Accounting Packages and an Overview of Tally

Accounting software (packages) used by businesses are broadly of three kinds: Readymade software (a standard package usable straightaway by any business with little or no modification, e.g. Tally); Customised software (a readymade package adapted to a specific business's particular requirements); and Tailor-made software (built entirely from scratch for one specific organisation's unique needs). Most small and medium businesses use readymade or customised software, since building tailor-made software is expensive and usually only justified for a very large or unusually specialised organisation.

Tally is one of the most widely used accounting software packages in India, adopted by businesses of every size for maintaining their books of accounts, tracking inventory, handling payroll, and generating statutory reports such as GST returns. Its core building blocks are:

• Company — the business entity for which books of accounts are being maintained in Tally; all data (ledgers, vouchers, reports) is organised under a Company.
• Group — a classification head under which every ledger account must be placed (e.g. Sundry Debtors, Sundry Creditors, Capital Account).
• Ledger — the individual account head (e.g. 'Cash', 'Ravi & Co.', 'Rent') to which transactions are actually posted. …