CA-led move from Tally ERP 9 or Tally Prime to Zoho Books for Kolkata family businesses, traders and companies
A Tally to Zoho Books migration for a Kolkata business is finished when three things are true: the Zoho opening trial balance agrees with Tally on the cut-over date, every party's open bills have moved with their original dates, and your CA has reviewed and accepted the opening figures. CorporateWalla's team plans the cut-over, maps ledgers built up over decades of family accounting into Zoho's structure, sets up your West Bengal GSTIN and e-invoicing, and leaves Tally intact as the record of earlier years. Fixed fee from ₹9,999.
| Item | Position for a Kolkata business |
|---|---|
| From | Tally ERP 9 or Tally Prime, including several companies kept in one data folder |
| To | Zoho Books, India edition, under your West Bengal GSTIN (prefix 19) |
| Usual scope | Masters, closing balances and open bills; earlier years stay in Tally |
| Preferred cut-over | 1 April, with a second pass if the year is finalised after the tax audit |
| Audit trail rule | Rule 3(1) proviso, Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014: companies only |
| Keeping old books | Eight financial years for companies, Section 128(5), Companies Act, 2013 |
| Staff | West Bengal professional tax ledgers carried across |
| Our fee | From ₹9,999 one-time, excluding GST; the Zoho subscription is paid to Zoho |
The usual trigger is that more people need to see the books. A trading house that has run on one Tally licence in its Burrabazar office for fifteen years now has a family member running online sales from Salt Lake, a godown supervisor in Howrah and a CA who visits once a quarter. Zoho Books runs in a browser, so the owner, the accountant, the branch and the CA can all work in the same live file, and invoices go out with e-invoice and e-way bill details from the same screen.
The reason to wait is inventory depth. A hosiery or garment unit tracking job work with outside stitching units, bills of material and lot-wise stock may find Zoho Books alone narrower than Tally; Zoho's own Tally migration guide says warehouse and shipment features need the Zoho Inventory add-on. We say so at assessment, and sometimes recommend moving the accounting while production records stay where they are.
Migrating unreconciled books only copies the problem into a new system. Any clean-up is quoted separately and done before the move.
Areas are named only to describe where our clients trade or work. The work is delivered remotely, with sessions at our Lake Town office when that is quicker.
Long-running Kolkata Tally files are accurate in total but personal in structure. Balances sit where they made sense to the person posting them, and the mapping step decides whether Zoho Books ends up readable.
| What we find in Tally | What it usually is | Where it goes in Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| A ledger in a family member's name under Sundry Creditors | A partner's or director's loan, or a capital account | Loan or equity account, once the family confirms |
| Interest-bearing balances with relatives or group concerns | Unsecured loans | Loan accounts, with interest and TDS on interest checked |
| Hundi or broker accounts in trading books | Short-term borrowing or brokerage payable | Liability or vendor account |
| Old suspense or "difference in books" balances | Unreconciled items | Not migrated; cleared in Tally with your CA before cut-over |
| The same party opened twice for two godowns | One customer | One contact, with the location tagged |
None of this can be automated. We go down the ledger list with whoever maintains the file, often at our Lake Town office, and record what each balance represents. Those answers become the mapping sheet your CA reviews later.
It binds companies and nobody else. A company that keeps its books electronically must, from the financial year starting 1 April 2023, use software with an audit trail: a dated log of every edit, kept for each transaction and impossible to switch off (Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, Rule 3(1), proviso). Its auditor then comments on that trail in the audit report under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014.
| Entity | Rule 3(1) audit trail | What we prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Private limited, OPC, public or Section 8 company | Applies | Plan to preserve the Tally edit log, Zoho audit trail settings and a file for the Rule 11(g) review |
| LLP | Not under Rule 3(1) | Archive and migration file as good practice |
| Partnership firm, HUF business or proprietorship | Does not apply | Archive and migration file for tax and GST records |
A company has three more points to cover. Its earlier books stay in Tally, with their edit log, and must remain readable for eight financial years under Section 128(5) of the Companies Act. Rule 3(5) requires daily backups of electronic books on servers physically located in India. Rule 3(6) requires the company to give the Registrar its software provider's details with the financial statements. Our migration file lists all three for your company secretary and auditor; annual compliance for private limited companies in Kolkata covers the filing side.
Based on Section 128(5) of the Companies Act, 2013, Rules 3(1), 3(5) and 3(6) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 and Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014.
Many Kolkata businesses finalise the year only when the tax audit is done, months after 31 March. That need not delay the move, but it changes the plan.
| Approach | When it suits | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April with finalised balances | The audit is done before you go live | Billing stays in Tally until the year is closed |
| 1 April with provisional balances, updated later | You want the new year to start in Zoho Books | A second opening-balance update after the audit adjustments |
| A month-end during the year | There is a pressing reason to move now | The year's accounts and GST returns drawn from two systems; for companies, two audit trails |
For a trading house the opening balance that matters most is not the bank but party-wise receivables. We move them as open bills with their original numbers and dates, so ageing and collection calls continue from day one.
Companies in the data folder, years, voucher volume, godowns, GSTINs and any TDL customisation, with suspense balances and duplicate parties flagged.
A working session, in person or by video, on what each unusual ledger represents.
A written scope: what moves, what stays in Tally, the cut-over date and who signs off.
Organisation, financial year, West Bengal GSTIN, tax rates, invoice series, users and roles.
Accounts first (chart and bank), contacts next, items and opening stock after that, and opening balances with open transactions last, as Zoho's Tally migration guide sets out.
Zoho against Tally for the trial balance, ageing and stock value; then the first invoice, e-invoice and bank reconciliation in Zoho Books, with the Tally period locked.
Your GSTIN starting with 19 stays the same; the set-up around it is rebuilt so the first week's invoices go out correctly.
If you would rather not file the first Zoho-era returns yourself, we can take them on through GST return filing, with e-invoicing set-up handled in the same engagement.
Sources: Notification 10/2023-Central Tax; Rule 138, CGST Rules, 2017; Zoho Books help on e-invoicing and e-way bills. Zoho's plan features change; confirm them on zoho.com/in/books when you subscribe. We do not resell subscriptions.
| Plan | Professional fee | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Essential Migration | From ₹9,999 | One company and one GSTIN: assessment, ledger review, masters, opening balances, Zoho set-up and tie-out |
| Standard Migration | Custom quote | Open bills, current-year transactions, stock items, e-invoicing and the post-audit balance update |
| Family Group Migration | Custom quote | Several companies and firms in one data folder, several godowns or GSTINs, multi-year history |
One-time fee. You pay the Zoho Books subscription directly to Zoho.
Fees shown are professional fees only; GST is added, and third-party or government costs are billed at actuals. Payment is 50% upfront, 50% on delivery.
All fees and charges listed are indicative only and do not constitute a binding offer. Final amounts may vary depending on the volume of work and the complexity involved.
Most Kolkata family businesses have a CA who has known the file for years and will finalise the accounts and the tax audit after the move. We agree the opening figures with them before go-live and hand over:
Your CA then works in Zoho Books through an accountant login instead of waiting for a Tally backup on a pen drive.
Changing software does not interrupt an employer's monthly professional tax duty in West Bengal. Whatever was withheld from March salaries and not yet deposited on the cut-over date becomes an opening liability in Zoho Books, and the old Tally PT ledgers are mapped to one deduction account and one payable account so April's entries follow the same pattern.
Payroll itself normally runs in a separate system that posts summary journals into Zoho Books. The employer's registration, the business's enrolment and the periodic returns are handled by our West Bengal professional tax service; if you plan to run salaries in Zoho's payroll product, see Zoho Payroll set-up.
| In Tally | In Zoho Books |
|---|---|
| Several companies and firms in one data folder | A separate Zoho organisation for each entity |
| Interest calculated on party balances | Not carried; interest is computed and posted as invoices or journals |
| Bill-wise history on settled bills | Stays in the Tally archive; only open bills move |
| Godown-wise stock and job-work tracking | Locations where the plan allows; detailed tracking through Zoho Inventory |
| TDL invoice formats and custom reports | Rebuilt with invoice templates, custom fields and Zoho reports |
| Pre-GST periods | Stay in Tally; not imported |
CorporateWalla is a CA and CS practice run under DSG CORPORATE FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLP. Our head office is in Lake Town, at 129A Bangur Avenue, Block A, Kolkata 700055, and across the practice we have supported 2,500+ companies.
| Reference | Relevance |
|---|---|
| Rule 3(1) proviso, Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 | Audit trail in accounting software for companies, from financial years beginning 1 April 2023 |
| Rules 3(5) and 3(6), Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 | Daily backups on servers in India; software provider details to the Registrar |
| Rule 11(g), Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 | Auditor's report on the audit trail |
| Section 128(5), Companies Act, 2013 | Books kept for eight financial years |
| Notification 10/2023-Central Tax; Rule 138, CGST Rules, 2017 | E-invoicing above ₹5 crore turnover; e-way bills |
| West Bengal professional tax Act, 1979 (Act on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments) | Employer deduction continues across the cut-over |
Check the current text at mca.gov.in, gst.gov.in, comtax.wb.gov.in for West Bengal professional tax, and Zoho's own help pages at zoho.com/in/books/help.
A family-owned private limited company trading in fabrics, with one West Bengal GSTIN, a shop in Burrabazar and a godown in Howrah, moved to Zoho Books on 1 April. Its tax audit was due later in the year, so we imported provisional 31 March balances, started billing in Zoho, and re-imported the final figures once the CA's audit adjustments were posted in Tally.
| Ledger | Tally provisional (₹) | Tally after audit (₹) | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundry debtors | 62,40,500 | 61,95,500 | A ₹45,000 bad debt written off in the audit; opening balance updated in Zoho |
| Stock-in-hand (shop and Howrah godown) | 48,70,000 | 48,70,000 | Agreed by location |
| Loans from directors and relatives | 25,00,000 | 25,00,000 | Spread across six personal ledgers in Tally; mapped to one loan account per lender |
| Professional tax payable | 4,200 | 4,200 | Carried as an opening liability and paid in April |
| Difference in books | 18,350 | Nil | Traced to a cheque posted twice and reversed in Tally before the final import |
Once the final figures were in, Zoho's Opening Balance Adjustments account showed nothing, the CA accepted the opening figures, and the statutory auditor received the migration file, including the preserved Tally data and the Zoho audit trail settings, for the Rule 11(g) review.
Illustrative scenario based on typical file patterns. Not a named client engagement.
For Kolkata businesses we also handle online-seller accounting, ongoing Zoho Books bookkeeping, first-auditor appointment and West Bengal GST registration. The same migration is described for Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai businesses, and in general terms on the national migration page. Before deciding, an accounting health check or our comparison of Zoho Books and Tally Prime may help.
The Essential Migration is ₹9,999 one-time: a single company with one GSTIN, taken from assessment and ledger review through to an agreed opening trial balance. A family group with several entities, open transactions or past years is priced after we look at the data. GST is extra, Zoho bills its subscription to you directly, and we take 50% upfront, 50% on delivery.
For one company moving masters and opening balances, usually a few working days once complete data and answers on the ledger list are in. Files with open bills, stock or several companies take longer, and books that need reconciling first are scheduled after the clean-up.
Rarely. Most Kolkata businesses move masters, closing balances and open bills, and keep the earlier years in Tally as a read-only record. Importing old vouchers slows Zoho Books down and adds little, unless you need comparatives inside the new system.
Yes. We import the provisional 31 March balances so billing starts in Zoho Books on 1 April, then update the opening balances once your CA posts the audit adjustments in Tally. The scope and fee include that second pass.
No. The audit trail requirement in Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 binds companies. Partnership firms, HUF businesses, proprietorships and LLPs are outside it, though keeping the Tally data readable is still needed for tax and GST records.
Yes, and more easily than before. They log in to Zoho Books as your accountant whenever they need to, and they receive the full migration file. Because the opening figures are settled with them before go-live, the first year's finalisation starts from numbers they have already accepted.
Yes. Zoho is a registered GST Suvidha Provider, so Zoho Books connects to the Invoice Registration Portal and returns the IRN and QR code on the invoice, and it can generate e-way bills. We set up and test both before the first invoice from your West Bengal GSTIN.
The professional tax deducted but not yet paid on the cut-over date moves into Zoho Books as an opening liability, and the deduction and payable ledgers are mapped so monthly payments continue. Registration and returns under the West Bengal Act carry on unchanged; only the software changes.
Not the data. For a company, Section 128(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 requires books for the previous eight financial years to be kept, and those years live in Tally; firms and proprietors need the same records for income tax and GST. Leaving one licensed copy in read-only use, or a tested backup, is sufficient.
Your Tally version, the number of companies in the data folder, years of data, approximate voucher count, GSTINs and godowns, whether you track stock, and your preferred cut-over date. A trial balance at the last month-end lets us fix the fee.
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: Zoho Books help: Migrate from Tally to Zoho Books, Zoho Books help: e-Invoicing, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Directorate of Commercial Taxes, West Bengal
Canonical: https://corporatewalla.com/kolkata/tally-to-zoho-migration
