QuickBooks Desktop Pro vs. Zoho Books

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Quickbooks Desktop Pro is accounting software from Intuit, Inc. It includes core accounting features, plus analytics and exportable reports. It is offered in on-premise and SaaS forms.N/A
Zoho Books
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Zoho Books is an accounting solution that is designed to help small businesses manage their finances. This solution includes dashboards and a wide variety of reports. Business users can automate tasks and set up custom workflows. The vendor offers a 14 day free trial.
$0
For businesses with turnover <50K USD per annum
Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop ProZoho Books
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Free
$0
For businesses with turnover <50K USD per annum
Standard
$15
Per Organization/Month, Billed Annually
Professional
$40
Per Organization/Month, Billed Annually
Premium
$60
Per Organization/Month, Billed Annually
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
QuickBooks Desktop ProZoho Books
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup fee$15 Per Organization/Month, Billed Annually
Additional DetailsZoho Books is available for both monthly and yearly plans. Users who sign up for the annual plan get a discount.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
QuickBooks Desktop ProZoho Books
Considered Both Products
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
We tried out Zoho Books because we use Zoho for CRM purposes and we were were interested in exploring what type of integration there might be with our CRM to our financial books. However, we just found out that nothing really competes with QuickBooks when it comes to …
Chose QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Zoho had great end-user support and it was almost as simple to learn and was as easy to use. But its reports were not as [customizable] as QuickBooks Desktop Pro, and its job cost and department accounting [were] more cumbersome than QuickBooks Desktop Pro was. In addition, …
Zoho Books
Chose Zoho Books
I found Zoho Books to be more intuitive and user friendly. I also appreciated that it is cloud based, unlike the versions of QB I had used in the past. So our team was able to work remotely when needed, which was especially helpful during a pandemic.
Chose Zoho Books
  • QuickBooks Online is much harder to use than Zoho Books. We found that Zoho Books was easy to train staff, and the online help is excellent.
  • Qickbooks Desktop is endlessly buggy, requiring frequent IT support calls and a dedicated server for multi-user access.
  • Online payments for …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
QuickBooks Desktop ProZoho Books
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
9.3
65 Ratings
22% above category average
Zoho Books
-
Ratings
Pay calculation9.961 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration9.835 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.853 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management9.949 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management7.350 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.9
39 Ratings
11% above category average
Zoho Books
6.0
14 Ratings
16% below category average
API for custom integration8.032 Ratings6.014 Ratings
Plug-ins7.836 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.5
93 Ratings
6% above category average
Zoho Books
9.3
23 Ratings
15% above category average
Single sign-on capability8.975 Ratings10.018 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.188 Ratings8.722 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.4
108 Ratings
10% above category average
Zoho Books
7.8
22 Ratings
3% above category average
Dashboards9.693 Ratings7.222 Ratings
Standard reports7.5108 Ratings7.221 Ratings
Custom reports8.2106 Ratings9.01 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
8.0
112 Ratings
8% above category average
Zoho Books
8.3
23 Ratings
11% above category average
Accounts payable9.7107 Ratings8.221 Ratings
Accounts receivable7.5109 Ratings9.122 Ratings
Cash management2.497 Ratings8.021 Ratings
Bank reconciliation9.7108 Ratings5.920 Ratings
Expense management8.899 Ratings7.421 Ratings
Time tracking8.747 Ratings6.013 Ratings
Fixed asset management6.064 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency support7.927 Ratings10.012 Ratings
Multi-division support5.752 Ratings00 Ratings
Regulations compliance7.239 Ratings10.011 Ratings
Electronic tax filing8.050 Ratings00 Ratings
Self-service portal9.738 Ratings10.015 Ratings
Global Financial Support7.015 Ratings00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers8.837 Ratings00 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting7.438 Ratings00 Ratings
Localizations8.517 Ratings00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations9.665 Ratings00 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting9.733 Ratings00 Ratings
Configurable Accounting8.141 Ratings00 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework7.824 Ratings00 Ratings
Standardized Processes9.748 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
6.7
56 Ratings
5% below category average
Zoho Books
6.5
12 Ratings
8% below category average
Inventory tracking6.553 Ratings6.012 Ratings
Automatic reordering6.132 Ratings7.07 Ratings
Location management6.229 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing module8.216 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
7.3
70 Ratings
1% below category average
Zoho Books
8.3
20 Ratings
12% above category average
Pricing6.650 Ratings7.017 Ratings
Order entry7.449 Ratings9.016 Ratings
Credit card processing7.148 Ratings9.017 Ratings
Cost of goods sold9.058 Ratings8.016 Ratings
Order Orchestration9.018 Ratings00 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility9.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Order exception Resolution3.216 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
QuickBooks Desktop ProZoho Books
Small Businesses
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed
Score 9.1 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed
QuickBooks Self-Employed
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Accounting Seed
Accounting Seed
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
QuickBooks Desktop ProZoho Books
Likelihood to Recommend
5.6
(124 ratings)
6.7
(24 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(18 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(31 ratings)
6.7
(6 ratings)
Availability
8.3
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
2.3
(29 ratings)
5.3
(5 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
QuickBooks Desktop ProZoho Books
Likelihood to Recommend
Intuit
I am only going to recommend it because it is currently ubiquitous, and most accountants prefer it at the moment. I do not stand by the company, and will not use the product any longer than I have to. [I believe] the support is lousy, the product is overpriced, but it does the basics of what we need. I'm very happy for all those outside Intuit who make their living supporting QuickBooks Desktop Pro; third-party support is desperately needed. They also doubled their prices for software upgrades this year, and require those who don't pay double what the last upgrade cost, to subscribe every year for $200. If one does not subscribe beyond the first year, one will not be able to use the software beyond the first year. They are moving to a rental model even for those who refuse to use the LOUSY QuickBooks online. They were good company once. Now they just turn out bloatware that everyone uses, so the rest of us have to. I look forward to the day that an honest, better-priced competitor wipes the floor with Intuit.
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Zoho
If using other cloud applications and you wish to create Zoho Books transactions via APIs, Zoho Books is great. The overall UI and flow of the application are great. If you need a detailed job cost accounting solution and robust reporting there is some room for improvement here.
Read full review
Pros
Intuit
  • It is easy to manage and adjust inventory on hand.
  • It is easy to make reports and customize them to your needs.
  • We also use it to pay our employees directly.
  • It is easy to make year-to-year comparisons to see where we can make improvements and the current financial situation.
Read full review
Zoho
  • Zoho Books invoicing and receipting features are second to none. We find it easy to quickly invoice clients and add items to their bills and also for our own receipting internally.
  • The accounting features are great for our accounting team to be able to see where we are financially and how the business is doing.
  • The ability to add contacts and run a mini CRM channel with clients within Zoho is invaluable. Since we use this in conjunction with our other CRM channels, it helps to have a centralized place to follow up and see through a sales funnel.
  • Zoho Books allows us to take payments from clients around the globe a feature we didn't have when we used another accounting system.
  • The pricing for Zoho Books is fairly reasonable for an SME organization which is a great for us as it pays itself back many times over every month.
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Cons
Intuit
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro has been around for a few years and after an update[,] they force you to look at the changes/updates before you can use [them] after updating.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro does not have 2FA.
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro should offer a way to store backups to a personal cloud without having to map a local network drive.
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Zoho
  • Zoho Books is only available in Texas and California. There is no integration allowed for paying employee expenses. The absolute worst aspect is the fact that if you make even the slightest error in data input there is no backing up. You cannot undo an error.
  • The system does not allow change once implemented, so you must get every one of your beginning balances perfect. The practice of Journal Entries is cumbersome. When reconciling, Zoho Books has adopted a number of required steps that significantly overcomplicate reconciliation using practices that are not consistent with general accounting principles in the US.
  • On the customer side, you must look in two places to see the beginning balance and the current receivables that might exist for current invoicing.
  • The way the system works, you must avoid having much trust with the balances depicted. So far, it appears that Zoho Books uses what we called in school "that new math."
  • It would be terrifying to rely on this bookkeeping system to support an IRS Audit. The system violates too many fundamental accounting principles.
  • The software is used by so few people that there is concern that we might never find a skilled bookkeeper.
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Likelihood to Renew
Intuit
We've used the program for more than 20 years in our firm both with clients and as our software. For the cost and value of the program it works well for our firms needs and desires for an accounting software program. At this point to switch would not make sense.
Read full review
Zoho
No answers on this topic
Usability
Intuit
It is a great software that does everything a small business needs it to do, but there are just a few bugs and quirks that make additional software necessary. The slowness of the software occasionally might eventually be overshadowed by the quickness of cloud-based software though.
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Zoho
Customization is the biggest struggle for us and most of the time we need to involve a tech person. The chat support is a great feature and very helpful. It would be great to be able to customize and create invoices and correspondence (templates) such are reminders in multiple languages within one organization. The currency (USD) would be the same. We have clients in different countries that don't speak English but pay in USD.
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Reliability and Availability
Intuit
I haven't experienced a time when QuickBooks Pro was unavailable when I needed it in the entire 20 years of using the software
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Intuit
The support team is not always easy to use or able to understand the problems. There are some difficulties understanding [...] the issues the purchaser has and the solutions are sometimes hard to implement. A lot can be avoided if the users have adequate training and security is set up correctly at implementation.
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Zoho
The support team feels very disjointed. We have filtered through a number of "lead" contacts and are frequently spammed by other Zoho members. Once getting an appropriate support contact on the phone - the team is very helpful, it just takes a lot of hoop jumping to get there. We actually unsubscribed from their support package as we were not getting the value we were looking for.
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In-Person Training
Intuit
Best thing I ever did was to attend a two day training seminar on QuickBooks, I learned an immense amount in a short time with hands on training by experts. I strongly recommend such training for anyone using any part of the software. It will pay for itself in the first month.
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Intuit
We implemented the software ourselves. The training we received on the software was done by taking a community course teaching us how to use QuickBooks. It allowed me to get started with some basics of how to use the program and have not needed much assistance since completing the course work.
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Intuit
Zoho had great end-user support and it was almost as simple to learn and was as easy to use. But its reports were not as [customizable] as QuickBooks Desktop Pro, and its job cost and department accounting [were] more cumbersome than QuickBooks Desktop Pro was. In addition, while I like an underdog (Zoho) the fact is that it is easier to find staff that [is] comfortable with QuickBooks Desktop Pro than anything else on the market.
Read full review
Zoho
We had a lot of problems with Exact Online, support-wise and price-wise. So Zoho Books wins on every point there. While Exact offers way more options, it tends to be really slow... and complex. Again Zoho Books wins. If you want an easy-to-use tool and not pay a lot of money, or if you are a small administration office with a few clients, this tool will be perfect for you.
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Return on Investment
Intuit
  • QuickBooks Desktop Pro is a no hassle accounting solution that ticks a lot of boxes. It almost never disappoints and organizations will usually keep using it for many years. If anything, the only time I've seen an organization migrate away from it is if they have specific accounting needs, or if the organization has grown to the point that they need a more robust accounting solution. Even then, QuickBooks can usually be maintained within another accounting software system for specific functions, like A/R & A/P for example.
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Zoho
  • Integration: Zoho Books offers out of the box integrations to extend the functionality and connect with the applications you love like MailChimp, Microsoft Outlook, PandaDoc, and Quickbooks, etc.
  • Flexibility makes Zoho Books great!
  • Since I can use forecast reports, I can create customizable sales forecast data from the dashboard to accurately measure revenue forecasts and establish sales quotas.
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ScreenShots

Zoho Books Screenshots

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