Unlocking New Horizons: A Year in Review

Unlocking New Horizons: A Year in Review



As we bid farewell to 2024, let's celebrate and revisit the key highlights of the year. From adding a new edition to cross-platform enhancements, here’s a roundup of all the feature updates designed to simplify accounting, optimize financial management, and fuel growth. 



Zoho Books brings you a comprehensive set of new features and updates designed to streamline your financial management. 

Fixed Asset Management 

Zoho Books allows you to monitor your fixed assets, automatically calculate depreciation, and manage their sale or write-off when they are fully depreciated or reach the end of their useful life. 

Progress Invoicing 

With progress invoicing, you can create and manage invoices for long-term projects by billing clients in stages rather than in a single payment.
Note: This feature is not available for the India edition of Zoho Books.

Invoice Management System [India Edition]

The IMS allows you to review the transactions filed by your suppliers in their GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, or IFF. You can choose to accept, reject, or mark the transactions as pending to accurately claim Input Tax Credit (ITC).

TDS Payments [India Edition] 

You can now easily view all your TDS liabilities, and record challan under the TDS module.

GST TDS [India Edition] 

GST TDS allows you to deduct a portion of payments to suppliers, which is then remitted to the tax authorities.

Early Payment Discount [Global, Germany, & UK Editions]

You can offer discounts to customers who pay their invoices before the due date.

Payment Retention

With this feature, you can set a retention percentage for your invoices, automatically withhold a portion of payments, and track retained amounts easily. Once contract terms are fulfilled, you can release or adjust the retained payments with just a few clicks.

Note: This feature is not available for the India and Kenya editions of Zoho Books.

XML Import or Export [Germany Edition] 

You can import e-invoices in XRechnung and ZUGFeRD formats to ensure compliance with the EN 16931 standard. Additionally, invoices can be exported via email in either PDF or XML format.

XML Manager [Mexico Edition] 

You can now directly fetch and import e-invoices in XML format from the SAT Portal to Zoho Books and add them as transactions.

E-Invoicing via PEPPOL [Germany Edition] 

With Zoho Books, you can create, send, and receive e-invoices via the PEPPOL network.

CIS Filing [UK Edition] 

Zoho Books allows you to file your monthly returns directly with HMRC and record the payments.

BACS payments [UK Edition]

You can now generate and export BACS files for your bills. This feature allows businesses to pay multiple vendors directly via BACS without manual entry.

Generate and File Tax Returns Directly on the FTA Portal [UAE Edition] 

Streamline your tax filing process by generating and filing your tax returns directly to the FTA Portal from Zoho Books. 

Profit Margin Scheme [UAE & Saudi Arabia Editions] 

The Profit Margin Scheme allows businesses to calculate VAT only on the profit margin, not the full sale price. It applies to businesses selling second-hand goods, used cars, or certain retail items. 

Push E-Invoices to ZATCA’s Fatoora Platform [Saudi Arabia Edition]

Zoho Books enables businesses in Saudi Arabia to effortlessly comply with the new e-invoicing regulations by pushing e-invoices to ZATCA’s Fatoora platform.

Combined Tax Returns [Canada Edition]

Businesses can now generate combined GST/HST-QST returns, in addition to federal GST/HST returns and provincial tax returns such as British Columbia PST, QST, Manitoba RST, and Saskatchewan PST returns.

Smart BillPay [India, Canada & US Editions] 

The BillPay feature simplifies and streamlines the entire accounts payable process by automating everything from vendor onboarding to setting up approval workflows. It makes paying vendors more efficient and hassle-free.

File T4A & T5018 Slips [Canada Edition] 

Easily generate and file your T4A & T5018 slips directly to CRA with Zoho Books.

Revenue Recognition [US, Canada, Mexico, UAE & Saudi Arabia Editions] 

Revenue recognition ensures that businesses report their revenue accurately, reflecting when it is earned rather than when the payment is made.

Manage 1099 & W9 [US Edition] 

With Zoho Books, you can easily collect W-9 forms from contractors, send 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms at year-end, and file them directly with the IRS, ensuring full compliance with IRS regulations. 

Retainer Invoices [Mexico Edition]

We now support the Retainer Invoices module. You can now easily stamp and submit e-invoices to the SAT portal as well as cancel them directly from within Zoho Books.

E-Accounting [Mexico Edition]

You can submit the Chart of Accounts, Trial Balance, and Journal reports in XML format to meet SAT regulatory requirements. The Account Group Code field has been added to the Accountant and Banking modules, which helps you add the unique identifier provided by SAT and categorize account types.






Charge a Late Fee to Your Customers [US &Global Editions]

A late fee is an extra charge for overdue invoices. You can charge a percentage of your customer's invoice total or a fixed amount and choose to exclude loyal customers.

Apply Tax to Your Purchase Transactions [US Edition]

You can now apply use tax and other applicable taxes to your purchase transactions and track them using the Tax Paid Expense account.

Assign a Company ID to your Customers and Vendors [Global Edition] 

We’ve introduced the Company ID field on the Customers and Vendors creation page to enter your company’s unique identification number.

Apply Transaction Posting Date to Your Transactions [Global, US & Canada Editions] 

The Transaction Posting Date is the date when journal entries for transactions like invoices, bills, payments, receipts, credit notes, and vendor credits are recorded. 



Manage Tax Exemptions and Out-of-Scope Transactions [UK Edition] 

We have introduced the Tax Exemption and Out of Scope options to manage transactions that are either exempt from tax or fall outside the scope of VAT.

Apply TDS Surcharge and Cess to Your Bills [India Edition]

You can now create and apply TDS surcharge and cess to your bills. A surcharge is an additional tax applied to the existing tax, while cess is a tax imposed by the government for a specific purpose.

Apply Tax on Shipping Charge [US Edition] 

You can now associate tax or tax exemption with shipping charges, and the tax will be tracked in the Tax Payable liability account.



Associate TDS at Line-item Level [India Edition] 

You can now associate TDS at the line-item level. We have also introduced Direct Taxes under Settings, where you can select the TDS preference.

Minimized View for Web Tabs

This feature lets you access web tabs from anywhere within the app. In the minimized view, you can navigate between modules while keeping web tabs compact. 

Multi-criteria Workflow 

With this feature, you can now define multiple criteria and associate actions with a single workflow rule.



Alipay Payment Method 

You can now collect payments in CNY globally with Alipay as the payment method. You can also receive payments in various other currencies based on your Stripe account's location.

Klarna Payment Method 

Klarna offers the option to pay immediately, later, or in installments. Even if your customers choose installments or pay later options, Stripe transfers the full payment amount to the recipient right away.





Create Purchase Receives for Service Items

You can create a Purchase Receive for service items and verify if all your services have been fulfilled.

Set Opening Stock for Multiple Warehouses

You can set opening stock for multiple warehouses across different branches when creating or editing item groups with multiple products.

Select Items by Category in Bulk

You can now filter and select items from one or more specific categories when adding items in bulk to sales and purchase transactions.



Form 1099 Vendor Payment Report [US Edition]

Form 1099 is a report used to track payments made to non-employees like freelancers and vendors.

TDS Receivables Summary Report [India Edition]

You can view the total TDS deductions made on invoices, bills of supply, customer debit notes, and credit notes with this report.

Zoho Marketplace Extensions

Must-Have Zoho Books Extensions for 2024: The Best in Every Category!







Introducing the new South Africa edition of Zoho Books. This edition allows you to send and receive VAT-compliant transactions at SARS-approved rates, generate VAT201 and VAT Audit reports for returns, mark items as capital assets, and set standard rates for items and tax treatments for customers and vendors. 




iOS

  • We've redesigned the app with a sleek design and simplified interactions, making your accounting experience smoother than ever! 
  • You can now connect your bank account using Plaid. [US & Canada Editions]
  • Personalize transaction PDFs by customizing color themes, adding bank details, and including your signature for a professional touch.
  • We support adding reporting tags to transactions, customers, and items.
  • You can correct and make adjustments to an invoice that is in the Sent status. [Germany Edition]
  • You can now auto-generate customer or vendor numbers when creating customers or vendors.

Android

  • Collect a percentage of the invoice amount or a fixed fee as a late charge when the payment is not made by the due date.
  • You can now cancel or make corrections to sent invoices.
  • We have launched the new South Africa Edition.
  • You can now manually create bank accounts or automatically sync accounts with Zoho Books using Plaid and Yodlee. [US & Canada Editions]
  • Provide discounts to customers who pay their invoices a certain number of days before the due date.

Windows

  • We have now supported the Documents module.
  • You can split and make payments on your invoices.
  • You can now select French and Hindi as your language at the organization level in the app.
  • We have launched the new South Africa and Germany editions.
  • Configure your sender email preferences under settings.
  • You can now format text (bold, italics) within the comments section.


  • We conducted over 50 online webinars in 6 regional languages such as Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, covering a wide range of topics and highlighting key features to help users navigate and make the most of Zoho Books.
  • We organized 21 community meetups across 21 cities in India, where users learned about the new updates and features of Zoho Books, along with useful tips and tricks for better usage.





Rochelle Spence

Business Manager, Communications Consulting Group

For nearly a decade, Zoho Books has been an integral part of our business. The integration with our CRM has greatly streamlined our financial processes, providing us with enhanced visibility and efficiency. The customizable features, especially late fee invoicing, have significantly improved our bookkeeping. Zoho Books has truly made managing our finances easier and more effective. 

Naveedh V.V

Make Your Own Perfume

Running a business requires smart accounts management. Zoho Books simplifies everything from invoicing to inventory in one easy, cloud-based platform. Access your data anytime, anywhere!




As we close out this year, we hope you've enjoyed the updates that have enhanced your accounting experience. Thank you for being a part of our journey, and here's to reaching new heights in the year ahead. 




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