MIS in Tally 9

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Version: MIS in Tally 9/1.0/August2008

Contents

Introduction Business Processes ....................................................................................................................................................1

Management Information System...........................................................................................................................2

Lesson 1: Advanced Accounting1.1 Chart of Accounts.............................................................................................................................................4

1.2 Accounts Receivable/Payable ........................................................................................................................41.2.1 Groups and Sub-Ledger concept ................................................................................................................41.2.2 Receivables and Payables...........................................................................................................................61.2.3 Credit Control...........................................................................................................................................10

1.3 Interest Calculations.......................................................................................................................................111.3.1 Simple Mode .............................................................................................................................................121.3.2 Advance Mode ..........................................................................................................................................21

1.4 Cost Centres, Budgets & Scenarios.............................................................................................................231.4.1 Cost Centre ...............................................................................................................................................231.4.2 Cost Categories ........................................................................................................................................231.4.3 Budget .......................................................................................................................................................271.4.4 Scenario Management ..............................................................................................................................27

1.5 Bank Reconciliation .......................................................................................................................................31

1.6 Forex Management.........................................................................................................................................351.6.1 Creating Foreign Currency ......................................................................................................................351.6.2 Voucher entry in Foreign Currency .........................................................................................................361.6.3 Display books with/ in Foreign Currency ................................................................................................371.6.4 Adjusting Forex gain/ loss ........................................................................................................................391.6.5 ASCII values for Foreign Currencies .......................................................................................................42

1.7 Final Accounts ................................................................................................................................................421.7.1 Trial Balance ............................................................................................................................................421.7.2 Profit & Loss A/c ......................................................................................................................................431.7.3 Balance Sheet............................................................................................................................................45

1.8 Management Reports & Functionalities .....................................................................................................461.8.1 Ratio Analysis ...........................................................................................................................................461.8.2 Cash Flow .................................................................................................................................................481.8.3 Funds Flow ...............................................................................................................................................511.8.4 Exception Reports .....................................................................................................................................521.8.5 Filters to Reports ......................................................................................................................................561.8.6 Highest / Lowest / Average Balances .......................................................................................................591.8.7 Flexible Periods Accounting.....................................................................................................................601.8.8 Presentation Manager ..............................................................................................................................611.8.9 Percentage based Reporting .................................................................................................................62

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Lesson 2: Advanced Inventory2.1 Classification of Stock Items........................................................................................................................65

2.2 Reorder Level ..................................................................................................................................................662.2.1 Assigning Reorder Level...........................................................................................................................672.2.2 Reorder Status ..........................................................................................................................................69

2.3 Multiple Price Levels .....................................................................................................................................70

2.4 Reports..............................................................................................................................................................712.4.1 Stock Summary..........................................................................................................................................712.4.2 Movement Analysis ...................................................................................................................................762.4.3 Stock Ageing Analysis...............................................................................................................................782.4.4 Stock Query...............................................................................................................................................81

Lesson 3: Administration 3.1 Tally.ini - Tally Configuration File .............................................................................................................84

3.2 Consolidation...................................................................................................................................................86

3.3 Security.............................................................................................................................................................883.3.1 Security Control........................................................................................................................................883.3.2 Tally Audit ................................................................................................................................................943.3.3 Tally Vault ................................................................................................................................................99

3.4 Data Management.........................................................................................................................................1023.4.1 Backup & Restore ...................................................................................................................................1033.4.2 Export & Import of Data ........................................................................................................................1053.4.3 ODBC ( Only for Microsoft -Windows)..................................................................................................1103.4.4 SQL server within Tally ..........................................................................................................................117

Lesson 4: Data Synchronisation4.1 Introduction to Tally Data Synchronization.............................................................................................119

4.1.1 System Requirements ..............................................................................................................................1204.1.2 Precautions .............................................................................................................................................120

4.2 Data Synchronization using Tally.NET....................................................................................................121

4.3 Synchronization — Private Network ........................................................................................................1344.3.1 Configuring for Synchronization ............................................................................................................1344.3.2 Procedure for Synchronization...............................................................................................................1354.3.3 Security Issues ........................................................................................................................................1404.3.4 Web page as a pass-through ...................................................................................................................1404.3.5 Troubleshooting ......................................................................................................................................140

4.4 Principle of ‘Synchronization in Tally’ ...................................................................................................142

4.5 Synchronizing back-dated vouchers..........................................................................................................142

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Introduction

1.1 Business Processes

Business processes are a group of activities that a business undertakes in order to achieve its goal. The business activities are day-to-day transactions like sending and receiving orders, marketing products or services, and so on.Typical business processes include purchase, manufacturing, sales, accounts, etc. These business processes rarely operate in isolation; i.e., each of these business processes either depends on or is interlinked with other business processes.

Figure 1.1 Flow diagram of Business Process

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These processes have a common function but differ in their workflow across various kinds of busi-nesses.Business transactions or business activities fall in place depending on the operations of a business. Keeping this in view, Tally has been designed as a business solution that can adapt to the existing business processes rather than modify the processes to suit the dynamics of the software.

Right at the beginning, while creating a Company in Tally, the option to maintain a Company as ‘Accounts only’ or ‘Accounts with Inventory’ proves the flexibility in implementing Tally.

On creating a Company, the process of configuring it in Tally can be done by either of the following ways:

Get started with creating the accounting and inventory masters and input the opening bal-ances.Create accounts on the fly while recording transactions.

1.2 Management Information System Tally packs enormous power to generate numerous reports for management information that assists management in taking correct & timely decisions. This enables rapid growth and better control of business. The primary concern for Management Information System of a business is to ensure that the knowledge necessary to drive critical business processes is available at the right place and time.In this module, we highlight the salient features & capabilities to extract reports based on the data entered in Tally. In the earlier modules, we discussed various reports that are generated for Purchase, Sales and Manufacturing Process. In this module, we will discuss the remaining reports in detail.For the sake of convenience, we have classified it in different sections like Advanced Accounting, Advanced Inventory and Administration & Housekeeping.

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Lesson 1: Advanced Accounting

Lesson ObjectivesBy the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Classify account information using Chart of AccountsGenerate various reports for Receivables and PayablesConfigure Tally for Interest Calculations Create and manage Cost Centres, Cost Categories and Cost Centre Classes Maintain Budgets & ScenariosGenerate Bank Reconciliation Statement Create Foreign Currencies & adjust Forex gain/lossGenerate the Financial Statements & various MIS reports

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Introduction As a statutory requirement, all businesses maintain books of accounts, advance accounting activ-ities like preparing chart of accounts, interest calculation, bank reconciliation, finalization of accounts etc., form the important components of MIS.

1.1 Chart of Accounts

Tally follows Single Ledger concept of Accounting -all transactions are identified with the ledger accounts.Tally further provides Accounts Group to classify ledger information, to conform with mercantile laws and provide meaningful reports. In fact, Accounts Group serves both the purpose of classify-ing and identifying related ledger accounts according to their nature to present summarized infor-mation. The Accounts Group determines whether the ledger is classified under Profit & Loss A/cor Balance Sheet items.In order to trap errors based on the groups, Tally filters the ledger accounts that would be available at each point while creating the voucher. And displays ledgers ledgers permissible at that point. For Example: In a Contra Voucher you can record transactions between Cash & Bank accounts, hence, only the related ledgers will pop-up for selection. Therefore in order to get desired reporting, the foremost task is to organize the Chart of Accounts as per reporting requirement. Tally provides complete flexibility to organize Accounts Ledgers and Groups in a versatile way without any limit on depth of nesting, number of Groups, Sub Groups and Ledger Accounts that can be placed under any Group.

1.2 Accounts Receivable/Payable

1.2.1 Groups and Sub-Ledger concept In vouchers, ledger accounts are directly transacted as there is no concept of Control-ledger and sub-ledger in Tally. An organisation may need to create hundreds of ledgers for Sundry Debtors, Creditors, Employees etc. but that may clutter the Trial Balance or Group Summary when expanded to the lowest level. Tally enables limiting this listing.

Tally creates 28 predefined Groups by default conforming with mercantile accounting conventions. The naming conventions of any of these Groups can be altered and further groups may be created as sub-Groups of existing groups or at primary level as per requirements. For visual clarity, Tally presents the Chart of accounts in a hierarchical tree like structure.

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To limit listing of sub-items (i.e., to display only the group balance but not the underlying individual ledger balances)

Go to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info > Groups > Create or Alter1. Select the Group2. Set the Group behaves like a sub-ledger option to Yes

Figure 1.1 Group Alteration screen

This function prevents the user from viewing details of the group while showing the report in a detailed or exploded manner. A control ledger can be simulated with the help of the Accounts Group. A sub-ledger can be seen by viewing the Group Vouchers of the Account Group, which behaves like a sub-ledger.

Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Accounts Book > Group Vouchers1. Select the Sub-Ledger from the List of Groups drop-down

The feature of viewing Group Vouchers is available for all accounts groups regardless of whether the feature Group to behave like a sub-ledger is enabled or not.

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1.2.2 Receivables and Payables Effective and efficient management of money leads to better deployment of funds and count in success of every business. In most businesses, credit sales are common. Timely realization of outstanding money from customer is an important function to ensure timely payment to creditors and smooth operation of business. Tally provides instant report of accounts outstanding. It also provides complete bill-wise informa-tion of amounts receivable and payable. Tally can track bills, bill history, payments/receipts, and advances on account payments and receipts.

Setup1. In F11: Accounting Features 2. Set Maintain Bill-wise Details to Yes.

For bill-wise tracking of non-party ledgers (For Example: Loans / Advances to Employee) 3. Set Non Trading A/cs also to Yes.

In the Ledger Master4. Set Maintain balances bill-by-bill to Yes.

In the voucher involving the party, enter bill-wise details like New Ref / Against Ref / Advance or On Account, Bill Reference, Credit Days and Amount in the Bill-wise allocation screen.

To view the reports follow the steps listed below:

Reports 1. To list bill by bill outstanding (receivable) for all parties

Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statement of Accounts > Outstanding > Receivables

Bill Receivables screen is displayed as shown.

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Figure 1.2 Bills Receivables Report

The list displays pending amount as well as the due date along with over due days.To list bill by bill outstanding (payable) for all parties

Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statement of Accounts > Outstanding > Payable

1. Press Alt+F1 to display all vouchers related to the bills that are listed in subsequent rows in a particulars column, , Press Enter to display voucher alteration screen.

2. Press F4 to toggle between Receivable and Payable.3. To split the outstanding into different ageing slabs, press F6 and select either of these

options: Ageing by Due Date, Ageing by Bill Date

Figure 1.3 Ageing Methods screen

Then define the date periods, e.g., you may specify, 45, 90, 180 to get Age wise analysis for <15, 15-30, 30-45, 45-90, 90-180, >180 days.

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Figure 1.4 Company Ageing Alteration screen

Figure 1.5 Bills Outstanding Report

The user can press F12 and set the options to configure the display and content of the report.

Receivables of an Accounts Ledger Receivables lists outstanding amount for all the parties. For individual party-wise outstanding, follow the path: Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statement of Accounts > Outstanding > Ledger

1. Select the Ledger, Global Traders

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2. Press Alt+F1 to display associated vouchers for each outstanding Bill.

This report lists bill-by-bill display of all outstanding bills for the selected party along with the total outstanding amount. On Account amount, if any, is shown below the outstanding particulars to reconcile the ledger balance. The associated vouchers can be altered in case the references are not as required.

Figure 1.6 Ledger Outstandings Report

Press F6 for age-wise break-up. To view outstanding for another party, press F4 and select the ledger or just press + key to view the bill-wise details of the next ledger. Press F12 and set the options to configure display and contents of the report.

Receivables for a GroupTypically, in an organization, Sundry Debtors would be classified under area, region, class etc. To view outstanding for a particular group under Sundry Debtors or any sub-group, follow the steps: Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statement of Accounts > Outstanding > Group

1. Select the Group, Sundry Debtors2. Press Alt+F1 for detailed report .

All the ledgers belonging to the selected group along with outstanding amount will be listed. In case, there exists any sub-group, name of the sub-group with total amount outstanding from the parties under the group will appear.

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Press F12 and set Expand all levels in Detailed Format to Yes and press Alt+F1 to list all parties’ details.

Figure 1.7 Group Outstandings Report

Press F5 to view ledger-wise listing. To get age-wise break-up, press F6 and select ageing style and define ageing slabs. Press F12 to configure the contents. To view the bill wise details of the entire group select F7: Billwise.

1.2.3 Credit Control In a business where goods or services are sold on credit, in order to curb potential bad debts and possible blockage of funds or slow collection, the management may wish to set a limit on credit to each party and ensure that credit exceeding the limit is not extended to the customer. Only the authorized user can alter the Credit Limits. Tally provides the option to set Credit Limit for each party, and during sales transaction entry, the transaction crossing the credit limit, would be declined. To enable Credit Limit, the user has to enable Maintain Budgets & Controls option in the F11: Company Features. Credit Limit has been explained in the Sales process.

Payment Performance Analysis of Debtors Credit is the backbone of every business. But if the payment is not made in time, it affects the business adversely. In fact, it affects the complete cycle. Thus, it is important to analyze the col-lections. If the debtor, who pays in time, is given some incentive (such as some discount, any

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other benefit), it will result in increase of turnover, high return on investment and reduction of working capital need. In order to carry out such an analysis, select a debtor’s ledger from Display and set the period for which the analysis must be done. Press F8 and select Ledger Payment Performance. The following screen, which gives bill wise payment details and payment performance, will appear:

Figure 1.8 Ledger Payment Performance Report

1.3 Interest Calculations Interest is the return on money invested or loans. It is a common business practice to charge interest on delayed payments. Tally provides various methods of Interest computation which you can configure as per your requirement and get Interest Computation statement on Overdue Bills, Loan etc, also penal & variable interest rates. It also allows special periods like 30 day month etc, to meet traditional interest computations.

Setup1. In F11: Features, Set Activate Interest Calculations to Yes 2. Use Advanced Parameters to Yes.

For advanced features of interest calculation (For Example: penal interest rate etc).

Under F12: Configure, in Ledger creation/alteration screen, 1. Set Allow Advanced entries in Masters (under Accounts Master heading) to Yes.

Under F12: Configure, for the ledgers for which Interest should be computed,

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2. Set Activate Interest Calculation to Yes.Many organizations need to compute Interest receivable or payable. Normally interest is computed for ledgers under Sundry Debtors, Sundry Creditors, Unsecured Loans, Secured Loans, Bank OD A/c, Loans (Liability), Loans & Advances (Assets).

Interest may be computed in either of the two methods: On Outstanding Balance Amounts: In this method, interest is calculated on outstanding balance, normally suitable for Loan Accounts where interest is computed on running balances of the account. On Outstanding Bills/ Invoices/ Transactions: This is applicable for ledgers for which Bill by Bill option has been set to Yes e.g. Sundry Debtors or Creditors.

1.3.1 Simple Mode On Outstanding Balance AmountsStep 1: Altering the LedgerGo to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info > Ledgers > Alter

1. Select Solomon & Company from the List of Ledgers2. Set Activate Interest Calculation to Yes

Figure 1.9 Ledger Alteration screen

3. Set Calculate Interest Transaction by Transaction to No4. Type 24 in Rate

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5. Select the option Calendar Year in per6. Select the option Debit Balances Only in on

Figure 1.10 Interest Parameters screen

7. Press Ctrl+A twice to Accept

To see the Ledger InterestGo to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statement of Accounts > Interest Calculations > LedgerSelect Solomon & Company from List of Ledgers

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Figure 1.11 Ledger Interest screen

Accounting for Interest Due & AccruedThe example above shows that interest is being calculated but these have not been brought into books. They only give you the interest implications. Tally enables booking the interest implications through Voucher Classes in Debit Notes & Credit Notes.

Only one Ledger is shown in the list of ledgers, as only that ledger is enabled for Interest Calculations.

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To create Voucher Class in Debit NoteGo to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info > Voucher Types > Alter

1. Select Debit Note from the List of Voucher Types2. Type Simple Interest in the Name of Class field

Figure 1.12 Voucher Type Alteration screen

3. Set Use Class for Interest Accounting to Yes and Amounts to be treated as Com-pound Interest to No

Interest can be calculated on Simple or Compound basis and separate classes should be used for them.

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The Voucher Type Class screen is displayed as shown

Figure 1.13 Voucher Type Alteration screen - Simple Interest

4. Type Compound Interest in Name of Class field to create another class 5. Set Use Class for Interest Accounting and Amounts to be treated as Compound

Interest to Yes

Voucher Type Alteration screen is displayed as shown

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Figure 1.14 Voucher Type Alteration screen - Debit Note

Similarly, create Simple Interest and Compound Interest Voucher Class in Credit Note To account for Interest Accrued as well as Interest Due create the following ledgers

Interest Accrued under Indirect IncomeInterest Receivable under Current AssetsInterest Due under Indirect ExpensesInterest Payable under Current Liabilities

ExampleOn 31.01.2009, a debit note is raised on Solomon & Compnay for Rs.6542.67, the interest due upto Jan 09.

Create Debit Note1. Select Accounting Vouchers2. Press Ctrl+F9 for Debit Note3. Select Simple Interest as class in the Voucher Class field4. Press F2 and change date to 31-01-09

In Particulars, Solomon & Company appears automatically in the By field due to voucher class selected.

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5. Type 6542.67 in Debit6. In Bill-Wise Details screen, select New Ref and type Interest Upto Sept 067. In the Accounting Voucher Creation screen, select Interest Accrued in the To field8. Type Interest Charged upto Jan 09 in Narration

Debit Note Voucher Creation screen is displayed as shown

Figure 1.15 Debit Note Voucher Creation

9. Press Enter to Accept

Now if you wish to charge simple interest then the interest amount should be nullified and the interest amount transferred to Interest Receivable ledger account. This ledger account can be

When the ledger of Solomon & Company is viewed the ledger balance would increase by the interest amount debited.

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enabled for Bill wise tracking of interest receivable. Under F11: Features, set Billwise details for Non-Trading a/cs to Yes.

Create a Journal1. Select Accounting Vouchers2. Press F7 for Journal3. Press F2 and change date to 31-01-094. Select Interest Receivable in the By field5. Type 6542.67 in Debit6. In Bill-Wise Details screen, select New Ref and type Solomon & Company - Jan 097. In the Accounting Voucher Creation screen, select Solomon & Company in To

field8. In Bill-Wise Details screen, select Agst Ref and Interest Upto Jan 099. Type Interest Receivable from Solomon & Company transferred in Narration

Figure 1.16 Journal Voucher Creation

10. Press Enter to Accept

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On Outstanding Bills/ Invoices/ Transactions For ledgers where Maintain Bill by Bill and Activate Interest Calculation is set to Yes, set Calculate Interest Transaction -by- Transaction to No

Interest Parameters screen is displayed as shown

Figure 1.17 Interest Parameters screen

Since interest has to be booked manually, care should be taken to book it regularly for the desired period. Simple interest requires special treatment by way of an additional entry. In the entry using interest class, you must use the account for which interest is enabled because that brings up the calculated interest amount. Using another account like Interest Receivable will not bring up the amount and you would have to remember the figures from the inter-est statement to journalise them. The Interest Calculation module is discussed in detail in Tally Graduate course material as well as in the online help of Tally.

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To View Ledger interest reportGo to Gateway of Tally>Display>Statement of Accounts>Interest Calculations>Ledgers

1. Select Global TradersInterest Calculation screen is displayed as shown

Figure 1.18 Global Traders - Interest Calculation screen

1.3.2 Advance ModeThe Advance Mode offers more options for Interest Calculation, Advanced Parameters - Interest Calculations on outstanding balances. The Interest Parameters are as follows:

On Balances: Select the balances on which interest should be calculated, (a) All balances b) debit balances only or (c) credit balances only.

Calculate Interest Transaction-by-Transaction: To get separate calcula-tion for each transaction, set this to Yes, else Interest computation will be similar to Outstanding Balance Amounts.

Override Parameters for each transactions: To enter different Interest rate for each transaction, set this to Yes. During Voucher entry, you would be prompted to input the rate of applicable interest for each transaction.

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Applicable from: Enter the date from which the rate is applicable to a specific date. This enables different rates applicable for different periods.

Rounding Off: If the amount is to be rounded off, select the rounding methods from three available options, namely, Downward Rounding, Normal Rounding, Upward Rounding. In case rounding off is not required select Not Applicable.Enter the Rounding off limit, for example: 0.50, 0.10, 0.01, 1.00 in the field provided.

Thus in Advanced mode, you can specify whether the interest to be computed on all or particular balances, specify varying interest rates for different periods with specified rounding methods and limits, particularly useful for accounts where rate varies from period to period. Advanced Parameters -Interest Calculations on Outstanding Bills/ Invoices/ Transactions. You get Interest Parameters screen as shown below.

Figure 1.19 Advanced Interest Parameters screen

Calculate Interest Transaction-by-Transaction: Set Yes to get interest computation bill-by-bill.

Override Parameters for each Transaction: To input different rates of interest for each transac-tion during voucher entry, set to Yes. During voucher entry you would be asked to enter Interest rate and periodicity for the transaction.

Override advanced parameters: To override advanced parameters set in ledger during voucher entry, set Yes. This will cause an additional option Date Specified During Entry in Interest Appl From pop-up at Calculate From prompt to enable entering Date during voucher entry.

On Balances: Select from options available in Interest Balances pop-up (a) All balances (b) Credit Balances Only (c) Debit Balances Only

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Applicability: Select from the options (a) Always (b) Past Due Date

For the option Past Due Date, enter the number of days in the By field Calculate From: Select the option from Interest Appl From pop-up consisting of the following options:

Date of Applicability: Due Date of Invoice/Ref.Date specified during Entry.Due Date and Invoice ReferenceEPF-Date of TRansaction

The next field consists of the following options:Effective Date of Transaction: Date specified during Entry (appears if Override Advanced Parameters is set to Yes, if set to No – this option does not appear)Rounding: If the amount is to be rounded off select the rounding methods from three avail-able options, namely, Downward Rounding, Normal Rounding, Upward Rounding. In case rounding off is not required select Not Applicable.

1.4 Cost Centres, Budgets & Scenarios 1.4.1 Cost Centre A business, for achieving optimum cost-effectiveness, assigns its controllable costs to cost centres. Any unit of the organization to which costs can be allocated is a Cost Centre. For Example: Branches, Departments, Projects, Products, Persons and so on.Tally enables a business to allocate transactions to Cost Centres. For example, besides the ledger-wise accounting allocation, a transaction may be allocated amongst different Branches. Tally allows to compare one Cost Centre with another, hence provides information regarding the performance of each Cost / Profit Centre.

1.4.2 Cost Categories Cost Category is a cluster of related cost centres. Cost Categories allows parallel allocation of the same transaction in multiple dimensions. In many cases, a single transaction may have to be allocated to more than one type of Cost Centre. Cost Categories enable allocating costs to parallel sets of Cost Centres i.e. the same amount can be allocated to more than one cost centre.

Examples of Department-wise Cost Centres have been illustrated in Purchase Process.

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Reports Category Summary: This report displays the summary of all the cost centres under a cost category.Cost Centre Break-up: This report displays Ledger and Group summary information for the selected cost centre.Ledger Break-up: This report displays the summary information of all Cost Centres for the selected Ledger.Group Break-up: This report displays the summary information of all Cost Centres for the selected Group.

Cost Centre Classes Cost Centre Classes are used to automate Cost Centre allocations in transactions. You can use cost centre classes if you do not wish to manually allocate amounts to cost centres in each entry.

ExampleIn Acme Corporation, the management has decided to make separate bills for each of the sales-persons Suhas, John and Vinod so that for each sales invoice entered, the cost centre allocations are allocated to only one sales person to avoid any errors in the data entry while allocating the cost centres.

Step 1: Create Cost Centre

Examples of Department-wise as well as Salesman-wise cost allocations have been illustrated in Sales Process.

Select the Cost Centre Class as required on the voucher screen before mak-ing the voucher entry. You can also use cost centre classes along with Voucher Classes.

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Go to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info > Cost Centres > Create2. Type Steve in the Name field3. Select Primary in Under

Figure 1.20 Cost Centre Creation screen

4. Press Enter to AcceptSimilarly, create cost centres John and Vinod.

Step 2: Define Cost Centre Classes1. In F11: Accounting Features, set Use Pre-defined Cost Centre Allocations dur-

ing Entry to Yes

Figure 1.21 Advanced Company Operations screen

2. Press Enter

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3. Type Steve in Class Name4. Select Primary Cost Category from List of categories5. Select Steve from List of Cost Centres6. Repeat the steps to create more Class Names

Figure 1.22 Auto Cost Allocations screen

To view Cost Centre SummaryGo to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statement of Accounts > Cost Centers > Category Summary

Figure 1.23 Cost Category Summary screen

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1.4.3 BudgetBudget is a detailed plan of income and expenses expected over a certain period of time. A budget can provide guidelines for managing future investments and expenses. Every Business has its objectives and goals and must have an efficient mechanism to set its targets and appraisal of achievements in respect of the target.To achieve the important managerial controls, Tally provides the flexible system of Budgets for Group, Ledger or Cost Centres. Tally allows creating multiple Budgets for different purposes. For Example: Sales budget, Expenses budget, etc. You can compare the actual performance with budge created and also get variance report to ensure corrective measures, if required.

1.4.4 Scenario Management A scenario can be understood as an imagined sequence of events. That is, if some action is carried out, we can envisage or imagine the scenario (or result) of doing it. Tally’s Scenario Management is an effective management tool that enables different views of your information without actually putting the entries through the main books. The actual as well as projected figures of accounts related information – can be viewed – by selectively including certain types of vouchers without affecting the books of accounts. The scenarios created can depict only financial effects and not inventory related effects. In a business, there may be occasions when you may need reports on different hypotheses. For example, to substantiate your ability to repay loan in time, the Bankers may insist for Projected Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss A/c for the rest of the financial year. Tally allows creating different scenarios and getting What-if reports on this basis.

Example of Budgets has been shown in Purchase process and Sales process

Tally permits to optionally include Memorandum vouchers, Reversing Journal Vouchers and optional voucher for any individual voucher type. This provides the ability to manipulate information, create different situation and view what-if scenarios. Mid-period Final Accounts can also be created by a scenario, where you should include Reversing Journal vouchers.

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Few possible applications of Scenarios: 1. Projected Final Accounts: Enter the estimated figures in Journal vouchers and mark them as

Optional (press Ctrl+L). Create a scenario Projected FA where Optional Journal vouchers are included. Now, if you generate Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss account, the Projected Report is displayed as a new column.

2. Sales Forecast: You may enter anticipated Sales in SalesVoucher (e.g., one for each month and mark the voucher as Optional to exclude from actual books of accounts). Create a sce-nario Sales Forecast and include Optional Sales Voucher but exclude Actuals. You may com-pare the Scenario against actual Sales later.

3. Half-Yearly Accounts: All the provisions like Depreciation, Liabilities for Expenses, Income accrued not accounted for, may be entered in Reversing Journal and in a Scenario H/Yly Accounts ReversingJournal Vouchers may be included (besides the Actuals) to obtain Final Accounts including transactions entered in Reverse Journal vouchers.

Scenarios can be used as a management tool to obtain different views of information for accounts as well as inventory, by selectively including provisional vouchers without affecting the base data, since Memorandum Vouchers, Reversing Journals and any Voucher marked as Optional are not posted in the actual books of accounts but stored in separate registers (may be accessed through Exception Register under Display menu). Later any of these vouchers can be converted into regular vouchers and included in the main books of accounts.

To create ScenariosSetup:In F11: Accounting Features, set Use Reversing Journals & Optional Vouchers to YesGo to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info. > Scenario > Create

1. Type Name for the scenario (For Example: H/Y Accounts)2. Set Include Actuals to Yes3. Set EXCLUDE Inventory Tracking Calculation to Yes4. Select Reversing Journal in the Include 5. Select End of List in the Exclude column

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Figure 1.24 Scenario Creation screen

Reversing Journal For half-yearly accounts, the proportionate amount of depreciation, Interest payables, out-standing expenses etc., should be taken into account. Similarly accrued income, interest receivable etc should also be considered. Normally at year end, for closing of books, these entries are made and it’s not a common practice to enter such transactions every quarter or half-yearly and then pass contra entry the next day. Reverse Journal dispenses with the need of entering transaction and reverse it the next day as it is specially designed and treated differently from other vouchers.

Let us enter a Reversing Journal for 6 months depreciation as under:

To Create Reversing Journal1. Select Accounting Vouchers

Voucher Date Amount Applicable Upto Narration31-1-2009 20000 31-1-2009 Depreciation for first 6 months of FY 2008-09

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2. Press F10 for Reversing Journal3. Press F2 and change date to 30/1/20094. Under Particular, select Depreciation for By5. Type 20000 as Amount6. Select Car for To7. Type 30/1/2009 in Applicable Upto

Reversing Journal screen is displayed as shown

Figure 1.25 Reversing Journal Creation

8. Press Enter to Accept

In the ApplicableUptofield, enter the date till which the voucher would be included in scenario report. The voucher will be considered in reports till the ApplicableUptodate but not in reports extending beyond the date.

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Scenario Reports On creation of scenario, you can get report using the scenario. You can use Scenarios in most statements (but not for registers) where you get an option to create a NewColumn. At Type of Value to Show prompt, you will get list of scenarios (in addition to the Budgets). We show a report using the Bi-monthly Accounts Scenario created by us.

Go to Gateway of Tally > Balance Sheet1. Press Alt+C for New Column2. Type the date From & To3. Select H/Y Accounts for Types of Value to show4. Set Show Variance to No

Figure 1.26 Balance Sheet Actuals Vs Scenario

1.5 Bank Reconciliation Bank Reconciliation is the process of systematically comparing the balance as reported by the bank with the balance on the company’s books and explaining any differences. It is a report showing the name of each account, the balance as per the bank statement for each account plus the outstanding deposits for each account (not credited by the bank) less the outstanding cheques for each account (all cheques expended which have not yet been debited to the account per bank statement).

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All businesses account for cheque payments and collections on the day it is issued or sent for col-lection. The cheque however may not be processed on the same day. As a result, a company’s bank book balance does not tally with the Bank statement balance. To reconcile this, a business tracks causes the difference between these balances. Tally handles this by tracking bank dates – date on which a Bank Book voucher gets reflected in the Bank Statement by using reconcile option in the bank book, available bank dates can be set against corresponding vouchers.

After entering and accepting bank dates, Bank Reconciliation Statement can be availed with reconcile option. Items not reflected in the Bank Statement and reflected subsequent to the stipu-lated period will be listed out as causes of difference. Normally cheques issued but not encashed and cheques sent for collection but not collected during the stipulated period are listed as causes of difference. After taking them into account, the company’s bank book balance gets reconciled with the Bank statement balance. Charges made directly by bankers have to be incorporated in the books of accounts. Service charges, Periodical interests, Folio charges and Cheque book charges are some of the examples. These can be entered either through payment voucher or through journal voucher. (F12 Config - Enable Cash ledgers in journal). Bank dates already entered can be corrected or viewed by configuring the bank ledger to get rec-onciled vouchers also. This setting will arrange bank book vouchers in ascending order of their bank dates. With this order, bank vouchers can easily cross-checked with the bank statement. Bank Reconciliation option can also be initiated from any part of the books of accounts. Setting a date in Effective date for reconciliation field in the bank ledger alteration, will give this flexibility.

Bank date can be set for a voucher and not for its components. So clubbing two or more cheques in a single payment voucher is not advisa-ble. Receipt vouchers may have one or more instruments, if they are sent for collection by single pay-in-challan and banker has the practice of reflecting it as a whole.

Bank reconciliation can be prepared for a ledger placed under Account Group Bank Accounts or Bank OD / OCC A/c only.

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ExampleReconciliation for April month’s National bank book can be done as follows with the help of following bank statement:

Steps to view Bank Reconciliation of National Bank1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Accounts Books > Ledger2. Select National Bank from List of Ledgers3. Press F5 for Reconciliation

To view Narration press F12 and set Format to Detailed, Show Narration also to Yes

National Bank

Statement Period 1.4.2008 to 30.4.2008

A/c : Acme Corporation Date Particulars Deposits Withdrawals Balance1.4.2008 Opening Balance 0 Cr20.4.2008 Ch. 9821250 8000 8000 Cr22.4.2008 Ch. 4563219 Next Gen 4500 12500 Cr 30.4.2008 Clg: 126789 49920 37420 Dr

Total 49920 12500 37420 Dr

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Figure 1.27 Bank Reconciliation Statement

The above screen explains tracking of bank dates.4. Press Ctrl+A to accept the Screen

Shown below is the reconciliation statement for the month of April 08 and the balance gets recon-ciled with the bank statement.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Accounts Books > Ledger2. Select National Bank from List of Ledgers3. Press F5 for Reconciliation

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Figure 1.28 Reconciled Bank Book

1.6 Forex Management Due to globalization, business Organizations from different nations deal with one another and thus, in multiple currencies. However, they are liable to maintain their books of accounts in the home currency. This leads to conversion of foreign currencies into home currency, which requires maintenance of exchange rates . In such a scenario, you may be concerned about the calculation of gain/loss due to exchange fluctuations. Tally gives a simple solution for this complicated procedure. The first step is to create the currency masters. Once the currencies are created, you may enter the exchange rates or directly enter vouchers in foreign currency along with exchange rate. Tally automatically calculates Forex Gain/Loss. Tally provides the user with the flexibility of entering/altering exchange rate and re-calculate gain/loss due to the change.

1.6.1 Creating Foreign Currency To enable the user to create foreign currencies, Tally provides a option in F11: Features. Press F11 and set Allow Multi-Currency to Yes.

To create a new currency, follow the steps:Go to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info. > Currencies > Create

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You will be required to enter the symbol, formal name, number of decimal places in the creation screen.For Example, to treat exports to the US, a currency has to be created with $ as its symbol and US Dollar as its formal name (you can also enter the letters USD instead of the symbol).Formal name will help you to specify/recognize a particular currency. By looking at $, one can assume it as Australian dollar or Singaporean dollar. Here, the formal name plays an important role in identifying the currency.Number of decimal places may vary from one currency to another. Normally, 2 (two) is accepted in the number of decimal places.

Show amounts in Millions is an option that can be set to Yes or No depending upon the nature of the currency.

The currency creation screen is shown below:

Figure 1.29 Currency Creation screen

1.6.2 Voucher entry in Foreign CurrencyOnce the currency is created, you can make voucher entries with amounts specified in that currency. In order to create an amount entry in foreign currency, prefix the amount with symbol of that foreign currency. When you accept such an amount, Tally will prompt for the rate of exchange

It may be 3 (three) for some currencies like Dinar and 0 (zero) for Vietnam-ese Dong.

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of that currency with respect to the home/base currency. With rate of exchange as input, amount is automatically converted into base currency. The rate of exchange is stored in the data reposi-tory, which can be altered any time in future.

The Accounting Voucher creation screen (prompting for rate of exchange) is shown below:

Figure 1.30 Forex Rate of Exchange screen

1.6.3 Display books with/ in Foreign CurrencyNormally, the books of account and the reports are displayed in base currency. However, Tally gives you the flexibility of displaying forex details as additional information.In order to view the forex details in the reports, press F12 in Day Book and set Show Forex Transactions to Yes.

Rates can be obtained from bankers or from print / visual / electronic media.

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The F12 configuration screen is shown below:

Figure 1.31 F12: Configuration screen

After enabling the option in F12, the Day Book appears as shown below:

Figure 1.32 Day Book

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1.6.4 Adjusting Forex gain/ loss The organisations that deal in multiple currencies are interested in knowing the forex gain/loss. Its analysis gives an insight into the deal i.e. whether it is fruitful or not. Tally makes the calculation of forex gain/loss simple.In order to adjust it, follow the steps:Create a voucher class Forex under journal voucher type.

Figure 1.33 Voucher Type Class screen

Create a ledger Forex Gain/Loss under indirect expenses or incomes (based on the past trend or future projections).

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Figure 1.34 Forex Gain/Loss Ledger Creation screen

To Create a Forex class journal voucherForex class journal voucher is created to adjust forex gain/loss. The steps are given below:

1. Press V to select Accounting Vouchers2. Press F7 to create a journal3. Select Forex in class4. Press F2 to change the date5. Select the concerned ledger (Naveen Traders, in this case) in particulars field6. Select the appropriate bill from the List of pending bills7. Forex gain/loss is automatically calculated and placed in the amount field

The completed forex class journal voucher is shown below:

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Figure 1.35 Forex Gain/Loss adjustment Journal

Once the Forex gain/loss has been adjusted or accounted for, it is shown in the Profit/Lossaccount. If it is not adjusted, then the amount appears in the Balance Sheet.

Figure 1.36 Profit & Loss A/c showing Forex Loss written off

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1.6.5 ASCII values for Foreign Currencies There are certain symbols that are not found on the keyboard. The ASCII values of some of those symbols are given below:

1.7 Final AccountsThe three financial accounting reports Trial Balance, Profit & Loss A/c and Balance Sheet are collectively known as Final Accounts. Trial Balance sums up the book of accounts. Profit & Loss a/c and Balance Sheets are derived from Trial balance.

1.7.1 Trial BalanceTally shows group wise Trial Balance. Next level detail for a group can be exploded by pressing Shift+Enter. Details of all groups can also be obtained through configuration except for groups behaving like sub-ledgers.A Trial Balance can be shown with opening balance, transactions and closing balance or for any one of these. Choosing transactions will give further liberty to restrict Net transaction (Net of Dr and Cr). Net transactions will be useful while viewing group summary for Expenditure groups / Income Groups. Proceeds from train ticket cancellation may also be credited in travelling expenses itself. In such a case, Net transaction will show Debit side total after adjusting the credits.Trial Balance can also be shown ledger wise. Sorting ledgers in ascending or descending order based on their names or amounts is also possibleTo view trial balanceGo to Gateway of Tally > Display > Trial Balance

Currency Symbol Formal Name ASCII Value¢ Cent Alt + 155£ Pound Alt + 156¥ Yen Alt + 157ƒ Franc Alt + 158€ Euro Alt + 0128

To get the currency symbol in Tally, keep the ALT key pressed and type the numbers from the numeric pad with the Num Lock on.

For all the other currencies, initials can be used to create the currency sym-bol e.g. DM for Deutsche Mark (German Currency).

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1. Press Alt+F1 for detailed format

Figure 1.37 Trial Balance

1.7.2 Profit & Loss A/cProfit and Loss account provides the details of all accounts along with the Net Credit & Debitprofit/loss during a period.Profit & Loss can be viewed horizontally as well as vertically. By default, it is in Horizontal Mode.

To view Profit & Loss A/c in Vertical mode1. Press F12 and set Show Vertical Profit & Loss to Yes

If there is a difference in opening balance, an additional line will be inserted at the end of the Trial Balance.

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To view trial balanceGo to Gateway of Tally > Profit & Loss A/c

1. Press Alt+F1 for detailed format

Figure 1.38 Profit & Loss A/c

To view Profit & Loss without percentage & gross profit. Press F12 and set Show percentages and Show with gross profit to No. Normally non-trading concerns / service providers require Profit & Loss without gross profit.To view Profit & Loss in different valuation methods, such as FIFO, LIFO, Avg .Cost, Avg Price, Std. Cost, Std. Price, etc. Press F7 and select any of the Valuation Method from the list.You can toggle between Income / Expenditure Statement & Profit & Loss A/c by pressing F11 feature and set Income/Expense Stmtinstead of P & L to Yes & No respectively. This will be useful for non-profit organizations such as Trusts, Educational Institutions, NGOs, and Hospitals etc.

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1.7.3 Balance Sheet Balance Sheet is an itemized financial statement that lists a Company’s total assets, liabilities, and capital at a given time. Generally, amounts shown on a balance sheet are the historic cost of items and not their current values.To view balance Sheet in Vertical mode press F12 and set Show Vertical Balance Sheet to YesBalance Sheet also adapts horizontal format by default. Vertical format, percentages, stock valuation methods are some of the options available to configure Balance Sheet.Balance Sheet can be set to show working capital. Working capital is the difference between current assets and current liabilities.All these three have the choice to display ledger’s names or alias names or both. Though Tally is a codeless accounting software, it has the flexibility to have codes for ledgers. This is to cater to the users who get migrated from codified accounts to Tally. Alias Name is the option to enter codes.Figures of these three reports (Trial Balance, Profit & Loss a/c & Balance Sheet) can also be converted into required scale factor i.e. rupees in tens, thousands, lakhs and so on. By using new number in scale factor, the figures can be converted into a multiplication or division factor. For example, if the new number is set as 47.5, then the figures will be divided by 47.5. Figures will get multiplied by 0.475, if new number is 0.475.

To view Balance Sheet1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Balance Sheet2. Press Alt+F1 for detailed format

Figure 1.39 Balance Sheet

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1.8 Management Reports & Functionalities 1.8.1 Ratio Analysis Ratio, in general terminology, is referred to as a quantitative relation between two numerical values. Ratio Analysis is a way of expressing relationships between a firm’s financial numbers. Ratios are most commonly used to analyze the financial and operational characteristics of a company. Ratios give managers a tool to conduct comparison and trend analysisRatios are used to effectively monitor and plan the following

Overall financial health of the businessLiquidity positionReceivables collectionPayables reschedulingLevel of exposure to external borrowingsProspective investment levelsManagerial decision making process

At centre (unit/division) level, ratios are one of the best tools to identifyAnd compare centre wise profitabilityCentres that require attention in terms of additional investment, cost reduction, human resources etc.The most and least preferred customers based on their performance

Ratios are effective management decision making tools. The following are some of the manage-ment decision making areas, where ratios are used

expansion of businessdiversificationraising additional working capitaladditional investment etc.

To change the method of showing balance Sheet press F12 and set Method of Showing Balance Sheet to either Assets/Liabilities or Liabilities/Assets.To view Balance Sheet with working capital. Press F12 and set Show Working Capital figures to Yes.You can view different valuation methods like (FIFO, LIFO, average. Cost, Avg Price, Std. Cost, Std. Price , etc) in the same way as Profit & Loss A/c

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To view Ratio Analysis1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Ratio Analysis

Figure 1.40 Ratio Analysis Report

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1.8.2 Cash Flow A Cash Flow is a measure of a business’s financial health. It is defined as cash receipts minus cash payments over a given period of time.Through Tally, a business can analyze the following:

The following ratios can be viewed in Tallyi. Current Ratio - (Current Assets: Current Liabilities): which indicates the

solvency position of the enterprise. The ideal ratio is 2 under normal busi-ness conditions.

ii. Quick Ratio - (Current Assets – Stock in Hand : Current Liabilities): which indicates the liquidity position of the enterprise. This ratio is useful in planning future cash requirements

iii. Debt Equity Ratio - (Loans (Liabilities) : Capital + Net Profit): which indi-cates the level of exposure to external borrowings and is a useful tool in determining the options of raising additional capital internally or externally.

iv. Gross profit % – Gross Profit / total Turnover – indicates the percentage of profit earned from direct operations (manufacturing)., This ratio is useful, where an enterprise produces more than one product, in identifying the order of profitability and making decisions such as increasing production capacity, continuance of a product etc.

v. Net Profit % -Net Profit/ Total Turnover – indicates the percentage of net profit earned by the enterprise after considering all expenses of the enter-prise. This is useful in identifying the overall profitability of the enterprise.

vi. Operating Cost – is referred to as the percentage of operating cost with respect to the total turnover – This ratio is useful in making decisions in the areas of cost control, cost reduction etc.

vii. Receivables Turnover –is an analysis of debtor wise payment perform-ance and a useful tool in identifying the most preferred and least preferred customers or agents and planning the receivables collection process.

viii. Return on Investment –is referred to as a percentage of net profit / capi-tal + net profit. This is a useful tool in measuring returns expected of the project/product and plan additional capital infusion, increase in production capacity (subject to market demand) etc.

ix. Return on working capital – is referred to as the percentage of net profitto working capital (current assets – current liabilities).

x. Working capital turnover ratio – indicates how effectively working capital is used in terms of turnover it can help to generate. It is a useful tool in iden-tifying the level of deployment of funds with respect to sales.

xi. Inventory turnover ratio –turnover / inventory – indicates the relation-ship of inventory with respect to sales. This is a useful tool in identifying the extent of investment in stock and indicates

Stock control measures whether to be taken in case of change in demand Procurement planning

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Periodic cash flows Group & Ledger wise cash flows

Periodic cash flow statements can be used by a business to effectively analyse and planThe current pattern of cash flow under various heads The timing and certainty of its future cash flowsThe availability of excess funds-the extent and tenor of such availability for short term investment.

Group & Ledger wise cash flow statements can be used toIdentify major heads, which require constant monitoring.Analyze the pattern of inflow/outflow under a particular group/ account head for planning overall cash requirement.

Cash flow statements can also be used as receipts and payments statement. This is particularly useful for businesses such as Non Profit Organizations where receipts and payments statements need to be generated.

To view Cash Flow Summary1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Cash/Fund Flow > Cash Flow

Figure 1.41 Cash Flow Statement

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To view detailed Detailed/Condensed Press Alt+F1

Figure 1.42 Cash Flow Summary

To view Daily flow / Break up Press F4

To view Monthly/Quarterly cash flow statement press Alt+F5 Further Dis-play can be configured through F12 Configuration

i. Appearance of names: alias / names, alias only, name/ alias, name only

ii. Scale factor for values: crores, ten millions, millions, ten lakhs, lakhs, ten thousands, thousands, hundred

iii. Periodicity to use: 4 week month, daily, fortnightly, half yearly, monthly, quarterly, weekly and yearly

iv. Show average details: selecting yes option will display the average of the selected period’s cash inflow and outflow at the end of the statement.

v. Show with Graph: selecting yes option will display the graph in terms of period selected.

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1.8.3 Funds Flow The Funds Flow depicts the Working Capital analysis of the company. It gives details of the movement of funds in a business, i.e. source of funds and their application. Working Capital is the net difference between Current Assets & Current LiabilitiesFund flow statements are useful tools to analyze

The changes in the net assetsIts financial structureIts solvency and liquidityIts operating performanceAreas that require immediate attentionPeriodic fund flowsGroup wise and ledger wise fund flows

Display of sources and application separately for each group enables a business to identify core areas that require immediate attention and take effective steps to address the issues. To view Funds Flow Summary

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Cash/Fund Flow > Fund Flow

Figure 1.43 Funds Flow Statement

2. Press Enter to get Funds flow Summary for the month

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Figure 1.44 Funds Flow Summary

1.8.4 Exception ReportsTo view Negative StockThis report lists Stock Items for which the closing balance has turned negative.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Exception Reports > Negative Stock2. Press Alt+F2 and type (From: 1/5/2006 and in To: 31/5/2006)

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Figure 1.45 Negative Stock Report

To view Negative LedgerThis report lists ledger accounts having reverse balances than less balances than what they are deemed to be possessing. For example, normally Asset or Expenses Type ledgers should have debit balance. All such ledgers, which are deemed to have debit / credit balances but are having credit / debit balances respectively (the reverse) are listed in this report.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Exception Reports > Negative Ledgers

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Figure 1.46 Negative Ledger Report

To view Memorandum VouchersThis brings month wise summary of Memorandum Vouchers showing numbers of Vouchers in each month.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Exception Reports > Memorandum Vouchers2. Select August Month Press Enter

Figure 1.47 Memorandum Vouchers

To View Reversing JournalsThis report displays monthly summary of Reversing Journal vouchers showing numbers of vouchers in each month.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Exception Reports > Reversing Journals2. Select September Month and press Enter.

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Figure 1.48 Reversing Journal Vouchers

To view Optional Vouchers1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Exception Reports > Optional Vouchers

Figure 1.49 Optional Vouchers

To view Post Dated Vouchers

To make optional voucher in to regular voucher select the voucher by press-ing Enter and then press Ctrl+L.

To create a Post dated voucherVoucher Date Activity

Sales 20-1-09 (later than the current date)

Create a voucher on a date later than the current date and click the button Post-Dated on the button bar.

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1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Exception Reports > Post Dated Vouchers

Figure 1.50 Post Dated Vouchers

1.8.5 Filters to Reports Tally retrieves numerous reports with varying contents & formats offering flexible configuration options. However, at times, a business may look for filtered Reports as per its specified condition.For example, for Income Tax or Audit purpose a business may wish to list all payments exceeding Rs.20000 paid in Cash or transactions involving commission, gift, subscription/ entrance fees paid to club or donations to political parties etc.Tally provides this option to specify Query criterion to retrieve filtered Reports based on specified Query Conditions.In the button bar, you may find Alt+F12 Range or press Alt+F7 and Ctrl+F12 Value or press Ctrl+F7 to build up your query through a series of screens to specify your conditions.Alt+F12 Range enables to filter information displayed on monetary value. Ctrl+F12 Value enables the user to specify Value to Calculate in ReportIn the query, you may give a single condition or multiple conditions. You may specify compound conditions by selecting appropriate operators from the Conditionpop-up.In case of compound conditions, you get results that satisfy ALL the conditions you specify by selecting AND operator. You can also specify to retrieve reports meeting ANY of the conditions you specify by selecting OR operator. You can also combine your specification.Thus, your query may read as under:

<Type of Info> having <Particulars> <Range of Info> value (if any) <Type of Info> having <Particulars> <Range of Info> value (if any) and/or <Type of Info> having <Particulars> <Range of Info> value (if any) and/or (in case of further conditions) so on.

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Following option appears at this pop-up depending on the Report:

Options of Particulars and Range of Info pop-ups depends on the selection of the item at Type of InfoAnd finally select the condition from the pop-up consisting of following options:

End of ListAndOr

ExampleTo retrieve list of transactions of Rs.3000 or more paid in Cash.To view Cash Ledger with FilterGo to Gateway of Tally > Display > Account Books > Ledger

1. Select Cash from List of Ledger Accounts2. Press Alt+F12 for Range of Information in Report3. Select Voucher from Type of Info4. Select Ledger Amount from particulars in Having field5. Select Greater than from range of Info6. Type 629.99 and press Enter

Type of Info:-Items for this option is report specific.

Accounts InventoryGroups Stock GroupsLedgers Stock ItemVouchers VouchersBills Locations

Voucher TypesStock CategoryVoucher Type

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7. Select And from Condition8. Select Vouchers from Type of Info9. Select Ledgers from particulars in Having field10. Select Name from particulars in With field11. Select Containing from Range of Info12. Type Cash

Figure 1.51 Alt+F12: Range screen

13. Select End of List from Condition14. Again Select End of List from Condition

The report will list only the voucher complying with the query condition.

Figure 1.52 Cash Ledger display

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1.8.6 Highest / Lowest / Average Balances To view Highest, Lowest and Average Balances in Ledger Voucher Monthly Summary.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Account Books > Ledger2. Select Global Traders from List of Ledgers and press F7

To view Average Balance1. Press F12 and set Show Average Details to Yes

To view High/Low Balances1. Press F12 and set Show High/Low details to Yes

Figure 1.53 High Low Average screen

Likewise, to retrieve vouchers containing keywords like ‘commission’, ‘gift’, ‘subscription’, ‘donation’ etc, you may build query as under:<Vouchers> having <Narration> containing “donation” to list all the vouchers where the narration contains the word “donation”.

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1.8.7 Flexible Periods AccountingIn Tally fixed Financial Period data of several years may be kept together in a single company and it is possible to obtain any report for any period (even of 5 years in case you have the data), whatever be your financial accounting year. Thus, you can get reports of a project spanned over a period of 5 years or the sales report of a customer for the last 3 years.

Setup1. Go to Gateway of Tally, press Alt+F2 to change date, From : 1/4/2008 and To : 31/3/

2009In the left top corner of the Gateway of Tally you can see the current date has changed from 1-4-2008 to 31-3-2009

For Example: To view comparative cash flow for the first 15 days of April and May 08Go to Gateway of Tally

1. Select Display2. Select Cash /Fund Flow3. Select Cash Flow4. Select any month and press Enter5. Press Alt+C for New Column

In Column Details1. Type 1/4/2008 in From (blank for beginning)2. Type 15/4/2008 in To (blank for end)3. Select Base Currency for Currency4. Press Enter5. Press Alt+C again for New Column

The High / Low balance details are added after the Grand Totals.

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In Column Details1. Type 1/5/2008 in From (blank for beginning)2. Type 15/5/2008 in To (blank for end)3. Select Base Currency for Currency4. Press Enter

Figure 1.54 Cash Flow Summary

1.8.8 Presentation ManagerTally has a classical menu interface. But it also provides buttons in a report, which allows the user to change to any other accounting or inventory report. While doing so, Tally stores the history of reports traversed internally. When you press Esc key you reach the previous report you were viewing, and this process continues till you reach Gateway of Tally. This feature of Tally can be effectively used to present accounts in Tally to an audience with the help of a PC or an LCD projector connected to a PC. Consider an example where you need to show following screens in the given order to the audience.

Stock Summary Sales Register Trial Balance Profit & Loss a/c Balance Sheet

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Ratio Analysis

To arrive at the Stock Summary Report, select the reports in the reverse order.1. Launch Tally & Select the required Company2. Select Ratio Analysis from Gateway of Tally3. Press F10 for Accounting Reports & select Balance Sheet from the list4. Press F10 for Accounting Reports & select Profit & Loss from the list5. Press F10 for Accounting Reports & select Trial Balance from the list6. Press F9 for Inventory Reports & select Stock Summary from the List

1.8.9 Percentage based Reporting Businesses do analytical review of the financial statements. Percentage plays a vital role in defining the financial statement.Profit & Loss A/c, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance are the reports that can be configured to show percentages. Totals of each column/side are taken as the base for calculating percentages of Trial Balance and Balance Sheet items. Sales Accounts total will be the base for percentages of Profit & Loss A/c items.Gross Profit Ratio, Net Profit Ratio, percentage of purchase or expenditure on sales, stock holding percentages are the benefits of percentage reported Profit & Loss A/c. A business’s cost effectiveness can be derived by the percentage of cost of sales on sales.Percentage based Balance Sheet will derive the contribution rate of each source and usage rate of each application. Analyzing the percentage of applications helps in reduction of working capital requirement, capital block in idle / excessive stock and so on. Percentage wise sources, will give an idea about the rate of borrowed capital / equity, current liabilities.Multi columnar Trial Balance with the percentage helps in inter / intra firm comparison. While using columnar report, percentages can be calculated either on the vertical totals or on the hori-zontal totals. Percentage can also be calculated on the first column of the report.For example, B Ganesh, Proprietor of both Ganesh Enterprises and Ganesh Traders can compare his entities by using column and percentages. Percentages based on vertical totals will enable him to view the percentage reported Trial Balance of two entities at a time. Where percent-

In all the periodic summary reports (Monthly, weekly, daily, fortnightly. quar-terly, etc) Bar Graphs can be viewed at the bottom of the screen.

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age on Cross Totals, will show the total of every group of both entities and entity’s share in every group.From a Trial balance configured to show the percentages, user can drill down upto ledger monthly summary along with percentages.

To view Percentage based reportingGo to Gateway of Tally > Display > Trail Balance

1. Press Alt+N (Auto Repeat Columns)2. Select Company in Repeat Using3. Type Yes in Show Total Column4. Press F12 : Configure5. Set Show Percentage to Yes6. Set Type of % age to of Totals7. Press Ctrl+A to generate the report

Figure 1.55 Trial Balance

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Lesson 2: Advanced Inventory

Lesson Objectives At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Classify the Stock items and get more flexibility in the reportsCreate Price List (s) and use these prices in the Invoice creationConfigure Tally for generating following Stock Reports Stock Summary Movement Analysis Ageing Analysis Stock Query

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Advanced Inventory

IntroductionBy now we are comfortable working with the inventory part in Tally. We have already discussed about the basic features such as creation of stock item, stock group, price list and multiple price list etc. We shall now get into the depth of the Tally software and configure Tally for the advanced features for inventory, such as: classify the stock items, re-order level, re-order status, stock valuation, reports related to stock etc.,

2.1 Classification of Stock ItemsBooking of the inventory transactions not only includes the accounts ledgers but also the stock items. You create the stock items the company is dealing in i.e. all the items that you purchase, manufacture and sell. In the reports pertaining to these stock items, you might require the list of stock items classified according to the dimension you follow or the dimension your client (to whom you want to show the report) follows. Thus, in order to organize your stock items, Tally provides you the facility to create stock groups and stock categories. Stock groups and stock categories may be viewed as different dimensions to classify the stock items. Stock Items are the actual items that are transacted (purchased, manufactured or sold) and take part in any Inventory Voucher. For Example, a medicine dealer may prefer to classify items on the basis of the manufacturer. This will help him to list stock items pertaining to a company and place orders with that company. He may also classify the same items on the basis of the type of medicines. This will help him to offer an alternate item, in case the desired item is not available in stock.Consider another example of a bookshop. A bookshop owner may prefer to classify books on the basis of subject, author or publisher. Tally allows a parallel method to organize the Stock Items under Stock Group and Stock Catego-ries and retrieve either report. This offers great flexibility in reporting.

To view all the stock items under the relevant stock groups and sub groups, follow the steps:Go to Gateway of Tally -> Display -> List of Accounts -> Stock Items (Ctrl+I)

The List of Accounts screen is shown below:

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Figure 8.1 List of Stock Items

2.2 Reorder LevelReorder Level is important for manufacturers or the assembling industry for timely procurement of materials to ensure there is no production loss due to non-availability of raw materials or components on time. In the same way, a business can identify items for which timely orders are placed for proper servicing their customers.The management determines the Reorder level for each item, which is the quantity when the stock for the item reaches that specified level, the procurement order is placed with vendor. This level is normally derived based on past experience, Tally allows a facility to compute, based on the previous consumption during a specific period. Many vendors determine a minimum ordering quantity for accepting order for each item. In some businesses, it is economical to buy a larger lot as compared to immediate requirement -you can specify such Minimum Ordering Quantity to achieve economies of scale.The Reorder level helps to place Purchase Order for proper quantity at the right time.

When the stock-in-hand reaches the Reorder level, the Organization should place an order with the vendor for supplies. Every business desires to execute its customer orders in time and also have sufficient stocks to serve them, yet avoid over-stocking. Therefore, the Reorder level takes into account the lead time taken by suppliers to deliver the ordered materials, the time required to deliver materials to the customer and the stock in hand to execute orders in the stipulated time.Thus, the re-order level makes a balance between Stock-out & Overstocking. The Reorder level figure may be based on historical data, recent past consumption or sales trends. It may vary from trade to trade and even for item to item.

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In view of varied requirements, Tally provides twin options - Simple and Advanced. In the Simple mode, you can enter absolute quantity for re-order and Minimum Order Qty. In the Advanced mode, you can additionally compute Re-order / Minimum Order Qty based on consumption for last period & other parameters specific to your requirement.

2.2.1 Assigning Reorder Level To Specify Reorder Level Quantity

Setup 11. Gateway of Tally-> F11: Inventory Features 2. Set Allow Purchase Order Processing to Yes

Setup21. Go to Gateway of Tally > Inventory Info. > Reorder Levels2. Select the Group (For example: Accessories), screen displays all Stock Items under

the selected Group (Accessories)3. Enter Re-Order Level Quantity and Minimum Order Quantity for each Item

Figure 8.2 Reorder Levels screen

4. Press Ctrl+A to accept the screen

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To Specify Reorder Level Quantity in Advance Mode1. Press Alt+R for the Advance Mode (or click Adv Reorder button)

Figure 8.3 Advanced Reorder Levels Screen

2. Press Ctrl+A to accept the screen

This will activate the Reorder Level entry in Advanced mode where Reorder level may be based on past consumption. The following additional fields appears in the Advanced mode:

Consumption for the last

Enter the value of the period in number ( in terms of days / weeks / months or year) by selecting in the next field from Periods pop-up menu to get the consumption of the Stock Item for computing the Reorder quantity.

Period Select the Period from Periods pop-up. The options are: Days, Months, Weeks and Years.

Criteria Select either Higher or Lower.

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2.2.2 Reorder StatusThis report helps to take appropriate decisions for timely purchase of materials and provides all a ready and relevant information required for placement of a Purchase Order.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statements of Inventory > Reorder Status2. Select the Group (For example: Accessories)

Figure 8.4 Reorder Status Report

To enter Minimum Order Qty in Advanced mode, click Adv Min. Qty but-ton

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2.3 Multiple Price LevelsIn order to maintain price consistency, businesses maintain Price List(s) that ensures accuracy in invoices as the sale price in invoices are normally carried from the price list.As a requirement or strategy, a business may have a fixed price for an item for all customer segments or different pricings for the same item for different customer segments. In some cases, a business may have quantity slab-wise pricing and/or discount.To meet the diversified business needs, Tally provides two options to enter the selling price of the Stock Items.

Standard Price: In case of a single price across all customer segments, the selling price is entered in Stock Item master.Multiple Price List: In case of different pricings for different customer segments, a multiple price list is essential. Each party is linked with the applicable price list for correct billing.

To get reports for all the Stock Items, select Primary from List of Group.To view more information about the Stock item press Enter on the respective column in Inventory Reorder Status.To view Item Movement Analysis report, select the Item and press Enter.To view Item Voucher Analysis report, select the supplier and press Enter.To view Purchase Orders Pending report for a specific Item, select quantity from Purc Orders Pending and press Enter.To view Sale Orders Pending report for a specific Item, select quantityfrom Sales Orders Due and press Enter.To view Reorder level report for a specific Item, select the item from Re-order Level and press Enter

Shortfall: Computed as Net Available minus Reorder LevelIf the figure turns negative, the quantity is shown as a shortfall recom-mending for placement of order for the shortfall quantity to maintain re-order level. Minimum Order Quantity: Displays Minimum Order Quantity as entered in the Re-Order Level screen.Order to be Placed: If Shortfall is less than the Minimum Order Quantity, Tally proposes Order to be Placed equal to Minimum Order Qty, else equal to the Shortfall Quantity.

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2.4 Reports2.4.1 Stock SummaryThe Stock Summary report gives a comprehensive report of all Stock Groups and items. You can view the complete listing of all items till the lowest level, i.e., Location and/or Batch. You can drill down to subsequent level to get finer details. The Stock Summary can be compared with the Trial Balance report. Considering its importance, the Stock Summary is the lone report that appears directly in the Gateway of Tally menu.To view a Stock Summary report:

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Stock Summary2. Press Alt+F1 to get detailed format

The Stock Summary report is shown below:

Figure 8.5 Stock Summary Screen

By default, the Stock Summary displays closing balances with details of quantity, rate and value for the Stock Groups or Items.

3. Press F12:Configure and configure the contents of the Report. For example to dis-play Quantity, Rate, Value, inward and outward and closing balance.

The F12 Configuration screen is shown below:

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Figure 8.6 F12: Configuration screen

After the Configuration is set up, the Stock Summary is as shown below:

Figure 8.7 Stock Summary Report after Configuration

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Profitability & Consumption Reporting In order to view the Gross Profit figures in the previous report (Stock Summary), press F7. The Value column shows the realized (i.e. Sales) value; Consumption shows Purchase or Production cost; and Gross Profit displays the excess amount of value over Consumption (loss is shown with minus symbol prefixed to amount); Percentage shows %-age of Profit over (Sales) value. Thus you can instantly get the Gross Profit for each Stock Group or Item.The Stock Summary with profitability and consumption columns is shown below:

Figure 8.8 Stock Summary Report Profitability and Consumption Columns

You can get for a Stock Item the group-wise or Item-wise gross profit earned.

Stock ValuationBy default, the value of stock is computed as per default valuation specified in the Stock Item master. To value stock on some other method, press Alt+C to get New Column screen. At method of Stock valuation, select the valuation method. The column details screen is shown below:

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Figure 8.9 All Valuation Methods screen

For example, if you wish to know the difference in stock when valued by the Default method and FIFO method, select FIFO in the Method of Stock Valuation field. You will get a comparative report. The method of Stock valuation selected appears as the column heading.

The Stock Summary showing the comparison with the FIFO method is shown below:

Figure 8.10 Stock Summary showing comparison Default with FIFO

To view Stock valued on all valuation methods, press Alt+N to display the Auto Repeat Columnsscreen. Select Stock Valuation Methods in Repeat Using field. The columnar report will display valuation based on each valuation method.

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The Stock Summary with all the valuation methods is shown below:

Figure 8.11 Stock Summary with all valuation methods

Godown wiseIn order to view godown-wise break-up for each item in the Stock Summary.

1. Press F12: Configure2. Set Expand all levels in Detailed Format to Yes 3. Press Alt+F1 to display report in detailed format.

The godown-wise detailed Stock Summary is shown below:

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Figure 8.12 Godown-wise Stock Summary

2.4.2 Movement AnalysisThe Movement Analysis reports show those inventory transactions for which accounting trans-actions have also been recorded.Example: Transactions such as Goods sent but Bill not raised are not included in the reports. This report displays the details of stock flow and their effective costs. It also helps to track theprocess-wise cost of production.

Stock Group AnalysisTo view the Item Movement Analysis for a specific stock group:This report shows the details of inward and outward transactions for all the stock items of that group.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Inventory Books > Movement Analysis > Stock Group Analysis

2. Select the Group from List of Groups (e.g. Accessories)3. Press Alt+F1 to get a detailed format.

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Figure 8.13 Movement Analysis

Stock Item AnalysisTo display Item Movement Analysis for a specific stock item:This report screen displays the details of Movement Inward and Movement Outward with the movement values of the selected stock item.

The report also lists the Transfers Inward/Production and Transfers Outward/ Consumption.1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Inventory Books > Movement Analysis >

Stock Item Analysis2. Select a Stock Item (e.g. USB Pen Drives 64 MB)

To get report for all the Stock Item, select Primary from List of Groups.

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Figure 8.14 Item Movement Analysis

The Effective Rate consists of Basic rate plus additional costs. In order to view the additional cost details, highlight the voucher type under Movement Inward or Movement Outward and press Enter. This will display the Item Voucher Analysis for the particular stock item.

Figure 8.15 Item Voucher Analysis

2.4.3 Stock Ageing AnalysisThe Ageing Analysis report lists the age-wise break-up of inventory to display the old stocks. Tally gives its users the flexibility to define their own ageing slabs.Ageing Analysis helps to list out batch wise items that have already expired or may expire in the near future. This information helps the management to promptly decide about the action to be taken for the materials whose value is waning.

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To view the Ageing Analysis report1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Inventory Books > Ageing Analysis2. Select the Group for which ageing analysis is required.

This report is displayed in a columnar format showing Item details, Quantity, value and age-wise break-up.

Figure 8.16 Stock Ageing Analysis

To display the report for all Stock items. 1. Select Primary from List of Groups2. Press Hide Amounts button to hide the Value column

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Figure 8.17 Stock Ageing Analysis without values

For getting the Item Monthly Summary report, press Enter in the Total Quantity Column of the Item.For further drill down to Stock Journals of the Item, press Enter for the month you want the stock journal.To define the ageing slab press F6.To get the value of the stock other than default method, press F7 and select from All Valuation Method for example Avg.Cost, Avg.Price, FIFO,etc.,If you want to view only the Quantity of the Item, press Hide Amountbutton or press Alt+A.

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2.4.4 Stock Query A Query is a comprehensive report for a selected stock item that displays all related information including details of other items in the same stock Group/Category in one screen. It also displays the Godown wise / batch wise detailed stock position, the Last Purchase Cost and Sale Priceand the Name of Customer to whom last sold.

To view a Stock Query Report1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statement of Inventory > Stock Query2. Select the Item from List of Items (For example: CDROM Jackets)

Figure 8.18 Stock Query screen

3. Press F12: Configure

You may define Ageing Style in four different ways.

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4. Set Show Related Items of same Group to Yes, for displaying all items under the same Stock Group.

5. Set Show Remarks of the item to Yes, for displaying the remarks entered in the Stock Item master.

Figure 8.19 Stock Query — All items of the Group

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Lesson 3: Administration

Lesson ObjectivesBy the end of this lesson, you will be able to

Understand the commands in Tally Configuration File Configure Tally for consolidating a Group of CompaniesActivate Security Control Create different types of security levels and define their level of usage Create different users under appropriate security levels Activate Tally Audit Track changes in Ledgers Track changes in Vouchers Encrypt a Company data Decrypt a Company data Configure Tally for Data Management Backup & Restore Rewriting Books Export & Import of Data Splitting of Company Data ODBC

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Introduction System Administration is a collection of tasks and responsibilities carried out by a System Admin-istrator to set up the system and keep it in good running order. Similarly the data in Tally needs to be administered, monitored and explored for usage in other applications.The topics covered under this section are technically essential and need to be understood in detail and should be carried out under caution.

3.1 Tally.ini - Tally Configuration File

The Administrator needs to understand the various commands that are or can be mentioned in this file. All the statements starting with “;” (semicolon) are actually comments mentioned. All the commands in this file are case insensitive, but space sensitive in the data & file path naming spec-ifications.

Data Syntax: Data=[Data path]You have to specify the data path in the command mentioned above. If a Directory name is only provided without the path details, Tally then assumes that the Directory has to be created in its own Application Directory and creates it as if it did not exist. You cannot specify multiple Directory paths in the configuration file.

TallyLicense Syntax: TallyLicense : <Type>This command is required for the Softlock version of Tally. The type of license needs to be specified here. The current available value for this command is “Connect”.

TallyLock Syntax: TallyLock= [IP Address or PC Name] or NoneThis command is applicable for users having a Hardware Lock (Dongle) version of Tally on the Server where the lock is attached to the parallel port.

ExampleTallylock=localhostFor the client on the networkTallyLock=<IPAddressofthePCwherethelockisattached>orTallyLock=<nameofthePCwherelockisattached>TouseTallyinEducationalVersionTallyLock=None

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Default Companies Syntax: Default Companies = [Logical Value]This command helps the Administrator / user to enable or disable the loading of a Company or Companies with the help of the “Load” command. If this is set to No, all “Load” commands will be ignored.

Load Syntax: Load= [Company Number]The number of the Company to be loaded needs to be specified here. You can give as many Load statements as you want in the Configuration file. The Companies will be loaded as per the sequence given. You may omit the initial zeroes in the number, if any,e.g. if the Company number is 0001 then you may specify Load=1.

User TDL Syntax: User TDL=[Logical Value]You can specify the name or path of the TCP(s) (Tally Compliant Product), if any, in the User TDL field. Example: TDL= tdlfile.1 [This command should be included if and only if Tally application is cus-tomised]

Config Syntax: Config= [Configuration Path] Tally saves the Tallysav.dat (F12:Configuration settings file) in this path. If you realise that the settings you had done are not saved, then the path specified in the configuration file for this command is wrong or non-existent.

Language Path Syntax:Langpath=[Language Path]You have to specify the Language path with the command mentioned above. If a Directory name is provided without the path details, then Tally assumes that the Directory exists in its Application Directory and creates it as if it did not exist. You cannot specify multiple directory paths in the con-figuration file.

Color Syntax: Color= [Logical Value]

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If the value for this command is set to NO, then the Tally screens are shown in grey scale and not in the default colours of Tally.

Figure 9.1 Tally.ini file

3.2 Consolidation

A business group consisting of constituent companies, requires consolidation of accounts of its group companies to present its total financial position. The Management or shareholders would first like to know the performance of the group as a whole followed by the performance of individ-ual constituent companies.Tally makes consolidation of final accounts of the group, an easy task. The concept is simple yet so powerful that you can consolidate the accounts of any number of companies at any time, as well as keep them separate at the same time.The information available in the group company is limited to information up to the ledger level. The voucher level information cannot be pulled from the group company accounts, i.e. vouchers of a ledger common to all the constituent companies cannot be consolidated & seen in the group company.

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Consider Acme Corporation and Acme Apparels as constitiuent comapnies of Acme Ltd.To Create Group CompanyTo create a Group Company you should select a minimum of two companies.StepsThe steps to create a group company are outlined here.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally2. Press Alt + F3 and select the first company Acme Corporation3. Press Alt + F3 and select the second company Acme Apparels4. Press Alt + F3 and select Create Group Company5. Type the name of the Group Company (For Example, Acme Ltd) in the Company

Creation Screen6. Type other relevant details (Mailing Name, Address, E-Mail, VAT Regn.No, PAN/

Income-Tax No.) 7. In Members field, select the Company you want to group from List of Compa-

nies(For example, Acme Corporation & Acme Apparels can be the Members of Group Company, Acme Ltd)

8. Press Enter to accept the screen

Consolidated Balance SheetYou must select the Group Company (Acme Ltd) to view the Consolidated Balance Sheet of both the companies under it.

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Balance Sheet

The Balance Sheet is displayed with the consolidated details of the accounts of both constituent companies.To view the details of Acme Corporation and Acme Apparels companies in the Balance Sheetreport,

1. Press Alt + C and select the first company, Acme Corporation from List of Compa-nies. Specify details like, From and To dates, Currency and the method of stock valu-ation.

2. Press Alt + C and select the second company, Acme Apparels from List of Compa-nies displayed.

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3.3 Security3.3.1 Security Control A security control is a control measure. It helps in preventing unauthorised access and usage of data. Every authorised user would be provided an access to the company data with a unique user name and password. The Administrator has the ultimate responsibility to regulate the creation of usres and their control. The Administrator defines the different levels of usage and creates users under the appropriate types of usage. For example, Data Entry level users are restricted to voucher entry alone. They will not be allowed to access certain financial reports like Profit & Loss A/c, Balance Sheet and Fund Flow state-ments.

Activating Security ControlThe Security Control is activated while creating a new Company or by modifying it. In case of an existing Company,

Step 1: To Create Security Control for the Company1. Select the Company for which a security control has to be activated – i.e. Acme Cor-

poration2. Press Alt + F3 in the Gateway of Tally3. Select Alter in the Company Info. menu4. Select Acme Corporation from List of Companies 5. Press Enter until you reach the field Use Security Control6. Set Use Security Control to Yes 7. Type John in the Name of Administrator field8. Type AC2004 in the Password and in the Repeat fields9. A message Forgetting your password will render your data unusable displays10. Press Enter11. Set No to the field Use Tally Audit Features?12. Press Ctrl+A to accept the screen

Name of Administrator & Password field can be Alphanumeric Case sensitive Special Characters not entertained Maximum of 15 characters Entries in the Password field will be displayed as asterisks.

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Figure 9.2 Company Alteration screen

Step 2: To verify if the Security Control created for the Company is correct or not1. Press Alt + F1 to shut the Acme Corporation Company2. Select Acme Corporation again from the Company Info. Menu3. The Company Login screen is displayed 4. Type John in the Name of User field and AC2004 in Password (if any) field.

Figure 9.3 Company Login screen

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Security LevelBy default, Tally has two types of security levels viz. Owner and Data Entry. A Owner has all the rights except the creation of Security Control and alteration of the Company details. Data Entry uses the basic facilities of Owner with some restrictions as specified by the user or by default. Besides these, a user can create any number of usages by using basic facilities of Owner with stipulated restrictions.

ExampleAcme Corporation proposes to restrict its Accounts Department users from altering Accounts Masters while allowing them to use all the other options.

To Create a Type of Usage:1. Select Acme Corporation by typing Name of user as John and Password as

AC20042. Press Alt + F3 in Gateway of Tally3. Select Security Control in the Company info. screen4. Select Types of Security in the Security Control screen5. Press Down arrow key at the Data Entry field to move the cursor to the next field6. Type Accounts and press Enter7. Press Enter in the Use Basic Facilities of field8. Press Enter in the Days allowed for Back Dated vouchers field9. Press Enter in the Cut-off date for Back Dated vouchers field10. Select Alter from Type of Access in the Disallow the following Facilities column11. Select Accounts Masters from List of Reports12. Select End of List from Type of Access13. Press Enter to move to the Allow the following Facilities column14. Select End of List from Type of Access15. Press Enter to move to the Security Levels screen

If you are creating a new company, set the field ‘Use Security Control’ to Yes at the Company Creation Screen itself.

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The Security Levels screen is displayed as shown below.

Figure 9.4 Security Level Definition screen

Figure 9.5 Security Levels screen

16. Press Ctrl+A to accept the screen.

Besides altering, the following are the other types of access that can be restricted while creating / altering a type of usage:

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Figure 9.6 Other Types of Access Screen

Besides Accounts Masters, the following are some of the reports for which access can be restricted.

Figure 9.7 Other Reports for Access Screen

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Users and PasswordsThrogh this field option, you can assign a name and password for an user under appropriate type of usage.

Example: Let us assume that the Accounts Department has a Manager, a Cashier and an Accountant. A Manager has full rights but others but is not allowed to alter the Accounts Masters.

To create Users and their passwords:1. Select Acme Corporation by typing Name of user as John and Password as

AC20042. Press Alt + F3 in Gateway of Tally3. Select Security Control in the Company Info. screen4. Select Users and Passwords in the Security Control screen5. Enter the following details for List of users in the Company dialog window.

Figure 9.8 List of Users for Company

6. Press Enter to accept the screen.

Name of User Password( if any) Security LevelAcct Manager Am OwnerAccountant Acc AccountsCashier Cr Accounts

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Logging in as a User1. Press Alt + F1 to shut the Company.2. Select Select Company in the Company Info. screen3. Select Acme Corporation from List of Companies in the Select Company screen 4. Press Enter to move to the Company Login screen5. Type Accountant in the Name of User field and Acc in the Password (if any) field.

As the users of Accounts Department are restricted from altering the Accounts Masters, the Alteroption under Accounts info > Ledgers screen is deactivated.

Figure 9.9 Accounts Info Menu

3.3.2 Tally AuditAll businesses periodically audit their books of accounts personally or through the auditor. This check is to ensure correctness and to monitor the entries. Tally Audit is a checking tool available to the Administrator. Through this feature, ledgers and vouchers are checked and accepted periodically. A periodical checking leads to tracking of unau-thorised changes to the accepted entries. For example, if a user makes a few material changes in an accepted voucher after Tally Audit,. this change is listed with the user’s name with entry and alterations done. However changes to narration and reference will not be considered as material changes, whereas change in the amount allotted or change in the name of the ledger will attract attention of the Tally Audit feature. Tally Auditt feature should be enabled while creating the Company and its Security levels. Only a user designated as an Auditor or the Administrator can view the audit list and act upon it. Tally tracks all changes made to vouchers that are more than 30 days old. Therefore changes to

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vouchers that are less than 30 days old are not reported. This is to allow adequate time to correct mistakes. A change includes insertion of new transactions or accounts.An Auditor can use this facility by logging in as an Administrator. The advantage of this feature is that the physical presence of the auditor is not required. The Auditor can perform his tasks period-ically, yet can track the changes made after the last audit. A regular backup is required after every backup to track the changes made if any.

To Activate Tally Audit1. Select Acme Corporation and login throgh the administrative user name & password2. Press Alt + F3 from Gateway of Tally3. Select Alter from Company Info menu4. Select Acme Corporation from the drop-down List of Companies displayed5. Press Enter untill you reach the field Use Tally Audit Features?6. Set Yes to Use Tally Audit Features7. Press Ctrl + A to accept the screen

Figure 9.10 Company Alteration screen - Tally Audit

Audit of LedgersThe audit of the ledgers involves checking them for opening balance brought forward & any inten-tional changes after checking. To Audit Ledgers

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1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statements of Accounts > Tally Audit > Ledg-ers

2. Highlight the ledger name that is to be audited3. Press Enter to drill-down further to view the Voucher level information to correct the

ledger if any4. If there are any corrections to be done, correct necessary entries and accept the

screen, else, press Ctrl + A5. Press F7 button on the button bar to accept the changes.

Tally Audit Listing Screen is displayed as shown below.

Figure 9.11 Tally Audit listing - Ledgers

After accepting a ledger, it will not be shown in the list of new / modified ledgers. Press Alt + F7 to accept all ledgers at a time.

Press F6 to bring back all the ledgers irrespective of acceptance. Since Tally Audit allots ID number for every ledger, it is easy to track it even

it is changed/modified.

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Audit of VouchersThe audit of vouchers involves checking its accuracy and other necessary details.

Setup1. Gateway of Tally->F12 :Configure->Voucher Entry 2. Set Show Cost Centre Details to No 3. Set Show Inventory Details to Yes 4. Set Show Bill- wise Details to Yes

To Audit vouchers:1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Display > Statements of Accounts > Tally Audit >

Vouchers2. Press Alt + F2 to change the period and type 1/4/2008 in the From and 30/4/2008 in

the To fields3. Press Alt + F1 to display List of New/Modified Vouchers4. Press F12:Configure5. Set Show Entered/Altered by to Yes

Figure 9.12 Tally Audit Listing - Vouchers

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Tracking ChangesTally audit highlights if any accepted vouchers modified / deleted.In this case, assume that two Sales Vouchers are accepted by Accountant.The Voucher Nos are 1 &2 entered by Unknown. Then list appears after acceptance as shown below:

Figure 9.13 Tally Audit Listing - Accepted Vouchers

To accept vouchers one by one, press F7 To accept all vouchers at one go, press Alt + F7 An accepted voucher/s will be removed from the list displayed. Please

make sure to check the voucher to be audited while selecting it as there is no key to bring back the accepted voucher/s.

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The two vouchers are removed after acceptance from the Tally Audit Listing as shown above.

In order to distinguish the modified vouchers from the new vouchers, Tally shows them in italics font along with Altered by username and On Date.If the Accountant has changed the amount in the Payment Vr 2 from 800 to 900, it is displayed in Italics as shown with the username.

Figure 9.14 Tally Audit Listing - Altered Vouchers

3.3.3 Tally VaultBusinesses may need to maintain confidentiality and secrecy of their financial data. Especially, the information concerned with Finance and Taxation. Tally vault is one of the most secured means of the information storage. While Tally vaulting a company, data is stored in an encrypted format. The Name of the company is also displayed in the encrypted mode so as to have a better privacy. The company data where this option is exercised is left untouched and instead a new company is created with the Tally Vaulted data. Operations on Tally Vault data will be slower by at least 40%.

Vaulting a Company DataTo Vault a Company Data:

1. Select Acme Corporation

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2. Press Alt+F3 in Gateway of Tally3. Select Change TallyVault in the Company Info. screen4. Type Accorp in the New Password field5. Type Accorp in the Repeat New Password field

Figure 9.15 Change TallyVault screen

6. Press Y or Enter to accept the screen

The encrypted company data is created as a new Company. A message is shown with the company number on completion of encryption. Remembering the number shown in this message will help access the encrypted / vaulted company data.Press Alt + F1 to shut the original data. Tally will keep the original data also in the storage. Users will have the right to decide whether to keep or remove it. Removing the original data from storage is advisable.To access the vaulted company, select the company by identifying the number allotted to it i.e. 10001 ( for example)

Figure 9.16 List of Companies

1. Type the TallyVault password.

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Figure 9.17 TallyVault Password screen

If the company has the security control feature enabled, then Company Login screen will follow the Vault screen.

Decrypting encrypted Company Data1. Select the Tallyvaulted company and type vault password.2. Press Alt + F3 in Gateway of Tally3. Select Change Tally Vault in the Company Info. screen4. Select Acme Corporation from List of Companies 5. Type the existing password in the Current Password field6. Type the new password in the New Password field7. Repeat the new password at the Repeat New Password field

Change TallyVault screen will be displayed as shown below prompting for the user’s reply for decryption.

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Figure 9.18 Change TallyVault Decrypt Screen

8. Press Any key to give the consent and proceed further9. Press Y or Enter to accept the screen

The decrypted data is created as a new company. A message along with new company number is shown on completion of decryption.Press Alt + F1 to shut the encrypted data. Tally will keep the encrypted data also in the storage. It is better to keep any one of these data at a time. Unless this may lead to confusion in updating books.

3.4 Data ManagementData Administration has assumed its own importance in the smooth sailing of any business. The Administrator has to remember that working speed of Tally reduces not on the volume of transac-tions but on the volume of masters such as Account Groups, Account Ledgers, Bills, Cost Catego-ries, Cost Centres, Currency, Stock Groups, Stock Items, Stock Categories, Godowns, Batches, Price Lists, Budgets, Tracking Numbers, Orders etc. Each of the masters or features when enabled will add another dimension to already existing data.The Administrator should minimize the use of each of the above mentioned masters. Lesser the number of masters created and features enabled will make sure Tally works in a much faster way.

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3.4.1 Backup & RestoreData once lost cannot be reproduced. To address this concern, a backup data has to be main-tained. Hence creating data backup on a day to day basis is strongly recommended.The possible storage media on which data backup can be taken directly and stored are Floppy disks, Pen drives, CDR, CDRW, Hard disks, Network drives, Tape drives etc. Of the storage mediums mentioned above, Floppy disks are not dependable, hence should not be used unless there is no other medium available. Typically while taking data backup, you should not overwrite the recent backup taken.Tally has a flexible backup mechanism where in you can take a backup of the data from virtually any storage medium into any other medium.

Taking a Backup1. Press Alt + F3 from Gateway of Tally2. Select Backup from the Company Info. Menu

The Backup Screen is displayed as shown below.

Figure 9.19 Backup Companies on Disk screen

While restoring the backed up data, great care should be exercised.

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The Restore Screen is displayed as shown.

Figure 9.20 Restore companies on Disk

In Backup screen, Source field is followed by Destination field. In the case of Restore screen, Destination field is followed by the Source field.

Tally automatically places the folder name in Source to where the earlier backup was taken. Hence, you may unknowingly restore the old data. Care should be taken and the correct path should be typed in Source field.

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3.4.2 Export & Import of DataExport of DataThe export of data is required by the companies to carry Tally’s data into other systems like spreadsheets and databases or to send as an attachment by email.Data can be exported from Tally in four different formats, namely,

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)SDF (Standard Data Format)XML (Extensible Markup Language)

ASCIIThe data in this format in every line is separated by a Comma. This format is readable by Microsoft Excel directly, especially when the extension of the file is .CSV (Comma Separated Val-ues).For example, if you export Trial Balance from Tally in a file viz., Trialbal.CSV; you will see the Excel icon allotted for this file when you list the file in Windows File browser. The data in this file will also be a in readable format for all text editing applications like Notepad, WordPad, email programs etc.

Example:,In the Trial Balance report,1. Press Alt + E2. Keep the Langauge to Default ( All Languages)3. Change the file format to ASCII4. Change the output file name extension to Trialbal.CSV5. Press Enter in all the other fields

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Figure 9.21 Exporting Trial Balance

Figure 9.22 Exported Trial Balance

The Exported file Trialbal.csv can be found in the directory where Tally is installed.

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HTMLData in this format appears just as shown in Tally’s reports, with the colours & the formatting almost intact. Data in this format is used to upload on the websites or can be sent as an attach-ment to clients / suppliers. You can use Microsoft Excel also to view the report / data generated in this format.

XMLAn XML output has an XML envelope and is formatted with XML tags to enable importing of data into other systems. The destination system would need a little re-formatting of XSLT (XML Style Sheets) (beyond the purview of this document) based on the Tally Styles and can then import the data. However, an another Tally application can import the XML data directly using the Import option without any re-formatting.Being the short form of Extensible Mark-up Language, XML is an extension of HTML.But the data is capable of being imported by other XML compatible systems. Using XML, Tally enables you to exchange information even with non-Tally applications. Therefore a Tally invoice in XML format can be imported by another Tally application system without difficulty thereby reducing the data entry time and subsequent errors if any. This language is fast emerging as the de-facto standard for information exchange all over the world and with it Tally gives you the means to col-laborate with others and share information like never before.

Import of DataImport of data will cover only import of data in Tally’s importable format and not data from other systems. Tally can import Master & Transaction data in XML format.

Import of MastersWhile importing masters in Tally, three types of treatment are given to the data being imported.Combine Opening Balances: This option is required when data is imported from different branches and the opening balances of the masters need to be consolidated. This option can also be selected if the opening balances of all the masters existing in Tally are Zero, hence they will be overwritten by the balances in the data being imported.

Ignore duplicates: This option needs to be selected when new masters are being imported along with the masters already existing in Tally.

Modify with new Data: This option is selected when the opening balances existing in Tally require to be overwritten to that existing in the data being imported.

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Import of TransactionsWhile importing transactions, the existing transactions can not be altered by default, hence addi-tional treatment as existing while import of masters is not provided. The format permissible while importing transactions is XML .

Splitting of Company DataA business can maintain data in Tally for year after year to get reports spanning over multiple years, i.e. period-less accounting. This eliminates the need to carry balances from previous year to New Year and repeat the same as and when any modification is carried out in previous year’s data.However, a business may not prefer to keep previous years data. Once all tax assessments are completed, a business need not refer to the old data. It keeps the current year or just preceding year’s data. Keeping all the data in a central data file poses danger of exposure to previous year’s data, but also causes system overload reducing the working speed in case the data volume is substantial.Tally allows splitting a company’s data into two financial periods, thus in effect creates two new companies with data for two periods while keeping the original company data intact.

To split data in Tally1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Alt + F32. Press P (Select SPlit Company Data)3. In Split Company Data screen, select the Company name from the drop-down list of

Companies displayed4. Type 1-09-2008 in the Split from field

However not all data that is exportable is importable back in Tally. Only Masters & transactions can be imported back in Tally, that too only in XML format.

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Figure 9.23 Split Company screen

5. Press Enter to accept the screen

Confirmation to Split

Figure 9.24 Split Company Confirmation screen

Splitting may take some time; a progress bar is displayed as the operation is being carried out.

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6. Type Yes at the Split? Yes or No to confirm splitting of company data.

Splitting will take some time depending on the volume of data present in the company, a progress bar is displayed while the the operation is being carried out.Finally, two new companies will be created retaining the original. Date of Splitting the company is suffixed for identification.

Now, if you wish to delete the original company or the first split company, you can do so by pressing Alt + D in alteration mode. But make sure to take multiple Backups before doing so.

3.4.3 ODBC ( Only for Microsoft -Windows)ODBC is an abbreviation for the Open Database Connectivity API (Application Program Inter-face), a set of functions that provide access to a client-server Relational Database Management System [ RDBMS ], desktop database files, text files, and Excel worksheet files through ODBC drivers. ODBC is most commonly used to connect to client/server databases, such as Microsoft SQL Server, ORACLE, Visual FoxPro etc.

Create Profit & Loss A/c using ODBCODBC can be used to pull data from Tally to ODBC compatible software like MS Excel, MS Word etc. The applications can be

Create documents in MS Word picking data from Tally. e.g Mailing Labels, Invitations, Reminder Letters etc.Create Profit & Loss A/c in MS Excel using data from Tally.

If you find errors while splitting the data, it may be due to a feature that was enabled and later on disabled. Features like Tally Audit, Bank Reconcilia-tion, Cost Centres, Godowns if were enabled and later disabled after some data entry may give rise to problems while splitting the data. In case of errors, contact Tally Solutions, or your dealer for help.

To Use ODBC in Tally, MS Office should be installed with MS Query Module enabled. To pull data from Tally, the bottom portion of the Tally screen should show ODBCServer in the portion where Calculator is dis-played. This may not be visible in case another instance of the same Tally.EXE runs separately.

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Create Profit & Loss A/c in MS Excel using data from Tally and refresh data whenever there is a change in Tally Data.

1. Launch Tally and Select Acme Corporation2. Open an Excel Workbook3. Select Data > Import External Data > New Data Base Query

Figure 9.25 Database Query

4. Select Tally ODBC from Data Source screen and press OK

Figure 9.26 Choose Data Source screen

5. Select Ledger from Query Wizard to get data from all ledger masters created in Acme Corporation.

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Figure 9.27 Query Wizard — Choose Columns screen

6. Double click Ledger and Select ‘$_Closing Balance’, ‘$Name’, ‘$Parent’ one by one and arrange them in the following order in ‘Columns in your query’ and press next: (This is to capture relevant information from each ledger)

Figure 9.28 Query Wizard - Choose Columns Screen

7. Select ‘$_ClosingBalance’ and set is Not Null as condition and press Next. This will filter ledgers that have closing balance other than zero.

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Figure 9.29 Query Wizard — Filter Data screen

8. Select ‘$Parent’ and ‘$Name’ one by one to arrange captured ledgers in their groups and names’ order. And press Next.

Figure 9.30 Query Wizard — Sort Order

9. The following screen will appear wherein check whether Return Data to Microsoft Excel is marked and press Finish

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Figure 9.31 Query Wizard — Finish screen

10. If data is to be saved in any other cell except A1, click that cell or leave it as such and then press OK.

Figure 9.32 Import Data Screen

11. After data gets captured from Tally, rename the sheet as Data.

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Figure 9.33 Data in Excel

12. Select next sheet and name it as ‘P&L Acc’. Create format of Profit & Loss A/c as desired and capture name of ledgers and their balances by referring cell address from ‘Data’ sheet.

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Figure 9.34 Profit & Loss Account in Excel

13. Before saving the file, tick Refresh data on file open by selecting Data > Import External Data > Data Range Properties. Save the file with name ‘P&L Acc’.

Figure 9.35 External Data Range Properties screen

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3.4.4 SQL server within TallyStructured Query Language command (Select) can be issued within Tally for the tables exposed by Tally to ODBC. This facility acts as a powerful query for Tally. If you wish to find a ledger with a keyword anywhere in the name, then it is not possible to find it other than with the SQL command, especially if the ledger does not have any opening balance not any transaction against it. This can be used as a good auditing tool while auditing accounts.The syntax of the Select command is as followsSelect {Method Names} from {Table Name} [Where {condition}] [order by {Expression}]

Some sample queries areSelect * from LedgerSelect $Name, $Parent, $ClosingBalance from Ledger order by $ParentSelect $Name from Ledger where $Name contains “Acme”Select $Name from ODBCTABLES

The table names and methods can be procured from tables as shown in the ODBC interface of MS Excel or MS Word etc.

Sr. No Name Particulars1 Ledger Ledger Master2 Groups Group Master3 StockItem Item Master4 StockGroup Stock Group Master5 Godown/Location Godown/Location Master6 CompanyVouchers Vouchers for the current day

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Lesson ObjectivesOn completion of this lesson, you will be familiar with

Synchronizing using TallyLink ServerSynchronizing using IP AddressConfiguring for Sychronization Synchronizing Back-dated Vouchers

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4.1 Introduction to Tally Data Synchronization

A number of businesses in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) segment operate in more than two locations. There is a need to update accounting and inventory information at all locations to ensure that the business runs efficiently and successfully.

The frequency of data update depends on three important factors:The volume of data generated across each location.The need for having the latest updates readily available at each location.The resources and cost involved in the update.

Data Synchronization refers to a process wherein data is replicated between two or more loca-tions. It enables the branch offices to send data to the head office and vice versa, over the Internet or a private network. Data Synchronization is a two-way process; i.e., all the data of masters and transactions from the Client company (Branch) are copied to the Server (Head Office) and all the similar data from the Server are copied to the Client.

Data Synchronization can be done by using either one of the following:1. Tally.Net Server2. A private network

Tally.Net Server allows data synchronisation through dedicated tally server with defined IP available on a predefined port. In case of private network being used, data is synchronized using the customer's own IP address.The computer where Data Synchronization is initiated is termed as the Client and could have a Single-User Tally License. The computer which has the data that is to be synchronized with the Client's data is the Server and it must have a Multi-User License.

Advantages of Data SynchronisationThe highlights of Tally Data Synchronization are:

Simple, efficient and cost effective mechanism.Simple installation and set-up.Simultaneous update of data at both Server and Client.Single click to update data.Synchronization using TallyLink Server or a private network environment.Synchronization over the Internet using a low bandwidth dial-up connection.Adaptable to an occasionally connected environment.

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4.1.1 System RequirementsThe following set-up is recommended for efficient Data Synchronization.Server

Client

4.1.2 Precautions1. Ensure that the same set of features are activated in F11: Features for both the companies at

the Client and Server.2. Do not alter Accounting or Inventory masters. If altered, it will be updated as a new master dur-

ing synchronization. For example, the accounting master 'Rent' having one transaction for Rs. 2500/- is altered in the Client to 'Building Rent'. A new entry is made for Rs. 2000/-. After syn-chronizing the data, in the Client, the ledger will be 'Building Rent' for Rs. 4500/- while in the Server it will be updated as 'Rent' Rs. 2500/- and 'Building Rent' Rs. 2000/-. Thus, wherever masters have been altered, the correction needs to be made manually in the Server and Client systems.

3. Do not delete any vouchers using ALT+D. Instead, cancel the vouchers using ALT+X, which ensures that the voucher remains in the system. Another option is to identify and delete the voucher from both the Server and Client systems.

4. Do not use a back-up of company created and restore it at the other location for synchroniza-tion. The data will not be synchronized as the GUID (Global Unique Identifier) of both the com-panies will be the same.

Hardware Set-up Pentium IV and above, 512 MB RAM. Hard disk space dependent on the data to be stored.

Software Set-up Operating System: Windows 2000/2003/NT/XP

Internet Connectivity An Internet connection via a cable modem or a leased line would be ideal. A dial-up connec-tion will also serve the purpose.

Hardware Set-up Pentium IV and above, 128 MB RAM.Hard disk space dependant on the data to be stored.

Software Set-up Operating System: Win-dows 98/2000/2003/ME/NT/XP

Internet Connectivity Internet connection at the Client-end could be dial-up, as connection is required only when data has to be synchronized

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4.2 Data Synchronization using Tally.NET

The Tally.Net server is used as a medium to transmit data between the Client and Server during synchronization. Tally.Net Server is available on a public IP at a predefined port. In the latest framework, to Synchronize data across server and client, it is essential to register and connect to Tally.NET at Server (Tallygold / TallySilver) end.

The Synchronization process using Tally.NET Server involves the following steps:Configure Server for SynchronizationConfigure Client for SynchronizationCreate Sync Rule on ClientConfigure Tally.NET Features on ServerRegister the Server Company on Tally.NETConnect the Server Company to Tally.NETHandshake Process from ClientActivate/Enable Sync Rule on Server

Data Sychronization in this document is illustrated using the example of a company, Acme Corpo-ration which is the head office and its branch office, Acme Manufacturing Ltd., based in two different locations.

Figure 4.1 Tally.ini file for Server Computer

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Step 1: Configure Server for SynchronizationEdit the Tally.ini file in the Server Computer, add the following lines

1. ClientServer = Server and ServerPort = 9009, as shown. Indicating the system sta-tus as server and specifying the port number.

Figure 4.2 Server Computer - Tally.ini file

2. Press Crtl+S to save the changes made to Tally.ini file.

Sync Configuration on Server:Go to Gateway of Tally > F12:Configure > Connectivity > Sync Configuration

1. Set the option Ignore Clients modified Voucher Type Masters to No2. Set the option Enable Sync Logging to Yes3. Set the option Truncate previous log before Syncing to Yes

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4. Enter your Tally Serial No. in the TallyLink Id field

Figure 4.3 Server Computer - F12: Tally Sync Configuration screen

5. Press Enter to save the details

Step 2: Configure Client for SynchronizationEdit the Tally.ini file in the Client Computer, add the following line

Ignore Client’s modofied Voucher Type Masters is set to No, so that modifications made on the Client to Voucher Type Masters are updated on the Server.Enable Sync Logging is set to Yes, to generate a Log file which con-tains synchronised vouchers and is saved in the Tally folder.Truncate previous log before Syncing is set to Yes, to allow the pre-vious log file to be overwritten by the current log.TallyLinkid: Enter the required link ID in this field. This is a user defined ID and cannot be changed once defined and registered with Tally Server. It is case sensitive. Ideally, Tally Serial Number is used as the LinkID.

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1. ClientServer = Client

Figure 4.4 Tally.ini file-Client Computer

2. Press Crtl+S to save the changes to Tally.ini file

Sync Configuration on ClientGo to Gateway of Tally > F12:Configure > Connectivity > Sync Configuration

1. Set the option Ignore Servers modified Voucher Type Masters to No2. Enter your Tally Serial No. in the TallyLink Id field

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Figure 4.5 Client computer - F12: Tally Sync Configuration screen

3. Press Enter to save the details.

Step 3: Create Sync Rule on ClientSelect the Company for which the data needs to be synchronized on the client computerGo to Gateway of Tally > Import of Data > Synchronization > Client Rules > Create

1. Enter Sync with HO in the Name of Rule field2. Set Use Tally.NET Server to Yes3. Enter the Link Id in the TallyLink Id field, which is already selected4. Synchronize is selected in Type of Rule field by default, enter Acme Corporation in

the Company Name on Server field5. Select Yes for Synchronize Altered Transactions6. Select Yes for Sync over slow connection

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Figure 4.6 Client Rule Creation screen

7. Press Enter to save the Client Rule screen

Step 4: Configure Tally.NET Features on ServerGo to Gateway of Tally > F11:Company Features > F4: Tally.NET Features on the server computer

1. Enter Acme Corporation in the Connect Name field2. Enter the Contact Person Name and Contact Number in the respective fields3. Set the option Allow to Connect Company to Yes4. Set the option Connect on Load to Yes5. Select 85681 as SMS Short Code

The Company Name on server should be same as the Connect Name given for the Server Company.

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Figure 4.7 Tally.NET Features - Server Company

6. Accept to save

Connect Name: The user can specify any Connect Name for the com-pany to be connected, as per his requirements. This should be same as the name given in the client company.Allow to Connect Company: This option allows the user to enable the company to get connected for remote access.Connect on Load: This options allows the company to get connected by default when the company is loaded.SMS Short Code: Based on the Short codes, the request will be served from the Company Moble Access.

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Step 5: Register the Server Company on Tally.NETGo to Gateway of Tally > Alt+N: Tally.NET> Register Company on the server computer

1. Highlight the Company to be registered for Tally.NET services using arrow keys from the list of Companies.

2. Select the Company by pressing Spacebar as shown.

Figure 4.8 Tally.NET Registration screen - Server Company

3. Press Ctrl+A to register the Company

It is mandatory to enable Security Controls in Company Creation master for Tally.NET features to be available in Tally. If Security Controls feature is not enabled, go to Company Alteration (Alt+F3) screen and enable the same for proceeding further.

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Figure 4.9 Registration Response Status Message screen

4. Press Esc to proceed.

Step 6: Connect the Server Company to Tally.NET ServerGo to Gateway of Tally > Alt+N: Tally.NET> Connect Company on the server computer

1. Highlight the Company to be connected for Synchronization using Tally.NET Server using arrow keys from the List of Companies.

2. Select the Company by pressing Spacebar as shown.

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Figure 4.10 Tally.NET Connect Company screen

3. Press Ctrl+A to Connect the Company

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Figure 4.11 Company Connection status message

On Successful connection, the Connection Status is displayed in the Calculator panel

Step 7: Hand Shake Process from ClientGo to Gateway of Tally > Import of Data > Synchronization > Synchronize

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Figure 4.12 Handshake Process from Client

The Synchronization status is displayed in the Calculator panel.

Step 8: Activate/Enable Sync Rule on ServerGo to Gateway of Tally > Import of Data > Synchronization > Server Rules > Activate

1. Select the required rule from the List of Rules based on the Client Company Nameas shown

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Figure 4.13 Server Rule Selection screen

2. Press Enter to select the Rule3. In the Server Rule Activation screen,

Set Is Active to Yes to activate the RuleSelect Yes for Synchronize Altered Transactions

Figure 4.14 Server Rule Alteration screen

You can continue using the Synchronization once Server rule is activated. Post data Sync, server displays the status in the calculator panel as shown.

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Figure 4.15 Sync success message on Server

4.3 Synchronization — Private NetworkCustomers having their own IP address and a high bandwidth can synchronize data without routing it through the TallyLink Server.

4.3.1 Configuring for Synchronization Server ConfigurationStep 1: Same as when done using the TallyLink Server.Step 2: F12:ConfigurationGo to Gateway of Tally > F12: Configure > Connectivity > Sync Configuration

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The F12:Configuration screen appears as shown below:

Figure 4.16 Sync Configuration Screen on Server

Ensure that Use TallyLink is set to No (this option is set to No by default).

Client ConfigurationStep 1: Same as when done using the TallyLink Server.Step 2: F12:ConfigurationThe Sync Configuration screen appears as shown below:

Figure 4.17 Sync Configuration Screen on Client

Ensure that Use TallyLink is set to No (this option is set to No by default).

4.3.2 Procedure for Synchronization Create Client Rule on the Client system. This is a one-time set-up required to initiate synchroni-zation. Select the company you wish to synchronize on the client computerGo to Gateway of Tally > Import of Data > Synchronization > Client Rules > Create

The Client Rule Creation screen appears as shown below:

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Figure 4.18 Client Rule Creation Screen

Name of Field Action / DescriptionName of Rule Give a name for the Client Rule. E.g.

Sync with HO.Use TallyLinkServer? This field will be skipped, when a per-

sonal IP address is being used.

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Server URL Give the IP Address/Machine name of the Server along with the port number. E.g. 127.0.0.1 : 12450 I P Address Port NumberTo find the URL when using Windows 98 and above,Start > Run > type ‘cmd’ > type ‘ipconfig’If using Windows 95, follow this optionStart > Run > type ‘cmd’ > type ‘winipcfgIf you are using a web page as a pass-through for synchronization, you can specify the page URL. For example, you can specify 192.168.1.64/tallysync.asp as the Server URL.(Please read the section on Pass-Through page for further information)

Secure Server This option allows you to specify whether the Server is listening in secure mode. (Refer Security Issues:https to be used instead of http for synchronization) When we use https, we necessarily need to have a pass-through page in between the Server and the Client. Please read the section on Pass-Through page for further details.

User Name If requiredPassword If requiredUse Compression Set this option to Yes to compress the

data for faster synchronization. This also enhances security of data during syn-chronization.

Type of Rule Choose SynchronizeCompany Name on Server Specify the company name available on

the Server to which the vouchers from Client will be synchronized; in this case, Acme Corporation.

Synchronize Altered Transac-tions?

Set this option to Yes if you want altered transactions to get synchronized.

Sync over slow connection? By setting this option to Yes, the syn-chronization will be carried out for one packet (of 25 vouchers) at a time.

Company GUID on Server Displays the GUID and name of the company on Client that requested the synchronization.

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The other steps for synchronization on the Client and Server Computer are similar to Synchroni-zation using TallyLink Server.To view the details of the activation, go to Gateway of Tally > Import of Data > Synchronization > Server Rules > Alter. Select the rule from a drop-down list.The Server Rules Activation screen appears as shown below in Figure 4.19.

Figure 4.19 Server Rule Activation Screen

Name of Field Action / DescriptionCurrent TID Displays the voucher ID of the last

voucher of the remote company that was successfully saved in the current com-pany (of course, as a part of the sync process).

Altered TID Displays the Alter ID of the last voucher of the remote company that was suc-cessfully saved in the current company (of course, as a part of the sync proc-ess).

Is Active This field indicates whether the client rule is activated on the server. It cannot be edited.

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Figure below shows the number of vouchers and masters. There is a mismatch between statistics of Client and Server as synchronization has not been done. Once the data is synchronised, the Statement of Statistics would appear as shown in Figure 4.20.

Figure 4.20 Screen Before Synchronization

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Figure 4.21 Screen after Synchronization

4.3.3 Security IssuesSince data is not encrypted by default during synchronization, you can enhance security by using https in the pass-through web page.

4.3.4 Web page as a pass-throughA web page is specified as a pass-through in the following circumstances.

When a Web Server and Tally Server reside on the same machine which connects to the Internet and only Port 80 (Default port for the Internet) is made available for security rea-sons. In this scenario, run Tally on a specific port (say 9090) and develop a web page which redirects all responses to this port.When it is not desirable to have Tally outside the firewall, a web pass-through page can then be used to connect to the Tally Server within the firewall.When users do not want to reveal the real path to the Tally Server, a pass-through page can be used to direct to a virtual directory.

4.3.5 Troubleshooting Error messages on Server when using IP Address

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Error messages on Client when using IP address

Error Messages Cause Solution<LINEERROR> Could not set ‘SVCurrent Company’ to <server company></LINEERROR>

Occurs if the company is not loaded on the server

Load the company from Gateway of Tally on the server

Socket Error Occurs if Client connectivity is broken during synchroni-zation

Check connectivity and ensure that Tally Client is running

Error Messages Cause SolutionFailed to Post to: http://ipaddress:tallyport/

Occurs if Tally Client is not able to access Tally Server

1. Check connectivity2. Check whether Tally Server is running (Open your web browser and type in the address bar, http://serveripaddress:tallyport/. You will get an HTML/XML response)

Tally Server reported pos-sible problems during Sync

Occurs if the connectivity is broken during synchroniza-tion

1. Check connectivity2. Check whether Tally Server is running (Open your web browser and type in the address bar, http://serveripaddress:tallyport/. You will get an HTML/XML response)

Tally.imp file in the Tally folder contains details of all the vouchers syn-chronized and also the errors (if any) which occurred during synchroniza-tion.

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4.4 Principle of ‘Synchronization in Tally’Tally ensures that all masters required to save a transaction are moved along with the transaction. This includes Ledgers, Groups, Stock Items, Units of Measures, Currencies and so on. This essentially makes synchronization both a user-friendly operation and error free.After the first instance of synchronization, alterations in source transactions are reflected in sub-sequent synchronization.The Server Company maintains the Current Transaction ID (Current TID) and Altered Transaction ID (Altered TID) values of Client company in its Server Rule. Similarly, the Client company maintains the Current TID and Altered TID values of the Server company in its Client Rule.When synchronization begins, the Client sends its previous Current TID and Altered TID values of the Server as per its Rule to the Server and the Server checks whether the Current TID and Altered TID are the latest as per its data. If not, the Server will respond with all vouchers having the Current TID/Altered TID greater than incoming Rule values. These vouchers will be imported into the Client. Thus, the synchronization will be complete and all data on the Client are updated on the Server and vice-versa.

4.5 Synchronizing back-dated vouchersTally maintains Current TID and Altered TID of the Client company along with the Server/Client Rules. Synchronizing back-dated vouchers would mean updating these IDs in the Server company.The problem of updating these IDs are compounded if you have set up synchronization between companies having a large amount of data.

The initial synchronization can take a long time over the Internet.The Client computer is also likely to display an out of memory error.

Besides, if you do the synchronization in the middle of the year, the masters without any transac-tions in them will not be synchronized.

In such cases, there are two options available to proceed with synchronization.Option 1: Export data of the source company (in XML format) to a disk file and import the same into the target company. Perform the following steps to ensure a proper update of Remote IDs in the corresponding rules.

The Current TID of a voucher is generated when a new voucher is entered and does not change when the voucher is altered. The Current TID is used by Tally to determine if any new transactions have been created at the remote end since the last synchronization.

The Altered TID of a voucher is generated each time the voucher is altered or re-accepted. The Altered TID value is dynamic and is used by Tally to determine if any transactions have been altered at the remote end since the last synchronization.

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Data Synchronisation

When the Client sends data to the Server:1. Create a Client Rule.2. Select Synchronize on Client which creates the corresponding Server Rule.3. Activate the Server Rule.4. DO NOT synchronize again. Instead export all masters (in XML format) from the Client to the

disk file.5. Export all vouchers (in XML format) from the Client to the disk file.6. Import the masters into the Server from the disk file.7. Import the transactions into the Server from the disk file.8. The Current TID and Altered TID of the last imported voucher are updated in the Server Rule.9. Subsequent Current TIDs and Altered TIDs would be incremental.10.If you wish to synchronize over a LAN or Internet, you can send one packet of 25 transactions

at a time by selecting Sync over slow connection in the Client Rule. This will avoid out of memory errors.

When the Client retrieves data from the Server:1. Create a Client Rule.2. Select Synchronize on Client which creates a corresponding Server Rule on the Server.3. Activate the Server Rule.4. DO NOT synchronize again. Instead export all masters (in XML format) from the Server to the

disk file.5. Export all transactions (in XML format) from the Server to the disk file.6. Import the masters into Client.7. Import the transactions into the Client from the disk file. Go to Gateway of Tally > Import of

Data > Synchronization > Client Rules > Import InitialOption 2: When substantial data exist at both Client and Server, you have the option to update the Server and Client by creating a snapshot file at the source and importing them to the destina-tion computer.

The process to update the Server is as follows:1. Create the Client Rule.2. Choose Synchronize to activate the option Export/ Import Snapshot.3. Export the snapshot at Client. Go to Gateway of Tally > Import of Data > Synchronization >

Client Rules > Alter.4. Choose the rule from a drop-down list and click Export Snapshot on the button bar.5. Copy the snapshot file to a CD.6. Activate the Server Rule.7. Import the snapshot file from the CD at the Server. Go to Gateway of Tally > Import of Data >

Synchronization > Server Rules > Alter8. Choose the rule from a drop-down list and click Import Snapshot on the button bar.The process has to be reversed to update the Client.

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