Zoho Books vs Manager

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Our analysts compared Zoho Books vs Manager 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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Manager, a cloud-based accounting software, streamlines financial tasks for small and medium-sized businesses. Its intuitive interface simplifies bookkeeping, from recording transactions and managing accounts payable/receivable to generating reports and filing taxes. Geared towards entrepreneurs and accountants, Manager empowers users with control and flexibility. Key benefits include automated data entry, real-time financial insights, and robust inventory management. Popular features like bank reconciliation and custom reports enhance efficiency and decision-making. Compared to similar products, Manager boasts user-friendliness, affordability (starting at around $15 per month per user), and a supportive online community. While it may lack advanced features of enterprise-level software, Manager excels as a user-centric accounting solution for growing businesses.

Pros:
  • Easy to use
  • Affordable
  • Real-time insights
  • Mobile access
  • Active community
Cons:
  • Limited reports
  • No payroll integration
  • Basic inventory management
  • Learning curve for taxes
  • Limited customer support
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$15/User, Monthly, Freemium
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Windows
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Mobile
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Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
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Videos
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Email
Phone
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FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
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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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  • Effortless Bookkeeping: Streamline daily tasks with intuitive data entry, automated calculations, and pre-defined accounts, freeing up time for strategic planning and growth.
  • Financial Clarity at Your Fingertips: Gain instant insights into your business performance with real-time reports and dashboards, allowing you to make informed decisions based on accurate data.
  • Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity: Automate repetitive tasks like invoicing, bank reconciliation, and expense tracking, boosting team productivity and minimizing errors.
  • Scalability for Growth: Manage your finances with ease as your business expands, accommodating multiple users, currencies, and locations with flexible configurations.
  • Cost-Effective Solution: Access powerful accounting tools at an affordable price point, making Manager a budget-friendly option for small and medium-sized businesses.
  • Control and Customization: Tailor the software to your specific needs with customizable accounts, reports, and workflows, ensuring your financial data is organized and accessible.
  • Mobile Access on the Go: Manage your finances from anywhere with secure mobile access, allowing you to review reports, approve invoices, and stay connected on the move.
  • Collaborative Environment: Share financial data and collaborate with colleagues in real-time, enhancing communication and transparency within your organization.
  • Secure and Reliable: Protect your financial information with industry-standard security measures and cloud-based data storage, ensuring peace of mind and data integrity.
  • Supportive Community: Leverage the knowledge and expertise of a thriving online community, finding answers, tips, and support from fellow Manager users.
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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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  • Remittance Advice: Simplify the record-keeping process by informing suppliers or vendors of completed payment including, the purpose, type, invoice number and invoice date. 
  • Fixed Asset Management: Store all asset-related data and make it easy to find the specific data in a hurry. Simplify the audit and reporting process with centralized asset information. 
  • Bank Reconciliation: Prevent theft, keep mistakes at bay and identify accounting errors with bank reconciliations. Know which cash transactions cleared and which are outstanding. Check the validity of bank charges from the by account. Identify the fraudulent use of money, prevent additional charges and give the bank the time to restore the account in case of theft. 
  • Recurring Billing: Minimize the possibility of missed payments or plate payments with recurring billing. Bring greater stability to the business with revenue predictability. Ensure customer data is compliant to PCI standards. Boost flexibility, increase customer retention by making it easy for subscribers to change plans. 
  • Multi-Currency: Spend less time making accounting adjustments due to exchange rate differences. Keep money in multiple currencies in one account. Manage foreign exchanges with reduced transaction cost with convenience and simplicity. 
  • Profit And Loss Statements: Track expenses, profit and loss, revenue with detailed profit and loss statements. Present data in a digestible format and easily sort through stored data. 
  • Cash Management: Minimize excessive spending and use income efficiently. Keep a tab on how revenue is used, manage cash collections and plan expenditures. 
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Product Ranking

#7

among all
Accounting Software

#322

among all
Accounting Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

88
69
100
93
95
97
100
94
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Accounts Payable
Banking and Cash Management
Inventory Management
Platform Capabilities
Platform Security
Platform Capabilities
Tax Management
Accounts Receivable
Banking and Cash Management
Accounts Payable

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Zoho Books
Manager
+ 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 93 97 94 69 86 71 15 73 73 20 60 100 54 62 100 0 25 50 75 100
100%
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78%
22%
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94%
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6%
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80%
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85%
8%
7%
69%
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31%
71%
29%
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86%
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14%
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25%
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15%
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85%
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57%
14%
29%
80%
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40%
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80%
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80%
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84%
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58%
5%
37%
80%
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

33%
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67%
67%
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33%
100%
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33%
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67%

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 546 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 81 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.

94%
of users recommend this product

Manager has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 94% when considering 81 user reviews from 2 recognized software review sites.

5.0 (14)
n/a
4.6 (60)
4.1 (12)
n/a
4.8 (69)
4.4 (412)
n/a
4.1 (60)
n/a

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 Manager and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Platform Capabilities. Manager stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award
Platform Capabilities 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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Completely Free: Offers a fully-featured desktop version with no limitations, costs, or ads.
User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive design makes it easy to navigate and manage finances, even for those without accounting experience.
Flexible Chart of Accounts: Customize account structure to match specific business needs, ensuring accurate tracking and reporting.
Comprehensive Reports: Generate a wide range of financial reports, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and more, providing valuable insights.
Offline Functionality: Access and work on accounts even without internet connectivity, ensuring productivity regardless of location.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing flexibility for different operating systems.
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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: Some users find certain features or reports cannot be tailored as extensively as desired, potentially hindering specific workflows.
No Dedicated Mobile App: Lacks a native mobile app, limiting on-the-go access and requiring web browser usage for cloud-based access, which may not be ideal for all users.
Basic Payroll Features: Handles essential payroll tasks but may not suffice for businesses with complex tax regulations or extensive payroll needs, potentially requiring integration with other software.
Potential Feature Lag: Some users report a delay in the implementation of highly requested features, which could impact those seeking the latest functionalities.
Cloud Version Cost: While the desktop version is free, the cloud-based version incurs a subscription fee, which may deter those seeking entirely free cloud-based accounting solutions.
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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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Manager's user reviews in the past year paint a contrasting picture. Fans adore its free, full-featured desktop version, praising its "intuitive design" and "flexible chart of accounts" that cater to specific business needs. "Manager beats anything else free by a mile," exclaims one user, highlighting its "comprehensive reports" and "offline functionality" as major wins over cloud-based competitors. Another reviewer applauds its "cross-platform compatibility," appreciating seamless usage across Windows, macOS, and Linux.** However, some users yearn for more in-depth customization. "Limited options for tweaking reports" and "basic payroll features" leave them wanting, especially compared to paid software like QuickBooks. The lack of a native mobile app also disrupts their workflow, making on-the-go access cumbersome. And while the cloud version offers more features, its subscription fee stings some users who enjoyed the desktop's "completely free" model. Ultimately, Manager seems to shine for solopreneurs and small businesses seeking a functional, free accounting solution. Its strengths lie in user-friendliness, flexibility, and offline accessibility. However, those with complex needs or seeking advanced features might find its limitations outweigh its free price tag.

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