Zoho Books Import: 20 Types of Data You Can Bring In
Zoho Books import options cover a lot more than invoices. Nearly every module in the app, from your chart of accounts to manual journals, has its own import tool, and they all work the same way once you know the pattern. Here’s the full list, cross-checked against Zoho’s own import documentation.
How Zoho Books Import Works, Step by Step
Regardless of which module you’re importing into, the flow is identical:
- Open the module and click the More (or Gear) icon
- Select Import [Module Name]
- Upload a file in CSV, TSV, or XLS format, or download Zoho’s sample file first to match the expected structure
- Choose the file’s Character Encoding and Field Delimiter
- On the Map Fields screen, match your file’s columns to Zoho Books fields (you can save this mapping for future imports)
- Review the Preview screen and click Import
Once you know this pattern, every import in the list below uses it.
Setup and Master Data
| What You Can Import | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chart of Accounts | Accountant > Chart of Accounts > More | Max 10MB. Import parent accounts before sub-accounts |
| Customers | Sales > Customers > More | Can include opening balances in the same file |
| Vendors | Purchases > Vendors > More | Same import flow as Customers |
| Items (products/services) | Items > Items > More | Include opening stock if you track inventory |
| Price Lists | Items > Price Lists | Requires enabling Price Lists in Settings first |
| Inventory Adjustments | Items > Inventory Adjustments > More | Choose Quantity Adjustments or Value Adjustments |
Sales Transactions
Zoho Books supports importing each of these separately, so you only need to bring in what your business actually uses:
- Quotes
- Sales Orders
- Invoices (max 10MB)
- Recurring Invoices (max 1MB — noticeably smaller than most other modules)
- Retainer Invoices
- Payments Received
In our own testing, the recurring invoice CSV import behaved a little differently from the manual form, skipping a required field the form enforces. We cover that in detail in our Zoho Books recurring invoices guide.
Purchase Transactions
Same story on the purchases side:
- Purchase Orders
- Bills
- Expenses
- Payments Made
Accounting Data
- Manual Journals, via Accountant > Manual Journals > Gear icon. Since Zoho Books is double-entry, your debit and credit totals in the file need to match.
- Opening Balances, entered under Settings > Opening Balances rather than through a standalone import. Zoho recommends importing your Chart of Accounts, Customers, Vendors, and Items with their opening stock first, so the balances have something to attach to.
Projects and Timesheets
If you bill clients by the hour or by project, Time Tracking > Projects > Gear icon > Import Projects brings those over. Tasks and timesheets can be imported the same way once your projects exist.
What You Can’t Import
Per Zoho’s own documentation, a few things fall outside the standard import tools:
- Deposits and fund transfers from a previous system aren’t directly supported. You’ll need to enter or update these manually so your accounts reconcile.
- You can’t import a data backup file from one Zoho Books organization into a different Zoho Books organization.
Zoho Books Import File Limits
Most modules cap Zoho Books import files at 10MB in CSV, TSV, or XLS format. Recurring Invoices is the outlier at 1MB, so if you’re migrating a large batch of recurring profiles, you may need to split the file.
FAQ
Do I need different software to prepare my import file? No. Any spreadsheet tool that can save as CSV, TSV, or XLS works, including Excel, Google Sheets, or Zoho Sheet.
Can I reuse my column mapping for future imports? Yes. On the Map Fields screen, there’s an option to save your selections, so your next Zoho Books import with the same file structure maps automatically.
What happens if some fields in my file don’t match a Zoho Books field? Unmapped columns are simply skipped and won’t be imported. If you want that data included, map the column header to the correct Zoho Books field before importing.
Can I import data directly from QuickBooks Online or another accounting tool? Zoho Books has dedicated migration guides for QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, and Zoho Invoice that handle the export/import process end to end, beyond the module-by-module imports covered here.
Verified against Zoho Books’ official Help documentation, August 2026.