Zoho Invoice fast facts

Starting price: $0.00/mo.

Pros

  • Full-featured
  • Free to use
  • Beginner-friendly

Cons

  • 1,000 invoices/year limit
  • Severely limited customer support

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Zoho Invoice is free, beginner-friendly invoicing software. It scores high marks for how easy it is to use, along with its seamless connection to the broader Zoho ecosystem. Plus, it’s full-featured, akin to many premium competitors.

Still, the title has some potential deal-breakers. It includes only 1,000 invoices annually, and you can have only three user accounts. Furthermore, if you need top-tier customer service, Zoho Invoice falls short — you can correspond only via email, because there’s no phone or live chat available.

Let’s dig deeper to see if Zoho Invoice is right for you.

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Zoho Invoice’s pricing

Zoho Invoice is lovely because it’s free. There are neither paid subscription plans nor advertisements. Anyone can sign up without a credit card and use it indefinitely, on the house.

We couldn’t unearth any hidden fees or catches. There are some feature limitations, which we’ll cover below, but financially, Zoho Invoice is truly a zero-cost product.

Zoho says Invoice is free as a way to give back to deserving small businesses. It also happens to be a great entry point into the broader Zoho software ecosystem — though Zoho’s other products do require payment.

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Zoho Invoice’s key features

Despite the title’s gratis availability, it packs a punch on par with premium competitors. Here are some of the platform’s marquee features.

Highly rated mobile app

The platform sports a stunningly useful mobile app for iOS, Android and Microsoft Surface devices. Most functions, such as managing invoices and generating reports, are supported on the go in an intuitive mobile interface, and at the time of writing, user ratings are close to a perfect five stars in the Apple Store and on Google Play.

Custom branding

Zoho Invoice lets business owners stamp their own branding on invoices. This customization includes logos, color themes and even font selection. Client-facing portals also sport your organization’s touches. For comparison, many competitors charge extra for this level of personalization.

Time tracking

One of Zoho Invoice’s most valuable perks is its time-tracking function. This offering lets you log every minute spent working for a client. No longer will you have to estimate time, which can lead to errors or undercharging for your efforts. Plus, the platform can automatically invoice clients as soon as you hit the timer’s Stop button. This perk makes getting paid a breeze.

Plenty of payment processors

If you have a preferred payment processor, you’re in luck. Zoho Invoice connects to nearly a dozen options. This spread includes popular picks such as Stripe and PayPal, coupled with lesser-known names such as 2Checkout. As a result, you can continue to receive payments without interruption.

Zoho Invoice pros

We admire Zoho Invoice for lots of reasons. Here are three benefits that make it a boon to business owners.

Budget-friendly

It doesn’t get much better than free. And while some competitors also offer free options, Zoho Invoice is unique. It offers everything without cost. This functionality includes 1,000 invoices a year, advanced reports and highly rated mobile apps.

There are some noteworthy limitations, however, and the company suggests purchasing Zoho Books if you want to exceed these caps. Still, the platform’s impressively useful despite its free price tag.

Beginner-friendly interface

Zoho is known for dishing out beginner-friendly software, and its Invoice product is no exception. Indeed, the user interface is one of the easiest on the eyes we’ve seen. Icons and visual cues are prevalent, and text is jargon-free and large-print. Lots of functions, such as creating reports and sending invoices, require only a couple mouse clicks. Bottom line, anyone can rapidly grasp the platform without a technical background.

Zoho ecosystem integration

Zoho publishes lots of software solutions for small business owners. This selection includes a website builder, project management tool and word processing application, among other offerings. Nearly every enterprise need is solved with the company’s library of digital products.

If you opt for these other Zoho software picks, then Zoho Invoice can integrate into this broader ecosystem. This connection means you can share data and functions between applications, which makes running your business seamless. For example, Zoho Invoice can pull customer information automatically from Zoho CRM. This link makes it quick and easy to autofill and send invoices.

Zoho Invoice cons

It’s wonderful that there are no hidden fees or costs with Zoho Invoice. But there are still some drawbacks to consider. Let’s explore the platform’s not-so-nice things.

Invoice and user limitations

Although Zoho Invoice is truly free, there are some limitations. For starters, the platform only lets you send 1,000 invoices per year. You’re also capped at only three user accounts and three custom invoice fields.

These amounts aren’t any trouble at all if you’re a small enough business. But if you have ambitious growth plans, you won’t be able to stick with it for too long and may have to upgrade to Zoho Books.

Customer Service

As mentioned already, Zoho Invoice does have limited customer service. The platform’s only support option is email — there are no phone numbers to call and no chat function.

But if you only need minimal customer support, then no worries. You may just have to wait a bit for a response should you run into an issue.

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Zoho Invoice integrations

The platform connects seamlessly with the broader Zoho ecosystem. But there are some third-party (non-Zoho) links worth mentioning. Here are a few crucial integrations:

  • G Suite
  • Microsoft Office 365
  • Slack
  • Avalara
  • PayPal and Square, as well as eight other payment processors

If you’re not a fan of technical jargon, don’t worry. Zoho Invoice includes beginner-friendly documentation that walks you through each step of third-party integrations.

Who is Zoho Invoice best for?

The platform is best for those with small- to moderate-sized businesses with minimal customer service needs. Particularly with the 1,000-invoice limit in mind, some ideal candidates for Zoho Invoice include:

  • Sole proprietors.
  • Freelancers and consultants, including those on retainers.
  • Small businesses with no plans or limited plans for growth.
  • People who’d like to start with beginner-friendly invoice software.
  • Existing Zoho users.

Clearly, this list is skewed towards simpler situations. Zoho Invoice is plenty for people commanding more straightforward, lower-volume businesses. But if you have high invoicing demands or plans for rapid expansion, the platform most likely isn’t suitable for you.

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If Zoho Invoice isn’t ideal for you, check out these alternatives

Even though it offers bundles of features for free, Zoho Invoice isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Here are four small-business invoice software alternatives.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is another popular cloud-based invoicing software for small businesses. Much like Zoho Invoice, this alternative is known for its user-friendly interface and features specifically targeting small businesses. Unfortunately, it’s not free. But you can score a free trial to ensure it’s the right fit.

Try FreshBooks

Wave

Wave is a free cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. This alternative delivers classic features, such as invoicing, expense tracking and payroll. Plus, you can tap into live support from certified accountants for an additional fee. This perk, which Zoho Invoice lacks, is particularly valuable for beginners.

Try Wave

PayPal Invoices

PayPal Invoices is a free online invoicing service from PayPal. The platform is a good option for small businesses using PayPal for payments. It isn’t as feature-rich as Zoho Invoice and others, but its simplicity and household name make for a quick solution when you’re in a pinch.

Try PayPal Invoices

Invoice Ninja

Invoice Ninja is a free invoicing software that can be used on premises or in the cloud. Since it’s open source, the title requires some technical knowledge to install. Still, it can be worthwhile because it boasts in-demand features such as invoicing, expense tracking and time tracking. And if you like digging into source code to customize things, this title delivers.

Try Invoice Ninja

Review methodology

We carefully analyzed Zoho Invoice’s technical documentation, website and customer feedback. We also used the platform to gain firsthand knowledge about its look and feel, and we studied competitor offerings and compared each platform to the unique needs of small-business owners.