Tally e-book

Company Information 

The very first time you start Tally, you would require to 'create' a company. 'Create Company' simply means giving basic information about the company whose books of accounts Tally is to maintain for you. Tally is smart, but it does need an introduction to your company. The initial screen would appear like this:

The menu screen is broadly separated into two sections. The right hand side contains the menu popup, where you would select your instructions to Tally.

The left-hand side gives information of the companies that are already loaded or selected. It also gives information of the currently loaded company's accounting period and the date. Current date is not the calendar date but the date you worked last during the current period. You can select a company only if the company exists (obviously). Select one or companies if you need to switch between companies or if you need information from one or more companies for comparison purposes.

F12:Configure – General configuration to set country specific defaults. Use it before creating a company

Country specific configuration

Gateway of Tally —> F12:Configure —> General

Make the necessary selections and accept them. The prime differences are the use of terms like VAT in Europe and Sales Tax in Asia and America.

Create a company 

Gateway of Tally —> Company Info. —> Create

main information are filled in the form of company creation

first information Directory 

Give the data path where u want the company to get created. This field is skipped by default assuming that you wish to create the company in the data path given in the Tally.INI file. However, if you want to change it, simply use the backspace key and change it to whatever required.

This is basically referred to as the Tally Anywhere concept – which is an ability to create/load companies in separate directories. The 'Directory' field is found during Select, Create, Backup, Restore, Split Data and Rewrite options for a company. By default, the cursor will skip the field, presuming that you wish to use the default data directory for your work. You may press backspace and give a completely new path and work through there.

For example, the default Tally data directory could be 'C:\TALLY\DATA'. You may now wish to create a new company on 'C:\TALLY\PERSONAL', and some other companies on 'C:\TALLY\BRANCHES'. The next time, the default directory will continue to show C:\TALLY\DATA, and if you wish to work on the data of your branches, you would press backspace and enter C:\TALLY\BRANCHES for the directory name. This would bring up those companies whose data is stored there. We can even give the path of a network server or any storage device (example – Tally Locker).

second information Name

Give the name of the company whose books are being opened. It is typically your company. If you are a professional accountant and are maintaining the books of your clients, give the Client Company's name.

(Of course, you would maintain your firm's books on Tally too! In that case, give your firm's name).

The name is not restricted to the visible length of the (field) space for entry. Tally's marvelous innovative technology allows entry of long (really long) names. It compresses the characters horizontally so that the name is fully visible and you needn't scroll sideways (Now you do not have to wonder whether the name visible on the screen is complete or not. Scrolling sideways almost always makes you forget the first few words that you had read and you have to scroll back)

Third information Mailing Name and address (Not compulsory - can be left blank)

The mailing name could be different from Company Name. What is its use? The mailing name and address is picked up for inclusion in any report which needs the company name and address at the top, e.g., Balance Sheets, Statement of Accounts, etc. You do not need full name and address in each report; hence the option.

Let's say you have branches in say, Delhi, Bombay and London. Each branch may begin the branch books by giving the company name as 'Tally Solutions'. However, its mailing name is comprehensive with full details:

Tally Solutions Private Limited New Delhi BranchR-44, Greater Kailash - 1New Delhi – 110 048

The mailing name and address would be available for financial statements and statements of accounts that may need to be given outside the company.

fourth information E-Mail Address 

Give the e-mail address that will be used to e-mail documents, reports and data from Tally.

fifth information Currency Symbol 

Give the symbol of the base currency, e.g., £, $, Rs., or even GBP, US $, etc. Tally uses this symbol in reports, where necessary. You will maintain your accounts in this currency. For more details, refer to the section on Currency Information below.

sixth information Income Tax Number – (Only for India/Asia)

(Not compulsory - can be left blank) 

For the number allotted by the Income Tax Authorities. This could be the Permanent Account Number in India. The information, if given, will appear in Account Confirmation Statements.

seventh information 

Sales Tax / VAT registration numbers 

In India and in many other federal countries (with many states/provinces), the state as well as the Centre (Federal Government) charge tax on transfer of merchandise. The state usually taxes transfers within the state, while the Central Government will charge tax on transfers from one state to another. You may be required to register your company with both local and federal governments. Registration is acknowledged by way of numbers, which often need mentioning in different documents, especially invoices. is not compulsory to give this information and you may skip it. On the other hand, you may give either or both, as applicable. Similarly, VAT is the value-added tax levied on transfer of most goods and services in the UK and Europe.

eighth important information Maintain

Specify whether you want to maintain only financial books of accounts or only inventory or both accounts and inventory. Select from the pop up list.

Let us examine each option and its applicability.

Accounts only

Select this only if you do not have any inventory transactions (suitable for professionals and corporate offices). Tally would not permit intrusion of Inventory related information that are not required.

Inventory only

Select this only if you do not want to maintain ANY financial records for this company (may be suitable for pure stock points/godowns and factories). Tally prevents financial information from being recorded or displayed.

You may opt for Accounts Only in your corporate office and Inventory Only at your remote stock point.

Accounts-with-Inventory

This obviously allows you to maintain both financial accounts and inventory. You may choose not to use one or the other until the need arises.

You can always modify the company information to change these settings to allow or to discontinue accounts or inventory.

Once you have created the company and load it you would find a button - [F11] Company Features - on the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Company Features are modifiable settings pertaining to the current company you are working with. One of the settings is a question pertaining to maintenance of accounts-with-inventory, viz., Integrate accounts and inventory (Yes/No?). Why should this question be asked at all?

An explanation is in order here:

While creating the company, you have selected accounts-with-inventory to be maintained. Tally will, now, allow maintenance of both accounts and inventory for the company but you may or may not integrate the two. The difference from accounts only and inventory only is that you need to create only one company in this case. In the other case, you would have to create two companies - one for accounts and the other for inventory. Moreover, you can then select to integrate or not integrate at any time. The data is organised in a manner that the separation or merger is done without taking any time.

The effects of integrated and non-integrated is described below:

Integrated Accounts-and-inventory:

You are allowed transactions in Inventory records and the account balances are automatically reflected in the Balance Sheet as Closing Stock. You are not allowed to directly change the closing balance of an account under this group.

Non-integrated Accounts-and-inventory:

Accounts that fall under the group 'stock-in-hand', are not permitted any transactions. It allows you to hold opening and closing balances only. Since no vouchers can be passed for these accounts, they are the only accounts for which the closing balances can be directly altered (by an authorised user only)

ninth information Financial Year From 

- To specify the Financial Year for this company. Tally considers 12 months from the date you give here as the Financial Year. The books are closed exactly 12 months after this date. For example, you may give 1 April 97 as the date. Your FY will be April to March in this case, ending with 31st March of every year. (Give 1st April even if the company is actually established on, say, 16 August 1997). You are permitted to modify the date at any time (subject to security permissions, of course) and the FY will change accordingly. In a manner of speaking, it is actually a floating financial period.

*However, you may display or, in many ways, work through any number of months; even more than 12. This flexibility can be used to view performance of projects that take more than 12 months or when the accounting period itself is more than 12 months (in cases of first year of operation).

*Trans-national companies usually face dual reporting problems - they have to draw out financial statements for two periods (maybe more); one - for local statutory compliance and the other - for parent company to enable global consolidation.

Tally gives you the ultimate in accounting period flexibility - there is no restriction on your flitting around the accounting period. There is no time lost as well. It is done instantly, so much so that you will feel that it maintains parallel sets of reports!

10th important information Books Beginning From:

Tally presumes that you wish to maintain books from the beginning of the financial year. However, it is possible that yours is a new company, begun in the middle of the year (not may people wait for the 1st day of the FY to start companies). You would like to start books from this date but close books according to the FY selected by you. Moreover, you do not like reports including the period your company was not even in existence. In such a case, give the date the accounts actually begin. Tally will open books from this date and close on the last day of the FY. For example, your company is established on 19th August 1997. The FY stated previously is April-March. The books will begin on 19th August 97 and close on 31st March 1998. It ensures smooth transition to the next year.

This concept can be applied even when you are migrating to Tally from any other system on any day during the FY. Simply close books in that other system on the previous day and start books on Tally from this day. You are allowed to give opening balances of all ledger accounts including revenue accounts. (Of course, you can take advantage of Tally's Import ability to import data from that other system).

eleventh information in company creation form Tally Vault

Give a password here if you want the company data to be maintained in an encrypted form. This is known as Tally Vault , it is a enhanced security feature. With the Tally Vault password given, the data will be maintained permanently in an encrypted form without retaining information of the password used. Without the Tally Vault password – the data is not accessible. Remember to keep this password private and known only to those who need to know. If the password is lost, your data cannot be recovered without it.

12th information Use Security Control?

- Yes, if you want to control access to Tally data, otherwise No.

If you opt for security control, Tally offers a comprehensive password based access control to different parts of the system based on authority lists created by the Administrator. (The section on Security Control under Advanced Usage contains details on authority lists)

Give the name of the administrator (presumably yourself) and your password. You repeat the password by way of verification. The password is not displayed to protect it.

** Any password based security mechanism is only as god as the discipline maintained in password management. You may need layers of security beginning at the Operating System level depending on the nature of information. Consult an IT Security Specialist if necessary.

13 th feature Use Tally Audit features 

Tally Audit allows the administrator or an auditor profile user to track changes in accounting information. If you wish to use this facility, select Yes. Tally Audit will be available only to the administrator/auditor, through Display of Statements of Accounts. It will be discussed in fuller detail under the Security Control section in Advanced Usage.

14th information Base Currency Information

The lower portion of the Company Information screen is reserved for Base Currency Information. Tally is multi-currency enabled. You can record transactions in foreign currency, raise invoices in US Dollars (or any other currency), maintain bank accounts or ledgers in foreign exchange, if required. However, for accounts to be meaningfully reported, all transactions should be converted to a common currency. A common factor enables compilation and symmetrisation as well as analysis. Base Currency is the common currency in which your accounts would be maintained. It is usually your home (local) currency, assuming that most transactions are in this currency. Moreover, financial statements would be prepared in the base currency by default. These would normally be required for local statutory authorities. For example, if the accounts belong to a company in India, the base currency would be Indian Rupees (Can you imagine the local authorities accepting financial statements in Vietnamese Dongs or even US Dollars for that matter?). On the other hand, if the company were located in the UK, the base currency would be Pound Sterling. Now, it is not compulsory for you to do this, you could very well do the reverse. All Tally needs is any base currency.

Base Currency Symbol

Give the symbol of the currency, e.g., £, $, Rs., or even GBP, US $, etc. Tally uses this symbol in reports, where necessary.

Formal Name

The full name of the currency, e.g., Indian Rupees, Sterling Pounds, U.S. Dollars. Why do you need formal name?

It is expected that you will have more than one company on the same computer. They may be branches, sister-companies or any entity whose data you occasionally combine for consolidation or bring together for analysis. If in one company you have the symbol $ to mean Australian Dollars and in another company, the same $ means U S Dollars, consolidating their accounts would give an erroneous picture. In such cases, the formal name is used to match them.

Number of decimal places

Give the number of decimal places for the base currency. Most currencies have two (e.g. Indian Rupees, Pound Sterling, US Dollars) but some (e.g. Dinar) have more.

after this computer ask yes or not 

you must enter for accepting after this your company will be made by you