Documents
The Documents feature in Zoho Books will help you streamline and store all your documents in one place. You can upload any document like receipts and attach them to transactions like expenses or bills. On enabling auto-scan, all the uploaded documents will be auto-scanned and new transactions can be created instantly. These documents can also be sorted into folders of your preference for future use.
Highlights of Documents feature:
- Have your clients directly mail documents to your account.
- Auto-scan to capture data from your documents.
- Convert scanned documents to transactions.
- Create folders to organize files.
- Set folder level user permissions.
Here’s a short video that explains the document feature in-depth.
In the next few sections, we’ll be talking about :
Enabling the documents module
To enable the Documents module, click the folder icon present at the top-right corner of the Zoho Books screen.
As you enter the Documents module for the very first time, you will be asked to enable the Auto-scan option.
Note : Auto-Scan is a process in which every document that has been emailed or uploaded, goes through automatic data capturing process. This functionality is currently optimized only for documents that are in English language.
Once you enable auto-scan feature in Zoho Books, you’ll soon be taken to the Documents Inbox in Zoho Books.
Documents Inbox and Auto-Scan
The Documents Inbox is the primary folder within the Documents module. It holds all documents which have been uploaded or emailed by your contacts. Once the documents are uploaded, they will be auto-scanned and data like date, amount, merchant name, etc from these documents will get captured and auto-populated while creating new transactions.
As the documents get auto-scanned, you will be able to observe the following status of the documents:
Scan in progress : The document or receipt is currently in the auto-scan process.
Processed : The document or receipt has been scanned and data is captured successfully.
Unreadable : The auto-scanning has failed. This may result due to illegible data, images which cannot be interpreted or when the language is not supported.
Once the documents are scanned they will be listed in the Inbox based on their time of arrival. The documents in the Inbox are yet to be attached to a transaction and hence act as a reminder of the pending activities which need attention from your end.
Clearing the inbox
When a document is added to a new transaction or matched with an existing transaction in Zoho Books (expense or bills) or moved into a folder – the document will then be automatically cleared from the Inbox.
Once the document is cleared from your inbox, you will not be able to retrieve it. If you wish to store a copy of the document for future purpose, you can move the file from the Inbox to another folder. You can still associate the document from the folder to a specific transaction.
Auto-scan Pricing
Auto-scan feature is available by default to users across all plans. A maximum of 5 scans is available in the feature.
Purchasing add-ons :
Once the maximum number of scans mentioned above are used up, you will have to purchase an Addon.
Addon Pricing :
| No. of scans per month | Monthly Price | Yearly Price |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | USD 5 | USD 50 |
| 50 | GBP 4 | GBP 40 |
| 50 | CAD 5 | CAD 50 |
| 50 | AUD 5 | AUD 50 |
| 50 | — | Rs. 2990 |
| 50 | RAND 50 | RAND 500 |
Note :
- INR currency users can subscribe only to the yearly plan.
- Customers can purchase additional number of scans, in case you have used up the add-on.
Uploading a file to the Inbox
You can upload file into your Zoho Books Documents by any of the options listed below :
Upload or drag and drop single or multiple files from your computer.
Upload documents or receipts from any of your cloud applications like Evernote, Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, One Drive or Zoho Docs.
Emailing documents to the unique email address of your organization.
To upload files, you need to click the ‘Upload Files’ button. Here you will be able to choose any file from your computer or upload them from any of your online applications.
Email files to the Inbox
Zoho Books Documents module generates a unique email address for your organisation so your customers, vendors and accountants can email documents directly to your Documents Inbox. You can also directly forward the receipts or bills you receive from your vendors to this email address.
To generate a unique email address:
Go to the Documents Module.
Click on the message at the top of the screen which reads “Send your document(s) to”.
You can either choose to use the readily available system generated email address or get a customized email address, by clicking on “Choose your own”.
Once you’ve configured the unique email address for your organization, you or your contacts can email files to the address and it will land into your Inbox.
Folder level permission
You can grant access to a trusted individual, for example - an accountant, bookkeeper or business partner — by inviting that person to be a User of your organisation, who can access the Documents Module.
To add a New User to your organisation and define Roles, refer to the document on Users & Roles
Permissions in the Documents module
View Documents: This is if you want a user to be able to view all the files in the Documents module. They will have access to the entire module.
Upload Documents: Enable this if you want your User to be able to Upload and View files, without the ability to Delete any document.
Delete Documents: Allows your User to be able to Delete and View files in the Documents module.
Manage Folder: This permission allows the user to create and manage a new/existing folder(s).
Folders
You can organize and manage your documents into different folders within the Documents module. You can :
Create, Rename or Delete folders
Assign folder level permissions to various users in your organisation .
Creating a Folder
Only the Admin and the users with the “ Manage Folder “ permission, can create New Folder(s).
To create a new Folder, click on the + icon next to FOLDERS on the left sidebar.
In the pop-up window that appears, enter Folder name and click Save.
Setting Folder-Level permissions for access by users :
The user who is creating a Folder, can set permissions for other users, to whom he wishes to give access to the folder.
Folder access permissions can be set at the time of creating a new folder or for an existing folder :
To set permission for while creating a new folder :
- Click the + icon next to Folders, on the left panel of the documents module.
- You will get a pop-up window, where you need to Name the new folder.
Next, you will have an option to set folder permissions. Under this, you will find two options :
All users with permission to access documents
Custom : Here, you can add user(s), who can view this Folder.
Note: The Admin will be able to access all the Folders.
Moving a file from Inbox to a Folder
As mentioned earlier, once you’ve attached a file to a transaction from the inbox, the Documents module removes the file permanently. If you want to save your files in the module, or use them in multiple new transactions in future, you can simply move them out of the Inbox and into a folder.
To move files from the Inbox to a folder :
Go to Inbox.
Click on the check box to select the files you wish to move.
Click Move To drop-down that appears on the top.
Select the Folder to which you wish to move the files to.
You can use the same process to move the files from one folder to the other.
Attaching documents to transactions
The uploaded files can be attached to various transactions made in your Zoho Books account.
There are two ways in which you can attach a file to a transaction :
A. Attach a file from the Documents module :
- Select the files you want to attach to a transaction, from Inbox or FOLDERS
- Click on the Add to drop down which appears on the top of the screen or the right of the document list.
- Select the type of transaction to which you wish to attach the file, from the dropdown.
Note: For Bills and Expenses, you can view the image and the transaction side by side and create the transaction.
- You can fill-in the remaining data and create the transaction.
B. Attach a file from a transaction :
B.1. In an Existing Transaction like Estimate, Sales Order, Invoice, Expense or Bill etc. :
Open the transaction by clicking on it.
Click on the paper clip icon present on the top right.
Select My Documents to attach a file.
Select the Folder or Inbox from the Documents module -> choose the file to be attached -> click Attach File(s).
B.2. In a New Transaction :
Create any new transaction.
Click on the Attach File(s)/Upload File button.
Select Attach from My Documents.
Select the Folder or Inbox from the Documents module -> choose the file to be attached -> click Attach File(s).
Attaching a file to a contact
Attaching files to a contact enables your client to have a record of all the files received from you. Only clients with a client portal access can view these attachments.
To attach a file to a Contact :
Go to the Contacts module
Select the contact to which you want to attach a file.
Click on the paper clip icon at the top right.
Select My Documents to attach a file.
Select the files to be attached.
Click Attach File(s).
Viewing Documents from client portal
Your customers with client portal access, can view the attached files, from their portal as well.
While attaching a file to a transaction, you will have to enable the option Display attachment(s) in client portal and emails
This option can be enabled when:
- You wan to attach a file to an already created/existing transaction.
- When you are attaching a file while creating a transaction.
You can also attach documents directly to your contacts. These documents may include Contracts, Asset & Liability reports, Product Catalogues etc. They can view these attached documents from their respective Client Portal(s).
To attach a document to a contact :
Go to Contacts.
Select the Contact to which you want to attach a document to.
Click on the Paper clip icon on the top right to Attach File.
In the following menu, click on Documents to choose a file from your Zoho Books Documents Module.
Finally enable the button “ Display attachment(s) in client portal and emails “ present at the bottom of the window.
Where can the customer view the documents in the Client Portal?
In the client portal, the homescreen will display these attached files under Shared Documents.
To know more on setting up a client portal, please click here.
Matching documents to transactions
While creating a new transactions like expense, bills the documents module will suggest the best matches based on certain match rules like Vendor Name, Date and Amount. You can review the suggested matches and attach the documents to the transactions as they’re created.
Let’s follow certain examples where the “ Matching suggestions ” come in handy, for a user.
Suggested matches in the Documents tab :
As soon as the uploaded documents go through auto-scan, they are listed in the Inbox with their scan status. Once you select a document from there, a list of possible matches are suggested. These suggested matches are the transactions that are already entered into the system.
You can simply click on Merge to attach the document to the existing transaction.
While creating a New Invoice, Expense or a New Bank Transaction :
Whenever you create a new transaction in Zoho Books, as you begin entering your transaction values like Date, Merchant Name, Amount etc., a list of suggested matching documents will appear.
If one of the suggested results is the document you need, simply select the checkbox next to it, to attach it directly.
When you create a new Banking Transaction, say an expense or a bill, based on the information on your receipt, matches are suggested. Also a best match case is given, where the data is most precisely matched. You can review and select one of the suggestions and submit your transaction.
With this, you will save additional time on performance of reconciliations.
Matching Bank Statements - An Uncategorised transaction and a document :
Certain transactions in the banking module are uncategorised and they need to be matched with the appropriate receipts. To categorise this, you will browse through the suggested documents, select it and just add an account category.
The Documents auto-scan, will fill in the rest of the details including amount, date, vendor name extracted from the receipt and the transaction is matched. Also, the document gets attached to that entry.
Searching the Documents Module
Search
The Documents module provides a search option. You can use the search bar present on the top center of your Zoho Books screen to search for a particular document. The documents module will be searched from the current context.
For instance, if your are in All files tab, the files from the All Files tab will be searched. Similary for the Inbox, Folders and Trash.
The search works in the following way :
- Enter any single value like the Document name, Vendor name or Amount present on the document you are looking for.
- The search result will display all the matching results. These will include all those documents that contain the search key, that you mentioned on the search bar.
- You can browse through the results and select the document that you are looking for.
Advanced Search
You can perform an Advanced Search, if you know certain specific information about the document you are looking for.
In this, you will have the option to enter specific details to search for the documents like a particular Vendor name, receipt amount range etc. This will fetch the best matching results from the Documents Inbox.
Please Note : Currently, Advance search will have only File name field for other views.
