ZOHO is the way to go!

Don’t settle for less

Once upon a time QuickBooks was the go-to standard for small businesses that couldn’t afford an accountant, or even a bookkeeper. It was relatively inexpensive, and even though it had a very steep learning curve, with enough practice you could make it work well enough to get the job done.

Now QB has 80% penetration in the small business market in the U.S., but globally only have 2 million customers. Beginners know that QuickBooks is complex and difficult to understand. QB grew popular in the beginning—not because it was easy and effective—but because they were one of the only software solutions for small business accounting.

When the Internet Age exploded, it didn’t take long for lots of clever people to conclude that there was a better way to handle accounting. Private accountants with a knack for programming saw the potential of their very own software programme to help businesses to manage their accounts.

Owners needed “receivables” and “payables”; they needed “Drawings Accounts” and “Petty Cash” management; and hopefully they would eventually need a “Payroll Account”, if their company was a success.

Dozens of competitors arose with both good and bad ideas of how to make accounting better. However, QB had such a big lead that most of the upstarts never even got off the ground.

Now, decades later, we have much better, easier-to-use programs, that are fully supported online. Let’s look at one of the best…

ZOHO — and what makes it Better!

1. Let’s imagine for a moment that you’ve invited a non-employee to sit in on a workgroup to help you solve a problem. ZOHO makes it easy to add users to your organisation so they can participate. Some accounting packages could support that, but most would require intimate familiarity to do something so complex. It definitely would not be a few simple clicks like ZOHO.

2. Let’s suppose that a new salesperson in a workgroup doesn’t know a well-established client and applies an undiscounted fee to one of their projects. If sent, that is going to cause some hard feelings.

Wouldn’t it be better to receive an e-mail message before that even leaves the building? Unusual financial activity, such as upping an estimate by several hundred dollars, can automatically spawn e-mails to keep you apprised of when something is going awry in a workgroup. This is a prime example of ZOHO’s convenience and its unique features that other accounting packages still haven’t figured out.

3. ZOHO provides a client portal so you can communicate with your customers directly through the platform. Unfortunately most other accounting packages don’t accommodate that.

4. If you’ve sent a sales estimate to a client, and they accepted it, you can send them a Sales Order right through ZOHO. Maybe other accounting package providers will offer that, too, someday.

5. Before an order confirmation goes out the door (over the internet) you can use the Sales Approval facility built into ZOHO to make sure the document is accurate. That is something else the other accounting packages could add to make people happy.

6. Before accepting an order you can preview the item in Purchase Approval to make sure it complies with the services you offer; that you have the materials on-hand; that you have time available on manufacturing equipment; and, that all the numbers are error-free. That is another feature that is exclusive to ZOHO!

7. ZOHO is available on Android and iPhone, as are many accounting utilities, but due to popular demand it’s now available on Windows Phone, unlike many other accounting packages. Stay in touch when you’re on the run. You can take your work along with the ZOHO Books App.

8. Often, for cash flow reasons, we may defer a payment, but don’t let it happen accidentally because you overlooked a billing date. With ZOHO you can automate your Payment Reminders so you never make a mistake. ZOHO helps you stay in control.

VAT Compliance

Since January 2018 the UAE has adopted the VAT system. The FTA (Federal Tax Authority) regulations state that VAT-registered businesses must maintain accurate records and file their VAT returns on time. The ZOHO accounting software is one of the few which is both approved and accredited by the FTA, and that will make compliance a very simple matter for you.

To make the experience easy and effortless, ZOHO provides guided webinars to make sure you know exactly how it works and ease you through the proper setups. It will teach you how to:

• Set up your ZOHO Books account;
• Send and track receivables;
• Manage expenses and purchases;
• Monitor inventory levels;
• Generate business reports;
• Generate VAT return reports; and
• How to stay VAT complaint.

Even more important, if you’re planning on doing business in places like Australia, Canada, or Great Britain, you should know that VAT requirements aren’t supported by all accounting programmes. But you should also know who you can trust to make sure your business is fully VAT supported: ZOHO!

ZOHO makes it easy!

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)

You can make your ZOHO even more versatile with add-ons of all descriptions. Do you need payment gateways? ZOHO works with PayPal (including regular, Business, Payflow Pro and Payments Pro), 2CHECKOUT, Braintree, stripe, Authorize.net, {forte}, and worldpay.

In addition, as mentioned, ZOHO is available on Android, iPhone, and Windows Phones, so you can always get to your work when you need it.

Of course there are ZOHO Apps that work perfectly with ZOHO Books, such as CRM, Analytics, Projects, Expense, Inventory, and Subscriptions. Do you need to connect to other applications? Then zapier is the cloud integrator gateway that connects you to more than 500 additional apps that work with ZOHO.

Not enough? ZOHO connects to POS (Point Of Sale) apps like Square flawlessly, or to tax1099 securely so you can file your 1099 forms in perfect safety. Your documents are available securely, too. You can integrate with Dropbox, Google Drive, box, EVERNOTE, One Drive, and of course, ZOHO Docs whenever you need to do so.

Maybe you prefer the popular Office 365 platform to complete office tasks, or other platforms such as Entryless, Dynamic Systems, TEMPONIA, or #slack. They’re all good and work well with ZOHO. There is no need to feel left out!

And, if you’re so inclined, you can even get ZOHO apps at the Chrome web store so you can run them in a browser, if that is more convenient. With Chrome extensions you can even track your working hours for billing purposes. Obtain a copy of G Suite, and it becomes child’s play to import your contacts into ZOHO Books so you can start invoicing clients right on the spot.

The Takeaway

This is what versatility and customer convenience is all about. Many people are dedicated fans of QB because they’ve been using it for years and they’ve developed tricks and techniques to make it work for them. If you’re just starting out, however, maybe that learning curve is unnecessary. ZOHO makes the whole process intuitive and uncomplicated. . It is designed to make your life easier; to minimise difficulties; to let you do things “your way” so that your work is both fast and efficient.

At Push Digits we always recommend ZOHO accounting software because it seamlessly integrates with all of the most common applications and programmes; it eliminates struggling with “tricks” to make it work with your current software; it works your way—the right way—every time. And best of all, our customers love its versatility because it simply works correctly whether you’re on your phone, a tablet, a browser, or your office computer.

Our familiarity with ZOHO allows us to develop insights and provide meaningful information that other firms simply won’t recognise. It’s time to take back control, and PushDigits will make it easy for you! Give us a call with any questions, or when you’re seeking advice. We would love to hear from you!