About Accounting & Bookkeeping

Daily monthly bookkeeping in Tally Zoho QuickBooks bank reconciliation P&L balance sheet preparation. Forms handled: Tally Books, Bank Statement, Trial Balance. Legal basis: ICAI accounting standards.

Glossary

Plain-English glossary for this service

Accrued Expenses

Expenses incurred during the current period but not yet billed or paid. Recognised as expense in the period of incurrence with a corresponding liability under Other Current Liabilities, applying accrual basis of accounting.

Closing Stock valuation FIFO Weighted Average Cost vs NRV per AS-2

AS-2 requires inventory to be valued at lower of cost or net realisable value. Cost can be computed under FIFO (First-In-First-Out) or Weighted Average formula consistently. NRV is estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell.

Uncleared deposits

Deposits recorded as receipts in the cash book but not yet credited by the bank as on the reconciliation date. A reconciling item in the BRS, typically arising from cheques deposited late in the day or in transit.

Reversal entries

Entries passed at the start of a period to reverse adjusting entries made at the end of the previous period, simplifying subsequent accounting for accruals and prepayments. Common for accrued income and accrued expenses.

Bank Reconciliation

Statement reconciling the bank balance per cash book with the bank balance per bank statement as on a given date, explaining variances arising from outstanding cheques, uncleared deposits, bank charges, and direct credits.

Trial Balance

Statement listing all ledger balances classified as debit or credit as on a particular date, used to verify the arithmetical accuracy of postings and as the starting point for preparing final accounts.

Prepaid Expenses

Expenses paid in advance during the current period but pertaining to a future accounting period. Shown as a current asset and recognised as expense in the period to which they relate, applying the matching principle.

Outstanding Expenses

Expenses for which the service has been received and the invoice raised but payment is pending as on the reporting date. Shown as a current liability under Trade Payables or Other Current Liabilities depending on counter-party.

Day book

Book of original entry where each transaction is recorded as it occurs, before being posted to the ledger. In modern accounting software the day book is the journal voucher listing in chronological order.

Cash book

Subsidiary book that records all cash and bank receipts and payments in chronological order. Acts as both a journal and a ledger for cash and bank columns. Reconciled monthly to bank statements via the BRS.

Outstanding cheques

Cheques issued by the business and recorded as payments in the cash book but not yet presented to or cleared by the bank as on the reconciliation date. A reconciling item in the BRS.

Capital vs Revenue Expenditure

Capital expenditure creates an enduring benefit or asset and is capitalised on the balance sheet, depreciated over useful life. Revenue expenditure is consumed within the year and charged to the profit and loss account. Misclassification triggers Section 37 or Section 32 challenges.

Statutory Basis

Operative provisions cited on this page

Every claim on this page can be traced back to a section or rule below.

ICAI accounting standardsAnchor

Statutory basis — ICAI accounting standards

ICAI accounting standards is the operative provision for accounting & bookkeeping in this engagement. Daily monthly bookkeeping in Tally Zoho QuickBooks bank reconciliation P&L balance sheet preparation The taxpayer should ensure the procedural conditions under this section are met before any filing or submission. Failure to comply attracts the consequences separately prescribed under the penalty and interest provisions of the same Act.

Forms Library

Forms used in this engagement

Tally BooksForm Tally Books

Statutory form prescribed for Accounting & Bookkeeping engagements; carries the information set required for filing or submission to the prescribed authority.

As prescribed under the relevant section / rule Prescribed authority

Bank StatementForm Bank Statement

Statutory form prescribed for Accounting & Bookkeeping engagements; carries the information set required for filing or submission to the prescribed authority.

As prescribed under the relevant section / rule Prescribed authority

Trial BalanceForm Trial Balance

Statutory form prescribed for Accounting & Bookkeeping engagements; carries the information set required for filing or submission to the prescribed authority.

As prescribed under the relevant section / rule Prescribed authority

Statutory Deadlines

Compliance deadlines that matter

Miss any of these and the next consequence kicks in automatically.

Trigger event	Days	Form	Consequence
Month-end book closing and ledger scrutiny	7 days	Internal MIS close pack (TB, P&L, B/S)	Delayed close cascades into late GST filings, missed TDS deadlines, and unreconciled bank balances; MIS to management loses decision-utility
Bank reconciliation statement preparation for previous month	10 days	BRS (cash book vs bank statement)	Unreconciled credits and debits accumulate into suspense; audit qualification risk; fraud-detection delayed
Payroll cycle salary disbursement and payslip generation	7 days	Payroll register, payslips, salary bank file	Section 192 TDS deposit date misalignment; PF and ESI challan deadlines breached; employee disputes on payslip timing
GSTR-1 filing of outward supplies	11 days	GSTR-1	Section 47 late fee of Rs 50 per day (Rs 20 for nil); recipient ITC blocked under Section 16(2)(aa) read with Rule 36(4); compliance rating drop
GSTR-3B filing and net GST payment	20 days	GSTR-3B	Section 50 interest at 18% on tax payable; Section 47 late fee; Rule 21A suspension on consecutive defaults
TDS deposit for previous month deductions	7 days	Challan ITNS 281	Section 201(1A) interest at 1.5% per month; Section 40(a)(ia) 30% expense disallowance; prosecution risk under Section 276B
Quarterly TDS return Q1 / Q2 / Q3	31 July / 31 October / 31 January	Form 24Q / 26Q / 27Q	Section 234E late fee at Rs 200 per day capped at TDS amount; Section 271H penalty Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,00,000; deductee 26AS credit delayed
Form 16 (salary) and Form 16A (non-salary) issuance for FY	15 June (Form 16) / within 15 days of TDS return due date (Form 16A)	Form 16 / Form 16A	Section 272A(2)(g) penalty Rs 100 per day per certificate; employee or vendor cannot claim TDS credit in ITR
Tax audit completion and report filing under Section 44AB	30 September (audited entities)	Form 3CA-3CD or 3CB-3CD	Section 271B penalty 0.5% of turnover capped at Rs 1,50,000; ITR filing extended date of 31 October becomes inapplicable
ROC Annual Filing Form AOC-4 (Financial Statements)	Within 30 days of AGM (typically by 29 October)	Form AOC-4	Section 137 of Companies Act 2013 penalty Rs 10,000 plus Rs 100 per day; directors disqualification under Section 164(2) on continuing default

Comparison

Tally vs Zoho Books

Aspect	Tally	Zoho Books
Accounting software	Desktop-installed double-entry package widely accepted in scrutiny proceedings; preferred for inventory-heavy businesses and statutory audit re-performance under SA 230 documentation standards	Cloud-hosted GST-ready ledger with API integrations and audit trail per Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules 2014 read with the proviso effective 1 April 2023
Engagement model	External professional retainer with peer-review oversight, ICAI Code of Ethics compliance, and SA 230 working-paper retention for 7 financial years per audit standards	Employed bookkeeper responsible to designated partner; HR cost, EPF and ESI exposure, plus Section 8 LLP Act 2008 joint-and-several compliance liability on partners
Posting cadence	Books closed each calendar month with monthly trial balance, GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B reconciliation, and TDS Section 200 deposit by the 7th of following month	Books closed once a quarter; works for very small turnover but raises Section 145(3) Income-tax Act rejection-of-accounts risk where transactions are dense and unrecorded gaps appear
Statutory framework	ICAI Accounting Standards notified under Section 133 of the Companies Act 2013 read with Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules 2021 binding on every accounting entity	Trade-customary recordkeeping without standards reference; AO may invoke Section 145(3) of the Income-tax Act 1961 to reject books for non-conformity with notified accounting standards
Evidentiary value	Section 34 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872 admits entries in books of account regularly kept as relevant; corroboration required for the truth of entries	Bankers' Books Evidence Act 1891 makes certified bank-statement copies admissible as prima facie proof, frequently relied on where party-maintained books are rejected by AO
Retention period	72 months from due date of annual return under Section 35(1) of the CGST Act 2017 read with Rule 56 of CGST Rules; longer if appeal pending	6 financial years from end of relevant assessment year under Rule 6F and Section 44AA read with Section 149 reassessment window of 10 years for high-value escapements
Audit support	Section 143 Companies Act 2013 audit by an FCA on full books with SA 200-series testing; mandatory for every company regardless of turnover	Section 142(2A) of the Income-tax Act 1961 special audit ordered by AO where books are complex or correctness doubted; cost borne by the Central Government post-2007 amendment
Books-rejection exposure	ICAI-compliant books supported by vouchers and bank reconciliation resist Section 145(3) rejection — CIT v Rai Bahadur Hardutroy Motilal Chamaria SC permits revised accounts in genuine error	Books exposing CIT v Vegetable Products SC Section 145(3) rejection followed by best-judgment assessment under Section 144 with adverse inference on undisclosed turnover
Tax planning vs avoidance	Accurate books supporting bona-fide deductions within statutory framework — Brij Mohan v CIT SC accepts quality-of-books as evidence of bona-fide conduct in assessment	Fabricated entries to suppress income trigger McDowell v CTO SC anti-avoidance doctrine and Satyam Computer Services case-style securities fraud plus Section 277 prosecution
Monthly fee	₹5,000 per month all-inclusive — software-agnostic, monthly TB plus GST and TDS reconciliation, quarterly review with designated partner, no hidden audit-support charges	₹25,000 to ₹35,000 monthly salary plus EPF, ESI, gratuity accrual, leave, and supervision cost — total cost-to-company typically ₹4 lakh to ₹6 lakh per annum
Books at registered office	Section 128 of the Companies Act 2013 mandates books at registered office; Board may resolve to keep at any other place in India with 7-day intimation to Registrar in AOC-5	Section 34(1) of the LLP Act 2008 requires books kept at registered office on cash or accrual basis; non-compliance attracts ₹25,000 to ₹5 lakh penalty on the LLP and partners
Audit trail feature	Rule 3(1) proviso of the Companies (Accounts) Rules 2014 requires accounting software with edit-log audit trail effective 1 April 2023 — non-compliance reportable in CARO 2020 Clause (xi)(b)	Manual ledgers permitted under Section 128 only where supported by mechanical or other devices; lack of audit trail invites scrutiny under Section 143(3)(j) auditor reporting requirements