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Accounting & Finance · head to head

ADP vs Zoho Books

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting & Finance

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Books logo

Zoho Books

Accounting & Finance

Simple, smart accounting software for growing businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoho Books has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Zoho Books payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Zoho Books covers Invoicing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Zoho Books actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Zoho Books differ
AttributeADPZoho Books
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
Founded19491996

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting & Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Zoho Books

  • Invoicing
  • Expense tracking
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Financial reports
  • Tax compliance
  • Zoho CRM
  • PayPal
  • Stripe

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Zoho Books
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Zoho Books
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Zoho Books
  • Benefits administrationnot Zoho Books
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Zoho Books

Zoho Books

  • Invoicingnot ADP
  • Expense managementnot ADP
  • Tax preparationnot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Zoho Books

  • Payroll only available in Texas and California, limiting US usefulness
  • Limited access to historical financial data compared to competitors
  • Customer support is slow with long response times and frustrating workarounds
  • Fewer integrations than QuickBooks Online and Xero
  • User limit restrictions (1-15 depending on plan) compared to Xero's unlimited users
  • Occasional inaccuracies in automatic exchange rate updates for international transactions

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Zoho Books

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user + accountant
    • Unlimited invoices
  • Standard$20/month
    • 3 users
    • Core accounting
  • Professional$60/month
    • 5 users
    • Advanced reporting
  • Premium$120/month
    • 10 users
    • Inventory management

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Zoho Books if

  • You need invoicing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Zoho Books review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Zoho Books better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Zoho Books at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Zoho Books?
Zoho Books has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for ADP and Free for Zoho Books.
Does ADP or Zoho Books run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Zoho Books runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Zoho Books for free?
Yes. Zoho Books has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ADP starts at $29/month.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Zoho Books is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Zoho Books cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Zoho Books covers Invoicing, Expense tracking, Bank reconciliation, Financial reports. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zoho Books: Does Zoho Books support payroll?

Zoho Books offers limited payroll integration available only in Texas and California currently. Outside these states, users must use separate payroll software.

Source
Zoho Books: How many users can access one account?

User limits vary by plan: Free tier (1 user + accountant), Standard (3 users), Professional (5 users), Premium (10 users), Elite (15 users). Each business requires separate subscription.

Source
Zoho Books: What integrations does Zoho Books support?

Zoho Books integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, Razorpay, PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, Google Sheets, and 500+ apps via Zapier. It integrates with other Zoho products like Zoho Inventory and Zoho Projects.

Source
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