For an Ahmedabad textile business, a migration is also the moment to fix a GST rate problem that most item masters still carry. The slab structure changed on 22 September 2025, the 12 and 28 per cent bands were abolished, and textiles above a value threshold moved up to 18 per cent rather than down to 5. An item master mapped before that date and carried across unchanged imports rates that no longer exist, into a system that will use them on every invoice from day one.
Textile and chemical files with large item masters, unit conversions and grade or quality variants. Export-oriented units carry foreign currency, zero-rated supplies and accumulated input credit alongside domestic sales in the same ledger set.
A high proportion of private limited companies alongside long-standing partnership firms, particularly in the textile trade. Audit trail obligations apply to the companies only.
Carrying a stale item master into a new system is worse than leaving it in the old one, because a migration is treated as a fresh start and nobody re-checks the rates afterwards. For textile sellers the position is more awkward than a simple re-map, since rate now depends partly on the value of the individual item rather than on its category alone, and marketplace or trade discounting can move an item across the threshold. The item master needs rate logic rather than a flat rate per category, and the migration is the cheapest point at which to build it in.
Gujarat levies professional tax, with monthly deduction above the state threshold and a separate entity-level enrolment.
One point decides more about cost than anything else on this page, and it is a compliance argument rather than a convenience one. Migrate on 1 April and the whole financial year sits in one system, so your auditor reaches a single Rule 11(g) conclusion. Cut over in December and the year is split across two systems, and the auditor has to form and report a conclusion on both, including the one you have stopped using. Assessment and clean-up typically take two to three weeks before anything can move, so a 1 April cutover is a January or February decision rather than a March one. None of this binds a proprietorship, a partnership firm or an LLP, which sit outside the audit trail regime entirely.
| Item | Position as at August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Audit trail requirement | Rule 3(1) proviso, Companies (Accounts) Rules 2014. Software must record an edit log that cannot be disabled |
| In force from | Financial years commencing on or after 1 April 2023 |
| Who it binds | Every company, including small, OPC and Section 8. Not proprietorships, partnership firms or LLPs |
| Auditor reporting | Rule 11(g). Used, operated throughout the year, not tampered with, and preserved |
| Retention | Eight financial years under section 128(5), so the Tally data cannot simply be disposed of |
| Daily backup | Rule 3(5). Servers physically located in India |
| Registrar intimation | Rule 3(6). Service provider name, IP address and location, annually with the financials |
| Zoho plan driver | GSTIN count, not turnover. Standard one, Professional two, Premium three |
| Zoho free plan | Turnover under Rs 25 lakh, one user plus an accountant, 1,000 invoices a year |
| Best cutover date | 1 April, so the financial year sits in one system |
| Package | Fee | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Balance | Rs 24,999 | Balances only, tied back to your last audited figures |
| Full Year | Rs 49,999 | One financial year of transactions, multi-GSTIN |
| Historical | Rs 99,999 | Up to three years, multi-GSTIN, inventory and parallel run |
| Additional GSTIN | Rs 2,999 each | Beyond those included in your scope |
| Additional financial year | Rs 7,999 each | Where comparative reporting needs more history |
Project fees rather than retainers, because this is a one-time engagement. For company clients the Rule 11(g) audit trail documentation, the retention position and the Rule 3(6) Registrar particulars are prepared as part of the engagement rather than charged separately. Your Zoho Books subscription is paid by you directly to Zoho.
Every price above is a professional fee, excluding GST and government charges. 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.
A default import copies them across, which is the problem. From the Full Year scope onward we re-map the item master against the slab structure in force since 22 September 2025 rather than carrying forward whatever the Tally file held. For textiles that means recognising that rate can depend on the value of the item, so the master needs rate logic rather than one rate per category.
Separated from the first entry. Zero-rated export supplies under a Letter of Undertaking, domestic supplies carrying output GST, and the input credit accumulating against the export side kept visible so it can be claimed as a refund. Foreign currency receipts need exchange differences captured at invoice date, receipt date and reporting date rather than at a single rate.
It is usually the longest task in the project and should be scoped as its own workstream rather than absorbed into the transaction import. Expect the item master and inventory work to take longer than everything else combined on a large textile file, and be sceptical of any quote that treats several thousand SKUs as a single line item.
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Reviewed by the CA and CS Team, CorporateWalla · Last updated 17 August 2026 · · Sources: Ministry of Corporate Affairs, ICAI, Zoho Books India pricing
Canonical: https://corporatewalla.com/services/tally-to-zoho-migration/ahmedabad
