How do I migrate from Sage to Zoho Books?

Choose a clean cut-over date, usually the start of a VAT quarter or financial year. Export your chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, items, open invoices and bills and a trial balance from Sage, import them into Zoho Books, and enter opening balances as at the cut-over date. Then reconnect banks, set up VAT and Making Tax Digital, and reconcile against Sage.

Most UK businesses do not move every historical transaction. Instead, they move master data and open items, and keep Sage read-only for history. Pick a cut-over date that lines up with a VAT period so returns are simple. Agree the plan with your accountant before you start, especially for VAT schemes and fixed assets.

Map your Sage nominal codes to the Zoho Books chart of accounts. Import customers and suppliers, then items if you track stock. Import open invoices and bills so receivables and payables match Sage on the cut-over date. Enter the trial balance as opening balances. Set up VAT rates and connect Zoho Books to HMRC for Making Tax Digital submissions.

Reconnect bank feeds, check that balances match Sage, and run both systems side by side for one short period if you can. Train the finance team on bank rules and approvals. If you would rather have the migration handled, Flowpeak runs Sage to Zoho Books moves remotely for UK businesses with milestone-based payment.

Written by Flowpeak, a Zoho implementation partner. Zoho pricing and features change, so confirm current details on the official Zoho site. Free checklists | Ask us a question