Connect Zoho Projects to Zoho Books and Zoho Expense so you can track time and expenses against a project and invoice them. This article is for admins setting up the integration and the people who invoice projects.

Applies to: Zoho Projects, Zoho Books, Zoho Expense – All clients

How the integration works

The integration runs through Zoho Books. You first connect Projects to Books. Expenses are then linked through Books.

Before you start

• You can connect Projects to Zoho Books or to Zoho Invoice, but not both. The integration works at invoice level, so if you have Zoho Books, connect to Books.
• The integration isn't available on the Free and Standard plans of Zoho Projects. Zoho One users are on the Enterprise plan, so this isn't an issue for them.
• Only the portal owner can create the Zoho Books or Zoho Invoice integration. Only admins and managers can have access privileges.

Step 1: Connect Projects to Books

1. Open Zoho Projects and click Setup (the wrench and spanner icon at the top right).

2. Under Integration, select Zoho Apps. You see all active integrations and the integrations you can add.

When this article was written, Zoho was still developing the integration settings. If you can't set it up yourself, send Zoho a message asking them to integrate Projects with Books and Expense. This can take 24 hours.

Step 2: Assign a primary client to the project

The integration only works when the project has a primary client. The primary client is the customer the project is invoiced to. A project can have more than one client company, but only one primary client company.

1. Open the project and go to the Users menu.
2. Click Client Users and select Add Client Company.

3. Enter the client company's details and tick Primary Client.

The integration with Books is now complete. It isn't instant: it can take up to 24 hours for the project to appear in Books.

Optional: import clients from Zoho CRM

You can also connect Projects to Zoho CRM. Then you don't need to enter client details by hand, because you can import accounts and users directly from CRM. Instead of clicking Add Client Company, click the three dots next to it.

For this you need the CRM ZSC key. Generate it in CRM under Setup > Developer Space > APIs > Zoho Service Communications (ZSC).

Step 3: Use the project in Books and Expense

• Zoho Books: go to the Timesheet menu on the left. The project appears in the projects list. Manage the project in Zoho Projects, not in Books.
• Zoho Expense: select the customer for the expense. The project is listed if that customer is the primary client of one of your projects. You can then allocate expenses to the project and bill them to the customer.

Step 4: Invoice time and expenses

1. In Zoho Projects, go to the Financial menu on the left.
2. Create a new invoice.

3. Select a time and expense invoice, or an expense-only invoice if you bill expenses at a different frequency.
4. Select Include all the unbilled expenses of the selected customer. This is important.