Zoho Books is the best-value accounting software for a Canadian small business that is registered for GST/HST and wants a proper return report without paying QuickBooks prices. The Free plan covers a business under C$50,000 in revenue, and bank feeds start at C$15 a month on annual billing. Keep in mind that Zoho Books has no Canadian payroll, so pair it with a payroll app.
This review is for sole proprietors and small teams comparing low-cost accounting software in Canada, especially anyone deciding between Zoho Books, Wave, and QuickBooks Online.
How we evaluated
This is a research-based review. We did not use Zoho Books hands-on. We read Zoho's Canadian pricing page and its Canadian help centre articles on GST/HST returns, combined GST/HST-QST returns, bank feeds, statement imports, online payments, and plans. We checked the tax rules against canada.ca.
We focused on the questions a Canadian owner has to answer before committing:
- What the free plan includes, and when to move to a paid plan
- What each paid plan costs in CAD, monthly and annually
- How GST, HST, PST, and QST returns work
- How bank transactions get in, and how customers pay you
- What to pair it with, payroll in particular
Prices are list prices in Canadian dollars, checked October 2026. Tax information here is general, not advice.
Pricing in Canada
Zoho Books has a Free plan and five paid plans, all priced per organization in Canadian dollars. Annual billing lowers the monthly price by C$5 to C$60 depending on the plan.
| Feature | Free | Standard | Professional | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly billing (CAD/month) | $0 | $20 | $35 | $50 |
| Annual billing (CAD/month) | $0 | $15 | $30 | $40 |
| Users included | 1 + 1 accountant | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| Invoices per year | 1,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 |
| Receipt autoscans per month | 50 | 200 | 200 | 1,000 |
| Automatic bank feeds | ||||
| GST/HST, PST, and QST return reports | ||||
| T4A and T5018 contractor tracking | ||||
| T4A/T5018 XML for e-filing | ||||
| Multicurrency transactions | ||||
| Inventory and purchase orders | ||||
| Budgets and fixed assets | ||||
| Support | Email, phone, chat | Email, phone, chat | Email, phone, chat |
Two larger plans sit above these. Elite costs C$200 a month (C$165 billed annually) and adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking, and Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon connections. Ultimate costs C$350 a month (C$290 billed annually) and adds advanced analytics. Most small businesses will not need either.
On annual billing, a year of Standard costs C$180 and a year of Professional costs C$360. Zoho offers a 14-day free trial of the paid plans and says there is no contract, so you can cancel at any time.
Add-ons. Extra users cost C$4 per user a month, or C$3 billed annually. Extra document autoscans cost C$15 per 50 scans a month, or C$12 billed annually. Zoho says add-ons are not available on the Free plan, except document autoscans.
Is the free plan enough?
The Free plan is enough for a sole proprietor under C$50,000 in yearly revenue who is comfortable importing statements instead of using bank feeds. It is more generous than most free plans on one point that matters in Canada: it includes an accountant login and GST/HST return reports.
Zoho says the Free plan stays free "as long as your revenue for the financial year does not exceed" C$50,000. It includes invoices, quotes, expenses, mileage tracking, recurring invoices, payment reminders, a customer portal, bank reconciliation, T4A and T5018 contractor tracking, and federal and provincial tax returns. It allows up to 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year.
What starts on paid plans:
- Bank feeds. You import statements instead. Zoho's help centre lists CSV, TSV, OFX, QIF, CAMT, and MT940 files, and PDF statements from National Bank, CIBC, RBC, and Kindred Credit Union.
- More than one user. You get one user plus one accountant.
- Phone and chat support. Free plan users get email support, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
Bank feeds
Automatic bank feeds start on Standard. Zoho's help centre says it uses Yodlee, a third-party bank data provider, to connect accounts. Feeds are fetched every 24 hours for banks that do not use multi-factor authentication. If your bank does use it, you refresh the feed yourself, at most once a day. Each fetch brings in transactions up to the previous day.
Zoho also notes that feed availability depends on each bank's connectivity. Check that your bank and credit card connect during the 14-day trial before you pay. PayPal can be connected as a feed too.
How does Zoho Books handle GST/HST and QST?
Zoho Books prepares return reports for every Canadian sales tax, laid out the way the tax authority's form is. You submit them yourself through the CRA or Revenu Québec.
Zoho's help centre says its GST/HST return report "is generated with respect to the lines" on the CRA's return form. You choose a monthly, quarterly, or yearly reporting period, generate the return, and click any line to see the transactions behind it. Adjustments are recorded against specific lines. After you file with the CRA, you mark the return as filed in Zoho Books, which locks that period's transactions. You can then record the payment and export the return as a PDF for your records. Zoho also has a way to pull a late transaction from an earlier period into your current return.
Zoho's Canadian feature page lists returns for:
- GST/HST
- British Columbia PST
- Manitoba RST
- Saskatchewan PST
- QST, and a combined GST/HST-QST return
The CRA says most GST/HST registrants with reporting periods beginning in 2024 or later must file electronically. With Zoho Books, that means copying the figures from its return report into GST/HST NETFILE or My Business Account. Because the report follows the CRA's lines, that is a much shorter job than mapping a summary. Rates by province are in our GST/HST and PST rates guide.
Contractors: T4A and T5018
Zoho Books tracks payments to contractors for T4A and T5018 slips on every plan. Standard and up also generate the XML file used to e-file those slips. That matters most to construction businesses, which report subcontractor payments on T5018 slips. Our T5018 guide for contractors explains who has to file.
Getting paid online
Zoho Books does not process card payments itself in Canada. You connect a third-party payment gateway, and a payment link appears on your invoices. Zoho's help centre lists Stripe, PayPal, Square, Braintree, GoCardless, Authorize.net, Verifone, and others.
The gateway sets the fee. For example, Stripe's Canadian pricing page lists 2.9% plus C$0.30 per successful domestic card payment. On a C$1,000 invoice paid by card through Stripe, that is C$29.30. Online payments are listed on every Zoho Books plan, including Free.
Payroll: use a separate provider
Zoho's Canadian Books pricing page lists no payroll option. If you have employees, you need a separate payroll provider, and you record payroll in your books from its reports. Our best payroll software in Canada review compares Canadian options, including Wagepoint, which supports Quebec.
Where your data is stored
Zoho says it assigns each account to a data centre based on the country chosen at sign-up. For Canada it lists Toronto as the primary data centre and Montreal as the secondary one. That is useful if a client or your own policy asks for financial records to stay in Canada.
What we like and what to know
Zoho Books' strengths are price and Canadian tax coverage. Keep in mind: Zoho Books has no Canadian payroll, so pair it with a payroll app; bank feeds start on Standard; and the Free plan covers revenue up to C$50,000.
Zoho Books
Strengths
- Free plan with an accountant login and GST/HST return reports
- Bank feeds from C$15/month on annual billing, priced in CAD
- Return reports for GST/HST, B.C. PST, Manitoba RST, Saskatchewan PST, and QST
- Combined GST/HST-QST return for Quebec on every plan
- T4A and T5018 contractor tracking, with XML for e-filing from Standard
- Canadian accounts hosted in Toronto and Montreal
Good to know
- Canadian payroll comes from a separate provider
- Free plan covers businesses with up to C$50,000 in yearly revenue
- Bank feeds start on Standard; the Free plan uses statement imports
- Card payments run through a gateway you connect, such as Stripe or PayPal
- Multicurrency starts on Professional at C$30 to C$35 a month
Zoho Books
Who Zoho Books is for (and when another tool fits better)
Zoho Books suits a small Canadian business that is registered for GST/HST, QST, or a provincial sales tax, has no employees, and wants low-cost software that its accountant can log in to.
Zoho Books is a good fit if you:
- File GST/HST quarterly or monthly and want a return report laid out by CRA line
- Are in Quebec and want a combined GST/HST-QST return
- Pay subcontractors and file T5018 or T4A slips
- Want bank feeds for less than QuickBooks or Xero charge
- Bill in US dollars and want multicurrency for C$30 to C$35 a month
Pair it with payroll, or consider another tool, if you:
- Have employees and want payroll in the same system
- Want card processing built in rather than through a separate gateway
- Work with an accountant who only supports QuickBooks or Xero
Alternatives to Zoho Books
- Wave. Free with no revenue cap, built-in card payments, and payroll outside Quebec, with accountant login and bank feeds on Pro at CAD $25 a month. See Zoho Books vs Wave.
- QuickBooks Online. Costs more and includes Canadian payroll as an add-on, including Quebec. See our QuickBooks Online review.
- Xero. No per-user fees, and its CAD $25 Starter plan includes a set number of invoices and bills each month. See Xero vs Zoho Books.
- The full field. Our best accounting software in Canada review ranks six tools.
Our verdict
4.0Zoho Books gives Canadian small businesses more tax coverage per dollar than anything else we have reviewed: GST/HST, provincial, and combined GST/HST-QST return reports on every plan, an accountant login on the free plan, and bank feeds from C$15 a month on annual billing. The main thing to plan for is payroll. If you have employees, budget for a separate payroll provider, or compare QuickBooks Online.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zoho Books free in Canada?
Yes, for small businesses. Zoho Books' Free plan costs C$0 for one user plus one accountant, as long as your revenue for the financial year does not exceed C$50,000. It allows up to 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, and it does not include automatic bank feeds.
How much does Zoho Books cost in Canada?
Paid plans start with Standard at C$20 a month, or C$15 a month billed annually (C$180 a year). Professional is C$35 a month (C$30 billed annually), and Premium is C$50 (C$40). Prices are in Canadian dollars and exclude sales tax.
Does Zoho Books file my GST/HST return?
No. Zoho Books builds a GST/HST return report that follows the lines on the CRA's return form. You enter those figures in NETFILE or My Business Account yourself, then mark the return as filed in Zoho Books, which locks the transactions for that period.
Does Zoho Books handle Quebec QST?
Yes. Zoho Books generates QST returns, and a Quebec business can generate a combined GST/HST-QST return on any plan, as long as both returns use the same reporting period.
Does Zoho Books include payroll in Canada?
No. Zoho's Canadian Books pricing page lists no payroll option, so you need a separate payroll provider if you have employees. Zoho Books does track payments to contractors for T4A and T5018 slips.
Where is Zoho Books data stored for Canadian customers?
Zoho says accounts are assigned to a data centre based on the country chosen at sign-up, and it lists Toronto as its primary Canadian data centre and Montreal as the secondary one.
Sources
- Zoho Books Canada pricing (checked October 2026)
- Zoho Books Canada features (checked October 2026)
- Zoho Books: GST/HST returns (checked October 2026)
- Zoho Books: Combined tax returns (checked October 2026)
- Zoho Books: Bank feeds (checked October 2026)
- Zoho Books: Add transactions and import statements (checked October 2026)
- Zoho Books: Online payments (checked October 2026)
- Zoho Books: Plans (checked October 2026)
- Zoho: Know your data centre (checked October 2026)
- Stripe Canada pricing (checked October 2026)
- CRA: How to file your GST/HST return (checked October 2026)
- CRA: When to register for and start charging the GST/HST (checked October 2026)