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Virtual accounts for business collections: how Collect by Zoho Payments works
A supplier receives two bank transfers for ₹25,000 on the same day. Several customers owe that amount, and neither payment includes an invoice reference. The finance team needs more information before it can record who has paid.
But assigning a separate virtual account to each customer lets the finance team identify incoming payments by the account number used. Collect by Zoho Payments helps businesses in India organize and track bank-transfer collections this way.
Virtual accounts for business collections: how Collect by Zoho Payments works
What is a virtual account?
A virtual account number is an identifier used to track incoming payments. It lets a business give different customers different account numbers without opening a separate current account for each.
In Collect, virtual accounts are mapped to your Zoho Payments account. Customers transfer money using the account number, IFSC, and beneficiary details you share with them. Each incoming payment is recorded against the virtual account that received it.
How collections work
Once Collect is enabled for your business, the process follows four steps:
Create a virtual account. Add a description, select a customer where relevant, and include a reference such as an order or project number for your team's records.
Share the account details. Send the customer the account number, IFSC, and beneficiary information, along with any payment conditions.
Receive the bank transfer. The customer adds the account as a beneficiary and pays using NEFT, RTGS, or IMPS. Their bank may apply a waiting period before allowing payments to a new beneficiary.
Track the payment. Open the virtual account's Payment History to view the amount, date and time, status, and payment ID.
Funds collected through virtual accounts are paid out to your linked bank account according to your regular payout schedule.
Managing collections with Collect
You can organize virtual accounts around your customers and projects, set conditions for accepting payments, and track incoming transfers from the dashboard.
Assign accounts to customers or projects
Assign a dedicated virtual account to a customer to track their payments together. This suits businesses receiving repeated payments from the same buyers, particularly when several customers pay similar amounts.
For project-based collections, you can share one virtual account with multiple customers and review their payments against the same project. A construction business, for example, could use a separate account for each project. Retain payment references or remittance details to identify individual payers within a shared account.
A customer may also use the same virtual account to pay several invoices. Ask them to specify which invoices each transfer covers so your team can apply the payment correctly.
Set payment limits and expiry dates
You can set minimum and maximum payment amounts and an expiration date for a virtual account. An expiry date can define the collection window for a project, while amount limits control the size of payments accepted.
Payments outside those limits or after expiry will fail. Include the conditions when sharing account details so customers know how much they can transfer and by when.
For the setup steps, see creating and sharing virtual accounts.
Track incoming payments
Each account's Payment History brings its incoming transfers together. You can open an individual payment for more detail, or find virtual accounts using filters such as customer, reference, account number, and status.
If a customer asks about a recent transfer, allow for bank processing time. A completed transfer may take 3–4 hours to appear in Zoho Payments.
Keep the payment ID and any customer-supplied reference with the related invoice or project record. These details help your team follow up on partial payments or resolve questions about what a transfer covers.
Refunds: Payments received through virtual accounts must be refunded offline. Record the returned amount and its reference against the original payment so the collection and refund can be traced together.
Getting started with Collect by Zoho Payments
If you are setting up a new Zoho Payments account, complete the required business verification during onboarding. Our article on KYC for merchants explains what this verification involves.
Explore Collect by Zoho Payments to see how virtual accounts can fit your collection process. To enable Collect or ask about using it for your business, contact our support team.
Frequently Asked Questions
A virtual account provides a unique account number for tracking incoming payments without opening a separate current account. In Collect, payments are recorded against the virtual account that receives them, then paid out to your linked bank account according to your regular payout schedule.
No. You can assign an account to one customer or share it with multiple customers, such as those paying toward the same project. A dedicated account helps you track one customer’s payments. With a shared account, retain payment references or remittance details to identify individual payers.
Complete the required verification for your Zoho Payments account and contact our support team to enable virtual accounts for your business. Once enabled, you can create and manage virtual accounts from the Collect module.
Customers can pay using NEFT, RTGS, or IMPS. Share the virtual account number, IFSC, and beneficiary details so they can add the account as a beneficiary and make the transfer through their bank.
