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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    QuickBooks Online

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AQuickBooks Online is a SaaS version of the QuickBooks product. It contains all of the features found in the local version. Higher-priced plans include greater automation, payment management, inventory and time tracking, and analytics features.

    $38

    per month

    Zoho Books

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AZoho Books is an accounting solution that is designed to help small businesses manage their finances. This solution includes dashboards and a wide variety of reports. Business users can automate tasks and set up custom workflows. Zoho offers a 14 day free trial.

    $20

    per month

    Pricing
    QuickBooks OnlineZoho Books
    Editions & Modules
    Simple Start
    $38
    per month
    Essentials
    $75
    per month
    Plus
    $115
    per month
    Advanced
    $275
    per month
    Free
    $0
    For businesses with turnover <50K USD per annum
    Standard
    $20
    per month per org
    Professional
    $50
    per month per org
    Premium
    $70
    per month per org
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    QuickBooks OnlineZoho Books
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsZoho Books is available for both monthly and yearly plans. Users who sign up for the annual plan get a discount.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    QuickBooks OnlineZoho Books
    Considered Both Products
    Intuit
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    No competitor quick stacks up. FreshBooks has a speedy UI, but lacks features for a more complex small business. Xero has a UI that I personally don't like as much and it never felt quite right to me. Not as many accountants are familiar either. Zoho Books came the closest …
    Incentivized
    Chose QuickBooks Online
    Ultimately, QuickBooks/Intuit has the most market share when it comes to accounting software. The benefit of so many people using this software is that there's always an answer to a problem that you may be having when it comes to using the software. Intuit has provided a …
    Incentivized
    Zoho
    Chose Zoho Books
    • QuickBooks Online is much harder to use than Zoho Books. We found that Zoho Books was easy to train staff, and the online help is excellent.
    • Qickbooks Desktop is endlessly buggy, requiring frequent IT support calls and a dedicated server for multi-user access.
    • Online payments for …
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    Affordability better, online access better, automations better, integration with our CRM and inventory better, customizability better
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    Zoho Books has a much simpler GUI and the reason we selected Zoho is because of the integration of Zoho Books across other applications and especially into Zoho products. One of the other reasons is the time log feature we can easily pair up with a client service ticket to show …
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    I believe it is way easier to use, has more robust features, seamless integration with other Zoho apps like CRM, Projects, etc. is super useful and has saved a lot of time. Streamlining this process has been easy, and the end result is better reporting, improved decision making …
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    Easier to integrate with other Zoho apps. It’s also customized for mobile use making it easy to use wherever I am. I can get real-time updates on payments while in the field via the mobile app. The software is customizable and adaptable so I can easily make it fit various …
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    The very easy to read dashboard, the clear categorization, the customization features, the easy learning curve and the seamless integration with other Zoho products (that we use a lot and frequently) are for our company the reasons why we favored Zoho books over other …
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    Quickbooks is the standard. ZOHO Books will give it a run for its money. Your accountant may not like the fact that you switch over to Zoho Books, but since it's completely web-based, you are able to give them access to your account easily.
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    The main difference here was the time tracking functionality that goes to a project specific nature. We do multiple projects with the same client and need to be able to split our time amongst those different projects for the purpose of reporting and invoicing.
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    Price and easier to use Other many applications that could be integrated with zoho
    Incentivized
    Chose Zoho Books
    In comparison, Zoho is about the same price but comes with a lot more customizable fields. There are other solutions that feed right in and make it so there is only one place you need to go to get a full picture of your business and what you need to do to keep it running …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    81%
    Would buy again
    89 Answers
    86%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    84%
    Delivers good value for the price
    85 Answers
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    80%
    Happy with the feature set
    88 Answers
    86%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    70 Answers
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    83 Answers
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    QuickBooks OnlineZoho Books
    Payroll Management
    Comparison of Payroll Management features of QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
    Feature
    QuickBooks Online
    8.5
    81 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Zoho Books
    -
    Ratings
    Pay calculation7.872 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benefit plan administration7.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Direct deposit files9.067 Ratings00 Ratings
    Salary revision and increment management9.046 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reimbursement management9.548 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
    Feature
    QuickBooks Online
    8.3
    71 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Zoho Books
    7.8
    16 Ratings
    2% above category average
    API for custom integration8.757 Ratings7.816 Ratings
    Plug-ins8.058 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
    Feature
    QuickBooks Online
    9.7
    112 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Zoho Books
    9.2
    25 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Single sign-on capability9.684 Ratings8.320 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions9.7106 Ratings10.023 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
    Feature
    QuickBooks Online
    8.1
    136 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Zoho Books
    8.7
    24 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Dashboards8.6128 Ratings8.224 Ratings
    Standard reports8.2132 Ratings9.022 Ratings
    Custom reports7.5120 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
    Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
    Feature
    QuickBooks Online
    8.5
    147 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Zoho Books
    8.4
    25 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Accounts payable9.1125 Ratings8.223 Ratings
    Accounts receivable9.4135 Ratings8.224 Ratings
    Cash management8.7123 Ratings7.022 Ratings
    Bank reconciliation9.1141 Ratings8.022 Ratings
    Expense management8.7125 Ratings8.823 Ratings
    Time tracking6.957 Ratings8.815 Ratings
    Fixed asset management8.155 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency support7.024 Ratings9.214 Ratings
    Multi-division support9.245 Ratings00 Ratings
    Regulations compliance9.241 Ratings8.012 Ratings
    Electronic tax filing9.368 Ratings00 Ratings
    Self-service portal8.869 Ratings9.016 Ratings
    Global Financial Support8.118 Ratings00 Ratings
    Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.737 Ratings00 Ratings
    Intercompany Accounting8.731 Ratings00 Ratings
    Localizations8.123 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journals and Reconciliations9.376 Ratings00 Ratings
    Enterprise Accounting8.127 Ratings00 Ratings
    Configurable Accounting7.740 Ratings00 Ratings
    Centralized Rules Framework8.426 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standardized Processes8.552 Ratings00 Ratings
    Inventory Management
    Comparison of Inventory Management features of QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
    Feature
    QuickBooks Online
    7.5
    49 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Zoho Books
    7.0
    14 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Inventory tracking8.046 Ratings9.014 Ratings
    Automatic reordering7.023 Ratings5.08 Ratings
    Location management8.123 Ratings00 Ratings
    Manufacturing module7.018 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order Management
    Comparison of Order Management features of QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books
    Feature
    QuickBooks Online
    8.4
    90 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Zoho Books
    8.7
    22 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Pricing8.056 Ratings9.018 Ratings
    Order entry8.054 Ratings9.017 Ratings
    Credit card processing8.666 Ratings6.619 Ratings
    Cost of goods sold9.370 Ratings10.017 Ratings
    Order Orchestration8.022 Ratings00 Ratings
    End-to-end order visibility9.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Order exception Resolution8.019 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    QuickBooks OnlineZoho Books
    Small Businesses
    Sage Accounting
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Sage Accounting
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    MYOB
    Score7.7 out of 10
    MYOB
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score6.8 out of 10
    Microsoft Dynamics GP
    Score6.8 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    QuickBooks OnlineZoho Books
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.8
    (165 ratings)
    8.2
    (26 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.9
    (24 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.8
    (80 ratings)
    8.3
    (8 ratings)
    Availability
    2.0
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    1.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    1.1
    (68 ratings)
    5.3
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    3.0
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    CPA Rating
    7.4
    (18 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    1.3
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    1.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    QuickBooks OnlineZoho Books
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Intuit
    I appreciate the ability to auto-generate invoices for recurring transactions, which saves time, as well as the option to set up auto-generated transactions. The report option is super helpful when reviewing information, as you can click to view the details in the report without having to go back and forth.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    If using other cloud applications and you wish to create Zoho Books transactions via APIs, Zoho Books is great. The overall UI and flow of the application are great. If you need a detailed job cost accounting solution and robust reporting there is some room for improvement here.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Intuit
    • Workflows for accounts payable invoice review are terrific.
    • Bill payment allows you to pay vendors online via ACH or check without having to write a physical check, which reduces admin time.
    • The cloud based login lends well to a remote or hybrid work environment for staff.
    • QuickBooks Online allows you to pre-configure vendors' general ledger expense accounts. This helps with general ledger coding accuracy and consistency.
    • QuickBooks Online integrates with Rippling HRIS, Coast, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, etc., which lends well to an efficient month-end closing and reduced administrative time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    • Zoho Books invoicing and receipting features are second to none. We find it easy to quickly invoice clients and add items to their bills and also for our own receipting internally.
    • The accounting features are great for our accounting team to be able to see where we are financially and how the business is doing.
    • The ability to add contacts and run a mini CRM channel with clients within Zoho is invaluable. Since we use this in conjunction with our other CRM channels, it helps to have a centralized place to follow up and see through a sales funnel.
    • Zoho Books allows us to take payments from clients around the globe a feature we didn't have when we used another accounting system.
    • The pricing for Zoho Books is fairly reasonable for an SME organization which is a great for us as it pays itself back many times over every month.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Intuit
    • The upsells have gotten worse over time and are on every screen in the most awkward positions. I don't need a constant reminder to upgrade, especially on a very old account that's paid thousands over the years.
    • The interface has never been especially intuitive, but I was an old Quicken user and it was somewhat familiar. Over time, it's gotten worse, and in the last 2 years, the program seems to move things more often than I would expect.
    • The software constantly adds features that I don't want and want to turn off, but the interface is so difficult to use that I find myself skipping it. Imagine seeing a message that the system recognized invoices that hadn't been paid so it prepared reminder notices for you that can be sent at the click of a button. Who thinks using canned reminders that you've never seen is a good thing?
    • A lot of functionality seems to derive from connecting your bank accounts to QBO. I don't want Intuit to have an always-on connection to any bank accounts, even checking.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    • Zoho Books is only available in Texas and California. There is no integration allowed for paying employee expenses. The absolute worst aspect is the fact that if you make even the slightest error in data input there is no backing up. You cannot undo an error.
    • The system does not allow change once implemented, so you must get every one of your beginning balances perfect. The practice of Journal Entries is cumbersome. When reconciling, Zoho Books has adopted a number of required steps that significantly overcomplicate reconciliation using practices that are not consistent with general accounting principles in the US.
    • On the customer side, you must look in two places to see the beginning balance and the current receivables that might exist for current invoicing.
    • The way the system works, you must avoid having much trust with the balances depicted. So far, it appears that Zoho Books uses what we called in school "that new math."
    • It would be terrifying to rely on this bookkeeping system to support an IRS Audit. The system violates too many fundamental accounting principles.
    • The software is used by so few people that there is concern that we might never find a skilled bookkeeper.
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Intuit
    It like the product 'right out of the box' and I trust Intuit will continually improve it over the years based on my experience with their desktop products. The large providers of Apps makes customizing the entire package relatively easy and seamless for a wide variety of business types.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Intuit
    I had very little trouble setting up the program and migrating from our old accounting system. The daily usage is also very intuitive and easy. Anytime we run into minor trouble with the program, there are always tons of help available on YouTube, so we don't even look up the online manual anymore.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    Customization is the biggest struggle for us and most of the time we need to involve a tech person. The chat support is a great feature and very helpful. It would be great to be able to customize and create invoices and correspondence (templates) such are reminders in multiple languages within one organization. The currency (USD) would be the same. We have clients in different countries that don't speak English but pay in USD.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Intuit
    We have rarely had outages in the last 10 years. I can only recall 2 times in the last 10 years where we were not able to access our client files.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Intuit
    Everything process has its bugs lately with the new interface. Nothing has worked smoothly since this all began last month.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Intuit
    In my experience, most representatives keep me on the phone for hours, literally, for a single issue and then usually cannot resolve it satisfactorily. I have 10 open cases that need resolution and, in my experience, there has been NO follow-up communication on any of them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    The support team feels very disjointed. We have filtered through a number of "lead" contacts and are frequently spammed by other Zoho members. Once getting an appropriate support contact on the phone - the team is very helpful, it just takes a lot of hoop jumping to get there. We actually unsubscribed from their support package as we were not getting the value we were looking for.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Intuit
    The person in charge of QB needs to be very accurate with record keeping and is recommended to stay on top of tasks. The biggest issue we have is reconciliation, and those issues occur only when too much time has occurred between reconciliations
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Intuit
    As a freelance bookkeeper, the Desktop version of QuickBooks Online doesn't allow for ease of access from any device. Having to be on a computer with the software downloaded creates additional work to gain access to all required filings etc. Also, I personally find the linking functionality on the Online version to be much more streamlined and user friendly.
    Read full review
    Zoho
    We had a lot of problems with Exact Online, support-wise and price-wise. So Zoho Books wins on every point there. While Exact offers way more options, it tends to be really slow... and complex. Again Zoho Books wins. If you want an easy-to-use tool and not pay a lot of money, or if you are a small administration office with a few clients, this tool will be perfect for you.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Intuit
    As we have grown along our professional path, we have also expanded our use of QB. The scalability is easy and features seem to be waiting for you until you need them. We have increased profits by over 10x from our first year in business to the current and have yet to find a reason to look elsewhere
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Intuit
    • QuickBooks has given us a useful portal by which to get an overview of our financials.
    • QuickBooks has given us a relatively easy way to send out invoices quickly and efficiently.
    • Due to the customization limitations on QuickBooks, we've had to get creative in third-party implementations to better represent our brand and to track financials.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zoho
    • Integration: Zoho Books offers out of the box integrations to extend the functionality and connect with the applications you love like MailChimp, Microsoft Outlook, PandaDoc, and Quickbooks, etc.
    • Flexibility makes Zoho Books great!
    • Since I can use forecast reports, I can create customizable sales forecast data from the dashboard to accurately measure revenue forecasts and establish sales quotas.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    QuickBooks Online Screenshots

    Screenshot of the accounting and bank transactions interfaceScreenshot of an overview of the accounting inventoryScreenshot of book marksScreenshot of the business tax overviewScreenshot of the customer hubScreenshot of the dashboard

    Zoho Books Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot