Zoho, a global technology company, announced that its finance and operations suite has achieved 43% growth in new customers in South Africa within three months of launching its local edition. The company also announced the addition of key product capabilities in its VAT-compliant accounting solution Zoho Books, inventory management solution Zoho Inventory, and practice management app for accountants Zoho Practice. The newly-launched capabilities aim to help businesses and accountants enhance operational efficiency, simplify routine financial tasks, ensure regulatory compliance, and streamline internal processes.
“South Africa is a key market for Zoho, and we are committed to empowering businesses to thrive in the digital age. The rapid adoption of our Zoho Finance and Operations suite since the launch of the South Africa edition in August signifies the significant shift towards adopting cloud-based tools for financial management that enhance accuracy, compliance, and decision-making,” said Andrew Bourne, Regional Head, Zoho South Africa.
Many businesses rely on manual processes for performing critical financial tasks, resulting in delays, errors, and inefficiencies that drive up costs and hinder growth. Today’s updates to Zoho’s finance and operations platform aim to streamline these processes for greater efficiency for businesses and accountants.
“Today, with our latest set of updates, we aim to simplify key financial and operational processes for businesses and accounting firms, reducing complexities, enabling our customers to scale their business with confidence. More importantly, we enable them to stay compliant with the latest regulations, helping them future-proof their business and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market,” said Prashant Ganti, Head of Product Management, Finance and Operations BU, Zoho.
For businesses:
Zoho Books, a VAT-compliant accounting software solution, now includes fixed asset management which allows recording of asset details, automatically calculate depreciation based on specified percentage, method, and period, and generate depreciation forecast reports. Progress-based invoicing allows businesses to periodically invoice customers based on completion of project milestones, improving the cash flow.
Zoho Inventory has introduced advanced warehouse management capabilities such as enhanced location tracking and labelling, stock counting, stock out alerts, and role-based access to manage the warehouse operations. These newly-launched capabilities offer better inventory control, ensure accurate stock levels, and provide faster order processing. Additionally, the solution now supports the moving average inventory valuation method, helping businesses calculate the total asset value of items that have fluctuating prices. The product’s mobile apps empower warehouse employees to perform their tasks on the go, improving productivity.
For accountants:
Zoho Practice, a practice management application for accounting firms, has introduced Workpapers to simplify audit and compliance workflows. It allows firms to fetch financial statements of the clients who use Zoho Books, enabling easy comparison, adjustments, document management, and collaboration for reviews and approvals.
The new self-service portal enables accountants to collaborate with clients that use third-party accounting software, facilitating document requests, digital signatures, and communication.
The latest version of Zoho Practice also enables accountants to easily create and manage ledgers for clients who don’t have a full accounting system, maintaining a single source of truth. Furthermore, advanced capabilities like workflow automation, custom functions, and scheduling options help customise operational workflows.
Pricing and Availability
All the features announced today for Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, and Zoho Practice are available for immediate use. For more details on pricing, please visit the following pages for each product: Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho Practice.