Kemback Business vs Zoho Books
Zoho Books is full online accounting with a free plan for small businesses, 1099 e-filing, sales tax, inventory and multi-currency on higher plans, and the wider Zoho suite. Kemback Business keeps your business books, your rental homes and your personal money on one login, exact to the cent, at one household price per add-on.
The short answer
Choose Zoho Books if you want complete accounting with a generous free plan, 1099 e-filing, and room to grow into inventory, multi-currency, projects and the rest of the Zoho suite. It’s a strong value for a small business that wants everything in one accounting product.
Choose Kemback Business if your business is one part of a household that also has personal accounts and perhaps rental homes, and you’d rather keep all of it on one login, exact to the cent, with one household price covering every company.
| Kemback Business | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Small Business $19.99 a month or $199 a year per household, for every company it runs; Rental Houses $4.99 a month or $49 a year, unlimited homes | Free $0; Standard $20, Professional $50, Premium $70, Elite $150, Ultimate $275 a month (less when billed annually), per organization |
| Free plan | Personal Kemback is free with no time limit; Small Business and Rental Houses are paid add-ons | Free while revenue is at most $50K a year: 1 user plus an accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year |
| Free trial | Not needed for the free plan | 14 days |
| Users | Every household member with their own sign-in; a read-only advisor role for an accountant | Free 1, Standard 3, Professional 5, Premium and Elite 10, Ultimate 15; extra users from $2.50 a month |
| Invoices and bills | Invoices and estimates emailed as PDFs, recurring invoices, bills, A/R and A/P ageing; payments recorded, not taken | Quotes, invoices and recurring invoices on Free; bills on Professional and up |
| Bank feeds and reconciliation | Bank sync through Plaid (with Kemback Plus) and file import; reconciliation per company account | Bank feeds (Yodlee and Plaid) on Standard and up; bank reconciliation on Free |
| 1099s and sales tax | 1099-NEC tracking with a CSV for e-filing elsewhere, and sales tax by period; Kemback never files returns | Tracking 1099 contractors on Free; 1099 e-filing and sales tax tracking on Standard and up |
| Mileage | Trips at the IRS rate onto Schedule C | On Free |
| Payroll | No | Zoho Payroll, a separate product that connects to Books |
| Taking payments | No: Kemback records payments made to you | Zoho Payments: domestic cards 2.90% + 30 cents, ACH 0.8% capped at $5; other gateways too |
| Rental properties | Rental Houses: homes and rooms, tenants, leases signed with Kemback Sign, rent and deposits recorded, Schedule E, seasonal pricing, iCal sync, a free tenant portal | No rental-property features found on Zoho Books' site |
| Personal finances | Yes, on the same login | No |
Who Zoho Books suits
Zoho Books’ Free plan is free indefinitely while revenue stays at or under $50K in a financial year, with up to 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, one user and one accountant. It includes quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, expenses, journals, bank reconciliation, mileage tracking, a customer portal, online payments, tracking 1099 contractors and W-9 management, with profit and loss, balance sheet and dozens of other reports.
Paid plans add bank feeds, sales tax and use tax tracking and 1099 e-filing (Standard), bills, multi-currency, inventory, projects and timesheets (Professional), and budgets, fixed assets and cash flow forecasting (Premium). Payroll is Zoho Payroll, a separate product that connects to Books, and Zoho Payments takes card and ACH payments on invoices, with published fees. A full backup of your organization can be exported as CSV or XLS.
Where Kemback Business is different
Household, business and rentals together. Kemback Business adds each company you run, with its own double-entry books, and your rental homes, on the same login as your personal Kemback. Personal views leave business accounts out unless you include them.
Rental Houses for small landlords. Homes let whole or by the room, tenants without double booking, leases signed with Kemback Sign, rent and deposits recorded and matched to bank deposits, deposits held as a liability, mortgages split into principal, interest and escrow, Schedule E per home, a calendar with seasonal pricing and iCal sync, and a free tenant portal. See rental property tracking.
One household price, exact to the cent, no data sold. The add-ons are billed per household rather than per user or per organization. Every amount is whole cents. Kemback is paid for by its plans, with no ads and no selling of data, and never sees or stores your bank password. See security.
Where Zoho Books is stronger
- A free plan. Zoho Books’ Free plan covers a small business; Kemback’s Small Business is a paid add-on.
- Filing. Zoho Books e-files 1099s on Standard and up. Kemback never files; it gives you a 1099 CSV to e-file through a third party.
- Depth. Inventory, multi-currency, projects, budgets and fixed assets on higher plans, and the wider Zoho suite.
- Payroll and payments through Zoho Payroll and Zoho Payments. Kemback doesn’t run payroll or take payments.
Switching from Zoho Books
- Take a full backup from Zoho Books (CSV or XLS), and save your reports and 1099 records.
- In Kemback, switch on Small Business, add your company and its bank and card accounts.
- Start at a period boundary with opening balances from Zoho’s balance sheet, and carry across the unpaid invoices and bills.
Bottom line
Zoho Books is a deep, good-value accounting product with a real free plan. Kemback Business is for owners who want their household, rentals and business together, exact to the cent and never sold. See the pricing, create a Kemback account, or read the other comparisons.
Zoho is a trademark of its owner. Kemback isn’t affiliated with Zoho. Prices change; confirm them on Zoho’s site.
Sources
- Zoho Books US pricing, checked 2026-10-17: plan prices monthly and billed annually, per organization; users per plan and extra users; the Free plan’s revenue limit, invoice and expense limits and what it includes; the 14-day trial; bank feeds, sales tax tracking and 1099 e-filing on Standard; bills on Professional; multi-currency, inventory, projects, budgets and fixed assets by plan; report export formats.
- Zoho Books plan comparison, checked 2026-10-17: features by plan.
- Zoho Books bank feeds, checked 2026-10-17: feeds through Yodlee and Plaid.
- Zoho Payroll pricing, checked 2026-10-17: payroll is a separate product that integrates with Books.
- Zoho Payments pricing, checked 2026-10-17: domestic card and ACH fees.
- Zoho Books backup, checked 2026-10-17: a full organization backup as CSV or XLS.
Questions
Can Kemback Business keep my business books?
Yes. Small Business keeps each company's double-entry books, with invoices, estimates, bills, reconciliation, profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow and a Schedule C summary. It's an add-on to Kemback, billed per household; see the pricing page.
Is there anything Kemback Business never does?
Yes. It doesn't run payroll, file tax returns, 1099s or sales tax, or process card or bank payments. Customers and tenants pay you directly, and the payment is recorded and matched to the deposit in your bank account.
Does Kemback sell my data or store my bank password?
No. Kemback is paid for by its plans, with no ads and no selling of data. Bank sync goes through Plaid, and Kemback never sees or stores your bank password.
Try Kemback free
The Free plan is a complete product, not a trial: budgets, bills, a real register, reports, import and export, shared with your household.
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