Accounting · Full Double-Entry Accounting
Zoho Books Review
The best-value full accounting — a real free tier and built-in project tracking
Quick verdict
Zoho Books is best for Cost-conscious solo and small trades (plumbers, electricians, HVAC, handymen, small GCs) wanting affordable full accounting with light per-job tracking — especially if using other Zoho apps. US payroll fully covers only ~21 states; support responsiveness is the common gripe; field service is a separate product (Zoho FSM); best value only inside the Zoho ecosystem; not construction-specific.
Pricing
Free $0/mo (revenue under $50K/yr) · Standard ~$15/mo · Professional ~$40/mo · Premium ~$60/mo · Elite ~$120/mo · Ultimate ~$240/mo (annual-effective). Extra users +$3/mo. 14-day trial on paid tiers..
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About Zoho Books
Zoho Books is the strongest value play in trades accounting: a genuine free tier for businesses under $50K/yr in revenue, then full double-entry accounting from about $15/mo — invoicing, estimates, bills and POs, expense and mileage tracking, bank reconciliation, inventory, and (unusually at this price) built-in project time-tracking so you can see per-job margins. It markets itself squarely as a QuickBooks alternative, and for cost-conscious solo and small trades it delivers most of what they need for a fraction of QBO's cost.
The catches are ecosystem-shaped. Zoho's US payroll only fully manages around 21 states, so multi-state crews need third-party payroll; support responsiveness is the most common complaint; field scheduling lives in a separate product (Zoho FSM), not inside Books; and it isn't construction-specific (no deep AIA/retainage job costing). But if you want affordable, capable full accounting — especially if you'd use other Zoho apps (CRM, Inventory, FSM) — Zoho Books is hard to beat on value.
How it works
Connect bank and card feeds (or import), send branded invoices and estimates, accept online payments through a client portal, and let Zoho auto-categorize and reconcile. Projects and time-tracking attach costs and hours to jobs for margin reporting. Books runs natively inside the wider Zoho suite, so data flows to Zoho CRM, Inventory, Projects, Payroll, and the separate Zoho FSM field-service product; 1,000+ further apps connect via Zoho Flow or Zapier.
Pros & cons
What works
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Real free tier, cheap paid plans
Free under $50K/yr revenue and ~$15/mo Standard — the lowest genuine cost of any full-accounting tool here, ideal for solo trades.
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Built-in project + time tracking
Attach time and costs to jobs to see per-project margins — a job-costing-lite capability rare at this price point.
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Strong invoicing and client portal
Branded invoices, estimates, online payments, and a customer portal make getting paid smooth for field businesses.
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Same-vendor field service (Zoho FSM)
If you need scheduling/dispatch, Zoho's own FSM product pushes jobs and invoices into Books — one ecosystem, one login.
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Sales tax and 1099/W-9 handling
Handles US sales tax and contractor 1099/W-9 workflows, covering the tax-time basics trades need.
What doesn't
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US payroll covers ~21 states only
Zoho Payroll fully manages around 21 states; multi-state crews need a third-party payroll provider alongside Books.
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Support responsiveness
The most common complaint is slow or hard-to-reach support — a real consideration when something breaks at month-end.
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Field service is a separate product
Scheduling/dispatch isn't inside Books — you add Zoho FSM, so it's not a single all-in-one out of the box.
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Best value only inside the Zoho world
The economics shine when you use other Zoho apps; as a standalone it's still good but you leave value on the table.
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Not construction-specific
No deep AIA billing, retainage, or heavy job costing — fine for most trades, light for complex GC accounting.
Features & integrations
Key features
Integrations
Frequently asked
Is Zoho Books really free for a small contractor?
Yes — Zoho Books has a genuine free plan for businesses with under $50,000/yr in revenue, covering invoicing, expenses, and reconciliation for one user. Above that you move to Standard (~$15/mo). It's the cheapest legitimate full-accounting on-ramp for a solo trade.
Does Zoho Books do job costing?
It has light job costing via its Projects and time-tracking features — you can attach time and costs to a job and see per-project margins. It does not do construction-grade AIA billing or retainage, so for complex GC accounting it's lighter than Sage 50 or QuickBooks Enterprise, but it's plenty for most service trades.
Can Zoho Books handle my payroll?
Zoho Payroll fully supports around 21 US states. If your crew is in a covered state it integrates cleanly; if you operate across multiple states (including uncovered ones), you'll pair Books with a third-party payroll provider like Gusto or OnPay.
Does Zoho Books work for field-service scheduling?
Not by itself — scheduling and dispatch live in a separate product, Zoho FSM, which pushes jobs and invoices into Books. If you want one vendor for both accounting and field service, the Zoho suite covers it, but Books alone is accounting-only.
Other accounting software
QuickBooks Online
The default small-business accounting platform — and what your FSM syncs to
Xero
Full-featured accounting with unlimited users and predictable pricing
FreshBooks
Invoicing-first accounting for solo and small service businesses
Wave
Free accounting and invoicing for very small and new businesses
QuickBooks Desktop / Enterprise
The deepest job costing in the QuickBooks line — where established contractors graduate
Sage (Sage 50 + Sage Accounting)
Real job costing and inventory in a desktop-grade package — plus a cheap cloud tier