Zoho Books vs Xero

Zoho Books is far cheaper at every step. Free covers one user plus an accountant, up to 1,000 invoices and bills a year and 50 receipt scans a month, but excludes VAT tracking and bank feeds. Standard at R99 adds VAT, bank feeds, custom fields and API access for three users. Professional at R199 adds multi currency, inventory, timesheets and projects. Premium at R299 and Elite at R1 290 add budgets, fixed assets and advanced inventory. Every Zoho paid price excludes VAT. Xero charges R450 for Starter with a cap of 20 invoices and five bills, R795 for Standard and R1 095 for Premium, which is where multiple currencies appear, all including VAT.

Even with Xero's three month discount, the gap over a year is large. A VAT registered business with three users pays about R1 188 a year on Zoho Standard, or R990 billed annually, against about R8 296 a year on Xero Standard once the VAT is taken out of R795 a month, before add ons.

Zoho Books lists invoicing, quotes, sales orders, bills, purchase orders, projects, inventory, expenses, documents and a customer portal across its plans, with more than 50 reports on the free plan. Xero emphasises online payments, document capture, forecasts and budgets. Zoho sits in a larger suite, so connecting CRM or other Zoho apps is natural. Xero has a larger third party marketplace, including local apps.

Zoho lists VAT 201 reports, VAT audit reports and VAT correction reports, and publishes a South African support number and email. Xero names more South African banks and has API feeds with Nedbank and Investec. The Zoho page does not name banks, so confirm yours before you rely on a feed.

Zoho gives you a free plan to start on and a South African phone line. Xero gives 30 days and an 80 percent first three months offer for new South African customers.

Zoho has fewer local accountants who use it and its free plan excludes VAT and feeds. Xero costs several times more and caps its entry plan.