General Ledger System Overview

Software Loading Methods of Tally Accounting System : You may either create a Tally Icon at Desktop, and specify the Ion Name (like Version Number). Alternatively, for secrecy and security purpose, you may hide Tally icon (Don’t create Tally Icon at Desktop), and set loading option at Windows Start menu, specifying unique name.  

Data set up in Tally Accounting System

• Tally  Accounts Data Set : After installation and setting General configuration of Tally, create the First Company. In Tally, Company is a generic term referring to the independent Accounts Data set maintained in Tally Accounting system.
• Tally  Accounts Data Path : You should pre plan Data Path to store Tally Accounts Data. You may store Tally Accounts data of all Compnaies in one Data Path (if very few Company accounts are maintained), or distribute Data Folder over multiple paths (useful when multiple Company Accounts are maintained). Company Data Path cannot be changed after the Company is created. So, plan first.
• Company Data Folder : A Tally Data folder will be created in the specified Tally Data Path, for each Company created. The Data Folder will be uniquely serially numbered, stating from 10000 (. The assigned Tally Data Folder number becomes the Company Identity Number, and is displayed during working, for identification.
• Multiple Company Data Folders: Since the Data folder number starts from 10000 in each Data folder, data having same data folder number would be created in each Tally Data Path. So, be careful, and do not mix up tally data folder having same number in different Tally Data Paths.

Company creation in Tally Accounting System : At Company creation, you must enter / specify the mandatory data like :Company Data Path, Company Legal Name and Financial Start Date. Create the Company with these info. Company creation entry form contains too many info. The user may not be able to specify immediately just at the time of Company creation. So, leave the other info blank (or default values auto filled by Tally). Enter these details later on, through Company Alteration.

• Multiple Company creation : You may create unlimited number of Companies (separate Tally company for each Financial Year, Branch, Factory). The Accounts Data may be stored centrally in one Data Path or distributed over multiple Data Paths. At the time of Company creation, you may fill up only essential mandatory info, or fill up other info as much as you like.
• Company Data Alteration : Later on, you may alter Company Particulars Data, fill up unfilled data.
• Company Data Deletion : You may permanently delete any Company Data from the system. The Deleted Data cannot be recovered.
• Multiple Company Working : After creation of multiple Companies, you may open several companies at a time, switch between them and work simultaneously. Opening Multiple Compnaies allows to get consolidated report of several companies. You may shut any Company during working at your will.

 Company Features set up in Tally Accounting System  : On Company creation, Tally pre-sets initial default features, But, you should set up Company Features to customise the functional areas of each Company, as per your requirements, for proper and smooth working.  

Accounts Data Security and User Access Rights in Tally Accounting System : For Company where multiple users of different functional areas are involved, it may be sometimes necessary to restrict activities of users. For such companies,  you may optionally set up Company data Administrator, to mange and control the activities of all users for each company independently. Create users and set the users only after the system gets settled, only after you understand and define the role of each user. Too much restriction may hinder the operational flexibility.

Configuration Set Up in Tally Accounting System : The General Tally Configuration set up after  Tally software installation, applies to the entire Tally System, to all Compnaies created.  

To customise the system at all levels, Tally allows numerous Configuration options, for each instance of Data Entry Forms, Report Display, Report Printing, etc. which may be set independently in respect of each Company independently.

• General Default Configuration set up In Tally Accounting System : You may first set the General Configuration of each function to broadly control and configure the system.
• Resetting Configuration for current instance: Further, the configuration options may be re-set at each session of operation, for the specific session Proper setting of sheer number of configuration options are quite overwhelming and challenging for general user.  
• Data Input Form Configuration set up In Tally Accounting System: Tally provides its own form of Data Input. Through configuration options, you may print enable / hide some optional input field. You cannot change the form layout or contents. You cannot add a new input field in data entry forms. The letters in long input text may exceeding the standard space, may get squeezed, making the text unreadable, and so difficult to rectify mistakes while typing. Sometimes, long data gets scrolled in the input field and only part of data remains visible in input screen. Longer space may be provided for text input fields.
• Report Display Configuration set up In Tally Accounting System: Like Input Form, the Data Items in the Report are pre fixed and laid out. You cannot change the layout or print any additional data item. Through Report Configuration options, you may merely activate / deactivate data items. The Masters Name formats may be optionally set up.
• Document Configuration set up In Tally Accounting System: For Inventory document like, Invoice, Order, Delivery Notes etc, Tally provides some alternate formats like Simple, Normal etc. For Accounts documents, some optional fields may be hidden / displayed.
• Form and Report Designer in Tally Accounting System: There is no built-in document designer to design the input Forms, or no built-in Report designer to design the Output documents and Reports. New fields, new columns, cannot be added by user in the Input Forms or Output Reports.

For this reason, you may not be able to get reports, Invoice, receipts and other documents from tally, in your own format.  At best, you may filter the contents to some extent, as desired. This means, you cannot customise Input Forms or Output Tally to your desire. You have to change your existing formats to meet the formats provided by Tally.  

Data Input Form Cursor Movement in Tally Accounting System : Cursor movement within a text field is difficult. Cursor moves serially travelling through the text characters. For text editing, you may have to toggle cursor mode between Overwrite to Insert. Text editing is tiresome and error prone.

Input Form Navigation Tally Accounting System : Most of the Input forms are divided into multiple part. The main part calls several component parts, hiding the main part. So, at any instance, the main calling part is visible or the called component part is active. So, whole input form is not visible at a point of time. Large Invoice like input forms entry required juggling through various screen parts. Data entry is difficult.

Data Copy Paste Tally Accounting System: Data can be copy pasted between clipboard and input form, but data cannot be copied from Reports.

Multiple Ledger Accounts Aliases Tally Accounting System: Party Ledger Account  may be referred  with Code, short name, nick name etc.

Multiple Address of Ledger Accounts Tally Accounting System: Multiple Address for several locations of the Party may be specified in Ledger Account Master (e.g HO, Branch, Sales Office etc) and Address may be selected while  document printing.

Report Item Hide / Unhide Tally Accounting System : Tally offers Remove and Restore options in most of the reports, to hide (and unhide the hidden Items). The total figures also get changed as per Items hidden.  Normally Computer reports are considered sacrosanct, error free, and so trusted. A report  printed  hiding desired lines may be fraudulently used.