CABookkeeper vs Zoho Books
Both automate bookkeeping for CA firms. Here is how they compare on 17 things CAs asked for.
CABookkeeper
Free · add-ons at cost
Unlimited clients and staff
Zoho Books
₹749–₹7,999 / month (annual billing)
Per organisation; Standard ₹749 to Ultimate ₹7,999 a month billed yearly. Autoscans 50–1,000 a month by plan.
| Feature | CABookkeeper | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| Bank statement import (PDF, Excel, CSV) | ✓ HDFC, ICICI, SBI, Axis, Kotak + any column layout; balance proof on every row | partly |
| AI ledger mapping that learns each client | ✓ Learned rules → Indian narration rules → party match → AI; every correction teaches | partly |
| Purchase / sales invoice reading | ✓ Text PDFs without AI; photos via vision AI; GSTIN check digit + totals checks | ✓ |
| Push vouchers to Tally Prime | ✓ Desktop bridge (XML server, port 9000) or XML download; creates missing ledgers first | not listedZoho is a replacement ledger; moving from Tally is a migration |
| GSTR-2B vs books reconciliation | ✓ Fuzzy invoice-number match, ITC at risk / unclaimed in ₹ | ✓ |
| GSTR-1 JSON / GSTR-3B working | ✓ B2B, B2CL, B2CS, HSN; 3B set-off in Rule 88A order | ✓ |
| TDS: detection, 26Q, 26AS recon | ✓ 194C/J/I/H/A/Q with FY 2025-26 limits, one-click journals, 26Q working CSV, 26AS vs books | not verified |
| Multi-client dashboard for CA firms | ✓ Review queue, Tally backlog, deadlines, flags and AI ₹ per client | partly |
| Client document collection (WhatsApp / email link) | ✓ Secure upload link, message in the client's language, automatic follow-ups, WhatsApp Cloud API ready | not listed |
| Compliance calendar & tasks | ✓ GSTR-1/3B (monthly & QRMP 22nd/24th), IFF, PMT-06, TDS, 26Q, advance tax, ITR, GSTR-9 | not listed |
| Staff roles & client assignment | ✓ Owner / manager / staff / viewer; staff see only assigned clients | ✓ |
| Audit trail | ✓ Append-only — the database refuses edits and deletes | ✓ |
| Ask questions in plain words | ✓ Per client ("unpaid vendors > 60 days") and firm-wide ("clients with ITC at risk above 50k") — never raw SQL | partly |
| Fraud & anomaly flags | ✓ Duplicates, 269ST cash, 40A(3), TDS-split, outliers, Sunday & new-party round sums, bad GSTINs | not verified |
| Notice-reply drafting (GST & Income-tax) | ✓ DRC-01C/01B/01A/01, ASMT-10, REG-17, 143(1)(a), 148… with the client's own figures | not listed |
| Client chat in Indian languages | ✓ Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and more — typed or voice notes; built, switched off by default | not verified |
| AI cost meter per client | ✓ Every AI call logged in ₹ against the client it served | not listed |
Zoho Books column from their public pages (zoho.com/in/books/pricing, 24 Oct 2026). “Not listed” means we did not find it there — not that it can't be done. “Not verified” means we could not confirm either way. CABookkeeper has 12 rows where Zoho Books is not confirmed.