This guide walks you through how Alaan connects with Zoho Books — from setup and authentication to data sync and export transactions. It’s broken down into three key sections:
🔑 Integration Scope
Automated data syncing between Alaan and Zoho Books
Creation of Spend Money entries in Zoho Books for Alaan transactions
Attaching receipts to transactions for detailed tracking
Syncs automatically every 24 hours, with an option to sync manually anytime from the Alaan web app
✅What’s Included
✅ Supported Features | ❌ Unsupported Features |
Import and map chart of accounts to categories | Import and map expense tracking tags |
Import tax codes |
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Import and map vendors/suppliers |
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Create expenses |
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Create receipts in Zoho |
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Create bank accounts |
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Include details like spender name, merchant, memo, FX, and invoice number |
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Split expenses and export them as different line items |
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🔄 Data Flow Overview
From | To | Data Shared |
Zoho | Alaan | -Bank Accounts -Chart of Accounts -General company details -Suppliers & vendor details -Tax Rates |
Alaan | Zoho | -Spend Money -Attachments -Bank Account |
🛠 Step-by-Step Guide
Step 0: To set up the integration, ensure the following:
Admin access to your Zoho account
Admin or Accountant access to the Alaan Dashboard
Step 1: Connect to Zoho Books
Navigate to the Alaan web application’s Accounting Page.
Select Zoho Books and complete the configuration steps.
Your request will be forwarded to our Customer Success team to enable the integration.
Step 2: Create Connection
Click on "Connect with Zoho Books".
Enter your Zoho Books credentials (Username and Password) with administrator access.
Select your registered company from Zoho Books.
Click on Connect to start syncing.
Step 3: Import Tax codes
Import tax codes from Zoho Books and map them with the corresponding accounts.
Step 4: Import Expense Accounts/GL Accounts/Chart of Accounts
Map the Expense accounts required to export Alaan card expenses to at least one category.
Expense Categories: These are specific names that can be assigned to help the spender understand the categories better.
Expense Accounts: Your GL accounts from Zoho are listed here. You can associate your GL accounts with expense categories. This ensures that when an expense category is selected, it will automatically connect to the appropriate GL account.
Default Tax Code: These are not mandatory and are only required if each expense in this category has a designated tax code.
Note: Alaan will replace all the existing GL Account numbers with the Expense Accounts / Chart of Accounts imported from Zoho Books. You can skip mapping Categories and Expense Accounts, and can do it later in settings as well.
Step 5: Select or Create a Bank Account
Create a new bank account or select an existing bank account in Zoho to ensure that all your Alaan exports are directed to this designated bank account.
Step 6: Setup Complete
Click on Finish to complete the integration setup.
Once integrated, you can begin exporting transactions. Learn more:
⚙️ Manage Zoho Books Integration
Map categories to your Account
Mapping expense categories to Zoho Books chart of accounts is optional but recommended.
Navigate to Settings in the Alaan web application.
Click on Expense Accounts.
Select an existing expense category or create a new one.
Assign a corresponding Chart of Accounts (Expense Account) for the category.
Sync Zoho Books
Navigate to Settings > Zoho Books in the Alaan web application.
Click on Instant Sync (top-right corner).
The sync process will start and take up to 5 minutes to complete.
Disconnect Integration
Navigate to Settings > Zoho Books.
Click on Disconnect.
Confirm the action to disable the integration.
Change Bank Account
Navigate to Settings > Zoho Books.
Click on Change Bank Account.
Choose the desired bank account and connect it to Alaan.
Enable/Disable Vendor Mapping
Navigate to Settings > Zoho Books.
Toggle the Vendor Mapping switch to enable or disable it.
Need help? Contact the Customer Success Team if you face any issues or if you need further customisation.