Online accounting software, Zoho Books, can track projects and even automatically download bank data. Zoho’s numerous productivity tools – from chat applications to CRM – work together to perform various functions. While Zoho Invoice performs much of what this version can do, Zoho Books includes numerous other accounting functions, reports, and invoice templates for slightly more than its Invoice version. This review also looks at what the project module in Books does in relation to what Zoho projects can do.
Zoho Books Reviewed
While it provides easy entry of data of financial information of your business, some areas are somewhat confusing and the capacity to properly track inventory, unfortunately, does not exist. To get an accurate profit and loss statement, you must enter the total amount spent on inventory as an expense rather than a bill to the vendor.
Zoho Books Key Features
The Invoices that it creates can be emailed directly, converted to PDFs, or printed for snail mail. Marking them as reoccurring provides you with a subscription-services option. From a business perspective, it is a bit challenging trying to find where to enter products purchased for resale. While the Cost of Goods Sold (CGS) category is available, you may not be able to discern individual items.
An attractive aspect of this tool is its ability to track time spent on customers’ services. Furthermore, you can start and stop a timer that keeps track of time spent working on a particular task of your project. The good news is that this can either be charged as a ‘per job’ task or adjusted [automatically] for a ‘per hour’ rate. As soon as the task is completed, you can be able to create your invoice directly from the project. This app avails many reports and offers a wide range of information to assist you in building successful strategies. Customer information printouts, tax reports, services rendered, popular products sold, and many more can be printed out or just converted to PDF files. In addition, many mobile devices can view PDF file extensions.
Platforms and Synchronization
This online tool is a web-based application that allows those with computers and reliable internet connection to utilize the service. While Zoho has apps available for several other aspects of the brand name, no official app is available for mobile devices for the tool itself.
Business Tool
Zoho Books is capable of creating invoices from a selection of templates using a logo of your choice and online payment provider, such as 2Checkout, PayPal, or Authorize.net. The accounts offer unlimited invoicing for an organization for an affordably low monthly price. With the help of this business tool, freelancers and consultant teams can track expenses, time, vendors, payments due, clients, overdue invoices, and account balances.
You can use this cloud-accounting service to create customized invoices from a wide selection of invoice styles with personal messages, logos, payment links, and terms and conditions. Invoices can also be considered to recur, and you may clone invoices you wish to reuse. These invoices can either be saved as PDF files or sent via mail. Through snail mail, Zoho will mail invoices to your clients using stamp credits that you purchase. It also offers most traditional/ typical accounting tools, including 30 insightful reports for both you and your accountant, such as profit and loss reports, and tax and journal reports. It also helps with preparation and printing of 1099 forms.
Project Tracking
The tool in this accounting system is for tracking projects, assigning of billing method, budget type and amount, and project cost. In addition, the service will also track time, project-associated tasks, and billable and non-billable expenses. Moreover, receipt images can also be attached to expense records to assist in keeping your records accountable. For extra project tracking tools useful for collaboration, milestone management, document storage, detailed tasks, and other project management, you may add Zoho Projects to your Zoho Books for a small additional monthly fee.
Zoho Mobile Tools and Service
Using a single interface, Zoho offers a variety of mobile tools. You can use Zoho mobile to create invoices, access contact information, monitor project activity, access your calendar, view email, manage documents, and more, all depending of what Zoho service you have signed up to use. Furthermore, the mobile application works on most smartphone devices, including iPhone, Windows mobile phones, and Android.
Business Applications and Tools
Since this app provider is open to other products too, you can add features beyond fundamental or basic invoicing and project tracking, which you can do easily because they are very much compatible with one another. Its business application tools include remote support tools, marketing tools, an HR app, CRM, a bug tracker suited for development tools, customer support apps, and reporting apps. Collaboration tools include document storage, chat, discussion tools, a wiki tool, email, and online meetings. Zoho provides you with more beyond the basic online accounting tools.
Compared With Other Similar Tools
This application can be very useful for anyone looking to find a suitable online business accounting solution. Unlike similar apps, it has no apparent real technique of tracking your actual inventory. While CGS can be tracked and net income reported accurately, you may not be able to see the actual number of products in your location. However, this application has several reports that other similar apps lack. Therefore, it suits those who love to have a great collection of useful information relating to their business. Other Zoho Books alternatives include NetSuite by NetSuite Inc., Quickbooks Online by Intuit Inc., Wave Accounting by Wave Accounting Inc., Xero by Xero Limited, among others.
Conclusion
While Zoho Books has the capacity to deliver as a great accounting application, better and more versatile apps and methods do exist out there. This application works well and its interface is easy to use. However, it may be a bit confusing in some areas. If you are solely interested in tracking inventory and thorough customization of your invoices, then this application wouldn’t be a perfect match for you. On the other hand, if you are interested in performing services, the Zoho Books time tracking capability is an excellent feature that several other similar apps may not have.
