FeaturedMade in India
Starts at
₹749/mo
Zoho Books for CAs
by Zoho Corporation · Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Since 1996
Accountant edition of Zoho Books with client management.
- Starting price
- ₹0
- Free for 3 years for ICAI-affiliated CAs
- Free trial / plan
- Free for eligible CAs and Zoho partners
- Practice Standard free for Authorized and Advanced partners
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Web
- App Advisor rating
- 4.7
- transparency & India fit
What is Zoho Books for CAs?
Zoho is giving Zoho Books, Zoho Practice, Zoho Payroll, Zoho Expense and Zoho Inventory free for three years to ICAI-affiliated chartered accountants. A CA firm that wants accounting software for CAs in India, and is willing to move clients off desktop ledgers, will find little cheaper. There are conditions. The offer applies only to ICAI members, and an ICAI listing caps it at Zoho Books Elite for up to 25 employees and Zoho Practice for up to 5 users. After three years you have to renew at normal rates.
This is not a separate product. It is Zoho Books with an Accountant role and a Manage Clients screen. From one login you create client organisations, invite the business owner as Admin, and see a Pending Reviews list for each client: uncategorised bank entries, draft journals, items awaiting approval, unlinked documents and pending GST returns. Zoho Practice adds the firm-side work. It covers tasks for article assistants, timesheets and billing, workpapers, document collection, WhatsApp integration and a client portal.
The limits matter in practice. Zoho Practice's Standard plan only manages clients who are themselves on Zoho Books. Managing clients on Tally or other software needs the Premium plan, which costs ₹8,950 a month on annual billing, or a Premium partner tier. Zoho's own Practice pages describe VAT and Making Tax Digital dashboards for the UK, but say little about ITR or GST compliance calendars for Indian firms, so many CAs will still need a separate compliance tool.
CAs outside ICAI can still join the Zoho partner programme. It requires mandatory training and certification, and in return Authorized and Advanced partners get Zoho Practice Standard features free. Your clients pay their own Zoho Books subscriptions. In India these run from ₹749 a month for the Standard plan to ₹7,999 for Ultimate on annual billing, excluding taxes. There is also a free plan for businesses with revenue under ₹25 lakh a year.
What works well
- +ICAI-affiliated CAs get Books, Practice, Payroll, Expense and Inventory free for three years
- +Manage Clients lets one Accountant login create and switch between many client organisations
- +Pending Reviews shows uncategorised bank entries, draft journals and pending tax returns for each client
- +Zoho Books handles GST returns, e-invoicing and e-way bills, and has 70+ reports for month-end work
- +Zoho Practice adds tasks, timesheets, workpapers, document collection and WhatsApp integration
- +Clients under ₹25 lakh annual revenue can use the Zoho Books free plan, so onboarding small clients costs nothing
- +Zoho states that Indian customer data is hosted in its own data centres in India
What to watch out for
- −Free access ends after three years, and you then pay standard rates for every user
- −The offer is limited to ICAI members, and the published caps are 25 employees on Books and 5 users on Practice
- −Practice Standard only manages clients who use Zoho Books; clients on Tally need the Premium plan
- −Zoho Practice pages do not describe an ITR or Indian compliance due-date calendar
- −Joining the partner programme requires mandatory Zoho training and certification first
Best suited for: CA firms looking for cloud accounting software for CAs in India that is free for the first three years · Practices that want to move small and mid-size clients from desktop accounting to the cloud · Firms doing monthly bookkeeping and GST filing for 10 or more clients that want one review queue · Accountants who want to resell and support Zoho Books as certified partners
Zoho Books for CAs at a glance
Analysing Zoho Books for CAs — pricing, features, reviews and alternatives…
Generated by App Advisor's native engine from this listing's verified data — not a paid placement.
Zoho Books for CAs features
Researched from Zoho Books for CAs's official product pages · updated October 2026.
Client management in Zoho Books
- Accountant role with access to Manage Clients
- Create a client organisation and invite the owner as Admin
- Pending Reviews grouped by client organisation
- Visibility controlled by Accountant role permissions
- Custom roles and segmented access by location or bank account
GST and bookkeeping
- GST return generation and filing
- E-invoicing and e-way bills
- Bank reconciliation with connected banks
- Audit trail on transactions
- 70+ financial reports for month-end close
Practice management (Zoho Practice)
- Client onboarding and import of existing clients
- Task assignment to staff, with reminders and priorities
- Timesheets and billing for billable time
- Workpapers for audit files
- Activity logs and financial insights across clients
Client collaboration
- Built-in client portal with chat and email
- Document collection from clients
- WhatsApp integration
- Self-service client portal on Premium
- Customer portal in Zoho Books for invoices and payments
Zoho Books for CAs pricing (INR)
SourceEvery edition as published by the vendor · free trial: 14 days on paid Zoho Practice plans. Prices exclude GST unless stated. Full Zoho Books for CAs pricing breakdown
Zoho Practice Free (Zoho partners)
₹0
- Authorized and Advanced partners get the Standard plan features
- Premium partners get all Premium capabilities
- Only available after joining the Zoho partner programme
Zoho Practice Standard
₹2,950/month billed annually (₹3,540 monthly)
per organisation
- Up to 5 users, and clients must be on Zoho Books
- Tasks, timesheets and billing, recurring tasks, workpapers
- Document management, WhatsApp integration, custom reports
Zoho Practice Premium
₹8,950/month billed annually (₹10,740 monthly)
per organisation
- Manages clients on any accounting software
- Self-service client portal
- Up to 10 custom modules and 3 ledgers
Other pricing options & add-ons
Extra Practice user
₹480 on monthly billing
₹400/user/month billed annually
Extra ledger
₹600 on monthly billing
₹500/ledger/month billed annually
Client's Zoho Books subscription
Standard to Ultimate. Free plan for businesses under ₹25 lakh revenue
₹749 to ₹7,999/month billed annually
- • The three-year free CA offer covers Zoho Books, Practice, Payroll, Expense and Inventory for ICAI-affiliated CAs. An ICAI listing describes Books Elite for up to 25 employees and Practice for up to 5 users.
- • Zoho Books pricing pages state that prices exclude local taxes, so 18% GST is added on Indian invoices.
- • Confirm the current terms of the CA offer with Zoho at ca-india@zohofinance.com before you move clients.
Buying for a team? App Advisor can get you a volume quote and any partner discount available.
Integrations, security & India
Integrations
- Zoho Payroll
- Zoho Expense
- Zoho Inventory
- WhatsApp (Zoho Practice)
- Connected banking with Standard Chartered, Kotak Mahindra and HSBC
- Payment gateways for online invoice payments
Security & compliance
- TLS 1.2/1.3 encryption in transit, with HSTS and Perfect Forward Secrecy
- AES-256 encryption at rest using Zoho's own key management service
- Encrypted backups replicated to a secondary data centre in near real time
- Zoho runs its own hardware rather than public cloud providers
For Indian businesses
- The three-year free offer is only open to ICAI-affiliated chartered accountants
- Zoho Books India handles GST returns, e-invoicing and e-way bills
- Zoho Books India prices are in INR and exclude taxes; the free plan applies below ₹25 lakh annual revenue
- Presales phone support on 1800 309 3036, weekdays 9 AM to 7 PM
- Zoho's founder has said Indian customer data is hosted in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai
Mobile apps
Zoho also offers a Windows desktop app. Zoho Practice is mainly used in the browser.
Is Zoho Books for CAs the best choice for you?
Best choice if you are…
- CA firms looking for cloud accounting software for CAs in India that is free for the first three years
- Practices that want to move small and mid-size clients from desktop accounting to the cloud
- Firms doing monthly bookkeeping and GST filing for 10 or more clients that want one review queue
- Accountants who want to resell and support Zoho Books as certified partners
Look elsewhere if you are…
- Firms whose clients mostly stay on Tally and will not switch accounting software
- Practices that mainly need ITR filing, audit and a statutory due-date tracker
Still comparing? Get an unbiased shortlist and demos arranged for free.
Sources (10) · updated October 2026
- https://www.zoho.com/in/books/accountant/
- https://www.zoho.com/in/books/zohoforcharteredaccountants/
- https://www.zoho.com/practice/pricing
- https://www.zoho.com/practice/
- https://www.zoho.com/in/books/pricing/
- https://www.zoho.com/in/books/help/accountant/manage-clients.html
- https://www.zoho.com/in/books/help/settings/users.html
- https://www.zoho.com/security.html
- https://betacmp.icai.org/zoho-2
- https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/zoho-founder-clarifies-data-hosting-and-product-development-amid-misconceptions-says-made-in-india-made-for-the-world-81848.htm
Specifications
- Category
- Accounting software
- Vendor
- Zoho Corporation
- Headquarters
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Founded
- 1996
- Pricing model
- Free
- Starting price
- Free
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Platforms
- Web
- Best for
- Startup, Small business, SMB
- Made in India
- Yes
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Zoho Books for CAs — frequently asked questions
Is Zoho Books free for CAs in India?+
Yes, for ICAI-affiliated chartered accountants. Zoho offers Zoho Books, Zoho Practice, Zoho Payroll, Zoho Expense and Zoho Inventory free for three years. An ICAI listing describes the limits as Zoho Books Elite for up to 25 employees and Zoho Practice for up to 5 users. After three years the subscription renews at normal prices, so plan for that cost from the start.
What is Zoho Practice pricing in India?+
Zoho Practice Standard costs ₹2,950 a month per organisation on annual billing, or ₹3,540 billed monthly, for up to 5 users. Premium costs ₹8,950 a month annually, or ₹10,740 monthly, and adds clients on any accounting software, a self-service portal and ledgers. Extra users cost ₹400 a month each on annual billing. 18% GST is added on top.
How does a CA manage multiple clients in Zoho Books?+
In Zoho Books, a user with the Accountant role opens Manage Clients and adds each client as a new organisation. Zoho Books then invites the business owner as Admin. The My Clients tab shows a Pending Reviews list for each client, including uncategorised bank transactions, draft journals, approvals, unlinked documents and pending tax returns. Zoho does not publish a limit on how many clients you can add.
Is there a Zoho Books free trial?+
Yes. Zoho Books and the paid Zoho Practice plans both come with a 14-day free trial, and Zoho Books also has a demo account to explore. Separately, Zoho Books has a permanent free plan for businesses with annual revenue under ₹25 lakh. It allows 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year, which covers many small clients.
Zoho Books vs Tally for CA firms: which is better?+
Zoho Books is cloud-based. A CA can review every client's books from one login, and clients can raise invoices from their phones. Tally is still more familiar to most Indian accountants and clients and works offline. Zoho Practice Standard only manages Zoho Books clients, so if most of your clients plan to stay on Tally, Zoho's free offer is worth less to you.
What GST features does Zoho Books have for accountants?+
Zoho Books India generates GST returns from recorded transactions, files them, creates e-invoices and e-way bills, and keeps an audit trail. Accountants also get more than 70 reports for month-end closing. Pending GST return tasks appear in the Accountant's Pending Reviews list, so you can see which clients still need filing before the due date.
How do I join the Zoho partner programme as an accountant?+
To join the Zoho partner programme, register with your firm's details and area of expertise, then complete the mandatory Zoho Books training and certification. Certified partners appear in Zoho's partner directory, get a partner account manager and can manage client subscriptions through the partner store. Authorized and Advanced partners also get Zoho Practice Standard features free.
Is client data safe in Zoho Books?+
Zoho encrypts data in transit with TLS 1.2 or 1.3 and stores sensitive data with AES-256 encryption, using its own key management service. Backups are encrypted and copied to a secondary data centre. Zoho runs its own servers, not AWS or Azure, and its founder has said Indian customer data stays in India, in data centres in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.
Is there a Zoho Books mobile app for accountants and clients?+
Yes. Zoho Books has apps for Android and iOS, as well as a Windows desktop app. Clients can create quotes and invoices, record expenses and log time on their phones, and the accountant can review the same data in the browser. Zoho Practice, the firm-side tool for tasks and workpapers, is mainly used in the browser.
How long does it take a CA firm to set up Zoho Books and Zoho Practice?+
A CA firm can set up its first client in Zoho Books in a day. Moving clients from other software takes longer, so plan for opening balances, chart of accounts mapping and GST settings for each client. Zoho offers migration help with phone support. If you join the partner programme, also allow time for the mandatory certification.
What is Zoho Books for CAs?+
Zoho Books for CAs is accounting software by Zoho Corporation, an Indian company from Chennai. Accountant edition of Zoho Books with client management.
How much does Zoho Books for CAs cost?+
Zoho Books for CAs is free to use.
Does Zoho Books for CAs offer a free trial or free plan?+
Yes — Zoho Books for CAs offers a free plan you can start with.
Is Zoho Books for CAs made in India?+
Yes. Zoho Books for CAs is built by Zoho Corporation, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Who is Zoho Books for CAs best suited for?+
Zoho Books for CAs suits startup, small business, smb buyers looking for accounting software.
What are the best alternatives to Zoho Books for CAs?+
Popular alternatives in accounting software include Zoho Books, Frappe Books, ERPNext. Use App Advisor's compare tool to see them side by side.
How is Zoho Books for CAs deployed?+
Zoho Books for CAs is available as a cloud (SaaS) product, with web access.
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About Zoho Corporation
Zoho Corporation · Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Founded 1996 · 128 products in our catalogue · Indian company
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