Zoho Books vs Accounting Seed

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Our analysts compared Zoho Books vs Accounting Seed 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

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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Accounting Seed streamlines financial processes for mid-sized to enterprise businesses, particularly those in professional services, non-profits, and project-based industries. Built on the Salesforce platform, it leverages CRM integration and robust customization options to cater to specific needs. Key benefits include automated workflows, multi-currency support, and real-time financial reporting. Popular features range from billing and revenue recognition to inventory management and project accounting. User reviews praise its intuitive interface, scalability, and reporting capabilities. Pricing follows a tiered subscription model based on user count and desired functionality. While considered a premium solution, its feature set and integration capabilities often outweigh the cost for businesses seeking a comprehensive financial management system.

Pros
  • Easy to use interface
  • Robust reporting features
  • Seamless Salesforce integration
  • Customizable dashboards
  • Strong customer support
Cons
  • Limited customization options
  • Occasional bugs or glitches
  • Steeper learning curve for some features
  • Can be slow at times
  • No mobile app
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$9 Monthly
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$750 Monthly
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Windows
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Android
Chromebook
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On-Premise
Mobile
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Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
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Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • 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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  • Better SalesForce Integration: Integrate with SalesForce CRM and use the SalesForce Product Object. Use it as a standalone product if the system is hooked to the complete platform. 
  • Improved Invoicing: Make use of multiple invoice formats with built-in approvals. Set up recurring bills for improved security and compliance and to minimize the possibility of errors. 
  • User-friendly Reporting: Create user-friendly or fully formatted financial reports using SalesForce. Easily track the company’s performance regularly with custom reports. 
  • Time Tracking and Expenses: Manage accounting with built-in time cards. Track and report on expenses using the app. 
  • Better Accessibility: Access and conduct business from anywhere in the world with the mobile app. 
  • Eliminate repetitive tasks: Automate repetitive tasks and personalize the system using point-and-click automation. Leverage the feature to personalize with codes if the automation doesn't work for certain use cases. 
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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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  • Billing: Create an invoice, start a project or make a recurring billing plan without tedious integration. Customize recurring billing to business requirements. Configure and personalize the system for simple, smarter billing and payment management. 
    • Bookkeeping: Make sure that the business has relevant tax data and error-free and consistent bookkeeping with Avalara. Ensure seamless high-level security transactions without any fee structure with Stripe. Manage billing at the contract level by monitoring past, present and future activity. Make billing simpler with automatic subscription renewals. 
  • Accounts Receivable: Bridge the gap between invoices and payment cycle for a productive cash flow. Automate collection notices and monitor customer activities, aging balances in real-time with configurable dashboards and reports. 
    • Single-View Visibility: Maintain visibility of the project lifecycle and manage customer communication with custom processes. Compile accounts receivable data from any date or time and gain real-time visibility. Get a single view of billing quotes and incoming sales orders. Eliminate the need for repetitive billing work and get paid faster. 
  • Revenue Recognition: Free up the finance department’s time with a CRM-integrated customizable revenue management system. Enhance financial accuracy and make well-informed decisions by recognizing patterns, establishing connections and classifying financial data. 
    • Customizable Accounts Receivable: Customize accounts receivable for revenue recognition based on policies and procedures to ensure an efficient process. Streamline business workflow by automating revenue recognition. Minimize dependency on multiple IT resources with custom configuration. Record and edit contracts natively without the need of any additional integration software. 
  • Recurring Payments: Eliminate repetitive manual calculation with usage-based billing and built-in tiered payments. Customize the solution according to the business model. Make single or batch billing records from single or multiple sales opportunities. Create invoices from sales orders at any stage of completion with a click. Use time cards or expense reports to create bills. 
  • Paying Vendors: Customize the purchasing process and link a purchase order with a manufacturing or construction order as the business demands. Analyze stock level and purchase inventory without the hassle of integration points. Make transactions easier with the connectivity to over 14,500 banks and credit card companies. 
  • General Ledger: Gain complete control of charts of accounts set up with the analytical and intuitive financial management software. Manage user configuration without coding or customization and automate back-office operations with ease. 
  • Multi-Currency: Pay foreign vendors and receive payments in any currency. Keep track of the gain and losses based on fluctuations in the exchange rates with the standard pronouncements. Save time and money by automating conversions for transactions. Create compliant reports in multiple currencies. Minimize the possibility of errors with automated financial consolidation tools. 
  • Multi-Company: Manage budget for multiple companies in a single database. Share sales quotes and opportunities, vendors, charts of accounts, projects and accounting periods between different entities. Get real-time insights by switching between companies and local account views. Boost visibility and control with flexible, multi-company reports. 
  • Bank Reconciliation: Clear bank transactions and make quick reconciliations with minimal data entry using Bank Direct Connect. Ensure correct and up-to-date information by tracking changes with the audit trail function. 
    • Statement Management: Get statements from any bank and reconcile checking, savings and credit card accounts. Efficiently manage bank errors, keep an eye for frauds and maintain accurate cash flow. 
  • Sales Order Management: Save time and money with a streamlined sales order process. Make a sales order from the inventory in the CRM. Reserve products for a particular customer’s orders by designating the items. Capture packaging and shipping details from a single interface. 
    • Purchase Orders: Generate purchase orders directly from sales. Monitor and manage warehouse and inventory directly into one integrated system. Build a customized solution with kitting, serialized and non-serialized inventory, historical inventory balance reporting, multi-warehouse and multi-location environments. 
  • Project Accounting: Consolidate general ledger and project accounting into one system. Eliminate confusion and wasted time with an integrated general ledger and connected project system. Manage resources and gain rich insights from the financial reporting dashboards. 
    • Project Tracking: Keep track of the individual project and monitor overall business health. Analyze past projects and make the right project bid. Effectively track and manage the lifecycle of the project from beginning till the end. 
  • Tax Accounting: Organize and store accounting data in one cloud-based platform. Ensure compliance, accuracy and efficiency with Avalara integration, providing 360-degree sales tax compliance control. 
    • Real-time Data: Get access to financial data in real-time and gain optimal flexibility for VAT reporting, tax calculation. Get an automatic sales tax calculator. Create VAT returns with Avalara VAT reporting and digitally transmit it to the tax authorities. 
  • Data Security: Keep data safe with secure API, strong SalesForce IT infrastructure, two-factor authentication, user permissions, real-time event monitoring. Make sure your business is safe and the data is secure with a reliable, flexible solution. 
  • Point and Click Configuration: Create translation for the configuration with the translation workbench. Update data fields with workflow rules and process builders. 
  • Integration: Credit disbursement, collection tracking and customer interaction can be managed with SalesForce CRM integration, while Stripe integration helps with online payment collection. 
  • Drag-and-Drop: Drag-and-drop editing allows the managed reports configuration allowing for a future data export to Excel. Track expenses, reports and budgets with a consolidated general ledger. 
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Product Ranking

#7

among all
Accounting Software

#281

among all
Accounting Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

88
88
100
100
95
85
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100
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Accounts Payable
Banking and Cash Management
Inventory Management
Platform Capabilities
Platform Security
Accounts Payable
Banking and Cash Management
Financial Statements and Revenue Management
General Ledger and Chart of Accounts
Journal Entries

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Zoho Books
Accounting Seed
+ 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 100 95 100 90 90 75 82 100 85 80 60 100 92 92 96 100 85 100 91 100 100 69 94 100 100 73 89 100 90 96 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

33%
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 546 reviews
Great User Sentiment 337 reviews
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.

84%
of users recommend this product

Accounting Seed has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 84% when considering 337 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (14)
n/a
4.6 (60)
4.2 (25)
4.4 (412)
4.4 (127)
n/a
4.1 (151)
4.1 (60)
4.1 (34)

Awards

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

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Accounting Seed and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Accounts Payable and Mobile Support.

Accounts Payable Award
Mobile Support Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

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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Streamlined Workflows: Automates tasks, reduces manual data entry.
Seamless Salesforce Integration: Unifies financial and customer data.
Real-time Insights: Provides instant visibility into key metrics.
Improved Reporting: Customizable dashboards and reports for better decision-making.
Scalability and Flexibility: Adapts to growing businesses and diverse needs.
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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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Limited Customization Options: May not fully adapt to specific needs.
Occasional Bugs or Glitches: Can disrupt workflows and require support.
Steeper Learning Curve for Some Features: Complex functionalities might require training.
Can Be Slow at Times: Performance issues can impact user experience.
No Mobile App: Lacks on-the-go access and data management.
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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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Accounting Seed users share a love-hate relationship with the software. For many, its Salesforce integration shines brightest, with "it truly ties into Salesforce seamlessly" and "no need for an API connection" being common praises. This unified data view across sales and finance wins favor in companies wanting clear customer-to-financial insights. However, some find its customization options "cluttered and confusing," particularly when compared to rivals like Xero or QuickBooks. Users lament "frustrating input screens" and a "steeper learning curve" for complex features. Reporting is another battleground. Some rave about "robust reporting features" that provide "real-time insights," while others criticize "a rework is receiving a rework" and "not integral to any accounting software." Compared to Intuit's FinancialEdge, Accounting Seed's reporting flexibility seems to fall short for some. Despite these frustrations, praise for the user interface and support persists. "Easy to use interface" and "strong customer support" are frequent positives, contrasting with complaints about clunky competitors like Sage. Efficiency gains are also highlighted, with users enjoying "reduced manual work" and "streamlined financial processes." Overall, Accounting Seed seems to be a mixed bag. Its Salesforce integration and user interface charm some, while its reporting and customization limitations disappoint others. For companies prioritizing user-friendliness and real-time financial insights, it's a contender. But for those needing highly customizable reporting or slick on-the-go access (no mobile app yet!), other options might be a better fit.

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Screenshots

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