Is ZipBooks right for your business?

I'm a ZipBooks Fangirl! I've tried several accounting options & they provide the best value!

I've been able to spend less time on my accounting. I don't have to create reports, ZipBooks does it all based on my chart of accounts and other information. The customer service is super fantastic and supportive. The help files are well written, concise and easy to understand. The cost is low and the tiered pricing system is really fair. I can connect multiple accounts and add staff to my account. I can use time tracking, set up automatic invoices, pre-set items and tasks, add documents, just to name a few! My personal account is turned into a profile which is hosted on their system. My clients can leave reviews and potential clients can find and contact me.

Pros

Beside the cost (I'm on the pro version and it's still cheaper than the basic version of Xero and others), it automatically creates all the reports I need and shows them in a way that means I don't need an accounting degree! So my general ledger, my profit and loss statements - it's all there for me! Everything is so simple to use that I spent the first couple of weeks overthinking the whole thing - because it can't be that simple right?! The layout is so easy to navigate, the chart of accounts is simple to understand, and when I need a hand (I've managed to mess things up in my ignorance of double entry accounting) the customer support team are right there and get my problem sorted so quickly!

Cons

My biggest con is that it's really USA-centric. I'm not in the States so I can't connect my bank account to the system so I have to manually import my statements. For me, it's well worth the effort because the system saves me time and stress in so many other ways. Also I'm a sole trader so I don't have many accounts to sort out. I can imagine it would be different for someone with a bigger company or more regular turnover.

User-friendly software underpinned by prompt, professional support

Our overall experience has been positive. Thus far, we have not encountered any problems.

Pros

1.The software is easier to use than it even appears. This makes it simpler for non-finance people who may find themselves required to attend to such matters e.g. Start-ups, local SME's and EME's etc. 2. The support team are atypically, prompt and efficient. In our experience with online support from other service providers, there is more often than not a delay in responding, be it short or long. In some instances, the support staff have not had the expertise to offer guidance or solve elementary problems. The ZipBooks team is impressively swift and knowledgeable.

Cons

Initially, it appeared that functions such as customer month end statements and a few others could not be generated. After one or two chats with online support and the discovery of the numerous, yet concise, online documents, I realised that such functions are, indeed, included. Not only that, but also that the majority of questions are very likely covered and one can solve one's own queries if one looks for the relevant document. Perhaps it would be useful to users if this was highlighted or flagged and doing so may reduce the enquiries that your online support team have to attend to.

ZipBooks - Perfect for a Hobby turned Small Business!

The ZipBooks staff have been very responsive and willing to help. The software is free to use, however, there is a $1.25 charge per Paypal transaction when a customer pays via ZipBooks invoice. It provides basic accounting features that would work well for a person who is turning their hobby into a small business or a small contract business. If you are new to accounting, ZipBooks is perfect. If you are accustomed to accounting software, then this free software isn't for you. It doesn't yet have dynamic reporting features, ie no balance sheet or clickable fields to expand a data field on the Income Statement. If your business is small and you are going to keep it that way, ZipBooks is perfect. If your business is thriving and growing, invest in paid software as you'll quickly grow out of ZipBooks. That said, I'm told they have changes in the works so maybe this won't hold true in the near future.

Pros

Easy to use for someone with no accounting knowledge. Perfect for an MLM or hobby turned business. I love, love, love that their customer service is responsive.

Cons

The reporting features are seriously lacking. No balance statement, COG's are lumped together on the Income Statement, no division of income sources and no field on the Income Statement is clickable for a detailed report. Invoice and Expense pages are long with one arrow to the next page on the top and when editing an invoice or expense and saving, you are brought to the "1-50" page instead of the current page you were working on.

The best app a small business owner could use

Highly recommend – beautiful, easy to use, full-featured, and more affordable than any of its nearest competitors.

Pros

ZipBooks is the most affordable, feature rich accounting software I've ever used. It allows me to accomplish everything I need, from sending expenses, to tracking time and expenses, to invoicing. I've used other software and it either didn't include time tracking or it was too expensive for my small business. Their web app is also incredibly easy to use and is design very well. It's all organized in a way that makes sense and the charts/reports are beautiful.

Cons

The biggest issue I have with ZipBooks is their mobile app. I'm running it on my iPhone and it seems like it's just a web-app published in a shell, storing no local information. It's difficult to track time or send invoices that haven't been saved as a draft. Sent invoices also display in reverse order – with the cache clearing every time I open the app. If they built a full-featured, native app I think ZipBooks would be perfect.

Not perfect, but constantly improving and Customer Support is the best with super fast replys!

Pros

I run a photography+subcontractor business. I've been with Zipbooks since before they started charging a fee (switched from freshbooks) and let me tell you, there were definitely some major growing pains. The good new is that they listened to the customers and would always solve problems quickly. The gap between Zipbooks and Quickbooks/Freshbooks/etc.. used to be cavernous, but that gap is almost unnoticeable now. The interface is ridiculously easy to understand and flows really well. It's the best user interface experience I've had for accounting software. Costumer service has been nothing short of impressive. I'm an accounting/bookkeeping newb and the customer support has basically trained me how to do my own accounting. They have this great chat button that's always in the bottom right corner so you can easily ask questions and get answers like if you were chatting with a friend on facebook messenger. The company has a long way to go to being the best, but they certainly have the chops for it! I would high

Cons

The fact that I can't mark an invoice as paid from the list view. I don't like the extra step of clicking through to the individual invoice. But, it's a minor inconvenience.