Everything you know in Zoho Books, mapped to Atlas
Everything you know in Zoho Books, mapped to Atlas. Reading time: 7 minutes
| Zoho Books Term | Atlas Equivalent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chart of Accounts | Chart of Accounts | Same concept |
| Contacts (Customers) | Customers | Dedicated customer entity for AR |
| Contacts (Vendors) | Vendors | Dedicated vendor entity for AP |
| Invoices | Invoices | Same concept |
| Recurring Invoices | Recurring Invoices | Same concept |
| Credit Notes | Credit Notes | Same concept |
| Bills | Bills | Same concept |
| Vendor Credits | Credit Notes (AP side) | Applied to vendor accounts |
| Purchase Orders | Purchase Orders | Same — with conversion to bills |
| Payment Received | Payments Received | Same concept |
| Payment Made | Payments Made | Same concept |
| Manual Journal | Journal Entries | Same concept |
| Banking > Imported Transactions | Banking > Bank Transactions | Imported or synced bank data |
| Reporting Tags | Dimensions | Custom tags for segmentation — Atlas supports unlimited |
| Projects | Projects | Same — with time tracking and profitability |
| Timesheet | Time Tracking | Log billable/non-billable hours |
| Inventory | Inventory | Atlas adds FIFO, LIFO, Weighted Average costing |
| Recurring Bills | (manual re-entry) | Create new bills from templates |
| Retainer Invoices | (manual) | Record as prepayment via JE |
| Customer Portal | Portal | Client-facing view of reports and documents |
| Accountant Access | Accountant role | Invite with Accountant role permissions |
| Approval Workflows | Approval Workflows | Atlas supports multi-step with conditions |
| Custom Fields | (via Dimensions for reporting) | Dimensions serve the reporting use case |
| Zoho Payroll (separate app) | Payroll (built-in) | Full payroll included — not a separate product |
| Estimates | (coming soon) | Use draft invoices as workaround |
| What You Want to Do | In Zoho Books | In Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Create an invoice | Sales > Invoices > + New | Invoices > New Invoice |
| Create a recurring invoice | Sales > Recurring Invoices > + New | Invoices > Recurring tab |
| Create a credit note | Sales > Credit Notes > + New | Credit Notes > New Credit Note |
| Record a payment | Sales > Payment Received > + New | Payments > New Payment |
| Enter a vendor bill | Purchases > Bills > + New | Bills > New Bill |
| Create a purchase order | Purchases > Purchase Orders > + New | Purchase Orders > New PO |
| Pay a vendor | Purchases > Payments Made > + New | Payments Made > New Payment |
| Record a journal entry | Accountant > Manual Journals > + New | Journal Entries > New Entry |
| Import bank transactions | Banking > Add Bank/Credit Card | Banking > [Account] > Import |
| Reconcile | Banking > select account > Reconcile | Banking > [Account] > Reconcile |
| View Chart of Accounts | Accountant > Chart of Accounts | Chart of Accounts (sidebar) |
| Set up reporting tags | Settings > Reporting Tags | Settings > Dimensions |
| Run Profit & Loss | Reports > Profit and Loss | Reports > Profit & Loss |
| Run Balance Sheet | Reports > Balance Sheet | Reports > Balance Sheet |
| Run AR Aging | Reports > Receivable Summary | Reports > AR Aging |
| Run AP Aging | Reports > Payable Summary | Reports > AP Aging |
| Closing Books | Settings > Closing Books | Accounting > Period Close |
| Manage users | Settings > Users & Roles | Settings > Organization > Users |
| Manage inventory | Items > Inventory | Inventory (sidebar) |
| Track projects | Projects tab | Projects (sidebar) |
| Run payroll | Zoho Payroll (separate app) | Payroll (sidebar — built-in) |
Zoho Books caps users at 1–15 depending on plan ($0–$275/month) and limits invoice volumes on lower tiers. Atlas includes unlimited users and no invoice caps on any plan.
Zoho Books has "Branches" but no consolidated financial reporting. Atlas provides:
Zoho Books relies on manual bank rules. Atlas uses a 4-tier AI engine with confidence scoring — auto-posting high-confidence items and queuing uncertain ones for human review. The AI learns from every correction.
Zoho Payroll is a separate product with separate pricing. Atlas includes full payroll:
Zoho Books logs changes but Atlas provides field-level change tracking with old/new values in JSONB format, IP address logging, and unlimited retention — critical for compliance and SOX readiness.
| Data | How to Export from Zoho Books |
|---|---|
| Chart of Accounts | Accountant > Chart of Accounts > hamburger menu > Export |
| Customers | Contacts > Customers > hamburger menu > Export as CSV |
| Vendors | Contacts > Vendors > hamburger menu > Export as CSV |
| Invoices | Sales > Invoices > hamburger menu > Export as CSV |
| Bills | Purchases > Bills > hamburger menu > Export as CSV |
| Bank Transactions | Banking > select account > Export |
| Manual Journals | Accountant > Manual Journals > Export |
| Items | Items > hamburger menu > Export as CSV |
| Feature | Zoho Books | Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| Double-entry bookkeeping | Yes | Yes |
| Chart of Accounts | Yes | Yes (hierarchical, templated) |
| Invoicing | Yes (capped on lower plans) | Yes (unlimited) |
| Recurring invoices | Yes | Yes |
| Bills & AP | Yes | Yes + purchase orders |
| Bank reconciliation | Yes | Yes + AI auto-matching |
| AI categorization | No | Yes (4-tier with confidence) |
| Multi-company | Branches | Full multi-entity per org |
| Consolidated reporting | No | Yes (BS, P&L, CF, TB) |
| Users | 1–15 (by plan) | Unlimited |
| Payroll | Zoho Payroll (separate) | Built-in (5 countries) |
| Multi-currency | Per-contact basis | 150+ currencies |
| FX revaluation | No | Yes |
| Inventory | Yes | Yes (FIFO, LIFO, WA) |
| Fixed assets | No | Yes (3 methods) |
| Projects | Yes | Yes + time tracking |
| Budgets | Yes | Yes + variance analysis |
| Reporting tags / Dimensions | Yes (limited) | Unlimited dimensions |
| Approval workflows | Yes (Zoho Approvals) | Built-in multi-step |
| Audit trail | Yes | Yes (field-level, unlimited) |
| Custom roles | Yes | 6 roles, 61 permissions |
| Tax compliance | Strong India/UAE | US, UK, CA, AU, EU, PK |
| API | REST + OpenAPI | REST (~485 endpoints) |
| Mobile app | Yes (Smartwatch too) | Responsive web (native planned) |
Q: Where are my Reporting Tags? A: Atlas calls them Dimensions. Go to Settings > Dimensions to create segments like departments, projects, and locations. Atlas supports unlimited dimensions (Zoho limits the number per plan).
Q: I use Zoho CRM + Zoho Books together. Can Atlas replace both? A: Atlas replaces Zoho Books for accounting. It includes customer and vendor management with contact details, terms, and transaction history. For full CRM features (deals pipeline, lead scoring), you'd still need a CRM tool alongside Atlas.
Q: Can I import from Zoho directly (like QuickBooks)? A: Not via direct API connection. Export your data as CSV from Zoho Books and import into Atlas. The process takes about 15 minutes.
Q: Zoho Books has a free plan. Does Atlas? A: Atlas pricing is usage-based with unlimited users included. Check atlas.app for current plans. The value of AI automation, multi-entity consolidation, and built-in payroll typically offsets the cost difference.
Q: Where are Custom Fields? A: For reporting segmentation (the most common custom field use case), use Dimensions. For entity-specific custom data, Atlas focuses on built-in fields that cover standard accounting needs.
Q: Does Atlas support GST for India/UAE? A: Atlas currently supports US, UK, Canada, Australia, EU VAT, and Pakistan tax regimes. India and UAE tax support is on the roadmap.
See also: Migration Checklist | QuickBooks Guide | All Guides