Since its launch in 2011, Zoho Books has evolved in response to the growing demand from businesses and accountants across different regions. What started as a single product has now expanded into a powerful accounting platform, with 15 country-specific editions and a global edition serving users worldwide. This growth is a direct reflection of the love and trust Zoho Books has earned from accountants and businesses worldwide.
Our active, ongoing dialogue with users - listening to their feedback and understanding their pain points - has been instrumental in shaping Zoho Books into the powerful solution it is today. We listen, and we deliver.
As we wrap up this year, our engineering team has been hard at work, and we're thrilled to share the latest updates you. It is going to be a long read, but worth your time :) This is a global release with a lot of power packed features taking you one step closer to the ecosystem in simplifying taxation, compliance, and operations.
Zoho Books and Compliance go hand in hand
Invoice management system (IMS) - India
Zoho Books India is compatible with the new Invoice Management System (IMS) introduced by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).
All B2B purchase invoices (inward supplies) will be available on the GSTN’s new IMS dashboard. Here, you can accept, reject, or keep your vendor invoices (bills) pending. This is to ensure you claim the right Input Tax Credit (ITC). Only the accepted invoices go into the GSTR 2B reconciliation. While the pending invoices are not considered and carried over to the next period.
To ensure you make the right call and skip moving between systems to verify transactions, you can pull transactions from the IMS into Zoho Books. Here, the inward supply transactions are automatically categorized as matched, partially matched, or missing based on availability of such transactions in your Zoho Books. You can take action and push them back into the GSTN streamlining your GSTR-2B reconciliation process.
Dedicated TDS module in Zoho Books - India
Zoho Books already supports TDS transactions, and now we are introducing a dedicated TDS module. Here you can track the TDS liability, generate liability reports, record challans against TDS payments, and associate those challans against transactions.
Easily track outstanding TDS amounts and settle payments using the respective challans. Keep track of which challans have been paid and which are still pending.
Corporate Tax in the UAE
As corporate tax deadlines approach, Zoho Books facilitates you to generate relevant reports and eases the tax return filing process on the FTA portal. Stay compliant and efficient with our FTA-accredited platform, making tax management seamless and hassle-free for your business.
Phase 2 e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia
Connect Zoho Books to the Fatoora portal to push your invoices swiftly and stay compliant with ZATCA e-invoicing requirements. While e-invoicing isn’t new to businesses in Saudi Arabia, the mandate is becoming increasingly relevant to small businesses with each wave. Starting December 1, 2024, all businesses with a turnover above 10 million SAR (in the previous year) must comply, and by January 2025, the threshold will lower to 7 million SAR.
Germany e-invoicing
Zoho Books is taking the next step towards compliance in Germany (Zoho Books is already GoBD compliant) by introducing e-invoicing ahead of the January 1, 2025 mandate.
You can already export invoices into XML files, now Zoho Books now lets you import XML e-invoices, automatically populating them as vendor bills with no manual entry required. Zoho Books now supports both the Xrechnung and the ZUGFeRD format for both importing and exporting invoices.
There is more, by connecting to the Peppol (Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line) network through our partnership with Storecove, Zoho Books enables you to not only import and export e-invoices but also send and receive them directly between other Zoho Books users or any compatible accounting, ERP, or e-invoicing software users, streamlining your invoicing process and ensuring future compliance.
Zoho Books and Taxation
Use tax in USA
The Use Tax feature helps U.S. businesses track and calculate taxes owed in their home state on purchases from out-of-state vendors. The use tax is applied based on the local state’s regulations as long as the goods are used, stored, or consumed in the local state.
Now Zoho Books supports tracking use tax on your inter-state transactions. Please note that Zoho Books already tracks sales tax and automatically generates sales tax liability report.
Combined tax returns in Canada
Track and generate federal and provincial returns for your business in Canada using Zoho Books, and also generate combined tax returns. Consolidate federal and provincial tax obligations in a single process. Simplify compliance, reduce administrative burden, and ensure accuracy.
Use Zoho Books to track and file accurate tax returns, namely GST/HST, British Columbia PST, QST, combined GST/HST-QST, Manitoba RST, and Saskatchewan PST.
For contract work and construction (Available in the UK, US, and Canada editions)
CIS Filing in the UK: The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) has long been supported by Zoho Books, allowing small businesses to easily calculate, track, and record CIS deductions on contractor and subcontractor payments. In addition, users could generate the CIS Deduction Report and the CIS Suffered Report.
Now, business owners can take it a step further by directly filing their CIS reports with HMRC through Zoho Books—just as seamlessly as they file their VAT returns.
1099 and W9 in the USA: Now, e-file 1099 NEC and 1099-MICS with the IRS using Zoho Books and collect your vendor tax details with W9 forms.
Businesses hiring independent contractors and freelancers can issue W-9 forms from Zoho Books to collect tax information. The vendor portal further simplifies the collection. When tax season arrives, it gets easier to prepare accurate and compliant 1099 forms for IRS filing.
Canada: We are introducing T4A and T5018 tracking to manage general and construction contractor payments. Easily track T4A and T5018 payments and prepare T4A and T5018 slips from Zoho Books to share with your contractors and to file with the CRA (Canada revenue agency).
View the T4A or T5018 detail reports to review individual payments of your vendor.
SKONTO or early payment discount (Available in the Germany and Global editions)
The Skonto or early payment discounts are used to encourage quicker payments and improve cash flow. With Zoho Books, you can now easily apply early payment discounts and automatically display a note on invoices to notify and encourage customers to take advantage of it.
When you record early payments, the discounted amount is automatically recorded, eliminating the need for manual accounting. No more working around journals or additional line items to manage Skonto or early payments discounts.
Bill pay: Streamline your purchase-to-pay (Available for US, Canada, and India editions)
Zoho Books has already supported creating, recording, and tracking purchase orders, purchase receives, bills, and bill payments. With the introduction of 'Bill Pay,' we further improve the purchase-to-pay process.
Bill pay ensures accurate bill reconciliation, preventing overpay. Vendor bills are compared with purchase orders (2-way matching) or additionally with purchase receives (3-way matching) to identify any discrepancies in prices and quantities. They are automatically matched when the details align and the mismatches, if any, are flagged for your review.
Auto-scanning further enhances this process. All uploaded bills to Zoho Books either manually or automatically (received via the vendor portal or auto-forwarded from your email inbox) are scanned and matched with existing purchase orders and receives, saving time and effort.
BACS payment for UK organizations
With Zoho Books, initiating bulk vendor payments via BACS (Bankers Automated Clearing System) in the UK is simple. BACS is one of the most reliable and widely used payment methods in the UK, if you are a and now Zoho Books makes it even easier to manage.
To use this feature, just ensure that you have your vendors' bank details.Then, select multiple unpaid invoices, enter your BACS and bank details, and generate the BACS file. Upload the file to your bank portal, and you can skip the hassle of processing individual payments manually.
Revenue Recognition (Available only in the USA, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico editions)
Revenue recognition is an accounting principle that dictates when a company can recognize revenue from the sale of goods or services. The key is to recognize revenue incrementally as and when the performance obligations are fulfilled, rather than when the total payment is received.
Zoho Books can help with the revenue recognition process by automating the deferring of excess revenue, scheduling, calculation, and presentation of recognized revenue. Ensure accuracy of financial statements and enable better revenue forecasting, allocation, and auditing.
Invoice payment retention (Available only in the Global, US, Canada, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany, South Africa, Australia, and Mexico editions)
In certain transaction engagements, a portion of the total invoice amount is withheld until a service or item delivery is fully completed to the customer's satisfaction. It is paid only at the end of successful delivery.
Our new feature allows you to manage retention on such sales invoices. Based on your agreements with customers, you can apply a amount as retention. This allows your customer to withhold the portion in their initial payment. Later, you can automatically generate a separate invoice for the retained amount. No manual adjustments—journal entries and payment updates are handled automatically!
Profit margin scheme for businesses (Available only in the Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and UAE editions)
Profit margin or VAT margin is an optional scheme that allows businesses to pay VAT only on profits made on eligible items, namely second-hand goods, collectibles, and antiques. Zoho Books is now equipped to let you easily manage such trade using the Profit Margin Scheme feature. The feature allows you to track VAT on your profit margin only, avoiding double taxation while keeping your margin details confidential.
New features for Zoho Books Mexico: XML Manager, e-accounting
XML Manager
Zoho Books introduces the XML Manager feature, designed to simplify the integration of SAT’s XML file format for businesses in Mexico. You can bulk upload multiple XML files in a ZIP folder. You can review the XML files on Zoho Books and link them to existing bills or expenses, or create new entries directly. Ensure error-free processing and save yourself or your staff from hours of manual work.
e-Accounting for SAT Compliance
Zoho Books now supports e-accounting features to help Mexican businesses stay fully compliant with SAT’s electronic accounting requirements. You can submit the Chart of Accounts, Trial Balance, and accounting entries to SAT as needed—whether it's monthly or upon request. Ensure up-to-date records in electronic format. This feature streamlines the process, making it easier to meet SAT regulations and deadlines efficiently.
Features available across editions: Progress invoice and Fixed asset management
Progress Invoices
The progress invoice (or progressive invoice) is used for long-term and complex projects or deliverables. Here, you may receive payments over the course of work. This is common in construction, software development, consulting, and manufacturing among other industries, where clients are billed in stages, typically based on project milestones or agreed upon time periods. This allows the selling business to invoice portions of the total quoted cost as the work progresses, maintaining consistent cashflow rather than waiting for project completion.
Zoho Books allows businesses to send progress invoices and track it right from the original quote. You can incrementally invoice amounts (a percentage or a specific number) for each line item until the completion of the project or engagement. Easily track the invoiced amounts, remaining balances, and the total amount.
Fixed Asset Management
Fixed assets are tangible items businesses use in their operations to generate revenue directly or indirectly such as buildings, machinery, computers, and vehicles. While essential for business growth, they naturally depreciate over time. The rate and method of depreciation are governed by tax authorities and regulatory bodies to ensure proper asset valuation.
Zoho Books helps you manage the entire lifecycle of fixed assets. You can automate depreciation based on various methods, such as Straight-Line Depreciation (uniform or linear loss of value) or Declining Balance Depreciation (accelerated or faster loss in early years or months). Beyond valuation, you can use Zoho Books to manage purchase, sale, and disposal of fixed assets too.
Zoho Books further supports 150% or 200% acceleration rates for US organizations.
There’s more from Zoho’s Finance realm
Zoho Payroll is now available across all 50 states in the United States. It was already available in India, UAE, and a few states in the US, trusted by businesses of all sizes to simplify and automate payroll processes. Now, all 50 states can enjoy the benefit of a strong Payroll solution integrated tightly with the Zoho Finance ecosystem.
Zoho Expense is Zoho’s travel and expense management software used and loved by thousands of businesses worldwide. Zoho Expense natively integrates with Zoho Books to synchronize expenses.
Subscribing to Zoho Expense now gets even simpler, with the release of the Advanced expense management add-on for Zoho Books. Business using Zoho Books can now directly purchase and add expense accounts/employees to streamline expense management.
Zoho Practice is designed specifically for accounting and bookkeeping firms. It seamlessly integrates with Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho Expense, and Zoho Payroll, to empower your team with easy access to vital financial data and fosters efficient collaboration across departments and with your practice clients.
Zoho Practice announced a slew of new features to further elivate your firm’s service to your clients. It includes workpaper automation, document management, creating ledgers, improved collaboration with clients, and customizations.
What’s ahead
We can’t wait for you to try and benefit from the new features. Learn more about these features by clicking here. Visit our pricing page to learn feature availability in your Zoho Books edition or plan.
As we close out the year, we're excited to continue expanding horizons and exploring new possibilities with you.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to bringing you more meaningful updates, valuable features, and shared success in the months to come.
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