United Arab Emirates · Zoho Books alternative
The Zoho Books alternative with AI bookkeeping built in
HelloBooks Pro is AED 65/month per entity with a Free Plan to start, AI categorisation at 95%+ accuracy, the FTA VAT 201 prepared from your ledger, Designated-Zone handling, and HelloTime payroll in the same login — instead of stitching together separate Zoho apps.
HelloBooks vs Zoho Books (UAE)
| Feature | HelloBooks | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (AED) | Free Plan; Pro AED 65/mo per entity with invoices within 200 transactions/year, bills and transactions | Free plan for small businesses below the turnover cap; paid tiers scale by feature and by add-ons in the Zoho ecosystem |
| AI categorisation | Built-in AI agent, 95%+ accuracy, on every plan — no rule-writing | Bank rules + limited AI assist; you build and maintain the categorisation rules |
| FTA VAT 201 return | Computed from your ledger — per-emirate boxes 1a–1g, zero-rated, exempt, reverse charge — ready to file on EmaraTax | FTA-accredited; VAT 201 supported |
| Designated-Zone handling | Tag customers/suppliers as Designated-Zone so goods lines follow the FTA out-of-scope position, services stay at 5% | VAT treatments configurable; Designated-Zone logic set up manually |
| Reverse charge on imports | Both legs posted automatically from a bill flagged as an import; customs reference linked to VAT 201 box 6 | Reverse charge supported via tax settings |
| Payroll in the same login | HelloTime payroll, leave and attendance included in the suite — one login | Zoho Payroll is a separate product/subscription in the Zoho ecosystem |
| Multi-currency | Live FX with gain/loss postings, included on Pro at AED 65/mo per entity | Multi-currency supported on the relevant paid tiers |
| Data export at cancellation | Free CSV / QBO export, 90-day read-only window | Export available |
Competitor details summarised from publicly listed information as of 2026 and may change — re-verify current Zoho Books UAE pricing and features before deciding.
UAE migration runbook (from Zoho Books)
- 1
Export from Zoho Books
Settings → Data Backup / export: Chart of Accounts, Contacts, Items, Invoices, Bills, Bank Transactions. 10–30 minutes for a typical SMB.
- 2
Import into HelloBooks
Settings → Import → Zoho. Upload the export. The mapping screen aligns Zoho account codes to the HelloBooks chart before commit.
- 3
Verify trial balance + VAT
Reports → Trial Balance: confirm totals match Zoho at the migration cutoff. VAT → VAT 201 Preview: confirm the next period's boxes, including per-emirate standard-rated supplies.
- 4
Set zone + tax treatments
Tag Designated-Zone customers/suppliers, confirm reverse-charge on import suppliers, and check export-evidence tracking on zero-rated customers.
- 5
Add HelloTime payroll (optional)
Enable HelloTime for payroll, leave and attendance in the same login — no separate payroll subscription.
UAE Zoho Books switch — frequently asked
Try the Zoho Books alternative — free
Free Plan, no credit card. Pro at AED 65/month per entity with unlimited invoices, AI categorisation, the FTA VAT 201, and HelloTime payroll — all included.
Start Free — migrate from Zoho