Xero vs Zoho Books

2021. Zoho Books gets a Free Plan



Zoho has introduced the free plan for Zoho Books, a solution specifically designed to address the accounting requirements of small businesses, startups, and freelancers. The aim of Zoho Books' free plan is to revolutionize the financial workspace for small businesses by offering a modern cloud-based accounting platform that replaces traditional or spreadsheet-based accounting methods. This transition helps eliminate the risk of data loss, reduces manual effort and errors, and provides a more efficient accounting process. By utilizing the free plan, you can embrace a paperless approach, automate various accounting tasks, and access your accounting system from anywhere. The free plan enables you to create, customize, and send up to 1,000 invoices annually. You can conveniently collect payments both online and offline while automating payment reminders. Additionally, the plan allows you to upload expense receipts and effectively monitor expenses by category, helping you stay within your budget. By enabling the client portal feature, your customers gain access to view their outstanding invoices, provide transaction comments, make online payments, and leave reviews.


2017. Xero integrated with spending tracker Curve



Accounting software provider Xero has joined forces with Curve, a fintech startup that enables users to consolidate multiple bank cards into a single card and easily monitor their spending. The objective of this collaboration is to simplify the process of expense filing by reducing unnecessary complexities. Through the integration, users now have the option to connect the Curve app to Xero, allowing expenditures made using the Curve card to be automatically synced with the accounting software, eliminating the need for manual entry of each expense.


2017. Zoho Books gets document hub and receipt auto-scanning



The Zoho Books online accounting app has incorporated valuable features to enhance document management. The Auto-scan functionality within Zoho Books enables you to effortlessly scan your documents and automatically extract relevant details, which can then be converted into expenses, bills, or purchase orders. In case you have already scanned your documents, you can directly upload them, and our software will intelligently extract the essential data for you. With the Documents feature, a unique email address is provided, allowing you to conveniently import files into Zoho Books simply by sending an email. Upon receiving a file, you can organize it into folders or create a transaction, subsequently clearing the inbox. All uploaded documents are instantly stored in a secure centralized hub, providing a unified location for convenient viewing and management.


2015. Cloud accounting service Xero raises $111M



New Zealand-based online accounting software firm Xero has successfully secured a $110.8 million funding round with the aim of expanding its presence in the North American market. Including this latest investment, Xero has raised a total of over $240 million from various investors. Xero specializes in offering online accounting software tailored for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as accountants. Recognizing that many small businesses still relied on basic accounting systems or even Excel spreadsheets, Xero anticipated the future shift towards cloud-based solutions. By providing a platform that enables small businesses, accountants, and bookkeepers to perform accounting tasks online and through mobile devices, Xero has revolutionized the way they operate.


2015. Xero launched cloud payroll service in US



Cloud accounting startup Xero has unveiled a new product that expands its reach into the back-office realm by offering cloud-based payroll and tax software. Known as Xero Payroll, this solution specifically caters to the needs of over 5 million small businesses in the United States with less than 20 employees. Payroll management can often pose a significant financial burden for these employers, costing between $200 and $500 per month when outsourced to third-party providers. Apart from the outsourcing expenses, there is also the risk of human errors and potential penalties due to incomplete or inaccurate information. Xero Payroll aims to address these challenges by providing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with a cloud-based platform similar to its accounting software. This platform enables seamless employee payment processing and facilitates the electronic filing of state and federal payroll taxes.


2014. Zoho Books became available on iPad



Zoho has recently unveiled the new Zoho Books iPad app, designed specifically for iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Mini. This native application has been optimized to provide a seamless experience on your tablet, enabling you to manage your business operations from anywhere. The iPad app offers all the key functionalities available in the web version, empowering you to efficiently run your business on the go. Upon launching the app, you will be greeted with an interactive dashboard that delivers crucial insights into your business. Instantly access information regarding your receivables, payables, and cash flow, enabling you to evaluate the performance of your business and identify areas that require attention. Moreover, Zoho Books for iPad offers various features, including business expense management, time tracking, timesheets, estimates, and a range of informative reports.


2014. Zoho Books app for Windows 8.1 released



Zoho has introduced a Windows 8 version of its accounting app designed for growing businesses, known as Zoho Books. This app enables users to send invoices to clients instantly, record payments, track expenses, and categorize them by type. It also helps identify and reduce unnecessary expenditures, providing instant insights into business performance through interactive graphs and charts. With Zoho Books, users can efficiently organize contacts, capturing crucial information like currency, email, phone numbers, and billing addresses in a centralized location. Additionally, the app facilitates the maintenance of a product and price list for streamlined management.


2013. Xero Launches New Features and Plans for a Payroll Solution

Xero, the cloud-based accounting solution designed for small businesses, has introduced a range of new features. One of the notable additions is Xero Touch, an updated version of its mobile app for Apple's iOS7. With Xero Touch, users can conveniently perform various tasks directly from their smartphones, such as checking bank transactions, creating invoices, and communicating with their accountant. Additionally, Xero has introduced Xero Files, a user-friendly drag and drop application. This feature enables users to easily upload and attach files such as invoices, expense receipts, contracts, and more, making them readily accessible and organized within the system. Furthermore, Xero Purchase Orders now allows businesses to create purchase orders in a similar manner to how they can generate invoices in Xero. The pricing for Xero's services starts at $19 per month for small businesses, which may vary depending on the volume of invoices and payments processed.


2011. Zoho launched online accounting service Zoho Books

Zoho has recently addressed a notable gap in its suite of online applications for small businesses by introducing the online accounting service Zoho Books. With this addition, Zoho now offers a comprehensive set of tools tailored to meet the needs of small businesses. Zoho Books facilitates the management of financial transactions, bank accounts, invoice creation and delivery, as well as receipt of payments through PayPal or credit cards. It also enables revenue and expense planning. The integration of Zoho Books with Zoho CRM, Email, and spreadsheets enhances its suitability for accountants and other staff members. Existing users of Zoho Invoice will be provided with a straightforward upgrade path to Zoho Books. Unlike other Zoho products, Zoho Books does not offer a free version, instead providing a 30-day trial. This decision is understandable considering that most small companies typically have only one accountant, and offering a free single-user version would not be practical. The service is priced at $24 per month for a single account, with an additional cost of $5 per month for each additional user.