QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books are both highly capable cloud-based accounting software that offers invoicing, accounting, and inventory management services.
QuickBooks Online offers third-party integrations, reporting services, and advanced accounting features, while ZohoBooks has a streamlined interface, robust functionality, and cost-effective prices.
QuickBooks is ideal for medium, large, and intensively growing businesses. At the same time, Zoho Books is best suited for small startups, shopkeepers, and freelancers, as it offers a free plan along with multiple payment options.
QuickBooks Online is a great choice for businesses that require advanced tools and multiple integrations. Zoho Books’ free plans can help freelancers, small shopkeepers, and startups looking for budget-friendly and cost-effective ways to manage their accounting compliance.
QuickBooks Online is known for its extensive third-party integration, customizable features, and advanced analytics. It offers comprehensive customer support to its users. QuickBooks comes with better financial reporting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and invoicing systems.
Zoho Books is cost-effective, user-friendly, and well-integrated with Zoho’s other tools. It is also easier to use, set up, and administer. Zoho has its own mobile application that can be downloaded on iOS and Android. It helps users manage their expenses, generate and send invoices, and receive quick business insights.
Switching or migrating data from QuickBooks Online to Zoho Books or vice versa is an easy and seamless process. However, there are some critical steps involved with this process, such as security backing up data, verifying compatibility, and scheduling a seamless transition process.
Third-party services or applications such as Mover, Dataswitcher, Relokia, and MMCConverter can help with the migration process through seamless integration.
| What is QuickBooks Online? | What is Zoho Books Online? |
|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online is among the most popular accounting software systems on the market. QuickBooks Online offers a robust and customizable accounting solution for small and medium-sized enterprises. It enables extensive connectors, advanced reporting, and scalable workflows, making it suitable for businesses with complicated financial needs. Were you aware that QuickBooks includes extra features that can improve various other aspects of your business? QuickBooks also offers solutions to help businesses of all sizes better manage a variety of work-related operations. These advanced features can enhance accounting, personnel, and client management functions. | Zoho Books is a user-friendly cloud-based accounting software that includes invoice, inventory, and project management capabilities. It provides a competitive free plan as well as a number of tools to help you simplify and streamline business procedures. Zoho is an excellent choice if you’re a small or medium-sized business (SMB) looking for an alternative to larger, more expensive software. With Zoho, you can send personalized invoices and link to payment channels, allowing clients to pay for your products and services online. You’ll also be able to associate one or more bank accounts with critical transactions and automatically categorize them for quick and easy reconciliation. |
| Here are the features of QuickBooks Online: | Here are the features of Zoho Books: |
|---|---|
| Track Income and Expenses: QuickBooks enables you to rigorously track your company’s financial inflows and outflows, providing accurate record-keeping for comprehensive financial analysis and decision-making. | Simplify Receivables: Optimize your receivables process for consistent cash flow management. |
| Seamlessly Sync Bank Accounts and Apps: QuickBooks seamlessly interact with your bank accounts and other company software, allowing for automated data synchronization for up-to-date financial information and increased efficiency. | Effective Payables: Get a command over your payables and vendor relationships. Manage vendor bill payments, track outstanding amounts, and easily record any incurred expenses. |
| Prepare and Print 1099s: QuickBooks facilitates the preparation and printing of 1099 forms for your independent contractors or vendors, ensuring compliance with tax regulations and smooth tax filing processes. | Tax Compliance Confidence: Users can track tax exemptions and payments that they owe to the state tax authority, and they can generate accurate sales tax liability reports. |
| Extensive Integrations: QuickBooks Online supports 650+ third-party integrations, including Shopify, PayPal, and Zapier. | Seamless Bank Reconciliation: Users can match multiple transactions from multiple credit cards and bank accounts automatically. Users can streamline bank reconciliation and save precious time! |
| Third-Party Integrations: It has 650+ third-party integrations, including Shopify, PayPal, and Zapier. | Efficient Inventory Management: Track every item in your inventory with precision to efficiently maintain stock and promptly fulfill orders. |
| User Permission: User permissions are highly customizable depending on responsibilities, providing granular access control for different team members. | Comprehensive Reports: Stay on top of finance and business operations with 70+ built-in and customizable reports and advanced analytics to understand the comprehensive business reports. |
| Automation: Its extensive automation capabilities include automatic bank feeds, repeating bills, and batch transactions. | Unified Collaboration: Easily connect your friends and colleagues through its platform and divide responsibility by giving permission and access to other users. |
| Here are the key functionality of QuickBooks Online: | Here are the key functionality of Zoho Books: |
|---|---|
| Expense Tracking: Includes real-time categorization, receipt management, and transaction matching. | Expense Management: Track and categorize spending, attach receipts, and compensate staff. |
| Accounts Payable and Receivable: Automate bill payments, reminders, and invoicing. | Invoicing and Payments: This includes recurring billing, customizable templates, online payments, and reminders. |
| Advanced Reporting: Includes detailed reports and visual dashboards. | Bank Reconciliation: Includes automated bank feed, reconciliation, and audit trails. |
| Project Management: Includes detailed task costing, budget control, and profitability tracking for large-scale projects. | Project Management: This features simple task tracking, budgeting, and timesheets. |
| Inventory Management: Track locations, receive reorder alerts, and manage your supply. | Inventory: Provides basic stock tracking for modest inventories. |
| Custom Workflows: Create and automate approval processes for bills, invoices, and other documents. | Multi-Currency Support: Manages multiple currencies and tax rules automatically. |
| Third-Party Integrations: Works with over 650 third-party apps for CRM, payroll, and eCommerce. | Mobile Accessibility: A feature-rich app for managing finances while on the go. |
| Sales Tax Compliance: Automatic calculations and support for multi-state. | Zoho Ecosystem: Integrates with Zoho CRM, Zoho Inventory, and other Zoho technologies. |
| QuickBooks Online has 4 variants: | Zoho Books has 4 variants: |
|---|---|
| Simple Start Best for_ Small business owners and startups with basic accounting needs. | Free For businesses earning up to $50K per year ( 1 user + 1 account). |
| Essentials Best for_ small businesses that Include all the features of Simple Start, enhanced billing and reporting features, plus the ability to add up to three users. | Standard Essential accounting tools, including budgeting (3 users). |
| Plus Best for_ small and mid-size businesses. This growth-focused solution is for small and mid-sized businesses that need inventory management and project profitability tracking. | Professional Add multi-currency support, recurring billing, and approval workflows. (5 users). |
| Advanced Best for_ growing business. It is a comprehensive solution for growing businesses that need advanced tracking and reporting. | Premium Adds budgeting, custom domain, and role-based access. (10 users). |
| QuickBooks Online: Who is it for? | Zoho Books: Who is it for? |
|---|---|
| Established and well-settled SMBs with complex accounting needs. | Best suited for small and medium-sized businesses who need cost-effective, essential accounting solutions. |
| Businesses that need detailed, comprehensive reports and payroll support. | Zoho ecosystem users who look for integration with other Zoho products. |
| Industry-specific users, such as contractors and retail stores. | Freelancers and small consultants, those who work on small projects. |
| Businesses that need scalable services. | Growing businesses that require ease of use the automated system. |
| Here are the pros of QuickBooks Online: | Here are the cons of QuickBooks Online: |
|---|---|
| 01. Extensive Integrations: QB Online integrates with over 650 third-party apps, covering everything from payroll to CRM. It is one of the best software to connect with other tools as business needs grow. | 01. Lacking Industry-Specific Features: QuickBooks lacks industry and business-specific features and configurations for specified industries. |
| 02. Customizable Reporting: QuickBooks Online can suit your specific needs for customized financial reporting. QBO’s customizable reports allow you to view all you need to see at a glance. | 02. Limited Reporting: Lack of key reports outside of accounting and other industry-specific reports. |
| 03. Automation: QuickBooks Online is meant to help businesses streamline their financial processes. The software can automatically record sales tax and reconcile transactions between two bank accounts. | 03. Instability/system Crashes: Users find occasional performance issues and system crashes. |
| 04. Adaptable and Compatible: QuickBooks Online includes features such as AI-powered automation and batch transactions. It is the best option for a highly specialized company. | 04. Limited Professional Support: limited support till then; users don’t opt for premium plans. |
| 05. Project Management Tools: QBO provides its users with the best project management tools for better job costing and profitability tracking, which are beneficial for project-based businesses. | 05. File-size Issues/limitations: File size and transaction volumes are limited. |
| – | 06. Fails in Invoice Customization: Limited invoice customization options for businesses. |
| Here are the pros of Zoho Books: | Here are the cons of Zoho Books: |
|---|---|
| 01. Free Version: Zoho Books has free plans for basic accounting needs specially designed for freelancers and small startups. | 01. Limited Third-Party Integrations: ZohoBooks has very limited third-party integrations and is specially designed for integrating with other Zoho apps. |
| 02. Rich Feature Set: Apart from an easy user interface, Zoho Books provides enhanced reporting and comes with invoicing capabilities, inventory management features, and mobile apps. | 02. User Limitation: Zoho Books has lower limitations than QuickBooks Online or other brands as it focuses on small startups and businesses. |
| 03. Affordable Cost: Zoho Books offers free and low-cost plans that fall anywhere between $20 per month and $275 per month. These plans can track sales tax or enable recurring expenses and offer customizable invoicing reconciliation tools. | 03. Complex Interface: it has a complex interface that makes it difficult for small businesses and freelancers who lack accounting expertise. |
| 04. Seamless Integrations with Zoho Ecosystem: Zoho provides great accessibility and integrations with its other Zoho apps. | 04. Advanced Features Limitations: Advanced features are only available with premium plans, which are not available in the price. |
| 05. Smartphone Accessibility: With the smartphone app, consumers may manage their funds on the go. Business owners may keep connected to their finances at all times and from any location, thanks to tools such as spending tracking and invoice production. | – |
| 06. Automated Processes: Many repetitive operations, such as recurring billing and cost tracking, can be automated using Zoho Books. This saves time and reduces the possibility of human error, improving financial management efficiency. | – |
| Pricing | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Simple Start: $35/month | Free: Free for businesses earning less than $50K |
| Essentials: $65/month | Standard: $20/month |
| Plus: $99/month | Professional: $50/month |
| Advanced: $235/month (pricing as of latest update) | Premium: $70/month |
| *Check for the latest prices and discounts on the QuickBooks Online website. | *Check for the latest prices and discounts on the Zoho Books website. |
01. This image represents the QuickBooks Online dashboard:
The QuickBooks Online Dashboard shows you a quick overview of your business and its advanced features. You can customize the arrangement of the list of banks and the other sections.
02. This image represents the QuickBooks Online comprehensive reports:
Users can view reports as charts in QuickBooks Online Advanced to help them better understand their company’s data.
03. This image represents the invoice of the QuickBooks Online:
QuickBooks Online Software gives you the tools to create personalized and professional-looking invoices, estimates, and sales receipts.
01. This image represents the Zoho Books Dashboard:
The ZohoBooks Software Dashboard tab in Zoho Books provides a clear picture of your finances. Users can easily track their income, company data, expenses, bank balances, project time logs, and more.
02. This image represents Zoho Books’ comprehensive reports:
With Zoho-Books Online Software, users can generate reports about their balance sheets, cash flow statements, and income statements.
03. This image represents the Zoho Books invoice:
External images can be added to the invoice template with ZohoBooks Software. To do this, use the custom template feature and add the image.
| QuickBooks Online | Zoho Books | Decision Criteria | |
| Ease of Use | Advanced features and comprehensive, need some training to use it. | Easy and simple to use, it is best for solopreneurs, freelancers, and small start-ups. | Zoho Books is easy and simple, intuitive, and the best option for startups and freelancers. |
| Scalability | Adaptable and compatible with any business size and help you when scaling your business. | Suitable for small businesses but limited to 15 users only. | QuickBooks Online – Its advanced features and greater user capacity make it ideal for scalable growth. |
| Integrations | QuickBooks offers over 650 third-party integrations, making it versatile for businesses across various industries. | It has integration with the Zoho ecosystem but has fewer options for third-party integrations. | QuickBooks Online is the best option for businesses that need extensive integrations over diverse software and tools for all kinds of businesses. |
| Data Security | High-level encryption and automatic backups with industry-standard security protocols. | Zoho Books has great security measures and data back security options. | QuickBooks Online – Consistent and thorough security and backup protocols make it safer for sensitive data. |
| Collaboration / Number of Users | Allows multiple users with custom permissions, making it suitable for larger teams. | Limited to 15 users; best for smaller teams. | QuickBooks Online – Ideal for businesses with larger teams needing custom permissions for collaboration |
| Learning Curve | QuickBooks has a steeper learning curve but provides extensive training resources. | Easier for beginners; designed for quick setup and use, this software doesn’t require any professional training. | Zoho Books is easier for new users and small businesses needing minimal on boarding |
| Realtime Accounting | QuickBooks Online syncs your data with real-time accounting and ensures up-to-date records. | This provides you with real-time updates within the Zoho ecosystem and with some external apps. | QuickBooks Online is the best for instant synchronization across various platforms and real-time accounting. |
| Report Generation | This offers highly customizable reporting options that allow for in-depth financial insights. | Basic reporting options cover standard needs with less customization. | QuickBooks Online – Customizable reports provide detailed financial analysis and insights. |
| Custom User Authorisations | QuickBooks has customizable reporting options that allow for in-depth financial insights. | Limited customization for user roles and more basic permissions settings. | This is the better option for businesses requiring detailed access control. |
| Pricing | Pricing starts around $30/month, with multiple subscription tiers for different needs. | Pricing starts around $20/month, with a free tier for very small businesses or freelancers. | Zoho Books is more cost-effective for businesses on a budget, especially for simpler needs. |
| Cloud-Based Software | Fully cloud-based, enabling access from any internet-connected device securely | Zoho Books also has cloud-based access with robust data security. | Both are cloud-based accounting software platforms. |
| Updations and Backups | Frequent updates with automatic data backups to secure user data. | Regular updates, though the backup frequency may vary | QuickBooks Online provides more comprehensive support for troubleshooting and setup |
| Customer Support | Provides more comprehensive support for troubleshooting and setting up good resources offline and online. | Limited customer support but provides documentation and community forums. | QuickBooks Online provides more comprehensive support for troubleshooting and setup. |
| Training | Comprehensive training, including webinars, tutorials, and detailed documentation. | Offers basic resources and access to forums for onboarding. | QuickBooks Online provides more structured training for new users or those learning advanced features. |
To select an accounting software best suited for business needs, accounting software is analyzed in accordance with the stage of the business, i.e., a startup, small or medium-sized business, geographical spread (many branches), enterprise-level requirements, etc.
In addition to these factors, there is a need for real-time updates, cloud features, data security, file compatibility with current software, and integrations.
Also, we consider if there is only an in-house need where it will be handled only by an accountant or if you need to add other stakeholders to your accounting information.
Another major factor is the learning curve, after-sales support, and any industry—or business-specific features that make it a more value-for-money proposition.
After evaluating both platforms based on functionality, integrations, support, and adaptability to business needs, QuickBooks Online stands out as the most comprehensive choice.
QuickBooks Online is loaded with advanced features for in-depth reporting, multi-user collaboration, extensive third-party integrations, and automated processes that cater to businesses with complex needs.
QuickBooks Online easily scales with a growing business, offering capabilities that support everything from payroll to project management. QuickBooks Online is better suited to handle scalability and flexibility enterprise requirements than Zoho Books.
With 24/7 customer support, more advanced training resources, and an active user community, QuickBooks Online ensures users have access to the guidance they need to maximize its features.
QuickBooks Online is our recommended choice for businesses looking for a comprehensive accounting solution that supports both current demands and future growth.
While both QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books are suited to small and medium-sized businesses, QuickBooks Online emerges as the overall winner for businesses with diverse needs and complex accounting requirements.
Zoho Books is a good solution for small businesses and freelancers seeking simple, user-friendly accounting and invoicing software.
It is suitable for small firms or people with low budgets who do not require many features or integrations but still need to do accounting tasks. It’s also a fantastic alternative for businesses with fewer than ten employees who only require basic accounting functionality.
QuickBooks is a superior option for firms that want to focus on their basic accounting requirements and all of the tools they’ll need to maintain their books. It has more capability and features than Zoho Books, but it is not free.
QuickBooks Online is the recommended option, as it provides a robust, adaptable platform for meeting changing business needs.
Both Zoho Books and QuickBooks offer invoicing, accounting, and inventory management. QuickBooks has more features and third-party integration options than Zoho Books when it comes to accounting software, but it does not offer mobile apps like its competitor.
QuickBooks Online has a lot of unique features like expense tracking, invoicing, bill management, bank reconciliation, payroll integration, inventory tracking, project management, and advanced reporting. It also integrates with various third-party apps for expanded functionality.
Yes, both ZohoBooks and QuickBooks Online are cloud-based software that provides real-time accounting updates. They allow their users to access their data from anywhere, anytime.
Yes, ZohoBooks integrates with QuickBooks Online; every time when a payment is received in QuickBooks, users can check that the flow automatically updates the contact’s Zoho Books profile with the details of the transaction.
ZohoBooks has its own Zoho ecosystem, which allows users to integrate with all other Zoho tools. It provides core accounting features such as invoicing, expense tracking, project management, and basic inventory management.
