Entech Products

1

Migration Scope & Data

Decision Point 1: Historical Data Migration Depth HIGH PRIORITY

How much historical data from QuickBooks Desktop should we migrate to Zoho Books?

Lists Only (Fresh Start)

Migrate Customers, Vendors, Items, Chart of Accounts. Start transactions fresh from go-live date.

Lists + Opening Balances

Migrate lists plus account balances, AR/AP aging, and inventory quantities as of cutover date.

Current Fiscal Year

Migrate lists, balances, and all transactions from current fiscal year for reporting continuity.

Multiple Years

Migrate 2-3+ years of transaction history. Higher complexity for QB Desktop migrations.

Recommendation: For QuickBooks Online, "Lists + Opening Balances" provides clean data without the complexity of full transaction migration. Keep QBO accessible for historical lookups during transition period.

Questions or Comments:

Decision Point 2: Chart of Accounts Approach

How should we handle your Chart of Accounts structure?

Migrate Existing Structure

Import your current QB Chart of Accounts as-is into Zoho Books.

Optimize & Migrate

Review current structure, clean up unused accounts, optimize for manufacturing/inventory, then migrate.

Fresh Chart of Accounts

Start with Zoho's manufacturing template and customize for Entech's needs. Map old accounts for opening balances only.

Questions or Comments:

2

Inventory & Kitting Strategy

Decision Point 3: Inventory Management Approach HIGH PRIORITY

Entech buys and resells parts/materials. Which inventory solution fits best?

Zoho Books Inventory (Basic)

Track buy/sell inventory within Books. No assembly/kitting capability. Best for simple product resale.

Zoho Books + Zoho Inventory

Full inventory management with Composite Items (assemblies/kits). Raw materials auto-decrement when finished goods are produced or sold.

Need to Evaluate Further

Want to see both options demonstrated before deciding on complexity level.

Recommendation: Based on your clarification that you don't have physical inventory and primarily buy/resell parts and materials, Zoho Books basic inventory (item/part number tracking) is likely sufficient. No need for composite items or assembly tracking.

Questions or Comments:

Decision Point 4: Bill of Materials Complexity

Help us understand your assembly/kitting complexity for proper setup.

Approximately how many finished goods (assembled products) do you sell?

Average number of components per finished good?

Do you have multi-level assemblies (sub-assemblies within assemblies)?

Do you track serial numbers or lot/batch numbers?

Additional Context:

Decision Point 5: Warehouse & Location Tracking

Do you need to track inventory across multiple locations?

Single Location

All inventory in one warehouse/facility. No location tracking needed.

Multiple Warehouses

Track inventory quantities and transfers between multiple locations.

Warehouse Bins/Zones

Need bin-level tracking within warehouse(s) for picking optimization.

Questions or Comments:

3

Billing & Invoicing Workflows

Decision Point 6: Progress Billing Requirements CRITICAL

You mentioned billing progress bills frequently, both inside and outside of projects. Let's define exactly how this works.

Project-Based Progress Billing

Bill milestones or percentages against a defined project scope (e.g., 25% at design, 50% at production, 25% at delivery).

Deposit + Final Invoice

Collect upfront deposit (e.g., 50%), then final invoice for balance upon completion/shipment.

Retainer / Drawdown

Collect retainer upfront, invoice against retainer as work is performed, apply credits to final invoice.

Partial Shipment Invoicing

Invoice for quantities shipped as orders are partially fulfilled over time.

Time & Materials

Bill periodically based on hours worked and materials consumed.

Context: Zoho Books supports Retainer Invoices natively. For progress billing outside of projects, we typically use a Quote → Retainer Invoice → Payment → Final Invoice workflow where the retainer is automatically applied.

Please describe your typical progress billing scenario:

Decision Point 7: "Outside of Project" Billing Clarification HIGH PRIORITY

You specifically mentioned progress billing "outside of a project." Help us understand this scenario.

What does "outside of a project" mean for Entech?

For non-project orders, what triggers a progress bill?

What's your typical deposit percentage or amount?

Additional Context:

Decision Point 8: Quote-to-Invoice Workflow

How do sales opportunities typically flow through your system?

Quote → Sales Order → Invoice

Full workflow with sales order stage for production/fulfillment tracking before invoicing.

Quote → Invoice (Direct)

Convert accepted quotes directly to invoices. Simpler for straightforward sales.

Quote → Retainer → Final Invoice

Quote accepted triggers retainer invoice for deposit, then final invoice upon completion.

Mixed (Depends on Order Type)

Different workflows for different order types (custom vs. stock, large vs. small).

Questions or Comments:

4

Banking & Reconciliation

Decision Point 9: Bank Feed Connections

Which bank and credit card accounts should connect to Zoho Books for automatic transaction import?

List your bank accounts (checking, savings, etc.)

List credit cards used for business expenses

Auto-Categorization Rules

Set up rules to automatically categorize recurring transactions (rent, utilities, subscriptions).

Auto-Match to Invoices/Bills

Automatically match bank deposits to customer payments and withdrawals to vendor payments.

Questions or Comments:

Decision Point 10: Sales Tax Handling

How do you currently handle sales tax, and what's needed going forward?

Single Tax Rate

Sell primarily in one state/jurisdiction with a single tax rate.

Multi-State (Manual Rates)

Sell in multiple states, manage tax rates manually in Zoho Books.

Avalara Integration

Automated tax calculation and filing via Avalara (additional subscription).

Primarily Tax-Exempt Sales

Most sales are B2B or exempt; minimal tax collection required.

Which states do you collect/remit sales tax in?

Questions or Comments:

5

Integrations & Connected Apps

Decision Point 11: Zoho Ecosystem Integrations

Which Zoho apps should integrate with Books/Finance?

Zoho CRM

Sync customers, quotes, and sales orders between CRM and Books. See financial data in CRM.

Zoho Inventory

Full inventory management with composite items, shipping integration, multi-warehouse.

Zoho Expense

Employee expense reporting, receipt scanning, approval workflows.

Zoho Projects

Project-based billing, time tracking, milestone invoicing.

Zoho Analytics

Advanced reporting and dashboards beyond built-in Books reports.

Note: With Zoho One, you have access to all these apps. The question is which integrations to prioritize for Phase 1 vs. later phases.

Questions or Comments:

Decision Point 12: Shipping & Fulfillment

Do you need shipping carrier integration for labels and tracking?

FedEx

Real-time rates, label printing, tracking integration.

UPS

Real-time rates, label printing, tracking integration.

USPS

For smaller packages and cost-effective shipping options.

Freight/LTL

Need freight shipping for larger/heavier orders.

Not Needed / Manual

Handle shipping outside of Zoho or manually create labels.

Questions or Comments:

6

Implementation & Next Steps

Decision Point 13: Implementation Priority

What's most important to get working first?

Core Accounting First

Get invoicing, payments, and basic reporting working before tackling inventory complexity.

Inventory/Kitting First

Set up composite items and inventory tracking as the foundation, then build accounting on top.

Billing Workflow First

Nail down the progress billing and retainer workflow before migration, since that's the critical concern.

Parallel Setup

Configure all components simultaneously for a single "big bang" go-live.

Recommendation: Given the progress billing concern, we recommend validating the billing workflow first (can do this in a test environment), then proceed with inventory setup and data migration in parallel.

Questions or Comments:

Decision Point 14: Training & Support Approach

How would you like to learn the new system?

Self-Guided with Documentation

We provide setup and documentation; you explore and learn independently.

Live Training Sessions

Scheduled training calls to walk through workflows, answer questions in real-time.

Hybrid (Docs + Live Sessions)

Documentation for reference, plus scheduled sessions for hands-on training and Q&A.

Questions or Comments:

Additional Notes, Questions, or Concerns

Anything else we should know as we plan this implementation?

Purpose of This Guide

Your Data Stays Private

Current State Summary

Migration Scope & Data

Inventory & Kitting Strategy

Billing & Invoicing Workflows

Banking & Reconciliation

Integrations & Connected Apps

Implementation & Next Steps

Ready to Submit?

How to Submit

Entech Products

Purpose of This Guide

Your Data Stays Private

Current State Summary

Migration Scope & Data

Inventory & Kitting Strategy

Billing & Invoicing Workflows

Banking & Reconciliation

Integrations & Connected Apps

Implementation & Next Steps

Ready to Submit?

How to Submit

Entech - Zoho Books & Finance Summary