Tally PRIME
Posted by Asok K Nadhani on

Gateway of Tally

Gateway of Tally (GoT)

On creation of the first company, Gateway of Tally (GoT), the main entry point, appears, from where any part of the Tally can be accessed to perform any task.

Hot Key Conflicts:  Some  Hot Key Combinations (e.g Alt+Z, Alt+R etc., in some places) may conflict with the hotkeys of the operating system and you may get unexpected results. So, better move the cursor on the desired option and press <enter>) or click, rather than using the hot key combination.

Top  Bar Menu

Horizontal Top Bar Menu

You can traverse through Top menu Tabs through Lt/Rt Arrow key (skipping G:GoTo Tab). Click (or press Alt+G) to explode G:Go To tab.

Components of Gateway of Tally

At the top, a bar menu appears showing various tabs, remaining accessible at all times, at the top position. Each tab explodes drop down options list of main controls. The GoTo tab is frequently used for regular work of all Data Input & reports display from one centralised point, while other tabs of top menu Bar offer options for various auxiliary Tasks. The Tabs can be traversed through Left / Right arrow (except GoTo Tab).

Below the top bar, GoT Main menu appears, which offers all options, organised in several Main Menu options, of multiple hierarchical levels for convenience. The GoT main menu becomes invisible, when any of the Tab at top Menu bar is exploded.

Components of Top Bar Menu

License : At the left, the Tally License type (e.g EDU, Silver, Gold etc) is shown. In this book, we explain using EDU (Educational) version. EDU version has some restrictions about Date and some menu options, but offers full features of Tally learning. Educational version can be downloaded for learning purpose, FREE of COST, from Tally website.

K:Company : Various operations on Company, like Creation, Selection, Alteration; accessing Tally in various mode, set up Company Features & Security aspects.

Y:Data : For Company Data management tasks, like Data Back Up, Backed Up Data Restore, Company Data Splitting for new year Company at Year End, and to set default Data Path.

Z:Exchange : This option is used for Synchronisation of Data between remote Tally installations in multiple places (like HO & Branches), and related Configuration, Server Client role set up for Data Exchange between connected Tally installations and related security settings.

G:Go To : To perform frequently used tasks of Data Entry & Reporting from centralised place. GoTo Tab cannot be accessed by Arrow movement at top like other tabs (Click G:GoTo Ta / Ctrl+G / Alt+G).

GoTo is frequently used by operators, as alternate to GoT Main menu, to get Important Reports Directly, and perform Masters & Vouchers entry / alteration.

O:Import : For Import of Masters and Transaction data exported from Tally in .xml form, import Bank Data  into Tally  for Auto Bank reconciliation and data import related configuration set up.

Tally allows import of Data only from Tally Exported Data (so it has limited use). Data Import from other external applications and  devices into Tally  is very primitive and restricted.

E:Export : Export Masters and Transaction data into ASCII / XML format, to be imported into another Tally Company data.

The options to store Reports in a file in Excel, PDF, HTML, JPEG, format etc, for sharing with others and embedding in external applications are inconveniently placed in Export (of data) option. Now-a-days, printing on paper is often substituted by sharing of reports in digital form, Report saving with email option should be placed in Printing module, so that user can opt to print, save in file / email / whatsApp at will.

M:E-mail: To e-mail reports using popular email clients like gmail, yahoo, outlook etc, directly from within Tally, email authentication, set up and configuration.

Emailing from Tally requires technical set up of account, is less secured, clumsy & time consuming. Rather, save the Report / Voucher in PDF format and then send as attachment like regular email.

P:Print : For various Reports Printing , Printing options set up, Printer set up & Printing Configuration options set up.

Tally offers plethora of options settings  scattered in multiple sets  of printing customisation options. However, flexibility of  Printing Documents / Reports / in desired format and contents is primitive.  Tally merely provides some options to manage contents, but does not provide flexible Report Designer for layout customisation, user defined data elements, Data sorting, Graphs etc,. So, often you would have  to pay more for additional external Apps (a hidden cost) even after paying at quite high price.

F1:Help : To access Official on-line Tally help manual on screen, to get Context Help and also search for a topic to get official detailed info, latest news, upgrades, Tally Products, Trouble Shooting and Tally Set Up.

Tally Help is poorly organised User Manual. Useful to know about new release details. To get details of desired topic, it is often more convenient to search from browser (like Google) than finding from Tally Help. Often it shows old version details.

Gateway of Tally – Main Area

Just below the Top Bar Menu  of Tabs, the Gateway of Tally Main area is divided into following parts.

  • Current Status : Left Part is about the Current status (Current Period, Current Date, currently Active & Selected Companies.
  • Tally Main Menu : Right part shows the current Tally Main Menu. The Main Menu becomes invisible on exploding a Tab in Top Menu bar.

On selection of any option at Main menu, the selected next level Sub Menu and finally the selected task screen / Report appears.

The default Current Date & Current Period can be set only at GoT, and is shown at top, in left part of GoT.

Current Date : The Current Date may be re-set in Voucher Entry (through F2: Date option), which becomes the default Voucher Date for the current Voucher Entry session only.

Current Period: Current Periodset at GoT through Change Period (F2:Period) applies by default to all parts of Tally. It is shown in left part of GoT Main Menu. Though the default Current Period is shown in Report display screen, it is not shown in Voucher entry screen. So, you get unexpected error message, if the Voucher Date is beyond the default Current Date. There should be option to display current period in Voucher entry screen, at the top.

Current Period & Date Setting

Current Date setting : Press F2 key and enter the Current Date for voucher entry Date.

Current Period setting : Press Alt+F2 key to get the Change Period screen. Enter the From  & To Date to set the Current Period

During working, set the Current Date (at Voucher Date entry) and Current Period as required. If the current period is not properly set, you may get wrong data / blank values in display (normally happens when change the period, switch Company or Financial Year).

The current Period set through F2:Period at GoT (called Default Period), applies by default to all areas in Tally. No work can be performed beyond the Default Period. It can be reset through F2:Period (Change Period) only at GoT.  Period set at other screens apply specific to the session only (the Default Period remains unchanged). So, you cannot make Voucher entry beyond the Default Period, until it is re-set for the voucher entry session. The Period  set through Change Period option (F2:Period) applies only to the specific voucher entry session. The Default Period does not get changed.

Tally Calculator

Tally Calculator is a simple arithmetic calculator with Tally Application, useful to paste result in any numeric input field in Tally or external application. The arithmetic expression may be copied to & from Tally.

Press Ctrl+N (this toggle button is not visible) anywhere in Tally Prime. The Calculator panel will appear at bottom. Type arithmetic expression using + (addition), – (Subtraction), * Multiplication), / (Division).  To group the operators, use parenthesis ( ) pair. Typing wrong expression or wrong grouping would produce error message. Use Up / Dn arrow keys to move to any line, copy / paste formula / results . Press <Enter> to get the result of the arithmetic expression typed.

Tally Calculator

You may enter a series of calculation one after another. All entries at calculator panel remain visible till the current session. You may move the cursor to any previous line, alter and recompute. Press Ctrl+N again (or click on the cross button at the right end of Calculator panel) to hide the Calculator panel. You can perform only arithmetic calculation. Even basic operator like Exponential (^) Square root (√), Percentage (%) etc., not available. It should provide Important Business calculation like Interest, Depreciation, Present & Future Value, Annuity, Sinking Fund, EMI computation etc, often required in business. It would be better if Tally invoke external Calculators, capable of doing all usual business computation.

Closing & Exiting Tally

To exit from Tally, at GoT, select Quit or press <Esc> key or click on rightmost upper Cross (x) button. A confirmation screen ‘Quit Yes or No’ appears. Click Yes (Press Y) to exit from Tally, else press N to continue to work with Tally.

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