Books entered, reconciled and closed every month, for traders, family businesses and service firms across the city
Monthly bookkeeping means your purchases, sales, expenses and bank entries are recorded and checked every month, not rebuilt in a rush before the tax audit. For a Kolkata business it also means the GST figures for your state code 19 registration come from closed books, and the professional tax deducted from staff salaries is in the ledger before it is paid. Our team works from Lake Town and serves clients across the city. Plans start at ₹2,199 a month, excluding GST.
| Item | What it means for a Kolkata business |
|---|---|
| Service | Recording, reconciling and closing your books every month |
| Who it suits | Traders, family-run firms, small manufacturers, IT and service firms, shops and clinics |
| Software | Tally, Zoho Books or another package you license |
| GST link | Books closed before GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are prepared for your West Bengal (code 19) GSTIN |
| Payroll link | West Bengal professional tax deducted from salaries recorded and tracked |
| Monthly output | Bank reconciliation, trial balance, P&L, ageing of debtors and creditors, open-items note |
| Fee | From ₹2,199/month, excluding GST |
| Payment | 50% upfront, 50% on delivery |
Every month we take your bills, sales data and bank statements, enter them in your accounting software, match every bank line to an entry, and close the month. You get back a set of books you can rely on and a short list of questions about anything we could not explain, such as an unknown credit in the bank or a supplier bill with no matching payment.
The point of doing it monthly is that problems are small when they are found. A missing purchase bill noticed in May is a phone call to the supplier. The same bill noticed in the following March, when the auditor asks for it, is a lost input tax credit and an argument about whose fault it was.
The work does not stop at data entry. Each close includes a review: are party balances plausible, are expense heads used the same way every month, does the GST in the books agree with what the portal shows for your suppliers? That review is what separates bookkeeping from typing.
Textile, hardware, electrical, paper and FMCG traders often run high volumes of purchase and sales bills, credit sales to retailers in the districts and neighbouring states, and supplier payments that are part cash discount, part credit note. Their books need tight party ledgers and a stock figure that someone checks at month-end, not only at year-end.
Where several family members run the business, we agree at the start which accounts are business accounts and how drawings, family loans and capital introduced are to be recorded. After that the monthly close keeps those heads clean, which helps when a bank asks for financials or when the family later restructures the business into a company or LLP.
Software, design, BPO and consulting firms usually have fewer bills but more complexity per bill: foreign-currency invoices, export receipts under a LUT, subscription software paid by card, contractor payments that attract TDS, and payroll that is the biggest expense line. We book these to a structure that will survive a statutory audit and a due-diligence request.
Clinics, coaching centres, restaurants, small manufacturers in the industrial belts and retailers with one or two outlets make up the rest. Their need is usually simple: someone reliable who closes the month on time and tells them, in plain terms, where the money went.
Bookkeeping itself is not a filing, but several West Bengal and central registrations depend on it. We keep the records each one draws on.
| Registration | What the books must support |
|---|---|
| GST (state code 19) | Outward supplies and input tax credit for each West Bengal GSTIN, ready before GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are prepared |
| West Bengal professional tax | Tax deducted from salaries under the employer registration, and the business's own enrolment liability, under the West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1979 |
| KMC trade licence | The Certificate of Enlistment renewal and fee are recorded as a business expense; we track the renewal date as an open item |
| TDS | Deductions on rent, contractor and professional payments booked with the deductee's PAN, ready for the quarterly return |
| Company or LLP filings | Year-end figures for the ROC come from the same closed monthly books |
If any of these registrations is missing, we tell you at onboarding. A new GSTIN goes through our GST registration in Kolkata service, professional tax through West Bengal professional tax, and the KMC Certificate of Enlistment through our Kolkata trade licence service. Our West Bengal professional tax guide explains the enrolment and registration certificates in more detail.
For the first month we also need the last closed trial balance, the opening stock and the list of debtors and creditors, so that opening balances are right.
Your team uploads the month's papers to a shared folder, or sends them to our Lake Town office. We check the bundle against the checklist and chase what is missing in the first few days, not the night before the return.
Sales, purchases, expenses, receipts and payments are entered in your software against an agreed chart of accounts. Party names follow one spelling, and every purchase carries the supplier's GSTIN.
Each bank account is matched line by line. Cash is checked against the cash book. Major customer and supplier balances are compared with their statements when they send one.
A senior reviewer looks for odd items: a supplier paid twice, an expense booked to the wrong head, input tax credit claimed on a bill the supplier has not reported. You get one consolidated list of questions.
Once you answer, the month is closed and the reports go out. If you have asked us to file returns, GST and professional tax figures are taken from these closed books.
| Stage | Typical timing |
|---|---|
| Onboarding and chart of accounts | First one to two weeks |
| Monthly document collection | First few days after month-end |
| Entry, reconciliation and review | Within the agreed close window, sized to your volume |
| Close and reports | On the close date agreed at onboarding, ahead of your GST filing dates |
| Backlog catch-up, if needed | Quoted and scheduled separately before the retainer starts |
Monthly GST filers generally file GSTR-1 by the 11th and GSTR-3B by the 20th of the following month, and quarterly filers under the QRMP scheme follow their own dates. We set your close date to sit before whichever applies to you.
There is no government fee for bookkeeping. The only outside costs are your own software licence, which you hold directly with the vendor, and any tax, interest or late fee due on returns, which is payable by your business to the department, not to us.
| Plan | Fee (excluding GST) | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | From ₹2,199/month | A small business or practice with a modest volume of entries, one bank account and one GSTIN |
| Standard | From ₹6,999/month | A growing trader or service firm with more entries, several bank accounts and party reconciliations |
| Pro | From ₹17,999/month | Inventory-led businesses, several GSTINs, export billing or detailed MIS |
Fees exclude GST at 18%. Payment is 50% upfront and 50% on delivery for each month or agreed period. The plan is fixed after we see one month of real records. Catch-up of old periods, GST and TDS return filing, and payroll processing are quoted separately if you want them.
| Frequency | What we do in the books |
|---|---|
| Every month | Entries, bank reconciliation, review, close, reports; GST and professional tax figures ready |
| Every quarter | TDS deductions listed by section and party for the quarterly return; party balance confirmations for large accounts |
| Every year | Stock and fixed asset schedules, depreciation, provisions and a clean trial balance handed to your auditor |
Companies have one more point to watch: books kept in software must have the audit trail (edit log) feature switched on and left on, under Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, for financial years from 1 April 2023. We check this at onboarding. Year-end work continues into book finalization and annual financial statements, and companies can pair it with our annual compliance for private limited companies in Kolkata.
None of these is dramatic on its own. Together they are why year-end becomes expensive. A monthly close catches each one while it is still a small fix.
| Factor | Full-time staff accountant | Part-time local accountant | CorporateWalla monthly service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Salary, PF, leave cover | Low, but billed by the visit | Fixed monthly fee |
| Review | Depends on the person | Usually none | Every close reviewed by a senior |
| Continuity | Gap when the person leaves | Gap when the person is busy | Team cover; your data stays in your software |
| GST and professional tax | Depends on training | Often handled late | Records ready before filing dates |
| Escalation | To you | To you | CA and CS team in the same firm |
Many family businesses keep a trusted in-house person for day-to-day entries and use us for the review and close. That works well and is priced on what we actually do.
Books of account are required under the Income-tax Act (the books-of-account provision that was section 44AA under the Income-tax Act, 1961, and is carried into the Income-tax Act, 2025), under section 128 of the Companies Act, 2013 for companies, and under section 35 of the CGST Act, 2017 and the West Bengal GST Act for registered persons. Companies must also keep the audit trail on accounting software under Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014.
In West Bengal, professional tax is levied under the West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1979. Employers who deduct the tax from salaries need a certificate of registration, and persons liable to pay the tax on their own account need a certificate of enrolment.
Sources: India Code (West Bengal Act VI of 1979); GST portal; Directorate of Commercial Taxes, West Bengal; Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
A partnership firm trading in hardware and sanitary fittings from Bowbazar keeps its books in Tally. On 30 September its cash book shows a bank balance of ₹4,82,600, but the bank statement shows ₹5,36,100. Here is how the reconciliation clears the ₹53,500 gap.
| Item | Effect | ₹ |
|---|---|---|
| Balance as per books | 4,82,600 | |
| Cheques issued to suppliers, not yet presented | Add | 68,000 |
| NEFT from a Howrah retailer, received but not entered | Add | 24,500 |
| Cheque from a customer deposited on 30 September, not yet credited | Less | (35,000) |
| Bank charges and GST on charges, not entered | Less | (1,180) |
| Interest on OD for September, not entered | Less | (2,820) |
| Balance as per bank statement | 5,36,100 |
Working: 4,82,600 + 68,000 + 24,500 − 35,000 − 1,180 − 2,820 = 5,36,100. The two timing items (the unpresented cheques and the deposit in transit) stay on the reconciliation and should clear in October. The other three are real omissions, so we pass entries for them: the receipt against the retailer's account, bank charges with the GST on them claimed as input tax credit, and OD interest. After those entries the book balance becomes ₹5,03,100, and the only difference left is ₹33,000 of timing items.
Illustrative figures for explanation only.
National page: monthly bookkeeping. Other cities: Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. In Kolkata: Zoho Books accounting, GST registration, private limited company registration, auditor appointment and annual compliance. Broader support: accounting and bookkeeping, Tally accounting, e-commerce accounting, MIS reporting and payroll management. Guide: bookkeeping services in India.
Our Starter plan begins at ₹2,199 a month for a business with a modest number of entries and one GSTIN. Standard starts at ₹6,999 and Pro at ₹17,999 a month for higher volumes, inventory or several registrations. All fees exclude GST, and we confirm the plan after looking at one month of your actual records.
Yes. Many trading clients start with a bundle of purchase bills, a sales register and bank statements. A staff member photographs or scans the month's papers, or drops them at our Lake Town office, and we enter them in Tally or Zoho Books. Over a few months we usually move the firm to digital invoices from its own billing software.
Return preparation and filing is a separate line in the engagement, because some clients prefer their existing tax consultant to file. If you want us to file, we prepare GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B from the closed books, so the return matches the ledger. See our GST return filing service.
It can be. If you employ staff, the deduction from salaries, the monthly or periodic payment and the employer's return sit naturally inside the payroll part of the close. Getting the employer registration and the business's own enrolment in place is a one-time task under our West Bengal professional tax service.
Yes, in three ways: invoices are in foreign currency and must be booked at a consistent rate, receipts land net of bank charges, and zero-rated exports under a LUT have to be tracked separately from domestic sales. We set up the ledgers for this in the first month and reconcile each foreign inward remittance to its invoice.
Whichever you own. Most Kolkata traders we see run Tally; newer service firms often use Zoho Books. The licence stays in your name, so the data stays yours if you ever change accountants. We can also move you from Tally to Zoho Books if you want cloud access.
We agree a close date at onboarding, set early enough for your GST filing dates. It depends on how quickly your team sends the month's bills and statements, which is why the document checklist is the first thing we agree.
Not safely. Opening balances from unreconciled books carry old errors forward. We first bring the backlog up to date as a separate catch-up job, priced on volume, and then begin the monthly retainer from a clean, reconciled opening position.
Yes. Our head office is at 129A Bangur Avenue, Block A, Lake Town, Kolkata 700055. Most clients meet us once at the start to agree the chart of accounts and then share records online every month.
A closed set of books, the bank reconciliation, a trial balance, a profit and loss statement, a list of debtors and creditors by age, and a short note of open items we need you to answer. MIS reports with budgets or branch splits can be added.
Tell us what you need and a real CA calls you back, with no scripts and no transfers. Call 72783 76654. Mon - Sat, 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM IST.
Reviewed by CorporateWalla's CA and CS team · Last Updated 23 October 2026 · · Sources: India Code: West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1979, Directorate of Commercial Taxes, West Bengal, GST portal, Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Canonical: https://corporatewalla.com/kolkata/monthly-bookkeeping
