Reckon vs Zoho Books (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Reckon if

• Fits if you're an Australian small business that wants GST and BAS reporting and free data migration
• Works for businesses that want phone support

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're outside Australia, as it's Australian GST and BAS
• Watch out: first-months prices are far below the renewal prices
• Watch out: payroll has its own plans: Payroll Essentials, up to 4 employees, is A$18 a month at renewal
• Watch out: the pages show a plain $ sign and don't say whether prices include GST
• Pricey if you want inventory with payroll: that's Ultimate at A$92 a month at renewal

Pick Zoho Books if

• Fits if your business turns over less than $50K a year and you want to pay $0
• Works for businesses already running other Zoho apps

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if your team grows, since plans cap users at 3, 5, 10 or 15 and more cost $3 each a month
• Pricey if you need warehouses or Amazon and eBay channels, which start on Elite at $120 a month
• Not for you if you're past $50K revenue and hoping to stay free
• Tight if you bill a lot: invoices are capped at 1,000 a year on Free, 5,000 on Standard and 25,000 on Premium
• Watch out: automatic bank feeds need Standard, and the free plan can't take paid add-ons other than autoscans

Reckon

• Prices are shown with a plain $ sign on the Australian site and are likely Australian dollars; the page does not say whether they include GST.
• Payroll is optional on Plus and Premium and has its own plan set priced by employee count.
• Offered prices for the first months are much lower than the renewal prices listed as the regular price.
• Reckon also sells separate desktop and hosted products that are not part of these plans.

Zoho Books

• The free plan stays free only while revenue is under $50K a financial year, and paid add-ons other than autoscans cannot be added to it.
• Each plan caps users at 3, 5, 10, 10 or 15; more cost $3 per user a month, or $2.50 billed annually.
• Every plan caps invoices and bills a year: 1,000 on Free, 5,000 on Standard, 10,000 on Professional and 25,000 on Premium.
• These are US prices; Zoho lists separate editions for 18 countries plus a global one, including the UK, Canada, India and Australia.

Reckon

Invoicing and online payments

Create and send invoices and take card payments online through Stripe, with matching invoice and payroll mobile apps.

Bank feeds and reconciliation

Connect bank accounts through Open Banking or direct feeds and reconcile imported transactions.

GST and BAS reporting

Tracks income, expenses and GST in one place, with real-time reports and a customizable dashboard for BAS time.

Payroll

Pays employees and manages leave and super, with Single Touch Payroll reporting and Payday Super stated as covered.

Free data migration

The vendor says it migrates data from other providers at no charge on the Plus and Premium accounting plans.

Phone support

Phone support in business hours, plus email, help resources and webinars, per the vendor's comparison page.

Zoho Books

Invoicing and online payments

Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, retention payments and automatic reminders, with a customer portal for paying online.

Banking and reconciliation

Reconcile accounts on every plan. Automatic bank feeds start on Standard, along with recurring expenses and period locking.

US tax and 1099s

Track sales and use tax, manage W-9s and 1099 contractors, and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms from Standard up.

Projects and inventory

Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and basic inventory. Elite adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking and shipping labels.

Automation and customization

Workflows, approvals and custom roles from Professional; custom modules, buttons and functions from Premium; Blueprints on Elite.

AI in accounting

Ask questions about the books in plain English, spot anomalies and automate collections, plus receipt autoscans on every plan.

Reckon

• Accounting PlusA$27

  per month at renewal, after first 6 months at A$2.70

  For small businesses, with unlimited users; payroll is optional. Yearly billing is A$298, or A$134.10 for the first 12 months.

• Accounting PremiumA$50

  per month at renewal, after first 6 months at A$5

  For growing businesses; yearly billing is A$552, or A$248.40 for the first 12 months.

• Ultimate PlanA$92

  per month at renewal, after first 6 months at A$9.20

  Includes unlimited payroll and inventory; yearly billing is A$1,016, or A$457.20 for the first 12 months.

• Payroll EssentialsA$18

  per month at renewal, after first 6 months at A$1.80

  Standalone payroll for up to 4 employees; yearly billing is A$199, or A$89.55 for the first 12 months.

• Payroll PlusA$35

  per month at renewal, after first 6 months at A$3.50

  Standalone payroll for up to 10 employees; yearly billing is A$386, or A$173.70 for the first 12 months.

• Payroll PremiumA$65

  per month at renewal, after first 6 months at A$6.50

  Standalone payroll for unlimited employees; yearly billing is A$718, or A$323.10 for the first 12 months.

Zoho Books

• Free$0

  Revenue under $50K a year. 1 user and 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year, recurring invoices, payment reminders and 1099 filing.

• Standard$15

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $20 billed monthly. 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax, 1099 e-filing, custom reports, API access and 5,000 invoices a year.

• Professional$40

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $50 billed monthly. 5 users, sales and purchase orders, multiple currencies, timesheets, project profitability, retainers and inventory.

• Premium$60

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $70 billed monthly. 10 users, fixed assets, budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal and custom modules.

• Elite$120

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $150 billed monthly. 10 users, advanced inventory with warehouses and batch tracking, Etsy, eBay and Amazon channels, and up to 2 Shopify stores.

• Ultimate$240

  per organization / month, billed annually

  $275 billed monthly. 15 users and built-in business intelligence with 50+ prebuilt visualizations, KPI tracking and embeddable reports.

Reckon

• Other savings

  90% off the first 6 months monthly

  Monthly plans are 90% off for the first 6 months, for example A$2.70 a month for Accounting Plus, then the regular price.

• Other savings

  55% off the first 12 months yearly

  Yearly plans are 55% off for the first 12 months, for example A$134.10 for Accounting Plus against A$298.

Zoho Books

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  Yearly billing cuts Standard from $20 to $15 a month, Professional from $50 to $40, Premium from $70 to $60, Elite from $150 to $120 and Ultimate from $275 to $240.