Zoho Books | Product Updates | November 2024

Zoho Books | Product Updates | November 2024

Hello users,

We are back with exciting new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From multi-criteria workflows to writing off customer opening balances, discover the new updates designed to make your bookkeeping swift.

Attach XRechnung to Invoices [Germany Edition]

When you create an invoice, you now have the option to attach an XRechnung compliant invoice file to the email sent to your customer. This feature ensures that your invoices meet the legal requirements for transactions with government or public organizations in Germany.



To include an attachment of XRechnung in the invoice sent to your customer, go to Sales > Invoices. Create an invoice and click Save and Send. Check the Attach XRechnung option.

Extend the Validity Period of e-Way Bills [India Edition]

E-way bills are valid only for a specific period of time. This may cause issues during unexpected circumstances such as an accident, which can delay the transportation of goods. We've introduced an option to extend the validity period of an e-way bill.

This option is only available for e-way bills that are in the Generated and Expired statuses. You can extend the validity of an e-way bill 8 hours before or 8 hours after its expiration time. 



To extend the validity period of an e-Way bill, go to e-Way Bills > Select an e-way bill and click Extend e-Way bill at the top.

Validate VAT [Germany Edition]


You can now validate the VAT Registration Number to ensure that a business associated with it is still active. This is required for applying reverse charges on Sales transactions and will also serve as a verification step for e-invoicing.

To validate a VRN, go to Settings > Taxes and Compliance > Taxes > Vat Settings. Enter the Vat Registration Number (VRN) and click Validate.

Manage your Income TDS Rates [India Edition]

With the addition of the newly-introduced  Direct Taxes tab under Settings, you can easily manage your TDS rates. Now, you can select whether to associate TDS at the line-item level or the transaction level from Income TDS Settings.  You can also view the total number of transactions associated with different modules for a TDS rate by clicking View Associated Entities. For recurring transactions, such as recurring bills and invoices, clicking on the total number of transactions will redirect you to the list page.



To manage your TDS Rates, go to Settings > Taxes and Compliance > Direct Taxes > Income TDS Rates. To see the total number of transactions linked to a TDS rate across different modules, hover over the TDS rate, click the dropdown, and select View Associated Entities.



To manage your TDS settings, go to Settings > Taxes and Compliance > Direct Taxes > Income TDS Settings.

Associate Multiple Criteria for Workflows

At times, you might need to create multiple workflow rules to complete a  task. For example, if you want to send an email alert and notify a third-party application via webhook whenever the status of a created invoice changes in Zoho Books, you would have to create multiple workflow rules for the different invoice statuses. This can be time-consuming and may exhaust the number of permitted workflow rules you can create under your organization's plan. 

Now, you can achieve the same outcome with a single workflow rule by associating multiple criteria and linking them to their appropriate actions.



Write Off Customer Opening Balance

If a customer is unlikely to pay their outstanding balance, if there are discrepancies, or if the account has remained outstanding for an extended period, you can write off the customer's opening balance. You can also cancel the write-off.



To write off customer opening balance, go to Sales > Customers. Select a customer and click View Opening Balance. Click the Menu icon and select Write Off.

Auto-Populate Customer or Vendor Details [India Edition]

Creating a customer or vendor can be time-consuming, especially when you are adding multiple entries. If this is a concern, we’ve got you covered. You can now auto-populate the contact details by entering the GSTN of the customer or vendor, which will be fetched from the GSTN portal. You can then select the address from the list of addresses associated with that GSTN. Additionally, you can edit the auto-populated details as needed.



To auto-populate contact details for your customers, go to Sales > Customers > Select a customer and click + New. Click Fetch From GSTN and enter the GSTN. Click Fetch Customer Details. Similarly, you can auto-populate contact details of your vendors.

Bulk Export Invoices as a ZIP File

Downloading invoices separately and searching for them can be a hassle, especially when you’re downloading multiple invoices. Now, you can download multiple invoices as a single ZIP file with just the click of a button. A single ZIP file is easier to manage and transfer and keeps all the documents together. 




To bulk export multiple invoices as a single ZIP file, go to Invoices > select invoices and click the ZIP icon.

Import or Export Custom Modules

We have extended the import and export option to custom modules. The import/export will occur asynchronously, with the first module being imported/exported first, followed by the second module upon the completion of the first import/export.
If your file exceeds 1,000 or your export file exceeds 25,000, the import/export will be scheduled, and a summary will be emailed to you after successful completion.



To import/export custom modules, go to Custom Modules. Select a custom module. Click the More icon and select the required option. 

Other Enhancements

  • If the number of default filters exceeds 10 or if there are any custom views for a module, a search bar will appear, allowing you to search for the desired filter.
  • We have introduced a new label, Bill Amount Without TDS in bills, allowing you to view the bill amount excluding the TDS deduction and the TDS amount separately.
  • You can now enable endorsements for SEZ and overseas customers, indicating whether the supply is made with or without the payment of Integrated Tax (IGST). This feature is only supported in Spreadsheet and Standard templates, and your business must be GST-registered.
  • You can now search all fields in a custom module rather than just the primary field. Previously, we only supported lookups for the primary field of a module, but this feature has now been enhanced to support lookups for all fields in custom modules.



We hope you like the new features and enhancements in Zoho Books! Take some time to explore the latest updates. We’ll be back next month with even more updates, as we continually strive to elevate your accounting experience.

You can also visit the What's New timeline for byte-sized information about our previous feature updates and enhancements. If you need any assistance, feel free to reach out at support@zohobooks.com.

Best regards,
The Zoho Books Team



        • Recent Topics

        • No Sales Returns on SO's with Dropped Shipped items + Inventory Items

          We have encountered an issue in Zoho related to sales orders that include both dropshipped items and inventory items. Specifically, it is currently not possible to create sales returns for the company’s own inventory items from these sales orders. This
        • Pre-fill TO and CC fields for Email Templates

          This would be a game changer to be able to set either specific email addresses or merge fields based on deal role titles into email templates. Please pass this along to *hopefully* add to future features of Zoho CRM.
        • Pick list - Cannot save list "Special Characters not Allowed" error message

          Bulk uploading values. All values are pretty standard - with the exception of a "-" (dash). Like:  Industry - Prepared Food Is the simple dash a special character too? Jan
        • Flow with CRM

          Hello, I have a simple flow that uses a web hook to enter data into a Sales Order. I have the web hook sending Flow data which has a PO field. If the PO has a special character like - or / or \ the task fails. How can I get the flow to be okay with the
        • Making the Resolution Tab Mandatory

          Hello Everyone! This edition is here to show you how to make the Resolution mandatory when closing a ticket. The Ticket Resolution tab helps keep a record of the solution provided for the ticket query. The resolution can serve as a quick reference to
        • Notificación de cumpleaños

          Hola: Se puede enviar alguna alerta de felicitación al personal que cumple años, que se dispare solo? Si existe como se puede hacer? Saludos
        • Automation#25: Move Tickets to Unassigned When the Owner Is Offline

          Hello Everyone, Welcome to this week's Community Series! 'Tis the holiday season—a time when work often takes a brief pause. The holiday spirit is in full swing at Zylker Techfix too, with employees taking some well-deserved time off. During this period,
        • Callback URLs

          I need to connect to an external service through an API that requires me to provide a Callback URL so that a status update can be sent back when the API request has been processed. Is there a way to do this in Creator without having to use a middleware
        • Email signature not being included if user creates ticket / sends email

          When I create a ticket (send email), the signature doesn't appear to be added to the ticket. Can you confirm if this is the case? It would obviously be useful to include the user's signature even when sending a client an email and not only on replie
        • Zoho Notebook window ignores taskbar

          When maximized to full screen, the Zoho Notebook window ignores the presence of the taskbar and overlaps it. What could be the problem? Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon. Zoho Notebook 3.2.0
        • URL for job opening

          I would like to ask you to add this feature to the product: create an unique url for each job opening on Zoho Recruit, so that I can add a link to it when I post the opportunity in a mailing list or on a forum.
        • Document images

          We used to be able to rotate the images but this has now been removed ???
        • VENDORS ARE NOT SYNCHED WITH CONTACTS IN CRM

          Hello, While the ACCOUNTS and CONTACTS (Including the primary contact) are synced with the CONTACTS module in CRM, the vendor's CONTACTS are not synced with CRM - which basically forces the users to re-enter all vendor's contacts twice and then update
        • Involved account types are not applicable when create journals

          { "journal_date": "2016-01-31", "reference_number": "20160131", "notes": "SimplePay Payroll", "line_items": [{ "account_id": "538624000000035003", "description": "Net Pay", "amount": 26690.09, "debit_or_credit": "credit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000403", "description": "Gross", "amount": 32000, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000427", "description": "CPP", "amount": 1295.64, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000376", "description":
        • KB Templates

          * It would be nice if Zoho can provide users an option to create custom templates for KB articles. Also, it would be nice as well if the users can have an option to 1.) select a default template and 2.) declare default tag/tags, for KB articles created through Ticket's resolution.
        • Zoho CRM Reports Module on Mobil App

          I have the mobile app and the reports module doesn't appear in the sidebar for some reason. I saw a Youtube video where the user had the Reports module on mobile. Is there a setting to show it on mobile? Thanks.
        • Contacts Don't Always Populate

          I've noticed that some contacts can easily be added to an email when I type their name. Other times, a contact doesn't appear even though I KNOW it is in my contact list. It is possible the ones I loaded from a spreadsheet are not an issue and the ones
        • Zoho Projects Android app update - List view enhancement

          Hello, everyone! In the latest android version(v3.9.15) of the Zoho Projects app update, we have enhanced the List view of tasks. We have also introduced a complete scroll of the tasks in the list view without scrolling the task fields(status, start date,
        • On the US Data Centre rather than the UK but dont know how to migrate it

          We have a new staff member with an external email address and cant add them to Zoho chat - we have been told its becuase we are in the UK but on a US Data centre - we therefore need to change it but no idea how to can anyone else as we are going round
        • Zoho Sheet Custom function column showing Error #EVAL!

          Hello I have a custom function in Zoho Sheet developed to convert a date time from one time zone to another. The custom function takes date and time columns and then using subHour( ) converts the time to PST time. However, though the custom function works,
        • How to add a Data Updated As Of: dynamically in text?

          I need to add a "Data Updated As Of" in the dashboard to show when was the last date the data was updated. I tried to create a widget but it does not look really good, see below. Is there a way I can do this through the text widget and update it automatically
        • Create Your Own Issue Management System

          Effective issue management is a cornerstone of project success. Every bug or issue, no matter how small, needs to be tracked and resolved in time to maintain project momentum. In this post, we’ll explore how an issue management system in Zoho Projects
        • Resource utlisation

          Dear Team, We use the excel for the weekly predicted people utilization how the resource are allocated , is there any way that i can use any of the zoho products.
        • Ask the experts - A live Q & A discussion on Zoho Recruit

          We are delighted to come back with another edition of Ask the Experts community series. This edition, we'll be focusing on everything about Zoho Recruit. The topics will focus on the features that are used/asked by the majority of users and also based
        • Bug - OTP (email) and No Duplicates

          Scenario: Form with an email field, Validation: "No Duplicates" (because I want to ensure 1 entry per email). Embedded form into website (JS option). Enabled email based OTP. 1st test (via my website) - entered my email address - sent OTP - entered pin,
        • Personal Facebook page posting instead of Business Page

          I have a Facebook page that is associated with my Personal Profile and I am the Admin of that Page. I would like to schedule and Post to my Personal Page not the Business Page. Each time I try to connect to the "Page" it takes me to the Business Page. Is there a way of connecting to my personal page?
        • Fixed asset management

          I want to know if there is any individual module for fixed assets management
        • Recording depreciation of fixed assets as a percentage of residual value

          In India, fixed assets are depreciated as a percentage of their residual value at the beginning of each fiscal year. I went through the documentation for creating recurring journal entries, but could only find ways to depreciate by a fixed rupee amount
        • Function #28: Automatically calculate Customer Loyalty points

          Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! Today, we're excited to share a workflow designed to streamline the management of loyalty points. Many businesses offer incentives or rewards in the form of loyalty points to their customers as a way to
        • Function #6: Calculate Commissions for paid invoices

          Zoho Books helps you automate the process of calculating and recording commissions paid to sales persons using custom functions. We've written a script that computes the commission amount based on the percentage of commission you enter and creates an
        • How to Add Product SKU in Invoice?

          How to Add Product SKU in Invoice?
        • Tracking movement between departments

          I've been developing a reporting system in Zoho and one of the groups I want to develop a report on primarily moves tickets from department to another. Is there a way to set up the reporting on Zoho (or Zoho Reports) that can tell me the number of tickets
        • Zoho CRM Calendar View

          Hello Zoho team, We need desperately a calendar view next to list, kandan and other views. I think it should be easy to implement as you already have the logic from Projects and also from Kanban View in CRM. In calendar view when we set it up - we choose
        • Call transcrition working for ringcentral?

          I don't see anything about what telephony providers can be used. The Zoho support person A said that RingCentral isn't supported. Zoho support person B said that it works, just make sure the call recording link works. Excellent instructions here: Call
        • What is syntax to call creator function (or trigger a creator workflow) from CRM deluge?

          What is syntax to call creator function (or trigger a creator workflow) from CRM deluge?
        • WhatsApp and Zoho Creator Integration

          How we have integrate WhatsApp App with Zoho Creator without using external application ?
        • Improve Creator Calendar Report

          Please can you improve the Creator Calendar Report General There is no way to highlight certain days, for example weekends or public holidays. There is no way to hide certain days, for example weekends. There is no way to modify the day header, it just
        • Important updates to Zoho CRM's email deliverability

          Last modified on: Jul 24, 2024 These enhancements are released for all users across all data centers. Modified on: Oct 30, 2023 Organisations that are in the Enterprise and above editions of Zoho CRM, and have not authenticated their email-sending domains
        • Custom modules not showing in developer console

          I'm trying to create a custom summing function for a custom module I made in my CRM. When I go to create the function, my module isnt showing up. Do I need to share the custom moldule with my developer console or something of the like?
        • Chart with Filtered Data vs Unfiltered Data

          I am looking to create a chart view that displays the full data set vs a subset of the data filtered by user filter. However I do not seem to find any method by which to exclude a plot from the applied filter or any other method by which to display the
        • Next Page