Odoo, TallyPrime, and ZohoBooks


Latest Accounting Trends

Today, Accounting is not only restricted to data entry, ledgers, bookkeeping, and number crunching. It is evolving over time in order to meet business needs. The accounting industry is undergoing drastic changes due to technological advancements, automation, artificial intelligence, RPA, machine learning, and analytical processing. This is leading to digitally transforming businesses and industries.

One major emerging Accounting trend is the switch over to the ERP system. They provide you an opportunity to integrate your accounting software with financial data and other elements of business such as inventory, sales, manufacturing, etc.

 It is expected that accounting software will be in high demand in the upcoming years. Accounting software available can be either installed locally or through a cloud service provider

  Features Comparison

This analysis compares the top players of the Indian market: TallyPrime 3.0, ZohoBooks, and Odoo 17. The comparisons are organized into 9 main categories: General Accounting, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Bank and Cash, Miscellaneous Operations, Document Management, Analytic Accounting/Cost Centres, Extras, and Reporting.

These categories encompass almost everything a company needs to manage its finances. We have also included a comprehensive list of the pricing conditions and usability analysis for each solution in this comparison.


Accounting Software

Odoo

Odoo is a leading integrated ERP software used worldwide for managing business processes. Apps and modules are present for CRM, Sales, eCommerce, Inventory, Accounting, Billing, Manufacturing, etc.

It possesses an impressive user interface & modular structure, highly customizable, scalable, and affordable. This suite of open-source business apps is designed to meet industry-specific demands.

Odoo Enterprise Edition (paid), Odoo Community Edition (paid), and SaaS subscription plans are offered by it. It is easy to use, extremely flexible, and integrates with several third-party add-on software apps. It is suitable for both small to large companies.


“ Amazing employees deserve amazing software ”

12+
million monthly users  

 140
Countries

5000

partners

 40,00+ 
Apps
 

   7
Million  monthly users

only 

india

  28,000+
  Partners

   700+
apps 

TallyPrime

TallyPrime is a blend of function, control, and in-built customization which offers multiple functionalities for Accounting. It can help in fulfilling all business requirements accounting, invoicing, reports, inventory, etc.

TallyPrime enables you to create and maintain records of up to 99,999 companies. Silver Rental, Silver, Gold Rental, and Gold plans are offered by TallyPrime based on editions & PCs. Single user Tally software and Multiple user Tally software are available in the marketplace to fulfill the requirements of businesses.

 

“ Harmonize success with smart tools capabilities ”

ZohoBooks

A cloud-based accounting software that empowers businesses to control their finances in an efficient manner. ZohoBooks works in all dimensions from expense tracking, bank reconciliation, time tracking, project management, invoicing, workflow automation, GST compliance, and many more.
The features present in the free trial version of ZohoBooks are the same as those of the Premium plan of ZohoBooks. A 14-day free trial period is offered to the users after they sign up for the ZohoBooks. There are six subscription plans for ZohoBooks- Free, Standard, Professional, Premium, Elite, and Ultimate.
 
“ Accounting-The building block of financial growth ”
 

100
Million  monthly users   

150+

Countries

3000 
  Partners

   55+
Apps (In every business domain)  

General Accounting

Accounting is the backbone of the busines
Features Comparison
General Scope    Access Rights     Third-Party Integration      Customer / Vendor Communication   Internal Communication      

General Scope   

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

Multi-Currency   
 ✔ ✔

✔
Multi-Branches   
 ✔
✔

✔
Multi-User   
 ✔ ✔

✔
  Multiple Journals
✔ ✔

✔
   Multiple Language Support
✔
✔ 

✔
  Supported Countries
140
 6

15
Accrual and Cash Basis    
 ✔
✔

✔
   Real Time Accounting
✔
✘

✘ 

Access Rights    

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

Access Rights per Screen 
✔ ✔

✔
  Access Rights per Field
✔
✔

✔
  Customizable Validation Steps
✔ ✔

✔

Third-Party Integration     

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

API  

✔

✔

✔
   Spreadsheet Integration

✔

✔

✔
   Import : Excel or CSV

✔

✔

✔

Expert : Excel or CSV

✔

✔

✔

Customer Portal

✔

✘

✔

Customer / Vendor Communication  

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Emails

✔

One Way (*)  

✔
   Whatsapp  

✔

One Way (*)

Third Party (*)

Internal Communication      

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Emails

✔

 ✘

✔
   Chat  

✔

  ✘

 ✔

Video Conference

✔

✘

✘

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable makes the businesses outstanding.

Features Comparison

Customer Invoices   Artificial Intelligence     Send Invoices   Customer Statements     Online Payments   Recurring Revenues Miscellaneous

Customer Invoices  

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Proforma Invoices
✔ ✔

✘
Multiple Taxes per Line   
 ✔
✔

✔
Discounts    
 ✔ ✔

✔
   Pricelists
✔ ✔

✔
    Advanced Payments Terms
✔
✔ 

✔
   Cash Discounts
✔
 ✔
✔
Outstanding Payments Reconciliation   
 ✔
✔

✔
    Configurable Email Templates
✔
✔

✔

eSignature on Invoices

✔

✔

✔

Customer Credit Limit

✔

✘

✔

Artificial Intelligence    

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

Real Time Accounting  
 ✔ ✘ 

✘
   OCR Invoices
✔
✘

✔
   Auto-Reconcile
✔ ✘

✘

Account Prediction AI

✔

✘

✘

Send Invoices  

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Generate a PDF invoice

✔

✔

✔
    Batch Send Invoices by Email

✔

✔

✔
   Send by Whatsapp

✔

✘

✘

Post Invoices by Standard Mail  

✔

✘

✘

Customer Statements    

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Aged Receivable Balance

✔

✔  

✔
    Per Customer Statements

✔

 ✔

 ✔

Automated Follow-up Emails

✔

✔

✔

Automated Follow-up Letters

✔

✘

✘

Automated Follow-up Actions

✔

✔

✔

Unpaid Fees and Penalties

✘

✔

✘

Third Party Debts Recovery

✘

✘

✘

Online Payments 

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Credit Cards

✔

✔

✔
   PayPal

✔

 ✔

 ✔

UPI  

✔

✔

✔

 Recurring Revenues


Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Automated Recurring Invoices  

✔

✘

✔
  Contracts / Subscriptions Management

✔

 ✘

 ✔

Recurring Business KPIs (MRR, Churn)

✔

✘

✔

Alerts for Contract Renewal

✔

✘

✔

Miscellaneous


Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Automated COGS Entries  

✔

✘

✔
  Automated Deferred Revenues

✔

 ✘

 ✘

Sales Order Acruals  

✔

✘

✘

Accounts Payable

Efficient accounts payable leads to stability and reliability in uncertain times. ​

Features Comparison

Vendor Bills    Expenses     Artificial Intelligence    Vendor Payments      Expenses     Miscellaneous

Vendor Bills   

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

Billing Control (Purchase Orders / Receptions)  
 ✔ ✔

✔
3-Way Matching    
 ✔
✘

✘
  Multiple Taxes per Line
✔ ✔

✔
Purchase Agreements  
 ✔ ✘

✘
     Multi-Step Payment Terms
✔
✘

✘
  Side-by-side View: PDF/Form
✔
 ✘
✘

Expenses    

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Mobile App
✔ ✘ 

✔
  Validation Process
✔
✘

✘
  Reimburse employees
✔ ✘

✔

Artificial Intelligence   

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

Scan Vendor Bills  

✔

✘ 

✔
     Scan Expense receipts

✔

✘

✔

Vendor Payments     

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Aged Payable Report

✔

✔  

✔
     Print Checks

✔

 ✔

 ✔

Automate Wire Transfer (SEPA)

✔

✘

✘

ACH Transfers  

✔

✘

✔

Expenses    

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

    Employee Expenses Report

✔

✘

✔
    Expenses Validation Flow

✔

✘

 ✔

Disallowed Expenses   

✔

✘

✘

Miscellaneous


Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Assets Management

✔

✘

✘
   Purchase Accruals

✔

 ✘

 ✘

Bank & Cash 

Features Comparison

Bank Statements Miscellaneous     

Bank Statements

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

Bank Interfaces   
 ✔ ✘ 

✔
Import Interfaces: SEPA     
 ✔
✘

✘
   Import Statements: OFX, QIF
✔ ✘

✔
Import Statements: CSV   
 ✔ ✔

✔
      Import Statements: Camt.053
✔
✘

✔
  Deposit Tickets
✘
 ✘
✘

Miscellaneous     

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Bank Reconciliation Reports
✔ ✔ 

✔
   Automated Currencies Rate
✔
✘

✔
  Automate Currency Gains/Losses
✔ ✘

✔

SDD Mandate

✔

✘

✘

Miscellaneous Operations

Features Comparison

 Indian Localization Journal Entries    Documents Management Analytic Accounting / Cost Centers

 Indian Localization


Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

GST Filing    
 ✔ ✔ 

✔
TDS      
 ✔
✔

✔
   e Invoicing
✔ ✔

✔
eWaybill    
 ✔ ✔

✔
       UPI
✔
✔

✔
   Audits
✔
 ✔
✔

Multi-Branches

✔

✔

✔

Journal Entries   

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Automatic Transfers  
✔ ✘ 

✘
   Intercompany Entries  
✔
✔

✔
  Auto-Post in Future  
✔ ✘

✘

Journal Items Cut-Offs  

✔

✘

✘

Documents Management

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Document Management  
✔ ✔ 

✔
  Document Search Engine
✔
✘

✔
  Auto-split Multiple Invoices  
 ✔ ✘

✘

  Customer Portal

✔

✘

✔

Collect by Email

✔

✘

✔

Collect by Scan

✔

✘

✔

Upload from Portal

✔

✘

✔

Analytic Accounting / Cost Centers


Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Analytic Accounting  
✔ ✔ 

✔
  Multi-level Analytic Accounts  
✔
✔

✘
    Multiple Plans
✔ ✘

✔

  Automatic Propositions 

✔

✘

✘

Extras

Budget is an expression of our values and aspirations​

Features Comparison

  Analytic Accounting / Grouping Budgets     Payroll     Valuation   Others

  Analytic Accounting / Grouping


Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

Analytic / Cost Accounting   
 ✔ ✔ 

✔
Multi-Level Analytic Accounting  
 ✔
✔

✘
    Multiple Plans
✔ ✘

✔
  Optional Tags per Entry
✔ ✘

✘

Budgets    

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   General Budgets
✔ ✘ 

✔
   Analytic Budgets  
✔
✘ 

✔

Payroll    

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Payroll
✔ ✔ 

✔

Valuation  

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Standard Price
✔ ✔ 

✘
  Average Price
✔
✔

✘
     FIFO
✔ ✔

✔

   LIFO

✔

✔

✘

Perpetual Valuation

✔

✘

✘

Others


Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Contracts Electronic Signatures  
✔ ✘

✔
  Multi-company consolidation
✔
✔

✘

Reporting

Accounting is the lifeblood of businesses 

Features Comparison

  Legal Statements  Reports     

  Legal Statements 

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Profit & Loss
✔ ✔ 

✔
  Balance Sheet
✔
✔

✔
    Cashflow Statement  
✔ ✔

✔
  General Ledger
✔ ✔

✔

Tax Reports

✔

✔

✔

Tax Audit Report

✔

✔

✔

Bank Reconciliation

✔

✔

✔

Aged Receivable

✔

✔

✔

Aged Payable

✔

✔

✔

Executive Summary

✔

✔

✘

Reports     

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Pivot Table on Multiple Dimensions  
✔ ✘ 

✘ 
   Customizable Dashboards  
✔
✘ 

✘ 

Spreadsheet

✔

✘ 

✘ 

Annotate Reports

✔

✘ 

✘ 

Customizable KPI’s

✔

✘ 

✔

Ratio Analysis

✔

✔

✔

Predefined Fiscal Year Closing

✔

✘ 

✔

Usability, Pricing & Conditions

Features Comparison

  UI   Productivity Tools       Marketplace      Subjective Rating    Pricing & Conditions   

  UI  

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

  Full Web Interface
✔ ✔ 

✔
  Mobile App  
 ✔
✘

✔
    Android App   
✔ ✘

✔
  iPhone App  
✔ ✘

✔

Productivity Tools      

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

   Mass Edit  
 ✔ ✘ 

✔
   Group by in lists  
 ✔
✘ 

✔ 

Screen Designer  

✔

✘ 

✘ 

Marketplace     

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

     App Store/ Add-ons
✔ ✘ 

✔

Subjective Rating   

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

     Navigation
9/10 6/10  

9/10

Search

10/10

4/10

8/10

Shortcuts

9/10

9/10

7/10

Data Entry

8/10

8/10

7/10

Reconciliation Tool

10/10

7/10

9/10

Mobile App

10/10

1/10

9/10

Reports Customization

9/10

5/10

9/10

Pricing & Conditions   

Odoo  

  TallyPrime

ZohoBooks

     Pricing
  Free, Forever1 ₹8,988 /year -
₹96,000 /year

  ₹7,200 /year -

₹21,600 /year

Contract Duration  

N/A  

Monthly / Perpetual  

Monthly / Yearly  

Free Trial  

15 days  

7 days  

14 days  

Free Updates  

✔ 

✔ 

✔ 

Hosting & Maintenance  

✔ 

✔ 

✔ 

Support  

✔ 

✔ 

✔ 

1 Note: For Pricing case, it’s free except if you install another app than Odoo Accounting.

User  Interface

The user interface is one of the most important features for any accounting software. Accountants invest most of their time registering data in the system. So, if they can record an invoice in 4 seconds rather than 15 seconds, it’s a game changer.

The best user interface is not only about being beautiful or simple. It’s about having the right feature when you need it, good usage of AI to limit manual recording of data, a smart feature to save time, and achieve expected outcome in 3 clicks rather than 15 clicks, etc.

The intuitive and easy-to-navigate user interface of accounting software will be more accessible for non-financial users within the businesses. Less technical support will be required as users will be able to easily navigate within their system and resolve their own issues.

TallyPrime

Accountants prefer TallyPrime because it’s fast with shortcuts and well known. But, its UI is bloated, has a high learning curve, and inefficient for non-simple recording of data & navigating in data or reports, cut-offs. 

ZohoBooks

Zoho has a modern look and feel as it’s web based, which is better for the mobile interface. But it suffers from the disadvantage of the web interfaces, loading of pages, inefficient shortcuts compared to Tally, etc.

Odoo

Odoo, being more modern, has the advantages of both worlds. It is web based, but has very efficient shortcuts, good AI integration, and sub 100ms response time on any click. Recording data is around 30% faster than in TallyPrime, and 80% faster than in Zoho. From data navigation, pivot analysis to dashboards and spreadsheets buildup, Odoo has hugely outperformed the two other players.

Our next section includes the screenshots which will help you to compare the user interface of three Accounting software- Odoo17, TallyPrime, and ZohoBooks.  



Odoo

 Tallyprime

ZohoBooks

Home Screen




Invoice




Report



Different solutions, Different needs

In order to excel in business, it is important to streamline ineffective processes. For it, you need to opt for the right software. This leads to the analysis of certain parameters such as- features, functionality, workflow, etc.


Business scope evaluates the software functions, specifications, usability, customization capability, and integrations with other tools for your business growth.


User-friendliness measures how software is user-friendly to use easily & intuitively and whether it is adaptable to the business according to its tailored needs or not. It evaluates how the software is simple to install along with the updates requiring minimal effort to understand & avoid time consuming training and procedures. It should also adhere to the industry standards and be efficient after all.  


Odoo, TallyPrime, and ZohoBooks have introduced game-changing software solutions to the accounting world. These software help you to ameliorate business’s financial accuracy and visibility so that valuable time can be spent on more important tasks by integrating all business applications at one place and enhancing productivity.

Odoo is one of the robust all-in-one business management software which fastens the accounting operations placing all necessary tools at one place. It’s highly customizable, integrates multiple applications, and accelerates businesses with an open-source nature! Its open-source nature empowers a thriving community resulting in a vast repository of community-contributed applications. It is the best solution provider for bill management.  

TallyPrime is perfectly simple to use, versatile, and scalable. It offers solutions for accounting, project, inventory, invoice features, and much more. Additionally, it streamlines tax computations and compliance. But, it is only limited to accounting and doesn’t cover other business domains such as sales, marketing, HR, etc.  

ZohoBooks has enriched automation features for financial functions which is competitive to other accounting software in the marketplace. However, it may fail for advanced analytics. Zoho gives the reliability to access all your work from one place by integrating with other business applications. However, it is not user-friendly, and it may be difficult to use for those business owners who are not tech-savvy.

Odoo offers top-notch modular architecture & fosters continuous development and adaptability. Businesses have the flexibility to use any one of its applications that aligns with their needs. It has an extremely user-friendly user interface, provides straightforward navigation, and is comprehensive by nature.  

On the other hand, TallyPrime and ZohoBooks are not easily adaptable, their learning curve is long. Business owners may find it difficult to understand and implement them. TallyPrime customization is limited and its supporting system still lags and data security is a big issue in it. ZohoBooks may be a good choice for task automation, but not for streaming business operations. It possesses a lack of payroll services, and doesn’t incline integration options.1

Value Proposition 

valur proposition

Conclusion

TallyPrime used to be the Accounting leader in the Indian market back in 2020. Today, it is still being used in India and has a strong user base. Although it offers a good feature set, it has an outdated user interface as most of the customers expect cloud-based solutions.

Accounting software vendor- Zoho was the first “modern” accounting software to surf on the wave and offered a modern software solution for accountants.

Odoo has always been the leading product worldwide in terms of usability and feature coverage, years ahead of other accounting softwares on these two values. But, Odoo’s Indian localization was not perfectly mature before 2023. Now, it is on par with Zoho and TallyPrime with all Indian features (GST filing, multi-branches, TDS, UPI, e Waybill, e-Invoicing, etc).

 Odoo has become the most complete and user-friendly software for Indian accounting. Its user base is still small, as they have just started. But, the product is superior at a lower price (Odoo Accounting is even free on Odoo Online). 



This comparison is compiled by Odoo IN. We have done our best to make it goal-oriented and transparent based on the information available online. We encourage users to bring any mistakes, missing features, or discrepancies if they find to report to whitepapers@odoo.com. We will update it accordingly. We value your diligence and commitment to ensure the highest standards of information within our community.

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