Managing Transactions under the Paycheck Protection Program in Zoho Books

Managing Transactions under the Paycheck Protection Program in Zoho Books

As you might know, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is an incentive provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for businesses affected by COVID-19 in the US. The PPP aims to provide funds for at least eight weeks in order to help businesses pay off all basic operating charges such as employee wages, rent, interest or other utilities and retain their workforce. Read more about the Paycheck Protection Program from our blog.


In case you have applied and qualified for this program, you will have to account for all the cash flowing in and out of your business. If you're using Zoho Books, the best way to manage it would be to record the fund received as a liability account, track transactions with reporting tags and generate reports. Here's a step by step account on how to do this:

1. Create a reporting tag


To start off, you will have to create a reporting tag with which you can associate all transactions concerning PPP. To create a new tag:
  • Go to Settings > Reporting Tags and create a new tag.
  • Enter a Name for the tag (say, PPP) and the Option Name (say, PPP Funds).
  • Save and proceed.



2. Record the fund received


As the fund received from the government is a liability unless it's forgiven, you will have to record the amount deposited under a liability account. You can create a new liability account from Chart of Accounts to keep a track of the amount received or spent. Let's call it the Paycheck Protection Program Loan account.



Once that's done, you can record the fund received:
  • Go to the Banking module and select the account in which you receive the fund.
  • Click the +Add Transaction drop-down and under Money In and select Deposit from Other Accounts.
  • Enter the details of the deposit and, in the From Account, choose the liability account (Paycheck Protection Program Loan) you had created.
  • Associate the tag PPP Funds and Save.


3. Manage operating expenses


Because it's necessary to submit detailed reports at the end of the eight weeks on what the fund was spent on, you will have to keep a track of all incurred expenses (particularly, if they are covered under the PPP). Remember, it is important to account for your expenses in order to qualify for forgiveness. To record them:

  • Go to Purchases > Expenses and create a new expense.
  • Enter the details of the expense and in the Paid Through account choose the bank account through which you received the fund.
  • Associate the tag PPP Funds and Save.


4. Generate reports


To get an overview of all the funds spent on expenses, you can run the Account Transactions report that's filtered by the PPP Funds tag. Here's how:

  • Go to Reports > Account Transactions report.
  • Select Customize Report and click + Add Filter under Advanced Filters.
  • Select Reporting Tags as the field, select a comparator and choose PPP Funds.


  • Add another filter by clicking +Add More. Then, select Account as the field, select a comparator and choose your bank account.
  • Click Run Report to view them.

Repayments and forgiveness


In case your business qualifies for forgiveness (completely or partially), you can transfer the fund amount from the Liability account to an Income account using a manual journal to reduce the liability.

If you have to repay the loan amount, the payments can be recorded as Expenses. Enter the details of the expense, choose the Expense Account as the liability account you created (Paycheck Protection Program Loan) and your Paid Through account will be your bank account.


Note: The Paycheck Protection Program is currently closed. However, the government is considering adding more funds to the program and might reopen the program if the bill is passed.

We understand that this is a stressful period for everyone and we are committed to serving you in these times. Should you have any questions, please reach out to us at support@zohobooks.com for any further assistance.

    Access your files securely from anywhere






                    Zoho Campaigns Resources




                          Zoho Developer Community



                              Bootcamp
                              Community
                              Pricing
                              Webinars
                              What's New
                              Integrations
                              Contact Support
                              Contact Sales
                                Zoho Survey Resources
                                  Features
                                  Survey Templates
                                  Integrations
                                  Community
                                  iOS Mobile Surveys
                                  Pricing
                                  Android Mobile Surveys
                                  Insurvey Blogs
                                  Insight Blogs
                                  Tips & Tricks





                                              Latest Feature Updates

                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts




                                                    Zoho SalesIQ Resources


                                                          Manage your brands on social media
                                                          Access Zoho Social

                                                            Zoho Pagesense Resources


                                                                Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                                  Zoho DataPrep Resources


                                                                    Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                      Zoho Books Resources


                                                                        Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                          Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                            Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                              Qntrl Resources


                                                                                Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                    Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                    • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                      CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                    • Kaizen

                                                                                      Kaizen

                                                                                    • Functions

                                                                                      Functions

                                                                                    • Meetups

                                                                                      Meetups

                                                                                    • Kbase

                                                                                      Kbase

                                                                                    • Resources

                                                                                      Resources

                                                                                    • Digest

                                                                                      Digest

                                                                                    • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      CRM Marketplace

                                                                                    • MVP Corner

                                                                                      MVP Corner







                                                                                        Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                        Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                        Get Started Now


                                                                                          Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                            Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                            Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                                                                                Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                    ご検討中の方




                                                                                                          • Recent Topics

                                                                                                          • Add Flexible Recurrence Options for Meeting Scheduling in Zoho Cliq (e.g., Every 2 Weeks)

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you are doing well. Currently, when scheduling a meeting inside Zoho Cliq, the recurrence options are limited to Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. There is no ability to set a meeting to occur every X weeks — for example,

                                                                                                          • Direct “Add to Google Calendar” Option in Zoho Meeting

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement related to the “Add to Calendar” functionality in Zoho Meeting. Currently, when we open Zoho Meeting and view our meetings under My Calendar, there is an Add to

                                                                                                          • Sales Order, Invoice and Payment numbers

                                                                                                            Hi zoho friends, it is me again, the slow learner. I'm wondering if there is a way to have it so the Sales order, invoice and payment numbers are all the same? It would be easier for me if they were the same number so there is not so many reference numbers

                                                                                                          • Ability to Add YouTube Video to Playlist During Publishing

                                                                                                            Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? While publishing YouTube videos through Zoho Social, we noticed that the platform currently does not allow selecting a playlist at the time of publishing. Instead, we can only add the video to a playlist after it has

                                                                                                          • Ability to Change Visibility of Published YouTube Videos

                                                                                                            Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement in Zoho Social regarding the management of already published youtube videos. Currently, after publishing a youtube video through Zoho Social, there is no option to change its visibility

                                                                                                          • Importation Tickets error

                                                                                                            Hi, I'm newbie here 🤓 So, i'm importing data from csv, but when I try advance to mapping fields the importer tool show this message: Previously I try import, other data, and not show errors in this step. Some ideas? Best Regards,

                                                                                                          • Ask the Experts 24: Analytics, data administration, and mobile experience with Zoho Desk

                                                                                                            Hello Everyone! Welcome back to the Ask the Experts(ATE) series! We were so focused on our Autumn 2025 release that we didn't host an ATE session last month. In this month's ATE, we'd like to expand our areas for discussion: we'd like to listen to your

                                                                                                          • Update on the client portal URL for Guest users

                                                                                                            We’re updating the way Guest users access their Connect network. As part of this change, all client organization portals used by Guest users will now be accessible through a dedicated domain specific to each data center. The access URLs mentioned here

                                                                                                          • Workaround: openURL in Blueprints - An alternate approach

                                                                                                            There is a roundabout way to open a URL in blueprints after a save event. By using the 'onBeforeMandatoryFormSave' in Client Script, you can open an external URL. Now, the problem is, this is designed to be run BEFORE the blueprint is saved, not after,

                                                                                                          • MTD SA in the UK

                                                                                                            Hello ID 20106048857 The Inland Revenue have confirmed that this tax account is registered as Cash Basis In Settings>Profile I have set ‘Report Basis’ as “Cash" However, I see on Zoho on Settings>Taxes>Income Tax that the ‘Tax Basis’ is marked ‘Accrual'

                                                                                                          • Migrate file from Single File Upload to Multi File Upload

                                                                                                            Dears, I have created a new field Multi File Upload to replace the old Single File Upload field. I'd like to ask you guys what is the best way to migrate the files to the new field?

                                                                                                          • Open "Live Chat" from a hyperlink?

                                                                                                            Hi, I often write paragraphs and text on our company website, and usually say you can get in touch with us via live chat. Can the chat window be triggered to pop open without clicking the chat graphic in the bottom window, and use it in a hyperlink? ie:

                                                                                                          • Zoho Sites search box

                                                                                                            Is there a Search box that can be added to a Zoho site? It would be for searching within the site only.

                                                                                                          • What stops me from packaging and shipping an order when the inventory is negative?

                                                                                                            It seems if the inventory value is negative, that Zoho Inventory should not allow me to create a Package and Ship it.   But, there seems to be nothing to stop me from doing that other than when I go to physically package the item and realize that there is no stock. There also seems to be nothing on the screen that even indicates to me that I should not package and ship.  To me this is the fundamental point of an inventory system.  Am I doing something wrong?   

                                                                                                          • Conditional formatting based on another field

                                                                                                            Hi I have two fields on my form stage 1 complete and stage 1 deadline.  I am trying to setup conditional formatting so that if stage 1 complete is after stage 1 deadline the record is highlighted in red. I need both stage 1 complete and stage 1 deadline

                                                                                                          • Zoho Books | Product updates | October 2025

                                                                                                            Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From iOS 26 updates to viewing reports as charts, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Zoho Books Updates for Apple Devices At WWDC 2025, Apple

                                                                                                          • Is there API Doc for Zoho Survey?

                                                                                                            Hi everyone, Is there API doc for Zoho Survey? Currently evaluating a solution - use case to automate survey administration especially for internal use. But after a brief search, I couldn't find API doc for this. So I thought I should ask here. Than

                                                                                                          • Using IMAP configuration for shared email inboxes

                                                                                                            Our customer service team utilizes shared email boxes to allow multiple people to view and handle incoming customer requests. For example, the customer sends an email to info@xxxx.com and multiple people can view it and handle the request. How can I configure

                                                                                                          • Task Due Date greater than 10 years.

                                                                                                            We use recurring tasks in Projects where every week, month, year etc Some of our projects are greater than 10 years and we are unable to set a new due date because the difference between start date and due date is greater than 10 years. As an example

                                                                                                          • The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on spamrl.com as a source of spam.

                                                                                                            Hi, it just two day when i am using zoho mail for my business domain, today i was sending email and found that message "The sending IP (136.143.188.15) is listed on https://spamrl.com as a source of spam" I hope to know how this will affect the delivery

                                                                                                          • Changing a Single-Line Text field into a Multi-line Field without losing data

                                                                                                            Is it possible to change a Single-Line Text field into a Multi-line Field without losing data. I have a module with data for which I would like to change a single-line field into a multi-line field but I'm worried it might delete the pre-existing da

                                                                                                          • Webhook - Google Sheets

                                                                                                            I have 2 forms that are both integrated with Google Sheets. I've set up a webhook to pull form 1 data from Google Sheets to prefill data in Form 2. The issue I have is that the forms name fields are First Name & Last Name but the Google sheets integration

                                                                                                          • Verified Mark Certificate

                                                                                                            Hello Dears, Can anyone help and check my mail or direct me to the desired person who can add the verification tag to my mail https://www.zoho.com/blog/mail/email-authentication-with-bimi.html

                                                                                                          • Appointment booking is temporarily unavailable

                                                                                                            Embeded Zoho booking page in my WordPress website. When someone starts a booking, after choosing time and date, an error appears before payment - "Appointment booking is temporarily unavailable due to restricted settings." Used the embeded code given

                                                                                                          • Cannot connect to 365 business calendar and Teams, says personal but it is not.

                                                                                                            hi I have a number of users connected to their 365 business accounts. Adding a new user and it thinks hes got 365 personal edition. He does not.... Anyone know what's going on. Trying for days now. Bookings go into his MS calendar but as its thinks its

                                                                                                          • Limited review (/questions) for Bookings 2.0

                                                                                                            Hi all, I'm writing this review of Bookings 2.0 for two reasons: 1) it may be of interest to others, and 2) I'd like to be corrected if I'm wrong on any points. It's a very limited review, i.e. the things that have stood out as relevant, and particularly

                                                                                                          • Zoho Bookings - Reserve with Google

                                                                                                            Does Zoho Bookings plan to to integrate with Reserve with Google?

                                                                                                          • Tip #3: How to change your booking page language

                                                                                                            Displaying your booking page in your target audience's language can greatly increase customer satisfaction. By speaking their language, you will help customers feel more comfortable scheduling with you and create a stronger connection with them. Let's

                                                                                                          • Bigin Android app update: Zoho Books integration

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce Zoho Books integration on the Bigin Android App. Once the integration is completed in the web(bigin.zoho.com), the Zoho Books tab will be visible in detail View of Contacts, Companies, and Pipeline records. The

                                                                                                          • Bigin Android app update: Alerts while creating tasks outside of working days, conflicting events and calls.

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! In the most recent version of the Bigin Android app, we have brought in support to display an alert if task is being scheduled outside of the working days. Also, when scheduling an event or call in the Activities module, a conflict alert

                                                                                                          • Email in each module

                                                                                                            We have a contact ,module which then has a link to customer assets which in turn the asset has a multiple link to service visits. When we link assets to customers we choose by name and it brings over the associate email via the lookup. Great feature.

                                                                                                          • Bigin update: Link email messages to pipeline records.

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! In the latest version of the Bigin iOS(v1.11.9) and macOS(1.8.9) app, we have brought in support for an option to link email to pipeline records. This helps you to view emails specific to a deal, especially when a contact is associated

                                                                                                          • Bigin Android app update: Custom buttons and widgets

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce custom buttons and widgets on the Bigin Android app. Widgets: A widget is a customizable UI component in Bigin that improves efficiency and user experience. It lets businesses embed components, streamline interactions,

                                                                                                          • Biometric Access Support on Zoho Vault Desktop App

                                                                                                            Is there any plans to add biometric authentication (fingerprint, face recognition) for Vault desktop apps (Windows/macOS) to enhance security and ease of access. I would love to hear other members view on this

                                                                                                          • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

                                                                                                            Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?

                                                                                                          • Create Assemblies API Assistance

                                                                                                            I am using the Create Assemblies API documented here https://www.zoho.com/inventory/api/v1/compositeitems/#create-assemblies , however I'm getting the following error. {"code":1048,"message":"Sorry, there was an internal error. Please contact {0} for

                                                                                                          • Zoho Sheet - Desktop App or Offline

                                                                                                            Since Zoho Docs is now available as a desktop app and offline, when is a realistic ETA for Sheet to have the same functionality?I am surprised this was not laucned at the same time as Docs.

                                                                                                          • Collective-booking event not added to all staff calendars

                                                                                                            We assign two staff to certain events. When the client books this event, it adds it to one staff calendar (the 'organiser') but not the other. How can I ensure all staff assigned to a collective booking get the event in their calendar? (A side note: it

                                                                                                          • Project Management Bulletin: October, 2025

                                                                                                            Every need leads to innovation. Project Management tools were developed out of sheer necessity to drive large projects. With wide usage, the specifications grew precise, and so did the refinement. Over years we’ve crafted one of the best project management

                                                                                                          • Email Recall Feature In Zoho Mail Which Should Also Work For Outside Organisation Members

                                                                                                            Add a feature to recall or undo sending an email within a configurable short time window (e.g., 30 seconds to 2 minutes) after hitting send, similar to Gmail’s undo send. Currently the sent email can not be recall If the recipient is not from within your

                                                                                                          • Next Page