Zembook vs myBillBook
This one really comes down to a single question, and it is not about features: do you want your books in somebody's cloud or as a file on your own computer? Both answers are defensible, and almost everything else follows from whichever you pick.
Choose Zembook if
- You want the books on your own machine, as a file you can copy and keep.
- Billing must not stop when the connection does - a counter taking payments in person cannot wait for broadband.
- You need real double-entry books, not billing with reports on top.
- You are coming off Tally or BUSY and want those years read in rather than retyped.
- You would rather buy the software once than subscribe to it permanently.
Stay on myBillBook if
- You want the same books open from more than one location, which a LAN cannot do.
- You would rather nobody in the business ever had to think about a backup.
- The phone is where the work actually happens, and the computer is secondary.
- You want staff on it from their own devices without setting up a network.
Side by side
Zembook’s column is what our software does today. The myBillBook column is what they publish, checked August 2026— editions and pricing change, so confirm anything that decides your choice on their own site. Rows marked myBillBook wins are the ones where the honest answer is that they are better.
| Question | Zembook | myBillBook |
|---|---|---|
| Where does my data live? | A database file on your own computer, one per company. You back it up and copy it yourself. | On their servers. Reaching your own history means an active account and a connection. |
| Does it work with the internet off? | Yes. The books are a file on your own computer and every screen works with the internet off. | Made for connected use; offline working is limited and syncs when the connection returns. |
| Same books from two cities at oncemyBillBook wins | No. Sharing is over your own LAN, which covers one premises well and several locations not at all. | Yes - that is what a cloud product is for, and it does it properly. |
| Is it proper double-entry accounting? | Yes. Every voucher posts both sides, and Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, P&L and Cash Flow come out of the same ledger with drill-down to the voucher. | Billing, stock and receivables, with accounting reports built over them. |
| Can it bring my Tally or BUSY books in? | Imports directly from Tally's XML export and from BUSY, including several past financial years in one go. | Item and party lists from spreadsheets. Not a Tally or BUSY company migration. |
| GST beyond invoices | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B JSON, GSTR-2B reconciliation against your own purchases, e-Way Bill, e-Invoice, TDS register, ITR computation, depreciation. | GST invoices and GST reports for filing. |
| BackupsmyBillBook wins | Yours to take. That is control, and it is also a job you now own - a business that never takes one has no backup at all. | Handled for you on their servers, which for many shops is the honest right answer. |
| Barcode billing at the counter | Scanning built into billing, and barcode labels printed from the item masters. | Barcode scanning is supported on the paid plans. |
| What does it cost over five years? | Android free. Windows free for 90 days, then a monthly plan or a one-time lifetime licence that does not renew. | A subscription, for as long as you need to read your own books. |
Questions people ask
- Is Zembook cheaper than myBillBook?
- Over a long enough period the lifetime licence is, because it stops. Over one year a subscription may well be less. The honest comparison is not this year's price - it is what you are paying in year five, and whether you can still open your books after you stop.
- Can I use Zembook on my phone like myBillBook?
- There is a free Android app, but it is a companion to the Windows desktop rather than the main place to work. If the phone is where the business actually runs, myBillBook fits that better.
- Can I import my myBillBook data?
- Not as a company migration - Zembook imports Tally and BUSY directly, and item and party lists from CSV. Most businesses move at the start of a financial year with masters and opening balances.
- What happens to my data if I stop paying?
- With the lifetime licence there is nothing to stop paying. On the monthly plan the licence lapses, but the company database is a file on your machine and stays there either way.