Delhi has the largest concentration of businesses to whom the audit trail rule simply does not apply, and that is worth stating plainly because a great deal of migration marketing implies otherwise. Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 binds companies. The wholesale trade running out of Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar and Karol Bagh is overwhelmingly proprietorships and partnership firms, which are not companies, have no Rule 11(g) auditor reporting, and should not be sold compliance work they do not need.
Trading files with very high party counts, long credit cycles and years of accumulated ledgers. Item masters are often thin because goods are described loosely, which makes HSN mapping during migration more work than the transaction import itself.
Predominantly proprietorships and partnership firms in the traditional trade, with a growing layer of private limited companies as businesses formalise. The two need different scopes and different prices, and conflating them is how migration quotes get inflated.
The genuine Delhi issue is not compliance but data hygiene at scale. A trading business with twenty years in one Tally file typically carries thousands of party ledgers, a large share of them dormant or duplicated, and balances that have never been confirmed with the counterparty. Migrating that wholesale imports the mess into a system where it is harder to ignore. The pre-migration audit matters more here than anywhere, and archiving dead masters before the move is usually the highest-value hour in the project.
Delhi does not levy professional tax, so there is no PTEC, no PTRC and no salary deduction on that account for staff working in Delhi.
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.
Not as a statutory matter. Rule 3(1) applies to companies, and a proprietorship is not one, so there is no obligation and no Rule 11(g) auditor reporting. You may still want an audit trail as an internal control, particularly if staff other than you record entries, but it should be your choice rather than something you are told you must buy.
Almost none of it should move. For most Delhi trading businesses the right scope is opening balances as at the cutover date, with dormant and duplicated party masters archived rather than migrated. That decision is taken in the pre-migration audit, and it is where the largest single saving in the project usually sits. Historical transactions are worth migrating only where you have a specific reason to need them inside the new system.
Yes, through GSTIN count. Registrations in Haryana or Uttar Pradesh alongside Delhi mean two or three GSTINs, and the Zoho plan tier is driven by that number rather than by turnover. Standard supports one GSTIN, Professional two, Premium three. This is sized at assessment so you do not subscribe to a tier that cannot file your returns.
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 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/delhi
