Alternatives to Zoho Order Management for Modern Brands
Why Australian businesses choose BSimple over Zoho for order management:
- Native Xero integration built for Australian accounting (vs Zoho Books)
- Australian-based support during local business hours
- Simpler pricing without per-user fees
- Customer ordering portals built-in (not a separate Zoho module)
- Designed specifically for wholesale and distribution workflows
- No ecosystem lock-in—use your existing tools
Zoho offers an extensive suite of business software including order management, inventory, CRM, and accounting. For some businesses, this all-in-one ecosystem is appealing. But for Australian businesses—particularly those already using Xero for accounting—Zoho’s ecosystem approach creates problems: limited Xero integration, support timezones that don’t align with Australian business hours, and pricing that escalates quickly as you add modules and users.
If you’re evaluating Zoho order management or considering alternatives, this guide explains why many Australian wholesale, manufacturing, and distribution businesses choose specialized order management platforms like BSimple instead of Zoho’s ecosystem.
The short answer? Zoho excels when you commit to their entire ecosystem (Zoho Books for accounting, Zoho CRM for sales, Zoho Inventory for stock). But if you want best-of-breed tools—Xero for accounting, your preferred CRM, and specialized order management—Zoho’s integrations are limiting and its order management features are generic rather than industry-specific.
Xero Integration: The Australian Business Requirement
Most Australian small-medium businesses use Xero for accounting. It’s the de facto standard, trusted by bookkeepers and accountants across Australia. When evaluating order management software, Xero integration quality is critical—your order management system needs to talk to Xero seamlessly for invoicing, inventory valuation, and GST reporting.
Here’s where Zoho falls short for Australian businesses:
Zoho Books vs Xero: Zoho wants you to use Zoho Books for accounting. Their order management integrates deeply with Zoho Books but treats Xero as a secondary option with limited integration. You can sync invoices, but advanced features like real-time inventory valuation syncing and COGS tracking require workarounds or don’t work at all.
Integration Limitations: Zoho’s Xero integration typically requires third-party middleware (Zapier or similar) for advanced workflows. This adds cost, complexity, and potential failure points. Compare this to BSimple, where Xero integration is native and built specifically for Australian businesses—GST treatment, BAS reporting, and Australian accounting standards are handled natively.
Accounting Workflow: Australian bookkeepers and accountants expect Xero. If your order management system doesn’t integrate seamlessly, your bookkeeper spends hours reconciling data manually. This friction costs you money and creates errors.
For businesses committed to Xero (which is most Australian SMBs), order management software with native Xero integration like BSimple is a better fit than Zoho’s ecosystem approach. Our ecommerce inventory system demonstrates this deep integration across multiple sales channels.
Australian Support and Business Context
Zoho is a global platform with support centers primarily in India and the United States. For Australian businesses, this creates practical challenges that go beyond timezone differences:
- Support Hours: When you need help at 2pm Sydney time, Zoho support is either unavailable or operating from offshore centers. Troubleshooting complex order management issues via email with 12-24 hour response times is frustrating when orders are waiting to be fulfilled
- Australian Business Understanding: Offshore support doesn’t understand Australian business contexts—GST, BAS, ATO requirements, Australian carriers, local wholesale practices. Explaining these contexts repeatedly wastes time
- Local Examples and Guidance: Documentation and examples are often US-centric. Australian businesses need guidance specific to local operations, suppliers, and regulatory requirements
BSimple is Australian-based (Queensland) with support during Australian business hours from people who’ve run Australian wholesale and distribution businesses. Call 1300 980 598 and talk to someone who understands your operational context without explanation.
This local support becomes critical during setup, when you’re configuring workflows, and when urgent issues arise during peak fulfillment periods. Zoho’s global approach can’t match the responsiveness of a local Australian provider.
Pricing Models and Hidden Costs
Zoho’s pricing appears attractive at first glance—low starting prices for individual modules. But the total cost of ownership often exceeds specialized alternatives once you account for all required components:
Module Costs: Zoho order management requires multiple modules working together: Zoho Inventory (for stock management), Zoho Books (for accounting, though you probably want Xero instead), Zoho CRM (if you need customer management), and potentially Zoho Commerce (for online orders). Each module has separate pricing, and costs accumulate quickly.
Per-User Pricing: Zoho charges per user for most modules. Want your warehouse staff to access order pick lists? That’s additional user fees. Need your bookkeeper to review data? Another user. These per-seat costs penalize businesses with larger teams, whereas BSimple includes unlimited users.
Integration Costs: If you insist on using Xero instead of Zoho Books, you’ll likely need third-party integration tools (Zapier, OneSaas) at $50-$200/month. These aren’t included in Zoho pricing but are necessary for Australian businesses committed to Xero.
Hidden Complexity Costs: Zoho’s ecosystem flexibility is a double-edged sword. You can customize extensively, but configuration complexity requires significant time investment or consultant fees. Specialized platforms like BSimple provide industry-specific workflows out of the box without extensive configuration.
For Australian businesses, BSimple’s flat-rate pricing (based on business size, not users) with native Xero integration often delivers lower total cost of ownership than Zoho’s modular approach. Check our pricing page for transparent Australian pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zoho order management good for Australian businesses?
Zoho works if you commit to their entire ecosystem (Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho CRM). However, most Australian businesses prefer Xero for accounting, and Zoho’s Xero integration is limited. Australian businesses also face challenges with offshore support timezones and lack of local business context. Specialized Australian alternatives like BSimple often provide better fit for local businesses.
What’s the best alternative to Zoho order management for Xero users?
BSimple is purpose-built for Australian businesses using Xero. Native integration means orders automatically create Xero invoices with correct GST, COGS, and line items. Unlike Zoho’s limited Xero sync, BSimple treats Xero as the primary accounting system with bi-directional integration designed for Australian accounting standards and BAS reporting.
Can Zoho handle wholesale order management for B2B businesses?
Zoho’s order management is general-purpose rather than specialized for wholesale distribution. It can handle B2B orders but lacks industry-specific features like customer ordering portals with custom pricing, sophisticated purchase order workflows, and wholesale-specific reporting. BSimple is designed specifically for Australian wholesale, manufacturing, and distribution businesses.
How does BSimple pricing compare to Zoho?
BSimple uses flat-rate pricing (typically $150-$250/month) based on business size with unlimited users and all features included. Zoho uses per-user, per-module pricing that can exceed $300-500/month once you add Inventory, CRM, and third-party Xero integration tools. BSimple often delivers lower total cost for Australian SMBs, especially those with multiple team members needing access.
Does BSimple support the same features as Zoho order management?
BSimple provides comprehensive order management: multi-channel order capture, customer ordering portals, stock allocation, pick list generation, fulfillment tracking, and Xero invoicing. BSimple focuses specifically on order and inventory workflows for wholesale/distribution rather than trying to cover every business function. You get specialized depth in areas that matter for inventory-based businesses.
Can I migrate from Zoho to BSimple?
Yes, businesses regularly migrate from Zoho to BSimple. The process involves exporting your product data, customer lists, and inventory levels from Zoho and importing into BSimple. We provide migration support to ensure the transition is smooth and data transfers accurately. Most migrations complete within 1-2 weeks with minimal operational disruption.