No matter how big or small your organization is, if you’re running a business in Bahrain, you should definitely check out Zoho’s cloud-based accounting platform. Dubbed Zoho Books, this online software has been a life-saver for numerous Bahraini entrepreneurs, as it’s an accounting app that make accounting and tax return much simpler.
If you ask around in the Kingdom’s business community, Zoho Books has emerged particularly handy following the implementation of the new Value Added Tax (VAT) earlier in 2019. It’s affordable too, starting at just $9 a month (~ BD 3.4) at this time. Zoho Books has been accredited by FTA in the UAE and GAZT in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia!
Easy to setup
Those of you with no prior exposure to Zoho Books, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how simple it is to sign up. All you have to do is fill in a few boxes and you’ll be done in minutes. It becomes even easier if you choose to sign up using your Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin accounts.
As for setting up your VAT details, it is not any more challenging than the registration itself. A window will automatically pop up during the setup, asking you to enter your VAT registration ID. It may also ask for additional info such as whether you operate only in Bahrain or internationally as well.
The process also requests info on your customers and vendors. You are allowed to choose the VAT treatment for each category — be it for VAT registered businesses in the Kingdom, ones with GCC VAT registration, and enterprises operating outside the region.
It’s a one-time setup as the rules you specify for each category will be accordingly applied to every invoice or transaction you make. For example, when you create an invoice for GCC VAT registered customers, zero percent tax will be applied automatically.
Easy to use
For an app with so many features, Zoho Book does a wonderful job of keeping the user interface clutter-free. The setup process is again a savior on that front as it lets users turn off all those features they won’t be needing right at the start.
You can choose whether you want to use the following modules; invoices, estimates, sales orders, price list, purchase orders, inventory management, and delivery challans. If you want to accept payments online, you can easily connect the payment gateway of your choice with Zoho Books.
You can generate VAT returns using Zoho Books and also make adjustments to the generated draft. Using the generated draft, you can fill in the required information in the NBR Portal.
Easy to access, anytime, anywhere
Zoho Books is accessible on the web and on your mobile through Windows app, iOS app and Android app. If you are using a Mac, you can also use the Mac app.
You can use the mobile apps to create invoices, record bills and log expenses from anywhere. You will also get quick insights through the dashboard and analyze a bit further through the reports.
Zoho Books is available in three variants — Basic (supports 2 users and up to 50 contacts), Standard (3 users, 500 contacts), and Professional (10 users and more than 500 contacts). All three variants are available for a free trial — so go ahead and get a feel of what the app has to offer to your business. Of course you can learn more about Zoho Books and their features by checking out their website here. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out to Zoho through their social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.