Zoho Books is part of the wider Zoho One business suite — strong on India GST, with regional editions for the US, UK, AU, Canada, and the GCC, plus tight integration with Zoho CRM, Inventory, and Payroll.
HelloBooks is an AI-native bookkeeping platform with every feature on every plan, two-way QuickBooks Online sync, and pricing from $4.99/month — focused on automation rather than a full business suite.
Pick Zoho Books if you already live in the Zoho ecosystem or need its specific regional editions today. Pick HelloBooks if you want AI bookkeeping, US Plaid coverage, or a soft transition off QuickBooks Online.
Where a value is shown as “—”, the feature was not verified at review time. See Zoho Books's site for the latest specifics.
| Feature | HelloBooks | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free plan + paid from $4.99/mo (USD) | Free plan (revenue-capped) + paid Standard / Professional / Premium / Elite / Ultimate |
| Country support | US, UK, India primary; AU / NZ / SG / UAE in product roadmap | Global, Canada, India, US, UK, AU, GCC editions and more |
| STP Phase 2 (AU) | Roadmap — verify current support with sales | STP via Zoho Payroll AU (separate product) — verify current scope |
| BAS (AU) | BAS-friendly GST coding; lodgment workflow on roadmap | BAS preparation in Zoho Books AU edition |
| GST e-invoicing (India) | IRN + QR generation via Fynamics GSP integration | IRN + QR generation in Zoho Books India edition |
| HMRC MTD (UK) | Regulatory alignment with HMRC MTD — verify scope with sales | HMRC-recognised for MTD VAT submissions |
| Bank feeds | 11,000+ US banks via Plaid; direct feeds elsewhere | Bank feeds vary by region; Plaid + direct feeds |
| Payroll | Payroll module — country availability varies | Zoho Payroll (US, India, AU) — separate product, separate pricing |
| Time tracking | HelloTime add-on for time tracking and attendance | Native timesheets + Zoho Projects integration |
| Multi-currency | Included on all plans with auto FX gain/loss | Multi-currency on paid plans (Standard and above) |
| Integrations | Plaid, QuickBooks Online (two-way sync), Stripe, Shopify (in build) | Deep Zoho ecosystem (CRM, Inventory, Projects, Desk) + 100s of third-party apps |
| Reporting depth | AI dashboards, cash-flow forecasting, custom report builder | Strong reporting suite with custom reports |
| AI features | AI categorization, OCR, anomaly detection, conversational AI | Zia AI assistant (insights, anomaly hints) on higher plans |
| Free plan | Yes — free forever, 500 AI credits/month | Yes — Free plan capped at low annual revenue threshold |
Both have free plans, but they are structured differently. Zoho Books Free is capped by annual revenue. HelloBooks Free is uncapped but limited to 500 AI credits per month and one bank connection. Paid plans on both start in a similar low-USD range; HelloBooks includes every feature on every paid plan, while Zoho Books gates some features (multi-currency, more users) to higher tiers.
Yes. HelloBooks integrates with Fynamics GSP to generate IRN and QR codes and submit invoices to the IRP. Zoho Books India also handles IRN + QR generation. For a pure India-only business already on Zoho One, Zoho Books has the tighter ecosystem advantage.
Yes, via CSV import. Zoho Books supports clean exports of chart of accounts, contacts, items, invoices, bills, and journals — all importable into HelloBooks. Plan a structured cutover at month-end or year-end.
For STP and BAS today, Zoho Books AU + Zoho Payroll AU is a more mature option than HelloBooks while AU compliance scope is being expanded. For an AU business that wants AI bookkeeping and is willing to wait or pilot, HelloBooks is the more progressive bet — verify current AU scope with sales first.
HelloBooks is built AI-first across categorization, OCR, anomaly detection, and conversational AI. Zoho ships Zia AI as an assistant feature on higher plans. The day-to-day bookkeeping in HelloBooks is more automated; Zoho Books still leans on rule-based categorization with Zia adding insights.
HelloBooks connects to 11,000+ US banks via Plaid with real-time feeds. Zoho Books US uses a mix of Plaid and direct feeds. Both are solid for US — HelloBooks ships Plaid as the default; Zoho Books uses it alongside other providers.
Probably yes if Zoho One is core to how your business runs. The integration depth between Zoho Books, CRM, Inventory, and Projects is genuinely tight and is hard to replicate from outside the ecosystem. If you don't use the rest of Zoho, that advantage doesn't apply.
Yes — built-in two-way sync. Zoho Books offers a one-time importer from QuickBooks rather than a live two-way sync.
HelloBooks supports CSV import for chart of accounts, customers, vendors, items, invoices, and bills. For QuickBooks Online, we offer a built-in two-way sync. For other platforms, our migration team can assist with a structured cutover.
HelloBooks pricing
Free plan + paid plans with every feature included on each tier.
AI categorization
Auto-categorize transactions with confidence scoring.
Smart invoicing
AI-assisted invoicing with email, WhatsApp, and SMS delivery.
Advanced reporting
AI dashboards, forecasting, and a custom report builder.
Integrations
Plaid, QuickBooks Online two-way sync, Stripe, and more.
FAQ
Common questions on plans, billing, security, and migration.