Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting application that helps you record, audit, and analyze your financial transactions—securely and efficiently. This guide walks you through first-time setup and the everyday workflows you’ll use most: sales, purchases, inventory, banking, reports, automation, and more.
1) Getting Started
Create/Access Your Organization
New user: Sign up with company name, your name, email, phone, password, and country.
Existing Zoho user: Choose Access Zoho Books to enter directly.
You’ll land on Quick Setup:
Organization details (name, address, portal name for client access).
Start date (when you begin tracking accounts in Zoho Books).
Industry & accounting method (from dropdowns).
Enable modules you need (Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, Retainer Invoices, etc.).
Taxes (add tax names and rates).
Online payments (start with PayPal; add more later).
Tip: You get a 14-day free trial—use it to model your real process end-to-end.
2) Foundation: Chart of Accounts & Opening Balances
Chart of Accounts
Go to Accountant → Chart of Accounts.
Use + New Account for one-offs (name, code, type, description).
Or Import a full list (CSV/TSV) using the sample template.
Opening Balances
Settings → Opening Balances (or via the gear in COA).
Set the opening balance date, then enter debits/credits for each account.
If totals don’t match, Books posts an Opening Balance Adjustments entry.
3) Contacts: Customers & Vendors
Sales → Contacts (or the global +).
Choose Customer or Vendor; add currency per contact (e.g., AUD).
Import customers/vendors from CSV—or sync from Zoho CRM.
Configure custom fields under Settings if you need extra attributes.
4) Items, Services & Inventory
Items/Services
Items → + New Item: set name, income account, taxes, description.
For services, uncheck purchase info; for products, add purchase details.
Inventory Tracking
Settings → Items → Enable “Track Inventory.”
Each tracked item can have opening stock, rate, reorder point, and preferred vendor.
Adjust stock via Inventory Adjustment (with reason + description).
5) Purchasing Flow
Purchase Order (PO)
Create PO → choose vendor → add items, quantities, taxes, delivery date.
Use templates and T&Cs; email the PO to the vendor.
Convert PO → Bill
Enter vendor bill number; attach vendor invoice (PDF, up to 5 MB).
Record Payment
Click Record Payment on the bill; set date, mode, paid-through account, reference.
Reports → Inventory Summary and FIFO Cost Lot Tracking show quantity in/out and costing source bills.
6) Sales Flow
Estimate
Add customer, sales rep, items, discount (flat/%), taxes, shipping.
Optional: Retainer Invoice (advance %) auto-create on estimate send.
Convert Estimate → Sales Order (optional) → Invoice
Save draft or Save & Send with your chosen template.
Allow partial payments if needed; payment gateways auto-attach.
Record Payment
Log offline receipts (bank charges, TDS/withholding), deposit account, reference.
Retainers (Advance Payments)
Auto-create from estimate or create in Retainer Invoices.
Later, apply retainer to an invoice (invoice becomes partially paid).
Retainers show “Withdrawn” once fully applied.
Credit Notes & Refunds
From an invoice: More → Create Credit Note (auto-links to the invoice).
Refund credits or Apply to Invoice.
Vendor Credits work similarly for bills.
7) Expenses & Billable Charges
Expenses → New Expense: category, amount, tax (incl./excl.), vendor, notes, attachment.
Mark as Billable and select customer to recharge later.
Recurring Expenses: convert an expense to recurring (profile, frequency).
Mileage: enable rates (mile/km) in Settings → Expenses, then log mileage entries.
8) Client Portal (Customer Self-Service)
Enable per contact (checkbox Allow portal or Configure Client Portal).
Customers can:
View/accept estimates and comment.
View/pay invoices.
Download Statements of Accounts.
See projects/time sheets (if enabled in preferences).
Your team sees client comments on each transaction; reply and display in portal.
9) Projects & Timesheets (Billable Work)
Projects → New Project: choose billing method (fixed, project hours, task hours, staff hours), budgets, tasks, users.
Log Time (manual or with timer) per task/user and mark billable.
Create Invoice from project; include unbilled expenses and apply retainers.
10) Banking & Reconciliation
Banking → Add Bank/Credit Card (Zoho supports ~90 days of fetch for many banks).
Categorize unmatched transactions or Match to existing invoices/bills.
Import Statements for older transactions (CSV) and categorize.
Reconciliation: set the closing balance and tick through matched entries.
Tip: If feeds aren’t available, use manual accounts and statement import—still works great.
11) Accountant Tools & Reports
Reports → Business Overview: Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow.
Export to PDF/XLS, customize date ranges.
Accountant: General Ledger, Journal Report, Trial Balance, Account Transactions.
Manual Journals: post adjusting entries.
Base Currency Adjustment: revalue foreign balances on a date.
Transaction Locking: freeze back-dated periods to prevent edits.
12) Deep-Dive Settings
Organization & Users
Organization Profile: logo, fiscal year, tax basis, date format, tax IDs.
Manage Organizations: create multiple orgs, set default.
Users & Roles: granular permissions per module/action (view/create/edit/delete). Invite users with assigned roles.
Preferences
Choose active modules, address formats, custom fields for contacts/items/transactions, price lists, portal options (show projects/time sheets).
Taxes & Currencies
Create taxes and tax groups (composite taxes).
Add currency exchange rates by date; import if needed.
Templates (PDF & Email)
Pick from professional invoice layouts.
Customize: fonts, colors, headers/footers, labels (rename “Item” to “Services”), background images, bank details, authorized signature.
Email templates per module; add placeholders and from-addresses.
Reminders & Automation
Payment Reminders before/after due date (to you, the customer, or both).
Workflows (event/date-based): send alerts, update fields, call webhooks, add time-based actions (e.g., follow-ups X days after creation).
Integrations
Payment gateways (e.g., PayPal initially), plus other Zoho apps like CRM, Subscriptions, etc., under Integrations.
13) Help & Support
Help → User Guide for step-by-step docs.
Contact Support from within the app (form with details & phone).
