BooksBat vs Zoho Invoice
Zoho Invoice is a free invoicing app from Zoho that connects to the wider Zoho suite. BooksBat is small business accounting: the same kind of invoicing, plus double entry bookkeeping, expenses, bank reconciliation and financial reports in one app. Here is how they differ.
Updated by the BooksBat team
The short answer
Choose Zoho Invoice if invoicing is all you need and you already use other Zoho apps, or expect to grow into them. It is a mature invoicing product with many settings and native mobile apps. If you later want full accounting from Zoho, that is a separate product, Zoho Books, so check their site for how the two fit together.
Choose BooksBat if you want invoicing and your books in the same place from day one. You send invoices and quotes, clients pay online through your own Stripe, PayPal, Square, Razorpay, Mollie, GoCardless or Lemon Squeezy account, and every invoice and payment posts to a double entry ledger. Expenses, bills, receipts and core reports such as profit and loss and balance sheet are on the free plan.
The difference is scope. Zoho Invoice is an invoicing app inside a big suite. BooksBat covers invoicing and the accounting behind it in one smaller app, for $0, $4 or $12 a month.
BooksBat vs Zoho Invoice: side by side
| Feature | BooksBat | Zoho Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan, Pro $4 a month, Business $12 a month | Free invoicing app, check their site for current terms |
| Invoices and quotes | Yes | Yes |
| Online payments | Your own Stripe, PayPal, Square, Razorpay, Mollie, GoCardless or Lemon Squeezy account | Through supported payment gateways, check their site |
| Extra fee on online payments | None by default, provider fees apply | Check their site |
| Recurring invoices | Weekly to yearly, auto send or drafts, on Pro | Yes |
| Automatic payment reminders | Before, on and after the due date, on Pro | Yes |
| Quote acceptance online | Typed name and checkbox, optional e signature | Check their site |
| Double entry bookkeeping | Chart of accounts, journal entries, closing date | Not in Zoho Invoice (Zoho Books is their accounting app) |
| Expenses, bills and vendors | Yes | Check their site |
| Bank statement import and reconciliation | On every plan (CSV, OFX, QFX, QBO) | Not in Zoho Invoice, check Zoho Books |
| Profit and loss and balance sheet | Yes | Not in Zoho Invoice, check Zoho Books |
| Inventory, projects and time tracking | On Business | Check their site |
| Invoice designs | 8 designs with your logo and brand color, custom templates on Pro | Several templates |
| Connects to a wider business suite | No | Yes, the Zoho suite |
| Developer API | REST API and an MCP server | Yes |
| Mobile apps | Mobile browser, installs as an app (PWA) | Native apps |
Competitor details are general and change over time. Check the Zoho website for current plans and features.
Choose BooksBat if
- you want invoices, expenses and your books in one app, without moving to a second product later.
- you want online payments in your own account with the provider you prefer and no extra BooksBat fee by default.
- you want each payment and provider fee posted to your books automatically, ready to reconcile.
- you want profit and loss and a balance sheet on the free plan.
- you need inventory, projects and time tracking for a flat $12 a month.
- you want a simple REST API or an MCP server so an AI assistant can create and send invoices.
Choose Zoho Invoice if
- you only need invoicing and want it free inside the Zoho suite.
- you already run your business on Zoho apps and want everything connected.
- you want native phone and tablet apps.
- you need invoicing settings and workflows that a smaller app does not offer.
How invoicing feels day to day
In BooksBat you add a customer once, keep your products and services in a catalog, and build an invoice from line items with quantity, unit, unit price, per line discounts and several tax rates per line, including compound tax. Invoice discounts and shipping are supported. When you click send, your client gets an email with the PDF attached and a link to a public page that works well on a phone.
Every invoice has a clear status: draft, sent, viewed, partially paid, paid, overdue or void, with a timeline of events. You can record bank transfers, cash and checks by hand, including partial payments. Read more on the online invoicing page.
Zoho Invoice covers the same everyday job and adds the reach of the Zoho suite. If you like having many options in one place, that may suit you better. If you prefer fewer screens and fewer settings, BooksBat keeps the path short.
Where BooksBat goes further: the books
An invoicing app stops at the invoice. BooksBat keeps going. Each invoice posts to accounts receivable, income and tax accounts in a double entry ledger, and each payment clears it. Expenses, bills, purchase orders and receipts live in the same app, so your profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statement are built from real transactions. See bookkeeping and financial reports.
On any plan, import your bank statements as CSV, OFX, QFX or QBO files and reconcile each account; on Pro, bank rules categorize the usual transactions. BooksBat does not offer live bank feeds today. See bank reconciliation.
Getting paid online
Each business connects its own payment account: Stripe on any plan, and on Pro also PayPal, Square, Razorpay, Mollie, GoCardless or Lemon Squeezy. Clients pay on the provider's checkout, the money goes straight to your account, the provider's normal fees apply and BooksBat adds no extra fee by default. If nothing is connected, the invoice shows your bank transfer details instead.
Zoho Invoice also supports online payments through payment gateways. Which gateways are available depends on your country, so check their site. See online payments for how BooksBat handles it.
Quotes, recurring invoices and reminders
- Quotes and estimates: your client accepts online with a typed name and a checkbox, optionally with an e signature, or declines with a reason. An accepted quote becomes an invoice with one click or automatically. See quotes and estimates.
- Recurring invoices on Pro: weekly, every 2 weeks, monthly on a day or the last day, quarterly or yearly, sent automatically or created as drafts. See recurring invoices.
- Payment reminders on Pro: automatic emails before the due date, on the day and after it. They stop as soon as the invoice is paid. See payment reminders.
What BooksBat does not do
BooksBat does not offer live bank feeds, payroll tax calculation or filing, or sales tax e filing today. Payroll on Business is payroll lite: you record paychecks and liabilities and track 1099 contractors. Sales tax tracking shows what you owe by agency, and you file the return yourself. It also does not plug into a large suite of CRM and other business apps the way Zoho does.
Frequently asked questions
Is BooksBat free?
Yes. The free plan includes 1 user, 5 customers, 5 invoices and 5 quotes a month, with bookkeeping, expenses, bills, core reports and online payments through Stripe. Pro is $4 a month and Business is $12 a month.
Does BooksBat do accounting?
Yes. BooksBat is small business accounting with double entry bookkeeping, expenses and bills, bank reconciliation on every plan and reports such as profit and loss, balance sheet and trial balance. Zoho Invoice is an invoicing app, and Zoho's accounting product is Zoho Books.
Does BooksBat take a cut of my online payments?
No, not by default. Payments go through your own provider account, such as Stripe or PayPal, and that provider's normal fees apply.
Can I move my customers from Zoho Invoice to BooksBat?
Yes. Export your customers as a CSV file from your current app and import them in BooksBat. Products, vendors and opening balances can be imported from CSV or Excel too.
Is there a mobile app?
BooksBat runs in any phone browser and can be installed to your home screen as an app. Tables become cards on small screens, and the invoice page your clients see is designed for phones.
Can developers connect to BooksBat?
Yes. There is a REST API at /api/v1 for customers, invoices, quotes, sending and recording payments, with OpenAPI docs, plus an MCP server for AI assistants.
Keep comparing
Try BooksBat free
Invoicing plus the books behind it. Free plan with no credit card, Pro for $4 a month and Business for $12 a month.