# 2 Why do we need a billing system when accounting covers billing?

# 2 Why do we need a billing system when accounting covers billing?

In today's evolving financial tech stack, businesses use a mix of tools to manage their day-to-day operations, from invoicing to full-fledged accounting. While accounting platforms typically come with built-in invoicing features, specialized billing systems still have a strong place in the mix. While both can coexist and even complement each other, one question still prevails:

If accounting software already includes invoicing, why do we need a separate billing system?


The answer is simple: sometimes, less is more. Let's take a deeper look.

1. Powered with simplicity

Not every business needs full accounting. Some just need to send an invoice and get paid. That's where a billing system lives.

It strips down the process to only what you need. Creating invoices, payment collection, and maybe a few reminders. As simple as that. No finance background required. No lengthy multi-step process in it. You should be able to create your first invoice in seconds, even if you are new to the system.

2. Built for billing

A full accounting system is powerful, but always not always necessary upfront. If you are not tracking liabilities, reconciling bank statements, or preparing financial reports, then you are likely to pay for features you are not going to use.

A dedicated billing system focuses only on the core concepts like revenue tracking, invoice automation, follow-ups, and dunning. Staying focused on billing allows the system to stay simple, lightweight, and tailored to how you actually bill, be it one-time, recurring, usage-based, or subscription-based.  

3. Flexible across industries

Every industry has its quirks. A retail store might need barcode scanning, A pharmacy may need expiry date tracking, and SaaS needs recurring billing. Each has its operational flow and its own industrial niche.

That's why a billing system shouldn't be rigid. It needs to adapt to these varying billing models without getting bloated or overly complex. Whether you are invoicing by units, time, tiered pricing, or bundled services, the system should bend to fit your business and not the other way around.

4. Invoice with ease

Billing shouldn't slow down your operations each day. A good billing system allows you to send invoices in seconds, from anywhere on any device, be it a laptop, PC, tablet, or any smartphone.

It should also speak to your brand through a custom logo, your template styles, and personalized reminders. In case you are working with international clients, multi-currency should be available when it is required without going through a major switch. The system should handle it all with ease.

5. Less Compliance Pressure

Tax laws are complex and different in different parts of the world. Sales Tax in the US. VAT in the UK or EU. GST in Australia or India. Many businesses didn't want to handle that complexity themselves, and some businesses are yet to get to the tax thresholds.

Billing systems let you keep things simple; just add taxes to the transaction, record your revenue, and export the data when it's time to file. Your accountant or tax advisor can take it from there. You stay focused on running your business without having to master compliance tools and deal with those overheads.

6. Be Cost-Effective

When you're building or running a small business, every penny counts. Every tool you choose should justify its cost. If your day-to-day activity involves billing, why pay for advanced accounting features?

A billing system gives you what you need without making you pay for what you're not using. It should be cost-efficient, focused, and scalable when you need it to. You can always climb to a full accounting system when your operations require it. But, until then, your billing system will do all the wonders.

Begin with Billing

So, this precisely clarifies why we need a billing system. Simple, flexible, ease of use, industry adaptability, and cost efficiency are exactly what a good billing system should offer.

That's exactly what Zoho Billing is built for. It brings together a range of features that help you manage revenue without overpouring with what you don't use. Whether you're creating a simple invoice or setting up a complex recurring billing flow, Zoho Billing adapts to your business and keeps your complexities grounded.

As you grow, it connects seamlessly with Zoho Books, letting you expand into accounting and beyond. With Zoho Billing, you don't just get a tool; you get a complete ecosystem that fits right where your business is today and supports where it's headed tomorrow.

First things first: Get started with Zoho Billing.

    • Sticky Posts

    • Community Learning Series | Digest #5 — September 2020

      Dear customers, We're happy to bring you the September edition of our #CommunityDigest! Keep track of your subscription KPIs right from your smartphone: Last month, we enhanced our Android mobile app to help our customers get daily updates on their business health. We got to know from a lot of customers that this has made their job much more easier because they no longer have to keep a reminder to manually check on the previous day's revenue or activations. If you have not downloaded it yet, here's

    • Community Learning Series | Digest #4 - August 2020

      Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. I'm happy to bring you the fourth edition of our #CommunityDigest with some brand-new updates from us. 1. Daily Business Updates (for Android users) The Zoho Subscriptions Android app has got a cool new update: You can now get a push notification to your smartphone that lets you know how many activations and cancellations have taken place, and what's the net revenue for the previous day. The best part is, you can tell the app when exactly you

    • Community Learning Series | Digest #3 - July 2020

      Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. We're glad to bring you the July edition of our #CommunityDigest. New community members can view our previous newsletters here. This time, we have two major updates and three interesting topics for you: 1. Zoho Subscriptions Developer Community Since the inception of Zoho Subscriptions, our team believed that the recurring billing platform we provide should be able to offer an extensive API library that empowers businesses to automate most

    • Introducing: Community Learning Series | Digest #1 - May 2020

      Dear customers, We hope you are staying safe and healthy. Helping businesses manage their customer subscriptions more efficiently has always been, and always will be, our goal at Zoho Subscriptions. We strongly believe this is possible if we grow together as a community and share what we know with each other. To nurture this shared learning experience, here is our brand-new Community Learning Series! ​ Welcome to the first edition of our digest! Each edition of our community digest includes guides

    • Recent Topics

    • Improved UI for a Seamless User Experience - Calls, Tasks, and Meetings

      Hello all, We are making UI unification across CRM so that the UI experience is seamless across the product. As part of that effort, we have made changes to the details page of activity-based module records—Meetings, Calls, and Tasks. Let's look at these

    • Where can I find rejected inbound mails and their reason for rejection

      Hi, I was recently made aware by a mailing list which I am subscribed to (ffmpeg-devel@ffmpeg.org) that my Zoho mail Mail account is rejecting some emails. If I look under Admin Panel > Security & Compliance > Quarantine > Incoming, the list there is

    • Refund

      Hi There, Please refund me asap possible, because of no support given. Thank you

    • تغيير عمله الدفع"Change payment currency"

      ما هى طريقه تغيير عمله الدفع "ما هي طريقة تغيير عملة الدفع؟"

    • How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

      How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

    • Attention API Users: Upcoming Support for Renaming System Fields

      Hello all! We are excited to announce an upcoming enhancement in Zoho CRM: support for renaming system-defined fields! Current Behavior Currently, system-defined fields returned by the GET - Fields Metadata API have display_label and field_label properties

    • Zia's ability to generate and improve content extended to Desk mobile app (iOS and Android)

      In support, agents will have to understand customers' pain points completely to provide empathetic personalized solutions and a positive experience. However, at times, agents might find it challenging to comprehend the customer issues and connect with

    • BANK FEED - MAYBANK , provider from YODLEE IS NOT WORKING

      As per topic, the provider YODLEE is not working for the BANK FEED. It have been reported since 2023 Q3, and second report on 2023 Q4. now almost end of 2024 Q1, and coming to 2024 Q2. Malaysia Bank Maybank is NOT working. can anyone check on this issue?

    • Zoho Sign product updates - Q3 2025

      Hello everyone! Q3 was all about AI. Here's the list of features and enhancements that have gone live, along with a list of what we have in pipeline for the last quarter: AI-powered agreement management Sending documents and authenticating recipients

    • Zoho sites header

      Good day, Im stuck with this situation. I choose a template for my website creation. I have tweaked every instance of the visual editor, regarding the header, I have created created customize fonts presets... I have followed every single step. and my

    • Quick Create needs Client Script support

      As per the title. We need client scripts to apply at a Quick Create level. We enforce logic on the form to ensure data quality, automate field values, etc. However, all this is lost when a user attempts a "Quick Create". It is disappointing because, from

    • Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

      Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved

    • DNS set up

      I want to create an email with my company domain. When I tried to add new record with cloudflare it didn't work. The DNS record can't be manually added. I followed the instruction but still can't add it. Could you help?

    • Pocket from Mozilla is closing shop. Don’t lose your favorites . Move them to Zoho Mail Bookmarks now! 📥🔖

      The end of Pocket shouldn't mean the end of your important links and content. Easily import them into Zoho Mail's Bookmarks and continue right where you left off. You can bring over your entire Saves, Collections, and tags just the way they are. Bookmarks

    • General suggestions

      Hello, I've picked this forum as it is at the top of the list! :) First suggestion: A general forum for issues and comments that are not specific to a particular Zoho application. Second suggestion: Put a link on the home page to "Zoho Identity Access Manager" The first suggestion came about because I didn't know where to post the second! ;) Regards Mark

    • Can't upload attachments.

      I can't upload attachment in Zoho Mail.

    • Need Guidance on SPF Flattening for Zoho Mail Configuration

      Hi everyone, I'm hoping to get some advice on optimizing my SPF record for a Zoho Mail setup. I use Zoho Mail along with several other Zoho services, and as a result, my current SPF record has grown to include multiple include mechanisms. My Cloudflare

    • How use

      Good morning sir I tried Zoho Mail

    • Zoho Mail Desktop App Not Loading + Can’t Manage Multiple Accounts

      Hi everyone, I’ve been having ongoing issues with the Zoho Mail desktop app for the past few weeks. The app starts to load but gives up midway and never actually opens — there’s no error message, it just stops loading. The main reason I use the desktop

    • Error when sending emails from Zoho

      Hello, When trying to send an email from Zoho CRM I keep getting the below error: javax.mail.AuthenticationFailedException: 535 5.7.139 Authentication unsuccessful, the user credentials were incorrect. Any support on this will be much appreciated. Thanks,

    • Zoho Tables is now live in Australia & New Zealand!

      Hey everyone! We’ve got some great news to share — Zoho Tables is now officially available in the Australian Data Center serving users across Australia and New Zealand regions! Yes, it took us a bit longer to get here, but this version of Zoho Tables

    • Not all emails from outlook365 migrated to my new zoho account

      I recently setup a new email address hosted by zoho. I migrated all my folders and email from my Outlook365 account to my new zoho account, but not all my emails migrated. Looks like only the past 12 months, or so, made the move. How do I get the rest

    • Max numbr of IMAP Accounts in Zoho Mail?

      In Zoho mail, you can manage the inboxes of other accounts using IMAP (and POP, actually) https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/external-imap-accounts.html Is there a max to the number of inboxes we can add?

    • Formula Fields Trouble

      Hi,  I can't get even a simple formula field to work and must be doing something dumb. This formula: If(Len(Trim(${Quotes.Subject}))=0,1,2) Gives the error: You used the wrong type of data in an argument. Check what you entered between the parentheses of your functions to make sure you put the right kind of data in the right place. This formula: Len(Trim(${Quotes.Subject}))=0 Gives the error: Syntax Error. Check the examples for any functions you're using to see if you formatted them correctly. Make

    • OPTED FOR STORAGE BY DESCRIPTIVE MISGUIDANCE

      We've opened a domain with three mail ids and payment has also been processed now the bill raised is for single use ID with additional storage capacity. Kindly request you to modify the purchase.

    • How can I add a new organization on Zoho Campaign

      I want to create a new organization with my Zoho Campaign

    • White Label certificate

      Hi all, About 72 hours ago, we fulfilled all steps for white labeling (CNAME to point to mail.cs.zohohost.eu), but since then the configuration page is now stuck at "generating certificate" since 3 days. When I execute an NSLOOKUP mail.webfoundry.be it

    • www.abc.com is working but abc.com is not

      I have my domain in godaddy. I have created a website using zoho sites and now I want to publish it and I tried doing it. Mapped the domain www.abc.com, abc.com. In godaddy changed the CNAME values. A, @ was parked and updated with zoho's IP address.

    • Split my account

      Hello, I recently bought an email service for a friend. But, looks like I used my personal account to buy the plan. Please split the account so that the email service stays in a different account than my personal account.

    • Have Mail Lite, wish to add/purchase 2nd domain and use email

      Hello, I have recently created two new businesses. I have successfully used Zoho to create a domain for one business and have set up two email addresses / users on that domain. I am trying to figure out how to create a second domain, just like I did the

    • Need support in setting up the company email and few other setups

      Need support in setting up the company email and few other setups

    • This mobile number has been marked spam.

      Dear zoho team, I am very happy to use zoho,because it india 🇮🇳 own app, but when we login into zoho account we facing some issue, please solve below issue ASAP. Add your mobile number As an added security measure for Accounts, you need to verify and

    • Add an external email to the allowed list

      I need to allow an external email to raise a ticket on Manage Engine ServiceDesk Plus. The external email is a outside of our domain and is not a domain user. The email address that needs to be allowed to raise a ticket request is noreply@formsatack.com.

    • Display name & account type change

      I made a mistake and subscribed with an individual account instead of business, how can I change the account type and enter the details of the business. The other question, if I can't, then I want the display name of our email to be 'Business name' instead

    • Request to change display name in Zoho mail

      Hello Zoho Mail Support, I am experiencing an issue with changing the display name on my Zoho Mail account. My email address is: info@witchcraftproduction.rs . I have already updated the display name in Settings > Mail Accounts, where it now shows as

    • Outbound IP address SPAM problem.

      Hello Zoho Support, We noticed that one of your outbound IP addresses (136.143.188.12), which delivers our domain’s mail, is currently listed on the UCEProtect blacklist. Because of this, our messages are sometimes flagged as spam by recipient servers.

    • Answer Bot and Personalized Questions

      Hi there, I have the same problem using the SalesIQ Answer Bot and the Zoho Desk Answer Bot (which really need different names, to be honest, in order to avoid confusion...) Customers that visit our website ask questions in the form of "What do you do?"

    • Forwarding

      How can I forward my Zoho account to my gmail account? Noël

    • Add a Way to Duplicate Cards in the Same Canvas (Retain All Settings)

      Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, We would like to request a new feature in Zoho SalesIQ: the ability to duplicate an existing card within the same canvas while retaining all of its information and settings, including conditions, configurations, and display preferences.

    • Zoho Mail CC and BCC not working

      Zoho Mail CC and BCC not working. I have tried multiple combinations amongst my domain aliases but emails sent as CC or BCC never arrive, not even to Spam. I have checked that the DNS is set up correctly in Cloudflare and have even received a DMARC report

    • Next Page