Tools for CA Firms / Accounting Software
ProfitBooks: Cloud Accounting Software for Small Businesses, Since 2012
ProfitBooks is one of the longer-running Indian cloud accounting products. Incorporated in Pune in 2012 and co-founded by Harshal Katre and CA Mohnish Katre, it offers GST invoicing, bookkeeping, inventory and reporting for business owners who are not accountants, with a free plan and paid plans from ₹2,499 a year.[10][2]
What ProfitBooks is
Accounting software for business owners, not accountants
ProfitBooks describes itself as "cloud accounting software built for small businesses — freelancers, retailers, service providers, sole proprietors, and growing SMBs". It brings invoicing, bookkeeping, bank reconciliation and financial reporting into one browser-based product, and says most owners are set up in under 30 minutes.[1]
The software handles the accounting entries in the background: a user raises invoices, records expenses and imports bank statements, and ProfitBooks posts them to the books. Its Indian product adds GST invoicing with automatic CGST, SGST and IGST, HSN/SAC codes and GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B reports.[1][3]
ProfitBooks' own pages give different customer figures: "10,000+ Indian businesses" on its India page, "over 75,000 businesses across the world" on its accounting software page, and "1,00,000+ businesses worldwide" on its homepage.[3][5][1]
History
Fourteen years of ProfitBooks, 2012 to 2026
ProfitBooks has been in the market since 2012, longer than many cloud accounting products sold in India today. These milestones are as recorded on the company's own website and blog.
2012
Incorporated in Pune
ProfitBooks Solutions Private Limited is incorporated and based in Pune, Maharashtra.[10]
2013
Microsoft BizSpark regional finalist
ProfitBooks says it was a regional finalist in Microsoft BizSpark in 2013.[13]
2014
Hot100 Startups award
CORE (Centre of Recognition & Excellence) named ProfitBooks a winner of its Hot100 Awards at a ceremony in Mumbai on 12 December 2014.[12]
2015
FinTech India 2015 accelerator
One of 10 startups shortlisted for Village Capital's three-month FinTech India 2015 programme, run with the DBS Foundation and PayPal.[13]
2021
60+ countries and white-label clients
ProfitBooks describes companies in over 60 countries using the product, and a white-label version serving enterprise clients.[10]
2025
Capterra Best Free Accounting Software
Listed in Capterra's Best Free Accounting Software 2025 report as "Highly Rated for Customer Support", with a 4.4/5 rating from 90+ reviews at the time.[14]
2026
Capterra Shortlist
Included in Capterra's 2026 Shortlist for Accounting Software.[15]
Who built it
ProfitBooks Solutions and its founders
ProfitBooks is made by ProfitBooks Solutions Private Limited, with its India office at Madhuban Society, Koregaon Park, Pune. The App Store lists the same company as the app's seller.[7][16]
Harshal Katre
Co-founder and CEO
Named as co-founder in ProfitBooks' 2014 award announcement and as CEO in a 2021 interview on its blog, where he says he looks after sales and marketing.[12][10]
CA Mohnish Katre
Co-founder
A Chartered Accountant described on ProfitBooks' blog as "a finance expert and co-founder of ProfitBooks, with over 15 years of experience helping SMEs streamline their financial operations".[11]
Why they built it
"…every business needs accounting software. Still, unfortunately, most software is very complex to use, and only seasoned accountants operate them."
"I co-founded ProfitBooks because I saw too many small businesses struggling with accounting software that either required a CA degree or cost more than their marketing budget."
Mohnish Katre adds that the team built ProfitBooks "specifically for the Indian market" with "pricing that doesn't require venture funding", after implementing international accounting products for Indian clients and finding they did not handle GST, UPI payments or owners without an accounting background.[11]
Features
What ProfitBooks covers
Nine areas, as listed on ProfitBooks' homepage, India GST page and pricing page. Some features depend on the plan.[1][3][2]
Invoicing and billing
Invoices with automatic tax calculation, estimates, quotations, sales orders and delivery notes, invoice templates, automated email reminders, a customer portal and payment links on invoices.
GST and tax
CGST, SGST and IGST worked out from the customer's state, HSN/SAC codes pre-loaded, place-of-supply tracking, credit and debit notes, and GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B reports, with filing listed from the Essential plan.
Banking
Bank statement import as CSV or Excel from any bank, automatic matching against invoices, bills and expenses, flags for unmatched entries, and contra entries.
Inventory and production
Purchase orders, multiple warehouses, stock transfers, raw material consumption, production of finished goods and wastage, with warehouse-wise stock reports.
Receivables and payables
Receipts against invoices, advance allocation, vendor payments and advances, ageing reports and one-click customer and vendor statements.
Accounting
Chart of accounts, journal entries, project-wise categorisation and access for an auditor or accountant; the software posts entries in the background as invoices and expenses are recorded.
Reports
Balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow, day book, ledgers, sales, expense and vendor ageing, tax reports, employee reports and an audit trail.
Users and roles
Multiple users with role-based access, including a sales role that can create invoices without seeing the P&L, and read-only access for an accountant.
Web and mobile
A browser app plus iOS and Android apps, with payroll and multi-currency on higher plans and WhatsApp integration as an add-on.
Positioning
ProfitBooks vs Tally and Zoho Books
ProfitBooks calls itself "a great alternative to complex accounting software such as Tally, Quickbooks, Xero or Sage", and its India page offers GST accounting "without the complexity of Tally or the limitations of an Excel sheet".[5][3] The table below sets out what each vendor publishes about itself. It is not a ranking or a feature test.
| ProfitBooks | TallyPrime | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it is delivered | Cloud, in the browser, with iOS and Android apps.[1] | Downloadable software, with rental, monthly subscription and Cloud Access options listed.[19] | Online accounting software.[18] |
| Free option | Startup plan, free with no time limit: 1 user, 10 invoices a month.[2] | 7-day free trial.[19] | Free plan while financial-year revenue stays within ₹25 lakh, plus a 14-day trial.[18] |
| First paid price published | Essential: ₹2,499 a year, excluding GST.[2] | "Price starts at ₹750 + 18% GST", without naming the plan or period.[19] | Standard: ₹749 a month billed annually (₹899 monthly), per organisation, excluding taxes.[18] |
| Users on the first paid plan | 1 user (10 on Growth, 25 on SMB Pro).[2] | Not stated on the pricing page.[19] | 3 users on Standard.[18] |
| Number of paid plans | 3 (Essential, Growth, SMB Pro).[2] | Not set out on the pricing page.[19] | 5 (Standard to Ultimate).[18] |
From each vendor's pricing page on 29 October 2026. Prices exclude GST unless stated, and plans with different limits are not like-for-like. On its invoicing page, ProfitBooks also compares itself with Zoho Invoice (a separate product from Zoho Books) and Vyapar; those are ProfitBooks' claims about other products.[4]
Who it is for
Small businesses in India and abroad
ProfitBooks has separate pages for GST accounting in India and Australia and VAT accounting in the UAE and South Africa, and prices in both rupees and dollars.[2]
Small businesses without an accountant on staff
ProfitBooks names freelancers, retailers, manufacturers, service providers, sole proprietors and growing SMBs, and says no accounting background is needed.[1]
Traders and small manufacturers
In a 2021 interview, Harshal Katre said ProfitBooks primarily serves the trading industry, with small-scale manufacturers using it for inventory management.[10]
Businesses outside India
ProfitBooks says it can be used in any country, with GST for India and VAT for the UAE among supported taxes, and publishes pages for Australia, the UAE and South Africa.[2]
The business's CA or auditor
Can be invited as a read-only user to pull GST and financial reports; auditor access is listed on the SMB Pro plan.[2]
Software resellers
The reseller programme is open to distributors already selling SME products such as Tally, Marg ERP or CRM systems, with up to 50% commission.[9]
Pricing
ProfitBooks pricing and plans
Four plans, as published in October 2026. Indian prices are billed annually (SMB Pro also monthly) and exclude GST, which is added at checkout. New sign-ups start on a free SMB Pro trial and move to the free Startup plan when it ends.[2]
| Plan | India (excl. GST) | USD | Users | Invoices | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Startup | Free | Free | 1 | 10 a month | 10 journal vouchers a month, basic reports, 1 warehouse, up to 50 customers |
| Essential | ₹2,499 / year | $9.95 / month or $99 / year | 1 | 1,000 a year | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, invoice reminders and signature, WhatsApp integration (add-on) |
| Growth | ₹4,999 / year | $20 / month or $199 / year | 10 | 5,000 a year | Payroll, multi-currency, 3 warehouses |
| SMB Pro | ₹7,500 / year or ₹750 / month | $35 / month or $349 / year | 25, with custom roles | Unlimited | Unlimited warehouses, projects, auditor access |
- Each plan includes the one below it. Essential adds to Startup, Growth to Essential, and SMB Pro to Growth.[2]
- Payment: credit and debit cards, net banking in India, American Express and PayPal. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.[2]
- Leaving: transactions export from the ledger report, and most reports export to Excel.[2]
Security
How ProfitBooks says it protects data
- Hosting
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure.
- In transit
- 256-bit encrypted HTTPS connections.
- At rest
- AES-256 encryption; ProfitBooks says its employees cannot access sensitive financial data.
- Network
- Firewalls, DDoS protection, password brute-force detection and centralised authentication.
- Backups
- Database backed up every hour, with backups kept for two weeks.
- Exit
- Transactions can be exported from the ledger report, and most reports export to Excel.
From ProfitBooks' Trust & data security and pricing pages.[6][2]
Support
Apps, help and training
- Mobile apps: iOS and iPadOS (requires iOS 14 or later) and Android.[16][17]
- Chat: in-app chat in three languages, Monday to Friday.[1][2]
- Email: support@profitbooks.net, listed on the pricing page.[2]
- Self-help: a help centre with how-to guides, a YouTube channel with demos, webinars and Hindi training videos.[1][8]
Getting started with ProfitBooks
Sign-up is at profitbookshq.com and needs no credit card. ProfitBooks also publishes free tools, including a GST invoice generator and a GST calculator.[1]
FAQs
ProfitBooks FAQs
What is ProfitBooks?+
ProfitBooks is cloud accounting software for small businesses, made by ProfitBooks Solutions Private Limited of Pune. It covers GST invoicing, expenses, bank reconciliation, inventory, receivables and payables, and 45+ financial and tax reports, and runs in the browser and on iOS and Android.
How long has ProfitBooks been around?+
ProfitBooks was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Pune, Maharashtra, according to its own website, which makes it about 14 years old in 2026. Its blog records a Hot100 Startups award in December 2014 and a place in Village Capital's FinTech India 2015 accelerator.
Who founded ProfitBooks?+
ProfitBooks' website names Harshal Katre as co-founder and CEO, and CA Mohnish Katre, a Chartered Accountant, as co-founder. The company is ProfitBooks Solutions Private Limited, with its office in Koregaon Park, Pune.
Is ProfitBooks free?+
Yes, the Startup plan is free with no time limit for a single user, with 10 invoices and 10 journal vouchers a month, basic reports, one warehouse and up to 50 customers. New sign-ups start on a free SMB Pro trial and move to Startup when it ends.
How much does ProfitBooks cost in India?+
In India, Essential costs ₹2,499 a year, Growth ₹4,999 a year and SMB Pro ₹7,500 a year or ₹750 a month, all excluding GST. In US dollars, plans run from $9.95 a month to $35 a month. Prices are as published in October 2026.
Does ProfitBooks file GST returns?+
ProfitBooks lists GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B on its paid plans, starting with Essential, and says invoices are categorised by GST type, place of supply and HSN/SAC code so return data is ready to review. A CA can also be given read-only access to the GST reports.
How is ProfitBooks different from Tally?+
ProfitBooks is cloud software used in a browser or mobile app, with a free plan and annual plans from ₹2,499. TallyPrime is downloadable software, with cloud access offered as an option. ProfitBooks positions itself as an alternative to "complex accounting software such as Tally" and says it is designed for business owners without an accounting background.
How is ProfitBooks different from Zoho Books?+
Zoho Books is priced per organisation per month, from Standard at ₹749 a month billed annually for 3 users, with a free plan for businesses with revenue up to ₹25 lakh. ProfitBooks is priced per year in India, from ₹2,499 for one user to ₹7,500 for 25 users on SMB Pro, with a free single-user plan that has no revenue limit stated.
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Sources
- [1] ProfitBooks: Official website
- [2] ProfitBooks: Pricing
- [3] ProfitBooks: GST accounting software in India
- [4] ProfitBooks: Invoicing software
- [5] ProfitBooks: Accounting software
- [6] ProfitBooks: Trust & data security
- [7] ProfitBooks: Contact
- [8] ProfitBooks: Help centre
- [9] ProfitBooks: Reseller programme
- [10] ProfitBooks blog: GoodFirms interviews CEO Harshal Katre (13 Aug 2021)
- [11] ProfitBooks blog: Top online accounting software in India (5 Sep 2025)
- [12] ProfitBooks blog: Hot100 Startups 2014 award (16 Dec 2014)
- [13] ProfitBooks blog: Top 3 FinTech companies in India (25 Feb 2016)
- [14] ProfitBooks blog: Capterra Best Free Accounting Software 2025 (18 Sep 2025)
- [15] ProfitBooks blog: Capterra 2026 Shortlist (13 May 2026)
- [16] App Store: ProfitBooks Accounting App
- [17] Google Play: ProfitBooks
- [18] Zoho Books: Pricing (India)
- [19] Tally Solutions: TallyPrime pricing
All sources checked on 29 October 2026.
This page is part of an independent directory of software used by CA firms. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by ProfitBooks Solutions Private Limited. Information is taken from ProfitBooks' public sources as of 29 October 2026; confirm details with ProfitBooks. Product names, logos and trademarks belong to their owners, including Tally Solutions and Zoho Corporation.