businesses: Yes. Zoho Books can likely support businesses with up to 50 employees.
Zoho Books is subpar in the following category:
Integrations
Payroll: Zoho Books integrates with its in-house payroll offering, as well as SurePayroll.
POS: POS system integrations are limited to Square.
Bookkeeping services: No.
Additional integrations: These include apps like Slack, Zapier, Stripe, PayPal and other in-house Zoho offerings. Aside from that, Zoho Books has fewer third-party integrations than competitors, like QuickBooks Online and Xero.
We also took user sentiment into account to gauge what small-business owners think about Zoho Books. This involved looking through individual reviews and feedback on sites like Trustpilot, G2, Reddit, the App Store and Google Play. Then, we used AI tools to help spot larger trends within those comments. We don't incorporate these user reviews in our star ratings, because we can't verify every user's individual experience.
However, we do test the product ourselves to evaluate commonly mentioned pain points and develop our own objective assessment. For more information on how we score accounting software products, see our full methodology.