Zoho Corporation Limited

Zoho Books : An accounting software to streamline finance management

Zoho Books is an all-in-one cloud accounting solution for businesses. It offers P&L, balance sheets & tax reports. Manage transactions with journals & sub-accounts. Pay bills & track expenses. Handles VAT/GST & connects to banks. Automate approvals for sales & purchases.

Features

• VAT filing to HMRC using Zoho Books.
• Connect bank accounts, fetch bank feeds automatically for reconciliations.
• Intuitive reports and insights for the business accounting analysis
• Approvals of sales and purchase transactions before sending to clients.
• Portals for clients and vendors to view business transactions.
• Create transactions in multiple currencies to enlarge your business.
• Integrate Shopify stores, warehouse managements.
• Customize reports and dashboard. Embed reports in web sites/applications
• Integrate payment gateways, fetch online payments for sales transactions.
• Automate accounting application to reduce manual work via custom functions.

Benefits

• Effortlessly monitor stock, sales, and purchases for operational optimization.
• Simplifies financial management for small businesses, ensuring smooth operations
• Streamlines invoicing processes, facilitating timely payments and cash flow.
• Offers customizable invoice templates to enhance brand identity and professionalism
• Automates recurring invoices, saving time and ensuring regular revenue streams.
• Validate estimates digitally, enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction
• Supports multi-currency transactions, enabling global business operations
• Accessible via mobile applications for seamless management on-the-go.
• Offers scalable plans suitable for businesses of all sizes
• Facilitates seamless integration with other business tools for enhanced productivity

£12 to £199 an instance a month

• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at zohouk-gcloud@eu.zohocorp.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

169897764770670

Contact

Sreyas Benjamin
+44 2038072092
zohouk-gcloud@eu.zohocorp.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: Only cloud-based deployment and no support for an on-premise setting
• System requirements:
  • Windows / Linux / Mac OS X
  • Safari 11 and above
  • Edge 16 and above
  • Google Chrome 61 and above
  • Mozilla Firefox 60 and above
  • Opera 60 and above

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Email tickets - Free of cost. Chats and Phone calls - Any paid plans. Support with SLA criteria for a response time of 48 working hours based on a 5-day week.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: Web chat
• Web chat support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support accessibility standard: None or don’t know
• How the web chat support is accessible: Accessible Web Chat:; web chat is designed for everyone! ; ; Keyboard friendly: Navigate with just your keyboard, perfect for screen reader users.; High contrast design: readable text for all vision abilities.; Focus Indicators: Clear focus indicators highlight the currently selected element within the chat window.; No Special Software Required: You don't need to download or install any special software to use web chat
• Web chat accessibility testing: Testing: Undergo Regular Accessibility testing to Identify and address potential accessibility issues in the code.; Accessibility Reviews: Accessibility experts review the web chat interface to ensure it adheres to best practices. Industry-standard tools are used to enhance this experience regularly.
• Onsite support: No
• Support levels: Email tickets - Free of cost. Chats and Phone calls - Any paid plans. Levels of Support offered by Zoho Books.; ; Level 1 support​ - Any questions/queries that can be resolved directly on the phone call/ chats/ Email ticket by the support agent is a Level 1 support.; ; Level 2 support​ - If the clarification requires a closer look at the system, the support agent will create a ticket and assign it to the relevant person (product development team).; ; Level 3 support​ - When a request for modification or additional requirement to the system is raised then the change management process is followed. We will start with gathering the requirements, offer an implementation plan, and develop, test, and implement the solution.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Our onboarding process approaches with an online meeting to capture the business requirements and set up the Zoho Books for those requirements. ; ; We start with demos and training of users (admins and standard users) with the features available in the application.; ; Post this, our customers can make use of the support system available. Customers can reach out to us through emails, chats, and calls for support, and a support ticket is created for those who request to follow up.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: HTML
• End-of-contract data extraction: You can do a full backup of the system. All the data will be delivered in the form of multiple .CSV files that can be downloaded using the link that will be made available within 24 hours of request.; ; The downloaded files are available in .zip format. The number of files depend on the data on the system.; ; Users can opt to export the data onto excel sheets, .csv files and upload the data into their system of choice.; ; Also, Zoho reserves the right to terminate unpaid user accounts that are inactive for a continuous period of 120 days. In the event of such termination, all data associated with such user account will be deleted. Prior notice of such termination will be communicated and the option to back up your data will be available. Each Service will be considered an independent and separate service for calculating the period of inactivity.
• End-of-contract process: At the end of the contract, if the customer chooses to continue using the system, they can renew the licenses on a periodic basis. This will ensure all customisations done on top of the system specific for the customer continues to exist without any modification.; ; If the customer would prefer not to continue using the system/shutdown, a full download of data existing on the system can be done by one of the users of the system (usually admin / super admin).; ; Post the termination of the contract, the customer has the right to erasure of data as Zoho is GDPR compliant. So the users can request to delete data permanently through email and Zoho will comply with the request.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • Android
  • IOS
  • Linux or Unix
  • MacOS
  • Windows
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Almost 90% of features supported on the desktop service are accessible on mobile as well. Admin-level configuration and customisation are not supported on the mobile application.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: Zoho Books' interface embodies simplicity and functionality, ensuring a smooth user experience. With its intuitive design, navigating through features like invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting becomes effortless. The interface strikes a perfect balance between comprehensive functionality and ease of use, enabling users to efficiently manage their accounting tasks. Whether accessing it via desktop or mobile devices, Zoho Books offers a cohesive experience that empowers businesses to stay on top of their finances with confidence.
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: Our service is designed with accessibility in mind, Users navigate our platform seamlessly using keyboard shortcuts, and assistive technologies. We provide high contrast modes, and resizable text based on user needs. Our commitment ensures equal access for all users, promoting inclusivity and usability across devices and platforms.
• Accessibility testing: We regularly conduct interface testing with users of assistive technology, ensuring compatibility and usability. Feedback from screen reader users, keyboard navigation testers. This inclusive approach ensures our service is accessible to all
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: The Zoho Books API allows users to perform all the operations that they do with our web client.; ; Zoho Books API is built using REST principles which ensures predictable URLs that make writing applications easy. This API follows HTTP rules, enabling a wide range of HTTP clients can be used to interact with the API.; ; Every resource is exposed as a URL. The URL of each resource can be obtained by accessing the API Root Endpoint.; ; Limitation:; ; API calls are limited to provide better quality of service and availability to all the users. The limits on total requests per day are listed below for each plan:; ; Free Plan - 1000 API requests/day; Standard Plan- 2000 requests/day; Professional Plan- 5000 requests/day; Premium Plan- 10000 requests/day; Elite Plan- 10000 requests/day; Ultimate Plan- 10000 requests/day; ; A threshold of 30 API requests per minute applies for all the APIs
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: HTML
• API sandbox or test environment: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Custom Modules:; In Zoho Books, Users can create a custom module to record other data when the predefined modules are not sufficient to manage all their business requirements.; ; Field Customization:; In Zoho Books, Users can create additional fields called custom fields for different modules. This can be used if any additional field is required for different modules.; ; Automation:; Automation allows users to create a set of rules for modules of Zoho Books based on which appropriate actions would be performed. With automation users can ; 1. Create and describe a Workflow.; 2. Decide when to execute the workflow.; 3. Set the conditions for executing the workflow.; 4. Associating actions such as email alerts, field updates and webhooks with a workflow.; 5. Connect to an external web service provider using Webhooks.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: We ensure uninterrupted service by employing scalable infrastructure with load balancing and auto-scaling capabilities. Our system dynamically allocates resources based on demand, preventing performance degradation during peak usage. Additionally, we conduct proactive monitoring and performance tuning to optimize response times and minimize downtime. This ensures all users experience consistent and reliable service regardless of fluctuations in demand.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: No

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: In-house
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Encryption of all physical media
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Exporting Data:; ; Users can fetch all data from your Zoho Books organization to their computer by exporting them. Zoho Books lets users export all the data in a particular module or create their own Export Template to export specific data. ; ; With the Export Template feature users can:; ; 1. Select the fields you want to export; 2. Re-order and rename them according to your preferences.; ; Data backup:; Zoho Books allows users to export their complete organisational data as a single compressed file. The compressed file will consist of CSV files that belong to various modules of Zoho Books.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • XLS
  • XLSX
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • TSV
  • XLS

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: TLS (version 1.2 or above)
• Data protection within supplier network: Other
• Other protection within supplier network: Network traffic is encrypted when it traverses over the public network and when replicating to the DR data centre. The complete Datacenter stack is under our control. We use firewalls to prevent our network from unauthorised access. Our systems are segmented into separate networks to protect sensitive data from unauthorised access.

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Our availability SLA commitment is 99.9% monthly uptime. We have redundancies implemented at various levels starting from the infrastructure to the ISP to achieve this. Data from the primary data center is replicated in the secondary, and a read-only version of Zoho apps is always served from the secondary data center.; ; Upon customer request, Zoho will, as per the terms and conditions of its Service level agreement, provide service credits. A copy of Zoho SLA can be shared upon request.
• Approach to resilience: Application data is stored on resilient storage that is replicated across data centers. Data in the primary DC is replicated in the secondary in near real-time. In case of failure of the primary DC, secondary DC takes over and the operations are carried on smoothly with minimal or no loss of time. Both the centers are equipped with multiple ISPs. We have power backup, temperature control systems and fire-prevention systems as physical measures to ensure business continuity. These measures help us achieve resilience. In addition to the redundancy of data, we have a business continuity plan for our major operations such as support and infrastructure management.
• Outage reporting: Planned Outages & Maintenance:; The planned outages would be announced/informed to the customers through several channels, Blog post in community forum, Business emails, Banners in respective services.; ; Generally, annual maintenance activities would be planned during non-business hours to avoid impact to the services.; Unplanned Outages:; Major unplanned outages will be posted in social media forums & also will be informed to customers through emails. Customers can always refer to the following link on the health status of each service & update on outages.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: We employ technical access controls and internal policies to prohibit employees from arbitrarily accessing user data. We adhere to the principles of least privilege and role-based permissions to minimize the risk of data exposure.; ; Access to production environments is maintained by a central directory and authenticated using a combination of strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and passphrase-protected SSH keys. Furthermore, we facilitate such access through a separate network with stricter rules and hardened devices. Additionally, we log all the operations and audit them periodically.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: No audit information available
• How long system logs are stored for: Between 1 month and 6 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: British Standards Institution (BSI)
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 22/08/2022
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: All our process and Products are covered.
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: Yes
• CSA STAR accreditation date: 28/06/2021
• CSA STAR certification level: Level 1: CSA STAR Self-Assessment
• What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover: Not applicable
• PCI certification: Yes
• Who accredited the PCI DSS certification: Self-assessment : SAQ-D
• PCI DSS accreditation date: 03/10/2023
• What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover: No, PCI certification applies to the All scope defined by the organization.
• Cyber essentials: No
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications: ISO/IEC 27701

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards:
  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • Other
• Other security governance standards: ISO 27001 , ISO 27701 , ISO 27017 , ISO 27018 , ; ISO 22301, IS0 9001 , SOC Type II + HIPAA, PCI
• Information security policies and processes: Zoho shall maintain an information security program in accordance with the international standard ISO 27001, which includes technical and organisational security measures, physical measures, as well as policies and procedures to protect customer data processed by Zoho against accidental loss, destruction, or alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access, or unlawful destruction. Zoho maintains documented information security and data privacy policies and requirements, and periodically communicates them to employees responsible for various controls. The policies are reviewed annually to keep them up-to-date. This policy is verified during our third-party audits such as ISO and SOC.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: We have the Change Management procedures in place that includes the following but not limited to all the changes to the Organization, Applications, Systems, People, Technology, and Processes, information processing facilities that affect information security/privacy. For every change the security impact is analysed. We maintain Audit logs as evidence for all the changes. Fall-back procedures, including procedures and responsibilities for aborting and recovering from unsuccessful changes and unforeseen events are documented and communicated. Zoho shall notify the customer of any changes that may affect the customer in an adverse manner.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: We have a dedicated vulnerability management process that actively scans for security threats using a combination of certified third-party scanning tools and in-house tools, and with automated and manual penetration testing efforts. Our security team reviews inbound security reports and public mailing lists, blog posts, and wikis to spot security incidents that affect the company’s infrastructure. Once we identify a vulnerability requiring remediation, it is logged, prioritized according to the severity, and assigned to an owner. We further identify the associated risks and track the vulnerability until it is closed by either patching the vulnerable systems or applying relevant controls.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: We monitor and analyse information gathered from services, internal traffic in our network, and usage of devices and terminals. We record this information in the form of event logs, audit logs, fault logs, administrator logs, and operator logs. These logs are automatically monitored and analyzed to a reasonable extent that helps us identify anomalies such as unusual activity in employees’ accounts or attempts to access customer data. We store these logs in a secure server isolated from full system access, to manage access control centrally and ensure availability.
• Incident management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Incident management approach: We have a dedicated incident management team. We track and close the incidents with appropriate corrective actions. We will identify, collect, acquire and provide you with necessary evidence in the form of application and audit logs regarding incidents that apply to you. We respond to the security or privacy incidents through incidents@zohocorp.com, with high priority. For general incidents, we will notify users through our blogs, forums, and social media. For incidents specific to an individual user or an organization, we will notify the concerned party through email (using their primary email address of the Organisation administrator registered with us).

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  Zoho Corporation Limited have committed to working towards achieving Net-zero by 2050. Some initiatives for this:; Energy initiatives at Zoho UK’s workspace at Bletchley - The energy supply for the UK office is derived from renewable sources, accounting for 21% of total power consumption. LED retrofits have been implemented to enhance energy efficiency throughout the building.; ; Renewable energy: We've built a 5 megawatt on-grid solar energy farm at Abinimangalam near Trichy, India. This farm offsets the electricity consumption of our Chennai headquarters and data centre. Designed with a focus on energy efficiency, data centres that support Zoho UK are powered by renewable energy. Further, these data centres are progressing towards integrating with a solar grid to reduce environmental impacts.; ; Green Energy Procurement - All purchased energy for the data centres is sourced from green energy providers. This enables us to minimise the carbon footprint associated with our operations.; ; Emissions - The United Kingdom has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Supporting this pledge, we have taken steps to monitor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our operations and implement measures to mitigate them. We account for Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions and exclude Scope 1 emissions as our work does not involve fuel combustion within operational boundaries.; ; e-mobility: We've switched completely to electric vehicles for movement within the campus.

  Covid-19 recovery

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoho worked to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on our customers, other businesses, and our local community.; ; Supporting remote work: At the start of the pandemic, Zoho created and distributed a Secure Remote Access Toolkit to help organizations quickly adapt to and work securely during the pandemic. This toolkit was made free for the first 100 days.; ; Discounts and waivers: To assist organizations impacted by the pandemic, Zoho offered free licenses of flagship products and offered discounts and waivers on licenses on a case-by-case basis.; Food to the underprivileged: While most of our employees worked from home, we kept the kitchen at our Chennai headquarters running with a skeletal staff to provide food to underprivileged people in the local area, many of whom were impacted due to a loss of employment during the lockdown.; ; Infrastructure support: We converted one of our office buildings into a temporary COVID-19 ward to accommodate citizens who were required to quarantine.; ; We ran COVID-19 vaccination camps for our employees, their dependents, and the support staff who worked in Zoho.

  Tackling economic inequality

  Zoho has always aimed to tackle economic inequality and give back to the community. This is reflected in the following:; ; Transnational localism: Coined by our CEO, transnational localism is the philosophy that underpins our staffing and office location plans. Instead of focusing on crowded urban centres, we've been opening spoke offices in smaller towns and villages. The goal is to improve local infrastructure, boost the economy of these smaller towns and villages, and provide more employment opportunities. ; ; Local hiring: As part of our philosophy of transnational localism, we believe in hiring locally for each spoke office. This helps promote local talent and bring high-paying jobs back to the villages and towns where we are based.; ; Zoho Schools of Learning: Started in 2004, Zoho Schools of Learning (formerly Zoho University) provides training and employment for high school students and those holding or pursuing diplomas. Those inducted into Zoho Schools are trained by industry experts in the fields of their choice - technology, business, or design. The students are also trained in social skills. The course is completely free and students are paid a monthly stipend throughout its duration. Graduates from this program are automatically inducted into Zoho Corp.

  Equal opportunity

  As part of our efforts to tackle inequality, Zoho Corporation Limited have made efforts to provide equal opportunities and tackle workforce inequality.; ; Helping women restart their careers: Zoho Schools of Learning has begun a program called Marupadi. Aimed at helping women restart their tech careers after a break, Marupadi is a 3-month program comprising a mix of lectures, experiential learning, and internships. At the end of the program, the candidates who've successfully completed training get to sit for exclusive face-to-face interviews for jobs at Zoho Corp.; ; Diversity and inclusion in hiring: All roles at Zoho Corporation are open to all people irrespective of gender, sex, race, ability, or religion. We hire solely based on skill and have a diverse team.; ; We eschew discrimination on any grounds, including age, colour, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and other unique characteristics that define our associates. Instead, we espouse, fairness, striving to ensure that a merit-based approach allows wage parity among associates with comparable experiences and responsibilities, irrespective of their gender.; ; Accessible campus: Our campus has been designed to be accessible to all, including differently-abled colleagues. The layout design includes ramps and lifts in every building, allowing ease of mobility and access to all.; ; On-campus crèche and daycare: In our India office, we support new parents within the organization by providing them with on-campus creche, day-care and play school. ; ; Apart from the usual shuttle facilities, a special cab service covering a certain distance is given to women during their third trimester.

  Wellbeing

  Zoho Corporation Limited adheres to industry standards in remuneration, ensuring that compensation is equitable across genders. Recognising the diverse needs of our people, we provide essential support such as parental leave, aligning with our efforts to build an organisation that values and cares for every individual.; ; We have trained medical practitioners and a dedicated medical clinic available on all days of the week. Employees can freely avail of their services.; ; The Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment (HIRA) Framework is followed rigorously at the premises.; We provide in-house counseling to our employees for free via our team of trained and qualified therapists. ; ; We organize free medical check-ups for our employees on an annual basis.; ; We organize regular blood donation camps in association with various blood banks.; ; We have open house sessions conducted by the CEO periodically where employees can raise any concerns.; ; Day Care facilities for employee kids; ; The compliance monitoring framework involves ongoing reviews and enhancements of occupational health programmes, guided by feedback, data analysis, and emerging best practices.

Pricing

• Price: £12 to £199 an instance a month
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Free for:; - businesses with revenue <35K GBP per annum; - 1 User + 1 Accountant; - manage upto 1000 transactions per annum; - manage invoices with customization option; - manage online payments; - manage MTD VAT filing
• Link to free trial: https://www.zoho.eu/uk/books/signup/

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at zohouk-gcloud@eu.zohocorp.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.