Connect your books

Connect Zoho Books to Excel

Connect your Zoho Books entity once in the Rows portal, then pick it in Excel. Your Zoho Books reports then refresh in Excel with no exporting.

  • Less than 2 minutes
  • Zoho Books
  • Excel for Windows and Mac
On this page
  1. Before you start
  2. Steps
    1. 1. Choose Zoho Books in the Rows portal
    2. 2. Sign in to Zoho
    3. 3. Allow access and check your entities
    4. 4. Open Rows in Excel
    5. 5. Sign in to Rows
    6. 6. Choose your entity
  3. Reconnecting
  4. If something goes wrong
  5. Talk to a person

Before you start

  • A Zoho Books login that is a user of the entity you want to connect, on an active Zoho Books plan. It doesn't need to be an admin.
  • A Rows account. You sign in to the Rows portal and to Excel the same way, so use the login you signed up with.
  • Rows in Excel for Windows or Mac (any recent version that can install add-ins). Not there yet? Install the Excel add-in first.

From Zoho Books to your workbook

  1. Choose Zoho Books in the Rows portal

    In your browser

    In the Rows portal, open Entities and select Connect entity. Under Choose your accounting system, select Zoho Books.

    The Choose your accounting system tiles in the Rows portal: Xero, QuickBooks, Cin7 and Zoho Books
    Rows portal, Connect an entity

  2. Sign in to Zoho

    In your browser

    Zoho's sign-in page opens. Sign in with the Zoho login you use for Zoho Books. If your account is on another Zoho data centre, such as Europe, Zoho takes you there itself. Already signed in? It skips this screen.

  3. Allow access and check your entities

    In your browser

    Zoho lists what Rows asks for (to create, view and update records in Zoho Books). Select Accept. Every Zoho Books entity your login can open connects in one go, each Connected under Entities.

Your entities are connected. Now switch to Excel.

  1. Open Rows in Excel

    In Excel

    Open Excel with any workbook. On the Home tab, select Launch Rows add-in. The Rows pane opens on the right of the sheet.

    The right end of the Home tab in Excel for Mac: Sort and Filter, Find and Select, Sensitivity, Add-ins and Launch Rows add-in
    Excel for Mac, Home tab

  2. Sign in to Rows

    In Excel

    Sign in the same way you signed up (email, Xero, Google, Microsoft, Intuit or Zoho). A different way opens a different Rows account, without your entity.

  3. Choose your entity

    In Excel

    Under Choose your Entity, find the entity you connected (search, or use Recent and Starred) and select Continue. Its name shows under the Rows logo and the Dashboard opens.

    Rows pane, Zoho Books entity

Reconnecting to Zoho Books

From time to time the link between Rows and Zoho Books drops. Zoho ends connections every so often, and removing Rows under Sessions, Connected Apps in your Zoho account does the same. Nothing is lost: your workbooks, formulas and figures stay as they are.

  1. In the Rows portal, open Entities.
  2. In the Connection column, select Reconnect next to the entity.
  3. Sign in to Zoho if it asks, and select Accept again.
  4. Back in Excel, refresh your reports. Your formulas and layout stay as they were.

If something goes wrong

I signed in to Zoho but no entity appeared in Rows

The Zoho login you used isn't a user of a Zoho Books entity, so Rows found nothing to connect (the portal shows no message). Sign in to Zoho with a login that has the entity and start again from step 1.

Can I connect more than one Zoho Books entity?

Yes, and they connect together: when you select Accept, every Zoho Books entity your Zoho login can open is connected. In Excel, move between them with Switch Entity in the pane menu. Your plan sets how many you can connect.

Zoho Books keeps asking me to reconnect

That's the Rows connection to Zoho Books, not your bank feed. Follow Reconnecting to Zoho Books. If it happens straight away, check your Zoho login is still a user of that entity in Zoho Books.

My entity isn't in the list in Excel

Check it shows as Connected under Entities in the Rows portal, then select the refresh arrow next to Search Entities in the Rows pane. Not connected? Go back to step 1.

Next step

Next guidePull your first reportRun a profit and loss from the Rows pane and refresh it whenever the books change. On Zoho Books it covers one period at a time.

On Xero or QuickBooks Online? Follow Connect Xero to Excel or Connect QuickBooks Online to Excel instead. Want to see what Rows does with Zoho Books? Read Rows for Zoho Books. Looking for something else? Browse every guide in the Help centre.

Talk to a person.

Email support

Tell us what you see on screen. We reply within 24 hours on working days.

support@rowsapp.com

Book an onboarding call

Free during your trial. We'll connect your entities with you and set up your first live report.

Book a call

Log in to your account

Change your plan, add users or manage entities in the Rows portal.

Log in