Is the Zoho Books free plan really free?
Yes, Zoho Books’ free plan costs nothing while the financial-year revenue stays under its limit, and it lists invoicing, receipt scans and bank reconciliation.
The Zoho Books free plan is free in the plain sense: Zoho says it stays free while the financial-year revenue does not pass $50K. Inside that line it lists invoices, quotes, expenses, receipt scans and bank reconciliation, and the Zoho Books score breakdown shows where it lands once everything is weighed.
Other free options include Wave’s free software, and Xero plan prices show the paid side of the market. The wider section on questions about the other tools covers the rest.
What the free plan limits
The limits are specific. The plan allows 1,000 invoices a year, 1,000 expenses a year, 50 receipt scans a month and 5 scheduled reports. A business that outgrows them moves to Standard at $20 a month, which adds bank feeds and sales tax tracking.
The free plan lists no bank feeds, so bank lines come in another way. That matters for anyone who does a monthly bank check, because the check is faster when the lines arrive on their own.
Against QuickBooks and the cheaper steps
QuickBooks Online has a Free plan with 1 user, 2 invoices a month and 1 bank connection, and QuickBooks Online pricing for the paid plans starts at $38 a month. If cost is the reason to leave it, a cheaper step away from QuickBooks ranks the choices.
No-cost accounting options puts the free plans side by side. For a direct look at the main alternative, Wave in detail lays out its free Starter plan.
A shop that sells online can try online store accounting options, because Zoho Books lists native Shopify and Amazon connections.
Several businesses
Zoho Books handles more than one business: Zoho says you can set them up as different organizations linked to one Zoho Books account. Pricing is per organization, so the cost of extra businesses grows with each one. Questions that did not fit here may be on the questions index.
Common questions
How long does the free plan last?
Zoho says the plan stays free while the financial-year revenue does not pass $50K, so it has no end date until revenue passes that line.
How many invoices fit on the free plan?
The free plan allows 1,000 invoices a year, and the same number of expenses.
What is the first paid plan?
Standard costs $20 a month and adds bank feeds and sales tax tracking. Paid plans come with a 14-day trial.