2. Company Information & Create Company

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

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

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

Create a Company

Gateway of Tally —> Company Info. —> Create

1. Directory

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

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

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

2. Name

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

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

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

3Mailing Name and Address

(Not compulsory - can be left blank)

The mailing name field displays the Company name automatically. However, you may change it if required, as the mailing name can be different from the Company Name. The mailing name and address is picked up for inclusion in any report which needs the company name and address at the top, e.g., Balance Sheets, Statement of Accounts, etc. You do not need full name and address in each report; hence the option.

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

Redox International
NeoRoad Nepal

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

4 E-Mail Address

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

5 Currency Symbol

This is the symbol of the base currency, that is, the books of account will be maintained in this currency. Tally uses this symbol in reports, where necessary.

6 Income Tax Number – (Only for India/Asia)

(Not compulsory - can be left blank)

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

7Sales Tax / VAT registration numbers

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

8VAT / Local Sales Tax Number

(Not compulsory - can be left blank)

For the registration number allotted by Local (State or Provincial) Sales Tax/VAT Authorities. This information, if given, can be printed on invoices

9 Inter-State Sales Tax Number – Only for India/Asia

(Not compulsory - can be left blank)

For the registration number allotted by Central (Federal) Sales Tax Authorities. This information, if given, can be printed on invoices.

10Maintain

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

Let us examine each option and its applicability.

Accounts only

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

Accounts-with-Inventory

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

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

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

An explanation is in order here:

While creating the company, you have selected accounts-with-inventory to be maintained. Tally will, now, allow maintenance of both accounts and inventory for the company but you may or may not integrate the two. The difference from accounts only is that you need to create only one company in this case. In the other case, you would have to create two companies - one for accounts and the other for inventory. Moreover, you can then select to integrate or not integrate at any time. The data is organised in a manner that the separation or merger is done without taking any time. The effects of integrated and non-integrated is described below: Integrated Accounts-and-Inventory: You are allowed transactions in Inventory records and the account balances are automatically reflected in the Balance Sheet as Closing Stock. You are not allowed to directly change the closing balance of an account under this group. Non-integrated Accounts-and-Inventory: Accounts that fall under the group 'stock-in-hand', are not permitted any transactions. It allows you to hold opening and closing balances only. Since no vouchers can be passed for these accounts, they are the only accounts for which the closing balances can be directly altered (by an authorised user only)

11Financial Year From

To specify the Financial Year for this company. Tally considers 12 months from the date you give here as the Financial Year. For example, you may give 1^st April 2001 as the date. Your Financial Year will be April to March in this case, ending with 31^st March of every year. (Give 1st April even if the company is actually established on, say, 16 August 2001). Tally allows you to maintain data for multiple years by changing the period (Alt+F2) at the Gateway of Tally. You are permitted to modify the date at any time (subject to security permissions, of course) and the FY will change accordingly. In a manner of speaking, it is actually a floating financial period.

However, you may display or, in many ways, work through any number of months; even more than 12. This flexibility can be used to view performance of projects that take more than 12 months or when the accounting period itself is more than 12 months (in cases of first year of operation). Trans-national companies usually face dual reporting problems - they have to draw out financial statements for two periods (maybe more); one - for local statutory compliance and the other - for parent company to enable global consolidation.

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

12Books Beginning From:

Tally presumes that you wish to maintain books from the beginning of the financial year. However, it is possible that yours is a new company, begun in the middle of the year (not may people wait for the 1^st day of the FY to start companies). You would like to start books from this date but close books according to the FY selected by you. Moreover, you do not like reports including the period your company was not even in existence. In such a case, give the date the accounts actually begin. Tally will open books from this date and close on the last day of the FY. For example, your company is established on 19^th August 2016. The FY stated previously is July 17 2016 -July 16 2017. The books will begin on 19^th August 2016 and close on 16^th July 2017. It ensures smooth transition to the next year.

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

13Tally Vault

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

14Use Security Control?

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

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

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

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

15Use TallyAudit Features

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

16 Base Currency Information

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

Base Currency Symbol

The currency symbol given above will be displayed here. This symbol cannot be changed.

Tally uses this currency symbol in reports, where necessary.

Formal Name

Formal Name is the full name of the currency specified. The Formal Name for the base currency is set to Indian Rupees.

Number of decimal places

The number of decimal places for the base currency is set to 2.

Load a Company

When the company is created it gets loaded automatically the first time. However, you must Select the company to load it. (Select and load are synonymous)

Start Tally by double clicking the Tally icon.

Tally can be configured to automatically load companies by appropriately setting the TALLY.INI file. The relevant portion of the TALLY.INI file is reproduced below:

The above setting (Default Companies being set to Yes) loads company 0001. When creating a company, Tally creates a sub-directory under its \DATA directory for the company. The directory is allotted a number in serial order starting with 0001. You may load more than one company at a time. (The semi-colon precedes a comment, which means that the words following it in that line would not be executed. Each line is a separate command). To load company 0002 

also, simply remove the semi-colon before the command Load-0002. Likewise, give Load=0003, if you wish.

Example of sub-directories created by Tally for different companies:

On the other hand, if you do not want to load any company by default set, Default Companies=No. Then on clicking the Tally icon, Select a company you want to load:

Bring arrow to Select Company and press <ENTER> or double-click the option.

Select the company to bring you to the Gateway of Tally of that company.

The left side of the screen gives details of the loaded companies. In the example below, two companies (out of the 11 created - refer the data directory listing above) are currently loaded:

Redox international is the active company. However, the current period and the current date at the top of the screen are of the company that was first loaded, i.e., of Saipal international. You may need to be careful when selecting to load companies having different accounting periods. When you do so and switch between the companies, keep in mind that the current period may not be the accounting period of the new company.

The advantage of loading other companies in addition to the current company is that these companies become available for the purpose of comparison and analysis . You may often need to bring up data from other companies while working with the current company.