Xero vs Zoho Books

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Our analysts compared Xero vs Zoho Books based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Accounting Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Product Basics

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small businesses. It streamlines bookkeeping tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and payroll, all accessible from any device. Xero boasts user-friendly interfaces and automated features, saving time and simplifying financial management. Popular features include online invoicing with reminders, bank feeds for automatic transaction import, and customizable reports for insights into cash flow and profitability. While Xero caters well to various industries, its strengths lie in freelancer/contractor work, startups, and service-based businesses. Pricing scales with business size and complexity, starting at a monthly subscription for basic accounting needs and increasing with additional features and users. Compared to some competitors, Xero offers a robust mobile app, strong integrations with third-party tools, and a focus on user experience. However, it may lack advanced inventory management or complex accounting functions suited for larger enterprises. Ultimately, Xero's value proposition lies in its ease of use, automation, and scalability, making it a popular choice for small businesses seeking a streamlined and efficient accounting solution.

Pros:
  • Cloud-based access anywhere
  • Easy invoicing and expense tracking
  • Automated bank reconciliation
  • User-friendly interface
  • Mobile app for on-the-go use
Cons:
  • Learning curve for new users
  • Limited inventory management
  • No built-in payroll (separate fee)
  • Higher cost for advanced features
  • Limited phone support
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Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting software offering streamlined bookkeeping tools for small businesses and freelancers. Its core functionality revolves around managing expenses, invoices, payments, and payroll. Users can track income and outgoings, generate financial reports, and collaborate with their accountant. Zoho Books caters best to solopreneurs and small teams seeking an affordable, user-friendly accounting solution. Its intuitive interface and mobile app make it accessible for individuals with limited accounting expertise. Key benefits include automatic data entry, bank reconciliation, and inventory management. Popular features encompass purchase orders, recurring invoices, and project profitability tracking. User reviews within the accounting context praise its ease of use, affordability, and helpful customer support. Zoho Books offers tiered pricing based on the number of users and required features. Plans range from a free version with basic functionality to more comprehensive options for growing businesses, making it a scalable solution as accounting needs evolve.

Pros
  • Easy to use
  • Affordable pricing
  • Mobile app access
  • Good customer support
  • Solid basic features
Cons
  • Limited advanced features
  • Reporting customization
  • Inventory management depth
  • Integrations with third-party apps
  • Scalability for larger businesses
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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Affordable Payroll: Take advantage of the free trial to see how much time automated data entry can save and assess if the solution is a good fit for the business. Save countless hours on tracking expenses, calculating payments, processing payroll and more.
  • Better Interoperability: Centralize company processes and handle a wide range of functionality with more than 700 add-ons available through the app marketplace. This includes programs for CRM, e-commerce, inventory, invoicing, job tracking, payroll, time and attendance and more.
  • Centralizes Data and Processes: Organize information and put the primary software that handles day-to-day issues all in one place. Manage files to a document library where users can see originals next to updated versions. Send files to stakeholders to ensure a clear flow of information.
  • Saves Time: Eliminate tedious data entry and ensure better data integrity by cutting down on human error. Provide a clear documentation trail to ensure that the business is running ethically and save time hunting for documents when it’s time to verify the information.
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  • Efficient Invoicing: Personalize and send invoices to patrons and receive payments in various currencies with the invoicing tool. Users may add their company logo and fonts to reflect their company values and even establish invoice reminders for clients. 
  • Accurate Estimates: Add contact information, item details and prices saved within the platform with the estimation tool. Users may also send estimates and receive approvals from customers in real time. 
  • Communicate with Clients: Enable patrons to sign estimates with the client portal apparatus digitally. Consumers may also make bulk payments in one click, paying users fasters.  
  • Upkeep Expenses: Keep track of expenses such as office supplies and monthly employee allowances with the expense module. Manage, organize, and charge consumers with expenditures as needed and even attach bills, receipts and credit notes to the related transactions. 
  • Maintain Bills: Initiate recurring bills for expenses and purchases at normal intervals through the billing apparatus. Users may also attach landed costs to statements so they can properly cipher the full value of items. 
  • Perform Bank Reconciliations: Obtain accurate cash flow estimates and balance mismatches, replicated payments and past reconciliations with the banking dashboard on the bank reconciliation module. Utilize various bank rules to pinpoint and sort transactions automatically. 
  • Monitor Projects: Control several projects by creating new ones, adding new duties to each project and allocating responsibilities to particular workers with the project management function. Users may also grant certain permissions and restrictions to employees, such as the timesheet appliance to log time or employ the timer. 
  • Oversee Inventory: Arrange inventory according to its valuable information such as stock-keeping unit (SKU), product image, vendor details, cost and available stock with the inventory module. The inventory tracking feature allows users to stay in the loop of their inventory levels constantly. 
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  • Payroll Processing: Provide payroll across 50 states. See when payments are due, track them and ensure on time payment. Analyze accounts payable with a quick view, schedule advanced payments and make batch payments.
  • Banking: Connect to the right bank to track and facilitate transactions daily. Keep an eye on the flow of money through a secure connection that goes directly into the solution.
  • Expense Management: Seamlessly track and manage expense claims. Access real-time data and reports that provide insight into patterns and trends. Record costs, see and approve claims, view overall spending and dole out reimbursements. Capture receipts to monitor employee spending and verify costs.
  • Project Management: Integrate with other workflows to facilitate financial project management. Provide a quote for client work before you begin to track time, costs, profitability and other variables for an accurate invoice.
  • Customer History: Use smart lists and contacts to contact details, emails, past sales, emails, invoices, past payments and more when working with a partner or client.
  • Mobile App: Let users track bank transactions, send invoices, access supplier details and more, from any mobile device.
  • Inventory Management: Undertake basic inventory management, including taking inventory, seeing what was bought or sold, look at reports on how well items are doing and get invoices and orders.
  • Gusto Integration: Calculate and pay taxes, deductions and employees through an integration with the accounting software Gusto. Simplify compliance and keep on top of industry updates.
  • Other Capabilities: Processes payment in multiple currencies, calculates sales taxes, tracks purchase orders, manages files and does several other administrative tasks.
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  • Sales Order: Tailor sales orders with company logos, fonts and colors with the sales order idiosyncrasy. Users may transform approved estimates into sales orders and invoices in just a few clicks. Users may also pinpoint their best clients and merchandise with real-time reports from their transaction histories. 
  • Purchase Orders: Trace all items purchased and mutual prices set by vendors with the purchase order management appliance. Print, copy and share purchase orders through emails to work together with clients, partners, internal stakeholders and more to swiftly complete tasks. 
  • Online Payments: Pick the best payment portal —including Stripe, PayPal, Worldpay and more — to collect payments from customers promptly. Users may also enable recurring transactions to receive payments at weekly, monthly or yearly intervals automatically.  
  • Reporting: Evaluate total receivables, sales, top expenses and more KPIs with the reporting module's dashboard. Obtain reports like profit and loss, balance sheets, cash flow statements and more to dive into data and make wiser decisions. 
  • Automation: Deliver instant payment reminders, save client information for future automatic billing and recurring invoices and immediately send out transactions with Zoho Books' automation tools. 
  • Documents: Chronicle document details and shift them into invoices, expenses, bills, sales orders or purchase orders with the document management accessory. Users may match documents to bank feeds or previously-made transactions for proof of commerce for their archives.  
  • Mobile-Friendly: Deliver invoices, estimates and account statements to patrons and track miles traveled with the iOS app. The Android app enables users to take pictures of receipts and attach them to recorded expenses in addition to overseeing earned revenue and gathered fees. 
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Product Ranking

#3

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#7

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Analyst Rating Summary

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100
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Banking and Cash Management
General Ledger and Chart of Accounts
Integration and Extensibility
Journal Entries
Mobile Support
Accounts Payable
Banking and Cash Management
Inventory Management
Platform Capabilities
Platform Security

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Xero
Zoho Books
+ Add Product + Add Product
Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Banking And Cash Management Budget And Expense Management Financial Statements And Revenue Management General Ledger And Chart Of Accounts Integration And Extensibility Inventory Management Journal Entries Mobile Support Multi-company Accounting And Asset Management Platform Capabilities Project Accounting Reporting And Analytics Tax Management 93 97 100 89 89 100 100 83 100 100 79 89 100 90 92 100 95 100 90 90 75 82 100 85 80 60 100 92 92 96 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 4652 reviews
Great User Sentiment 546 reviews
86%
of users recommend this product

Xero has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 4652 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

88%
of users recommend this product

Zoho Books has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 88% when considering 546 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.4 (17)
5.0 (14)
4.3 (339)
4.6 (60)
4.33 (2132)
n/a
4.3 (1877)
4.4 (412)
4.3 (287)
4.1 (60)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Xero and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Integration and Extensibility and Mobile Support.

Integration and Extensibility Award
Mobile Support Award

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Zoho Books and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Accounts Payable, Inventory Management and Platform Capabilities.

Accounts Payable Award
Inventory Management Award
Platform Capabilities Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Affordable: Of all the reviews that mentioned price, over 70% felt it was well within their price range and felt satisfied.
Good Customer Service: Over 70% of reviews that mentioned the customer support said they received excellent service, especially from their reps.
Excellent Functionality: In more than 50% of all reviews that mentioned features, users were happy with its capabilities. They especially like the integrations, reconciliation process, invoices and accounting functions.
Simple and intuitive interface: Xero's clean layout and straightforward navigation make it easy for users of all skill levels to manage their finances. In over 80% of reviews that mentioned the UI, users said it was easy to navigate.
Automated tasks: Xero automates repetitive tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and bank reconciliation, saving users valuable time and reducing errors.
Mobile app for on-the-go access: Manage your finances and stay up-to-date on your business performance anytime, anywhere with Xero's mobile app.
Customizable reports and dashboards: Gain valuable insights into your cash flow, profitability, and other key financial metrics with Xero's customizable reports and dashboards.
Multi-user access and permissions: Collaborate with team members and advisors seamlessly with Xero's secure multi-user access and permission controls.
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Intuitive interface: Users consistently praise Zoho Books for its simple and easy-to-navigate interface, even for those without prior accounting experience.
Automation superpowers: Tasks like invoicing, payment reminders, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting become effortless with Zoho Books' automation features, saving users significant time and effort.
Seamless integrations: Zoho Books smoothly integrates with other Zoho apps, like CRM and Projects, as well as popular third-party tools, streamlining workflows and eliminating data silos.
Mobile accessibility: The user-friendly mobile app allows for on-the-go accounting, ensuring users can manage finances anytime, anywhere.
Value for money: Zoho Books is consistently praised for its affordable pricing plans, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
Customer service responsiveness: Users frequently highlight the prompt and helpful support provided by Zoho Books' customer service team.
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Limited inventory management: Xero lacks advanced inventory tracking features, making it less suitable for businesses with complex inventory needs.
Learning curve for complex features: While basic tasks are easy, some advanced features like multi-currency accounting can be challenging for non-accountants to navigate. Though the system was widely popular after implementation, users said it was old-fashioned and had a steep learning curve in 20% of reviews that mentioned the UI.
Higher cost for advanced features: Access to advanced features like payroll processing and multi-currency comes at a higher price point, potentially exceeding budgets for smaller businesses.
Limited phone support: Xero primarily relies on email and live chat for support, which may not be ideal for users seeking immediate assistance with critical issues.
Integration limitations: While offering many integrations, some key business tools may not have seamless integration with Xero, requiring workarounds or data duplication.
Invoices: While around 60% of users felt that the invoicing system worked well, around 40% said they had trouble making changes to them once they were saved.
Downgrading Issues: Around 20% of reviews that mentioned price said they had issues while trying to go to a lower pricing tier and often ended up paying a month or more at a higher rate.
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Transaction limits: Users express frustration with the capped number of monthly transactions (5,000 on the highest plan), potentially hindering high-volume businesses.
Inventory management constraints: While Zoho Books offers inventory tracking, it lacks advanced features like sales analytics and in-depth item breakdowns, making it less suitable for businesses with complex inventory needs.
Coding requirements for automation: Unlocking the full potential of automation features often requires knowledge of coding (Deluge script), posing a challenge for non-technical users.
Occasional reporting issues: Some users report occasional glitches or inconsistencies in financial reports, necessitating careful review and potential manual adjustments.
Multiple subscriptions for multiple businesses: Managing multiple businesses requires separate subscriptions, which can become cost-prohibitive for users with several entities.
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Xero’s users say it’s easy to use and has good accounting and bookkeeping capabilities. Most found the price to be acceptable, with some complaints about issues they ran into while trying to switch to a lower pricing tier. More than 70% loved the customer service and felt their representatives were extremely helpful. It has a range of features including band feeds, invoice creation, integrations and reconciliation processes. The reconciliation was particularly popular with over 80% of reviewers who mentioned it describing positive experiences. One issue with the system came in making updates to invoices after they’d been saved. Some users said they were sent prematurely to clients or claimed to have difficulties changing the data at a later date. Many also felt that the implementation process for the new platform was difficult, but that once they learned where things were they felt comfortable. This may be a good choice for small and medium businesses. Larger companies should consider a system that’s able to handle a higher volume.

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Zoho Books lands a punch with its user-friendly interface and automation superpowers, even for accounting newbies. Invoicing, bank reconciliation, and reports become automatic allies, saving users precious time. Integration with the Zoho ecosystem and other popular tools keeps workflows in harmony. Plus, the mobile app lets you manage finances on the go, a big win for busy entrepreneurs. However, Zoho Books stumbles with transaction limits, potentially tripping up high-volume businesses. Inventory management feels like a lightweight sidekick compared to some competitors, lacking the muscle for complex needs. Unlocking automation's full potential requires coding know-how, leaving some users stranded. And while reports are generally reliable, occasional glitches necessitate a closer look. Managing multiple businesses under separate subscriptions can also add up cost-wise. So, how does Zoho Books stack up? Users often compare it to Quickbooks Online. Zoho shines with its intuitive interface and affordability, especially for solopreneurs and small teams. But Quickbooks packs a heavier punch in its inventory management and advanced reporting features, catering to larger businesses with complex needs. Zoho's seamless integrations and user-friendliness win hearts, while Quickbooks offers a more robust toolset for seasoned accountants. Ultimately, Zoho Books is a capable accounting sidekick for businesses starting their financial journey. Its ease of use, automation muscle, and affordable price tag make it a tempting choice. But for high-volume businesses or those with intricate inventory needs, other contenders might offer a more powerful punch.

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