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

    • Zoho cases and remote work api

      How to use zoho cases listing api? When i try to hit the endpoint specified in the docs , i get the error : the page you are looking for does not exist with a 401.
    • Calendly does not show scheduled Meetings

      I use Calendly as my standard booking tool, but no matter what I am doing, Calendly shows any appointment as free (when in fact there already is an appointment in CRM Calendar or Zoho Calendar). Drives me nuts - cannot go away from Calendly due to various
    • I want the currency in my account to be Mexican pesos.

      Hello, I am a Mexican citizen and live in Ukraine. When I registered to your system, it was seen that I was from Ukraine, so the default currency is Euro. This is causing me a problem. Please change the standard currency in my account to Mexican Pes
    • Year-End Wrap: Don't rewrite - Switch to Email Templates

      As we're half-way through December, now is the perfect time to start sending out festive greetings. Whether it is to your clients or your team, it is important that every mail is tailored to the recipient and feels genuine, which allows you to make better
    • Elevating Email Security on Zoho Desk: DKIM Now Mandatory

      Hello Zoho Desk Users! It has been a wonderful journey with you on Zoho Desk. As we prepare to welcome 2025, we are strengthening our efforts to ensure a secure and seamless experience for you. To enhance email security, DKIM configuration will be mandatory
    • How to view shared mailbox in Outlook

      How to view shared mailbox in Outlook or in another software
    • Necesito el código ZB para mi cuenta

      Hice cambio de servidor y no encuentro el codigo unico de cname.
    • Privacy error

      Privacy error on Chrome for all embedded forms and reports, this is a huge issue: "Your connection is not private Attackers might be trying to steal your information from creator.zohopublic.com (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID"
    • Automate Backups

      This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.
    • 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,
    • Customise Search Bar in CRM

      Is there a way to customise this search bar in the CRM to add fields?
    • Counting downloads of a file

      Hello Could anyone help me, I would like to use a custom script to count how many times a file contained in a record has been downloaded. Is that something that is possible in Creator? Thanks Estelle
    • Is there any way to prevent emails from being sent from zoho crm without pressing email opt out?

      When I left my desk yesterday I excitedly thought I had fixed my problem, by making use of the "Inactive" field ... However after contacting the support chat, they have advised to stop emails being sent I need to update the "Email Opt Out" field - which
    • New Search Function

      Hey Team, The search function updated in our CRM about a week ago, so I assume it was an automated update across Zoho. It no longer displays leads/deals etc in Chronological order so that the most recently created or updated is the first to display which
    • New permissions for accessing emails sent via Zoho CRM

      Last modified on Nov 4, 2024: Permissions for accessing emails sent via Zoho CRM have now been extended to the IN DC. With this rollout, the feature is now available to all users across all DCs. Resources: Data sharing for emails, Configuring email compose
    • is it possible to add more than one Whatsapp Phone Number to be integrated to Zoho CRM?

      so I have successfully added one Whatsapp number like this from this User Interface it seems I can't add a new Whatsapp Number. I need to add a new Whatsapp Number so I can control the lead assignment if a chat sent to Whatsapp Phone Number 1 then assign
    • Request for Alerts on Workflow and Function Changes.

      I want to get an alert whenever a new workflow or function is added or an existing workflow or function is edited. Is there any way to do that? I need to log all changes whenever updates are made or new ones are added.
    • Transfer Amount from One Vendor to Another Vendor

      One of the vendors, who has a balance with us, has closed the business and has started a new business; Now he wants me to transfer the outstanding from the old account to the new Vendor Account. I am trying to do this using Payment Settlement a/c, But
    • Been getting this error, every now and then "Get count limit exceeded, please try again after 3 mins"

      it is really annoying.
    • How to make Branch compulsory in Zoho Books invoice?

      How I make Branches compulsory in Zoho Books invoice?
    • Regarding GST Report Issue in Zoho Books

      Hi, Right now, the very important point from my end is this Zoho Books issue. Here, you can see that we have created the invoice with the items of account sales and expenses. The journal is also correct. The profit and Loss statement is also correct.
    • Default Ship To Address on Purchase Orders cannot be different than Organization Address

      Our organization address is not where we want shipments delivered, it is just a mailing address. We would like to change the Ship To address on our PO's so that by default it is our warehouse (not the mailing address). I understand that when creating
    • Function #57: Automatically group items in invoices based on categories

      Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! As a business expands and new product lines are launched, it becomes important to organize the items for better inventory management. The Category field in Zoho Books helps here by allowing you to add and
    • Fixed asset management

      I want to know if there is any individual module for fixed assets management
    • Suppress "spreadsheet will not be saved" message on published sheet

      I have published a sheet and have one column on that sheet that the user can edit (a dropdown picklist where the user can select the status for each line). Is there a way to suppress the Zoho Sheet message "Any changes made to this published spreadsheet
    • Differences between Zoho Books and Zoho Billing

      Without a long drawn out process to compare these. If you were looking at these Books and Billing, what made you opt for one and not the other. Thanks
    • unable to import transactions into zoho books

      I download a csv with separate columns for deposit and withdraw. The sample has zero's in the blank spaces so I ensure mine does too. When I try to import it says the fields must have values greater than zero.
    • Zoho Forms Unable to Save Account Numbers with a Leading Zero

      We are using Zoho Forms to for rental applications. It is working well, except for one thing:  when a user enters their bank account information, and that account number actually starts with a ZERO (like 00123456) the Zoho form will return the value without
    • How to include GST% in PO amount?

      Currently when I raise PO, the basic price of the item is used. However, the GST is not calculated and added along with the basic amount. I have added a Custom field for GST in the PO but I need Zoho Inventory to calculate the GST amount and add it with the Basic price to give me the final PO price.
    • sitemap in zoho sites not updating

      I checked my sitemap and it has not added any updates. Do I have to generate one manually all the time or is zoho sites suppose to generate and update it?
    • I trying to connect our PM tool but API shows failure

      Hi All, in ZOHO CRM when an enquiry stage is moved to WON then I have created a rule to trigger POST URL to thrid party AP and then create a function for mapping with below code void automation.kytesfunctions(String enquiryId) { // Fetch enquiry details
    • Sample Ticket - Created from Bot Preview

      Why is Zoho desk adding bot created tickets?
    • Webhook data is not being received

      We’ve set up the webhook with a public URL that returns a 200 status on Postman. However, when we ran a test, we didn’t receive anything in the req.body object or see any data from the POST request. As a team of freshers still learning the ropes of development,
    • Number of Workflow runs

      Is there a way in Zoho desk to see statistics regarding workflows, rules and other automation objects? Would be nice for several reasons: You could ensure that your workflows are actually running. You could determine which ones weren't being used so you
    • Mail is no longer populating CRM contacts

      Hi! For the last few days, my mail hasn't been populating my CRM contacts. Even people I email multiple times per day. In fact, it keeps trying to send mail to myself. Notice, I started typing Amy and only got as far as, "Am" and it suggested myself.
    • Zoho Support is indeed shocking and difficult to get a response with

      All our business emails have an auto-foward set up on them so that they also go to our GMAIL accounts so that we receive them to the relevenat people. The emails are indeed auto forwarding and arriving to our GMAIL accounts but when you log into your
    • How to get a list of selected records into a button-function? Here is how!

      So, you might know already how to get a button on a page somewhere and perform actions with a function when pressed, but how about a button that only works with the records you selected in the list view? The button selected is a custom button in the modules
    • How to Add Break line / Return on button click

      I need to return the text concate with difference field from lead with line break i try "\r" ,"\n" "<br>" return "ali \r\n <br> baba"; None of above work.  i expected result something like this  ali baba but got this  ali \r\n <br> baba so, how can i
    • How to get batch number of item by api?

      Hi there, Is there any way to get batch number of item by api? Batch number is the batch reference number in https://www.zoho.com/inventory/help/advanced-inventory-tracking/batch-tracking.html . When I call the https://www.zoho.com/books/api/v3/#Items_Get_an_item
    • Serious question: Are there actually "solo-preneurs"/small business owners who made Zoho-one work well for them?

      L.S. After already many years of continued struggle with Zoho-One, I am seriously wondering if there are actually solo-preneurs (one person small business owners - without a large, dedicated IT dept.) who got it (Zoho-One) to work well for their businesses.
    • Next Page