ZipBooks is a cloud-based, intuitive, and modern accounting software that offers the option of hiring your own virtual bookkeeper to help with your firm’s finances.
Highlights
Your Personal Bookkeeper. One challenge with adopting any new-ish accounting software that doesn’t rhyme with “schmickbooks” is a fear that your bookkeeper or accountant won’t be comfortable in the new software. ZipBooks’ solution to that friction is that, at the Services Package level, you’ll enjoy your own ZipBooks “scholar,” along with their supporting team, to help you with your firm’s finances. Their bookkeepers handle all data entry, categorization, and reconciliation to prepare monthly reports and work closely with you to help you get the most out of the software. The will also prepare a tax prep pack for you to hand to a CPA for filings come tax season. The ZipBooks scholars are knowledgeable in managing trust/IOLTA accounts and go through weekly training to keep up-to-date on best practices. That pricing makes ZipBooks’s bookkeeping add-on a compelling (and competitively-priced) alternative to a common challenge with adoption.
Intuitive Design. ZipBooks was designed to be modern, simple, and intuitive, while still being powerful enough to provide all the features you need from your accounting software. Creating reports on the details of your financial records is easy and interactive. They use color-coded features to help you glide through the software and, in their words, “bring some color to accounting.”
Machine Learning. As you start repeating transactions, clients, and vendors, ZipBooks will start to recognize those transactions and begin tagging those transactions and contacts automatically. From those tags, you can make transactions and accounts easier to find and create customized reports.
ZipBooks Pricing
ZipBooks is—for starters, anyway—free. The Starter Package includes unlimited invoicing, unlimited vendors and customers, unlimited bookkeeping, a payment system through credit cards and PayPal, connecting and managing a bank account, and providing an assessment on your business health and invoice quality.
Their next pricing tier, the “Smarter Package,” is $15/mo, and includes everything from their Starter Package plus an auto-bill feature, auto-imports of time and expenses into invoices, unlimited bank connections, time tracking, and collaboration features with team members, among other features.
Their Sophisticated package is $35/mo and features everything in the Starter and Smarter package plus, among other things, advanced reporting, bank reconciliation, and smart tagging.
Finally, their Services package starts $125/mo and includes all of the above plus your own personal bookkeeper who prepares and sends monthly finance reports, prepares a tax packet for tax season, and even works with your CPA at tax time to ensure the taxes done for your firm are accurate.
ZipBooks also offer a 30-day free trial for their Smart and Sophisticated packages to give you a sandbox to play in, as well as a 14-day trial for their bookkeeping services.
Features
| ZipBooks | |
|---|---|
| Website | zipbooks.com |
| Plans | |
| Starting price | Free |
| Installation | Cloud |
| Apps | Web App iOS |
| Free trial | ✓ 30 days free. |
| Bookkeeping | ✓ |
| Connect to bank accounts | ✓ |
| Billing/invoicing | ✓ |
| Online payments | ✓ |
| Secure portal | ✓ |
| Tax preparation | ✓ |
| Expense tracking | ✓ |
| Mileage tracking | |
| Reporting/analytics | ✓ |
| Accounts receivable | ✓ |
| Payroll | |
| Multiple users | ✓ |
| Accounts payable | ✓ |
| Bill payment | |
| Statement reconciliation | ✓ |
| Foreign currencies | ✓ |
| Check printing | |
| Contact management | ✓ |
| Timekeeping | ✓ |
Things You Might Want to Know
Security. ZipBooks uses data centers to store your data that have on-site security guards and biometrics to restrict access only to authorized individuals. They also have third-party security experts run routine audits to make sure their security measures are up to the highest industry standards. Your data is backed up in a number of different locations so you’ll always have cloud access as long as you have a connection.
Payroll. While ZipBooks does not have payroll features, they work closely with Gusto (and are working on a Gusto integration) to manage your payroll needs. If you use a different payroll provider, ZipBooks can help you import that data into its software as well.
Training and Support. If you need help with any aspect of ZipBooks, they have a library of YouTube tutorials to help, and free email and chat support to resolve your stickiest issues.
Mobile. While their mobile app is only available on iOS, they offer a responsive mobile site for Android users, or iOS users if you prefer using the mobile site over the app.
Who Zipbooks Is For
ZipBooks is a really great option for attorneys who want to hand their bookkeeping off to someone else, especially if you decide to go for their Services Package.
See all the key features for all the law firm accounting software options in our directory.