Zoho Books vs SoftCo AP Automation

QuickBooks Online

FreshBooks

Wave

Emburse Expense Professional

Spreadsheet Server

Longview Tax

Compare Zoho Books and SoftCo AP Automation based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

QuickBooks Online is an all-in-one online business software designed to help manage business finances. The platform is built to scale businesses, unlocking insights and providing the functionality of a larger team, all on one integrated platform.

QuickBooks Enterprise

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is an accounting software for small businesses which provides users with real-time access to customer, employee, and vendor information. The software includes tools for managing inventory, shipping, sales orders, pricing, tasks, invoicing, reporting, and more.

Xero

Xero is an award-winning online accounting software designed for small business owners and accountants, available on any computer or mobile device with an internet connection. Simplify business admin and get a range of financial insights to help you make better decisions for your business.

Zoho Books helps small businesses to manage all financial activity, from invoices and expenses, to sales and purchase orders, to taxes, reports, and bank feeds.

Accounting

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

Accrual Accounting

ACH Payment Processing

Approval Process Control

Audit Trail

Bank Reconciliation

Billable & Non-Billable Hours

Billing & Invoicing

Billing Portal

Budgeting/Forecasting

Cash Flow Management

Cash Management

Catalog Management

Client Portal

Commission Management

Compliance Management

Consolidation/Roll-Up

Contact Database

Contact Management

Contract/License Management

Core Accounting

Cost Management

Customer Statements

Customizable Fields

Customizable Invoices

Customizable Templates

Dashboard

Data Import/Export

Data Security

Data Visualization

Electronic Payments

Expense Claims

Expense Tracking

Financial Analysis

Financial Management

Financial Reporting

For AEC Industry

For Legal Professionals

For Medical Purposes

For Real Estate

For Small Businesses

For Trucking Industry

General Ledger

Income & Balance Sheet

Inventory Control

Inventory Management

Invoice Creation

Invoice History

Invoice Management

Invoice Processing

K-12

Mobile App

Mobile Payments

Multi-Company

Multi-Currency

Online Invoicing

Online Payments

Online Time Tracking

Order Management

Partial Payments

Payment Processing

Payment Reconciliation

Profit/Loss Statement

Project Accounting

Project Billing

Projections

Project Management

Purchase Order Management

Purchase Order Reconciliation

Purchasing & Receiving

Quotes/Estimates

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Reporting

Receipt Management

Receivables Ledger

Recurring/Subscription Billing

Reminders

Remote Access/Control

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Requisition Management

Sales Tax Management

Spend Management

Supplier Management

Task Management

Tax Calculation

Tax Compliance

Tax Filing

Tax Management

Third-Party Integrations

Time & Expense Tracking

Timesheet Management

Time Tracking

Transaction Management

Trust Accounting

Vendor Management

Workflow Management

Reviews for Zoho Books come from a wide variety of industries, including information technology and services (13% of reviewers), accounting (9%), and computer software (7%). The most frequent use case for Zoho Books cited by reviewers is accounting (67% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Most users consider Zoho Books to provide strong value for money, citing affordable pricing, useful free options, and cost-effectiveness with Zoho One. However, some users report significant price increases for advanced features or additional users.

Value for money

The Zoho Books integration most frequently cited by reviewers is Zoho CRM, a CRM product rated 4.6 out of 5 for its integration with Zoho Books.

Integrations

Zoho Books is an accounting solution offering key features such as online invoicing, invoice creation, billing and invoicing, and invoice history, among others.

Zoho Books

Web-based

Windows

Android

iPhone

iPad

Free

Standard

Professional

Premium

 Elite

 Ultimate

President and CEO

I particularly use the Zoho Billing app they have to bill customers automatically each month and the results are auto-recorded in Zoho Books.

Customer Service Auditor

I used it for a short period of time on a previous job, but I did like that it has so many features, everything a small business needs like invoicing, expense tracking, inventory, time tracking.

Global Finance Manager

I´ve created my data base and from there, I create the invoices, record payments, set payment reminders, and create some reports to keep my AP well organized.

Customer Service Representative

I love Zoho Books for how it automates many repetitive accounting tasks like invoicing, tracking expenses and bank reconciliation.

There were slow to integrate with well known vendors for payroll like Gusto likely because they were coming out with their own implementation of payroll, which is now available for all 50 USA states.

The customer service is pathetic, we are running a CA firm and have almost 20 Zoho books subscription and login and one of the login as was asking an OTP we were not getting because the [sensitive content hidden] is travelling and OTP is going to only mobile number not to email hence raised the ticket and the team keep saying that the accounts team is working but we did not receive any resolution they wasted a whole day and did not resolve this.

Bachelor in Supply Chain Management

Zoho Books has allowed us to improve in the accounting area, having a perfect administration of expenses, accounts, invoices, payments and other tasks to be carried out, it manages a magnificent online accounting function, keeping all the payment reports up to date without forgetting invoices or payments to make, it is a very complete platform with its tools.

Procurement officer

The fact that more advanced features necessitate higher-tier plans and that integrations with third-party apps can sometimes feel restricted or a little clunky were the things I didn't like the most.

Founder

The available integrations of Zoho Books enable a lot of ease for sending and tracking quotes and invoices.

Director and Tutor

It was a bit more complicated to navigate than Quickbooks and automating recurring invoices felt a bit fiddly and over-complicated.

Owber

There is no way to handle that other than doing manual entry for each transaction.

For example, it's what I used it to generate recurring invoices for my clients, saving me hours of manual work per month.

I also have automated billing I utilize with Zoho Billing and it integrates perfectly.

Office Manager

The feature I like most is the Estimating and Invoicing.

The tagging of transactions to different projects

Gen Secretary

Zoho Books and all Zoho products is designed with great thought at a price which is throw away.

Great value of money, extreme warm and good support, extremely easy to use without the need for any training or support intervention, Payment using Zoho to our vendors is so good, it cannot be overemphasized.

It helps me keep my finances organized and makes my accounting tasks easier.

Intern

Zoho Books doesn't have built-in payroll features and relies on third-party integrations, which might not be as seamless or comprehensive.

Also, it is customizable, for example, it helps me a lot to set payment reminders for my clients.

Staff Software Engineer

Zoho Books works well for basic bookkeeping needs, though more customization options could make it even more effective.

Sales and  Digital Marketing Executive

The fact that I can create a quotation and send it directly from zoho without having to download then create an email and attach it

manager

For creating accounts receivable, it has been my savior because it is incredibly safe and you can be sure that the data you enter won't be compromised.

Cofounder

The currency change features are complex.

Billing and Accounts Administrator

We also had to write a few custom rules for telecom-specific tax logic.

Integration with so many other different apps Zoho has in addition to the 3rd party apps.

Owner

Why I found it the best accounting tool is that it gives affordable pricing for comprehensive features

There are some limitations in terms of reporting. If you want to see old data, you can´t do it, and that´s a bit annoying.

It gives enterprises flexibility by enabling the creation of estimates with and without GST.

Generating invoices is easy; recurring invoices and payment integration helps with cash flow management.

Project manager

The tool send us financial reports and profit as well as loss forms on time.

Support specialist

There is nothing that I don't like but yes the feature of budget and forecasting can be improved as it requires some advanced feature.

I like how affordable Zoho Books is, this is a great tool for a small business.

We slashed billing mistakes and gained better visibility into cash flow.

consultant

For managing invoices, tracking expenses, or reconciling bank transactions, the user-friendly design ensures a seamless experience.

University Intern

Additionally, the software allows for task automation and customization of templates and workflows, increasing efficiency and saving time in financial management.

The automation, workflows and custom fields are a game changer and allow any kind of person to be able to tailor the system to your needs. Whenever I am not able to code something myself, I send a request to the customer service team, and they are usually able to write the scripts for me.

Project Engineer 

Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting software it offers invoicing, expense tracking, inventory management, and financial reporting.

The upfront setup can also be a time-consuming task for businesses with complex accounting needs.

Zoho is very user friendly and has costumer support when needed.

I love that I can send the invoice to clients directly from the software and then have auto reminders go out to the clients as well as send a Thank you when I receive payment.

Consultant

User interface can feel a bit dated at times which makes it a bit difficult to do frequent tasks.

It also gives a good overview of your profits/expenses/gross profit.

Customer Service

Being able to convert sales orders to estimates and invoices.

Zoho Books vs SoftCo AP Automation Comparison (2026)

Zoho Books

SoftCo AP Automation

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives