FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Key Differences & What’s Best 2023
FreshBooks and Zoho Books are both popular cloud-based accounting software solutions, but they have some differences in terms of features, target audience, and pricing. If you need affordable access for only one or two users, then FreshBooks may be a good fit for you. If you have multiple users and want the ability to integrate with other modules like inventory and expense management, you might consider Zoho Books.
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books Comparison
 |  | |
Our Overall Rubric Score | 3.2 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
Best For | Small service-based businesses and freelancers seeking project accounting features and small businesses with employees | Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) needing strong inventory, mobile accounting, and accounts payable (A/P) management features |
Monthly Pricing | $17 to $55 or custom pricing | $0 to $275 |
Users Included | 1 or 2 (can pay for extra seats for $11 per user, per month) | 1 to 15 |
Clients Included | 5 to unlimited | Unlimited |
Accessibility | Cloud | Cloud |
Key Features | Robust invoice customization features, built-in time tracker, and excellent customer service | Powerful mobile app, integration with other Zoho apps, and inventory management features |
Ease of Sharing | Accountant can access books directly through the cloud | Accountant can access books directly through the cloud |
Overall Ease of Use | Easy and simple for freelancers and businesses without an accounting background | Can be difficult to navigate for new users |
Customer Support | Telephone, live chat, chatbot, and self-help resources | Telephone, live chat, email, self-help resources |
Assisted Bookkeeping | Integrates with Bench | Independent Zoho Advisors |
Payroll | Integrates with Gusto | N/A |
Credit Card Processing | Stripe and PayPal | Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, WorldPay, WePay, Braintree, and Forte |
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books Similarities & Differences
When To Use
Fit Small Business Case Study
Our case study framework shows a side-by-side comparison of Zoho Books vs FreshBooks to help you decide which is right for your business.
You can check out the detailed results of our case study in our FreshBooks review and our Zoho Books review. See the graph below for the summary.
Fit Small Business Case Study
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FreshBooks $55 as tested
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Zoho Books $50 as tested
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Pricing
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Monthly Pricing |
|
|
Number of Users |
|
$2.50 per additional user |
Number of Billable Clients |
| Unlimited |
Free Trial | 30 days | 14 days |
FreshBooks’ Premium plan is $55 per month and allows only one user, with a cost of $10 per additional user. So if you have more than one user, Zoho Books may be a better option because it charges $50 per month for its Professional plan that allows up to five users. In addition, it offers a free plan for users with less than $50,000 in annual revenue, and there are no restrictions as to the number of billable clients.
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Features
Invoicing
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Create & Send Invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Customize Invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Email & Print Invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Send Invoices From the Mobile App | ✓ | ✓ |
View Outstanding Invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Create Recurring Invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Calculate Sales Tax Rate Based on Customer Address | ✕ | ✕ |
Both FreshBooks and Zoho Books scored high when it comes to invoicing features, with strong customization options including the style, logo, and personal message. Likewise, Zoho Books offers different useful templates including spreadsheet forms.
Both allow you to create recurring invoices, and send invoices from the mobile app. However, they cannot calculate sales tax rate based on customer address. You also can’t issue a refund check if a customer has a credit balance on their account.
Banking & Cash Management
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Connect to Bank Account | ✓ | ✓ |
View Outstanding Transactions | ✓ | ✓ |
Reconcile Bank Account With Bank Feeds | ✓ | ✓ |
Upload Bank Statements | ✕ | ✓ |
Reconcile Bank Accounts Without Bank Feeds | ✕ | ✓ |
Print Checks | ✕ | ✓ |
When it comes to banking and cash management, Zoho Books excels, while FreshBooks doesn’t perform well because Zoho Books has an advanced banking module for reconciling bank transactions. While both programs allow you to connect to a bank account, view outstanding transactions, and reconcile accounts that are connected to a bank feed, only Zoho Books lets you upload your bank statements and reconcile accounts without bank feeds. In addition, you can’t print checks in FreshBooks.
Accounts Payable
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Manage & Track Unpaid Bills | ✓ | ✓ |
Capture Expense Receipts | ✓ | ✓ |
Create Recurring Expenses | ✓ | ✓ |
Record Purchase Order | ✕ | ✓ |
Enter a Vendor Credit | ✕ | ✓ |
Pay an Independent Contractor | ✕ | ✓ |
Available for Premium and Select subscribers of FreshBooks, the A/P tool includes bill and vendor management features. While you can perform tasks like managing and tracking unpaid bills, create recurring expenses and capture expense receipts, it doesn’t allow you to record purchase orders, enter vendor credits, or pay independent contractors.
Zoho Books can perform all of those tasks. It received a nearly perfect score in this category, with the exception of the extra steps required to apply a vendor credit to an invoice.
Inventory Management
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Add an Inventory to an Invoice | ✓ | ✓ |
Create an Inventory Item | ✕ | ✓ |
View Inventory Available | ✕ | ✓ |
Track Total Units & Costs | ✕ | ✓ |
Calculate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) | ✕ | ✓ |
Decrease Inventory for Units Returned to Vendor | ✕ | ✓ |
Record Inventory Returned Into Inventory | ✕ | ✓ |
Inventory management is another area where Zoho Books excels as it received a perfect score. It has complete inventory tracking features for tracking stock levels, and it allows you to track the cost of goods available for sale and divide that cost between the ending inventory and the cost of goods sold.
It also lets you adjust the quantity and cost of inventory, and the price list feature provides a convenient way to customize item prices for specific customers. Meanwhile, FreshBooks only allows you to set up inventory descriptions to be added to an invoice.
Project Accounting
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Create an Estimate | ✓ | ✓ |
Add Labor to Estimates | ✓ | ✓ |
Add Inventory to Estimates | ✓ | ✓ |
Add Sales Taxes to Estimates | ✓ | ✓ |
Assign Actual Labor to Project | ✓ | ✓ |
Compare Estimated vs Actual Project Costs | ✓ | ✓ |
While both FreshBooks and Zoho Books are strong with project accounting, it is with the caveat that no inventory accounting is needed for FreshBooks. With Zoho Books, there isn’t a way to identify the actual inventory used in a project in the actual vs budget report, only in the profit and loss statement.
However, both have solid project management features, allowing you to create estimates and convert them to projects, allocating actual labor cost details. You can also compare estimated and actual project costs, which is useful for budget planning.
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Ease of Use
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Accessibility | Cloud | Cloud |
Requires Installation | ✕ | ✕ |
Set Up in a Few Minutes | ✓ | ✓ |
Shortcut Buttons | ✓ | ✓ |
Unlimited Customer Support | ✓ | ✓ |
When it comes to the user interface and ability to navigate the software, FreshBooks ranks higher. Zoho Books is a more complicated program with some features that are hidden within each other, making it more difficult to navigate for novice users.
The FreshBooks dashboard provides a snapshot of your revenue and expenses, as shown below:
FreshBooks dashboard
The Zoho Books dashboard also gives a comprehensive view of your total receivables and payables, reflecting your cash flow in graph form. It is easy to view your incoming and outgoing transactions to receive an accurate view of your financial picture.
Zoho Books dashboard
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Integrations
Zoho Books is limited to its integration with 40 other Zoho products, including Zoho CRM, Zoho Inventory, Zoho People, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Expense. Meanwhile, FreshBooks integrates with more than 70 software programs, including Zoom, Gusto, Google Workspace, Squarespace, Shopify, Stripe, QuickBooks Online, and Dropbox.
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Mobile App Functionality
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Accessibility | iOS and Android | iOS and Android |
Send Invoices | ✓ | ✓ |
Accept Payments | ✓ | ✓ |
Capture Receipt | ✓ | ✓ |
Categorize Expenses From Bank Feeds | ✕ | ✓ |
View Reports | ✕ | ✓ |
Enter Unpaid Bills | ✓ | ✓ |
Record Billable Time | ✓ | ✓ |
Assign Time Worked to a Customer or Project | ✓ | ✓ |
FreshBooks has a capable mobile app although it doesn’t allow you to enter bill payments, categorize bank feed transactions, and assign expenses to projects. Zoho Books has the most functional mobile app among the accounting software we’ve reviewed. It tops our list of the best mobile accounting apps, which makes it ideal for businesses that mostly perform accounting tasks on tablets and smartphones.
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Assisted Bookkeeping
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Assisted Bookkeeping Service | Bench | Independent Zoho Advisors |
Monthly Pricing | Starting at $299 | Varies |
Access to Experts | ✓ | ✓ |
Communication | Phone and in-app messaging | Varies |
Account Reconciliation | ✓ | Varies |
Bookkeeping Advice | ✓ | ✓ |
User-friendly Dashboard | ✓ | Varies |
While FreshBooks doesn’t offer assisted bookkeeping, it partners with Bench to provide bookkeeping, tax preparation, and consulting services at a price that ranges from $299 to $499 per month. Meanwhile, Zoho Books gives you access to a network of over 500 certified Zoho Books Advisors, with 145 in the US. Pricing and services provided depend on the advisor.
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: Customer Support
FreshBooks | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
Phone Support (Callback) | ✓ | ✓ |
Phone Support (You Make the Call) | ✓ | ✓ |
Live Chat Support | ✕ | ✓ |
Chatbot | ✓ | ✓ |
Email Support | ✓ | ✓ |
Self-help Resources | ✓ | ✓ |
Where FreshBooks shines is with its customer service, which offers phone and email support to all subscribers. Zoho Books only offers email support for Free users, but phone users receive access to phone and live chat, including the ability to directly call an agent.
FreshBooks vs Zoho Books: User Reviews
Both FreshBooks and Zoho Books scored high with users. FreshBooks users appreciate that the software is easy to set up and use. Reviewers also praised its project tracking features and how easy it is to invoice clients if you use the project feature. The software’s biggest limitation is its inability to manage inventory, and users wished that FreshBooks had a live chat feature.
FreshBooks earned the following average scores on popular review sites:
- G21: 4.5 out of 5 based on about 660 reviews
- GetApp2: 4.5 out of 5 based on around 4,200 reviews
- TrustRadius3: 8.0 out of 10 based on about 190 reviews
Meanwhile, Zoho Books users appreciate that the setup is fairly straightforward. Reviewers also praised the robust mobile app and strong invoice customization features. One of the solution’s drawbacks is that it requires a subscription to the Professional plan to manage and track unpaid bills. Some users also didn’t appreciate that it limits the number of invoices you can send in the free plan.
Zoho Books has the following average scores on popular review sites:
- G24: 4.5 out of 5 based on around 160 reviews
- TrustRadius5: 7.8 out of 10 based on about 120 reviews
- Software Advice6: 4.38 out of 5 based on around 570 reviews
How We Evaluated Accounting Software
We evaluated the small business accounting software based on ease of use, pricing, and how well it performed against the ideal features we’re seeking, including project accounting, inventory management, and mobile accounting. Our evaluation was based on a rubric scoring methodology in six categories, each with a designated appropriate percentage.
5%
Pricing
40%
General Features
10%
Inventory
10%
Project Accounting
30%
Ease of Use
5%
Mobile App
5% of Overall Score
We evaluated pricing based on how each plan compares with the other similar software packages as well as how many users are included in each plan and the extra costs incurred per additional user.
40% of Overall Score
The biggest percentage comes from general features because the main reason small businesses need accounting software is to automate business processes, such as banking, A/P and accounts receivable (A/R), sales taxes, and reporting.
10% of Overall Score
Many businesses are involved in the sales of products, so it’s essential that the best accounting software has a dedicated inventory management system.
10% of Overall Score
At the very least, a good accounting system should include features for tracking project-related costs for labor, materials, services, and inventory items.
30% of Overall Score
In addition to user interface (UI) and navigation, we also consider the available customer support options, including live chat and email and phone support.
5% of Overall Score
Mobile apps are evaluated based on their ability to perform certain tasks, such as invoicing, online payment processing, and expense receipt capture.
*Percentages of overall score
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, Zoho Books offers a 14-day free trial. During the period, you can explore the software’s features and functionality to determine if it meets your business needs.
FreshBooks offers different pricing plans based on the needs of your business. Pricing starts at $17 per month for the Lite plan, which allows you to manage up to five billable clients. The Plus plan costs $30 per month and supports up to 50 clients. There is also a Premium plan for $55 per month, which allows unlimited clients and provides additional features. The Select plan is custom-priced and also allows unlimited clients as well as a dedicated account manager.
Yes, Zoho Books supports multicurrency transactions. You can create invoices in different languages and choose the appropriate currency based on the particular location of your business or customer. You can also track exchange rates and generate reports based on your preferred currency.
Yes, FreshBooks allows you to customize the design and layout of your invoices, estimates, and other financial documents. You can add your company logo, choose different templates, and modify the content to align with your company’s branding.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, the choice between Zoho Books vs FreshBooks depends on your specific business requirements, the scale of your operations, and the depth of accounting features you need. If you’re looking for a more basic accounting software with excellent customer service, then FreshBooks is the better option. If you want software that is designed to scale with your business but that still offers a free option if you earn less than $50,000 in annual revenue, then Zoho Books is the clear winner.
User review references:
1G2 | FreshBooks
2GetApp | FreshBooks
3TrustRadius | FreshBooks
4G2 | Zoho Books
5TrustRadius | Zoho Books
6Software Advice | Zoho Books
