Most founders need to start looking at books of accounts and understand cash flow, P&L and Financial statements as they grow their companies. A growing startup is dynamic and ever-changing. At Mysa, we understand the need to have a squeaky clean, timely closed book of accounts. But without new age software, it’s very hard for founders and finance teams to stay agile as well as compliant.
Unlike QuickBooks and Zoho Books, Tally does not have a robust ecosystem of developers.
This is where Zoho Books comes in, which has become a widely adopted software for Indian startups of all sizes, especially after Quick Books discontinued in India. In this article, we will discuss FAQs on migration from Tally to Zoho Books with our focus primarily being on early-stage companies up to Series B/C stages.
Why Tech Startups should choose Zoho Books over Tally Prime
Considerations
Zoho Books
Tally Prime
Accessibility and Visibility
Available on OS such as Windows, Mac, Android, etc., and thus accessible through PCs. Macs, tablets, and even phones.
Not available on Mac, which ends up being a big loss when it is considered that many startup founders use Mac-based devices and thus decreases financial visibility at a managerial level.
Features Tailored for
Tech startups, digital agencies, and B2B marketplaces without heavy inventory requirements
Manufacturing and trading businesses with heavy inventory requirements
Learning Curve for business leaders/founders
Manageable learning curve, the UI is not accountant-friendly, making it easier for the founder to be involved in the accounting processes.
Manageable learning curve, yet Clunky UI causes hindrance for non accountants
Ease of Setup
The setup is relatively straightforward; it has a good set of defaults for categories and account structure.
Set up is simple but, categorizations are plenty
Integrations
Zoho Books integrates with various payment gateways, like Paypal, Stripe, etc., and even various inventory, warehouse, and order management systems. Zoho Books integrates with Zapier and, thus, can be integrated with 500+ apps. Not only this, Zoho Books integrates seamlessly with other Zoho Books solutions like Zoho Books expense, Zoho Books billing, etc., allowing founders to build a well integrated finance stack.
Tally Prime is closed-ended software; there are no APIs or plugins available for Tally.
Customization
Zoho Books is web-based software, and there are APIs available to integrate with Zoho Books, so customisation, data sharing, and integrations are easy with Zoho Books.
Tally works on a language called TDL (Tally Developer Language). Developers need to write scripts in TDL in order to work with Tally, which makes it difficult to work with, thus offering less flexibility.
Pricing
Pricing of Zoho Books evolves with the startup. It provides a free plan for companies with less than ₹25 lakh per annum revenue, and then prices range from ₹749-7999. The prices evolve as per your needs; if you want to add more users, you can keep modifying the plan.
The silver subscription starts from ₹750 plus GST per month, while the gold subscription starts at ₹2250 plus GST per month.
Audit Friendliness
Zoho operates with dedicated data centres globally and incorporates a sophisticated data backup feature at the Zoho level. This ensures that users need not worry about losing their data, as it remains securely stored and readily accessible. These proactive measures not only mitigate risks but also underscore Zoho's commitment to providing a reliable and secure platform for financial management, solidifying its standing as a leading solution in the industry
Tally Prime, being a desktop-based software, carries a significant risk of data loss due to potential system crashes. This risk is often compounded by the common practice of exchanging backup files via email among accountants and auditors, thereby raising concerns regarding data security and privacy
The winner is pretty clear.
Which makes migrating from Tally to Zoho Books a necessity.
Migrating from Tally to Zoho Books might seem like a herculean task, but a well-defined checklist can streamline the process. However, even with a checklist, navigating the intricacies of data migration can raise questions. This article aims to address those very questions, ensuring a smooth transition to Zoho Books for your startup while also providing you with a ready-for-use checklist.
Common FAQs Answered Q1. Mapping Your Data Correctly (How Can I Ensure My Data is Mapped Correctly During Migration?) In platform migration, ensuring accurate data mapping is crucial. Incorrect mapping can disrupt accounting processes, leading to misaligned data, increased compliance risks, or inaccurate financial reporting. There are four primary steps for ensuring data mapping is done correctly. To ensure precise mapping during the shift from Tally to Zoho Books, follow these steps:
Step 1. Understand Equivalent Terms:
Accounts vs. Chart of Accounts: In Tally, the core structure for managing financial data is the Account Masters. This encompasses various sub-accounts or ledgers, each representing a specific financial category. Zoho Books utilises the Chart of Accounts to fulfil a similar function. Here, you'll find a comprehensive list of accounts categorised by type, offering a more structured approach.Sundry Debtors vs. Accounts Receivable: Tally uses the term Sundry Debtors to represent customers who owe you money. In Zoho Books, the equivalent term is Accounts Receivable . Both functionalities allow you to track outstanding customer invoices and manage your collection process effectively.Sundry Creditors vs. Accounts Payable: Conversely, Sundry Creditors in Tally represent vendors to whom you owe money. Zoho Books utilises Accounts Payable to manage these outstanding payments. Both systems enable efficient tracking of vendor invoices and streamline your bill payment process.Vouchers vs. Journal Entries: Tally uses Vouchers to record various financial transactions, including purchases, sales, receipts, and payments. Zoho Books utilises Journal Entries for the same purpose. While both achieve the same outcome, understanding this terminology helps in accurately mapping your historical transaction data.Cash Book vs. Bank Reconciliation: Tally's Cash Book serves as a record of your cash inflows and outflows. Zoho Books utilises the Bank Reconciliation feature to achieve the same goal. Both functionalities allow you to reconcile your bank statements, ensuring your accounting records accurately reflect your actual cash position.You can also create a new account for tracking different sources of income or expenses. Some standard account types present in Zoho Books include:
Assets Liability Equity Income Expense Under each of these account types, we have a list of accounts. For example, the Expense account type includes the Meals and Entertainment, Fuel/Mileage and Other Expenses accounts.
By familiarising yourself with these equivalent terms and their functionalities in both Tally and Zoho Books, you can ensure a more accurate and efficient data migration process.
Step 2. Pay Attention while Mapping Fields: During the import process, meticulous attention is required to verify and map the necessary columns from your source file to the corresponding fields within Zoho Books. Particular emphasis should be placed on ensuring all mandatory fields are filled and accurately mapped. This meticulousness paves the way for a successful and error-free migration.
Step 3. Two-Fold Verification: There should be a two-fold verification system wherein the data is verified not only after the initial mapping is complete, but also pre-import.
Step 4. Saving Mapping Selections: For those anticipating similar data formats in future migrations, Zoho Books offers the valuable option to save your mapping selections. This streamlines subsequent data imports by automatically applying the previously established and verified mappings. Saving these selections fosters consistency and efficiency across multiple migrations.
Q2. What Data to Export and How Much History? (What Data Do I Need to Export from Tally, and How Far Back Should I Go?) Most people assume that it is important to export all historical data while migrating from Zoho Books to Tally. This assumption is far from the truth.
When determining the data to export from Tally and the extent of historical data to include in the migration process, it's crucial to tailor the approach to your specific requirements. Typically, there are two main approaches to consider:
Comprehensive Migration: Some companies prefer a thorough migration, encompassing all data from the inception of their records up to a specified cut-off date for the migration. For instance, if the cutoff date is decided to be March 31, 2022, in this scenario, they often request importing opening balances as of this date and continue with transactions for the subsequent year until the current year.Selective Migration: On the other hand, certain companies opt for a minimalist approach, uploading only the opening balances as of a particular date, like March 31st, 2024, and then continuing their accounting process. This minimalist strategy allows for a fresh start while still maintaining essential financial records.Q3. Choosing a Migration Time Period (When is the Best Time to Migrate from Tally to Zoho Books?) Choosing a migration time period is pretty standard; even though there isn’t a single ‘best’ time, there are 3 time periods at which you should consider starting your migration process:
1.) End of the Calendar Year
2.) Beginning of the Financial Year
3.) Beginning of a new Quarter
Q4. Data Back-Up During Migration (How Do I Back Up My Data During the Migration Process?) Backup is done as a feature of Zoho Books; once you migrate, the data you have migrated gets backed up. In case the data hasn’t been transferred to Zoho Books, the older data may be backed up according to the wishes of the company.
Q5. Running Both Tally and Zoho Books Simultaneously (Do I Need to Keep Using Tally After Migrating to Zoho Books?) Whether you need to continue running both programmes simultaneously or not depends on the size of the organisation and the complexity of its data. For larger companies with complex data, it is recommended that they run both software programmes simultaneously for about 3 months, provided that the workload of the team doesn’t increase to such an extent that there isn't a loss of efficiency. In such a case, the company can start recording transactions in Zoho Books on the very next day of the cutoff date, while the data is uploaded over a period of 3 months.
Q6. Automating Data Migration (Can I Automate Migrating My Data from Tally to Zoho Books?) As of now, there aren’t any internal tools by Zoho Books that you can use to automate the process, but a level of automation can definitely be added through the use of basic Excel macros while migrating the accounting data.
Q7. Post-Migration Data Verification Checks (How Can I Verify the Accuracy of My Data After Migration?) After completing the migration process, it's essential to conduct several post-migration checks to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
1. Trial Balance Comparison: Generate a trial balance post-migration and compare account-wise balances to validate accuracy.
2. Receivables and Payables Reconciliation: Generate customer-wise receivables and vendor-wise payables balances and compare them with balances as of the migration date to ensure consistency.
3. Profit and Loss (P&L) and Balance Sheet Matching: Verify that the P&L and balance sheet balances align with the expected values in Zoho Books.
4. Inventory Verification: Check inventory balances to ensure they are accurately reflected post-migration, confirming that stocked items are correctly accounted for.
Q8. How much does Tally to Zoho Books migration cost? Migration cost depends on data volume, complexity, and whether you do it yourself or hire an expert.
DIY Migration (Free to ₹2,000):
Only Zoho Books subscription required (₹0–₹749/month) No extra service fees 20–40 hours of your team’s time Assisted Migration (₹15,000–₹1,00,000+):
Basic (opening balances only): ₹15,000–₹25,000Partial (current FY): ₹30,000–₹50,000Full (historical data): ₹60,000–₹1,00,000+Cost factors: Data size, historical years, customization (GST/TDS), and training needs.
Hidden costs: Zoho subscription, staff training, and temporary parallel running (Tally + Zoho).
Pro tip: Startups with <2 years of simple data can save ₹30K–₹50K via DIY migration.
Q9. How long does the Tally to Zoho Books migration take? Timelines vary based on data complexity and migration type.
Migration Types Comparison
Migration Types — Quick Reference
Migration Type
Typical Duration
Includes
Opening Balances Only
1–3 days
Masters + Trial Balance
Current FY Transactions
1–2 weeks
Masters + Transactions
Full Historical Data
3–6 weeks
All Years + Reconciliation
Factors affecting duration:
Transaction volume Data quality Customization and verification time Ideal timeline: Start in January, run parallel for 3 months, and go live by April 1 (new FY).
Q10. Can I migrate from Tally to Zoho Books myself (DIY)? Yes, you can migrate yourself if:
You have <5,000 transactions/year 1–2 people with accounting knowledge No complex inventory or custom setups DIY Steps:
Export reports from Tally Download Zoho import templates Map Tally to Zoho fields Import masters (COA, customers, vendors) Import transactions Verify trial balance Run both systems for 1 month When to hire experts:
Large or complex data (>10K transactions or 3+ years) Inventory across locations Lack of in-house expertise Hybrid option: Do data prep yourself and hire experts for final import to save 40–50%.
Q11. Will I lose any data during migration? No, if done properly, you won’t lose data.
Pre-Migration:
Backup Tally data Export all key reports (TB, ledgers, vouchers) Save copies locally and on cloud During Migration:
Zoho saves all imported data Failed imports create error logs (no data loss) Test in batches before full import Post-Migration:
Match trial balance Verify payables/receivables Check inventory and transactions Possible gaps:
Tally custom reports (need recreation) TDL-based features (not transferable) Tip: Data loss risk <0.1% if verified correctly.
Q12. What support do I need after migrating to Zoho Books? Initial (First 2 Weeks):
User and accountant training Help with invoices, payments, and GST filing Bank connection setup Ongoing (1–3 Months):
Troubleshooting & report setup Workflow automation Integration with other Zoho apps Support Options:
Zoho Support (Free): Email support, 24–48 hrs responseMigration Partner: ₹10K–₹30K (1–3 months of dedicated help)CA/Accountant: ₹5K–₹15K/month (GST, compliance)Zoho Partner Training: ₹15K–₹40K (custom team training)Recommended Budget: ₹20K–₹50K for training + support during first 3 months.
Self-Help: Zoho Help Center, webinars, Mysa blog guides, and Zoho partner trainings.
The Migration Checklist These 7 questions discussed are the most frequently asked questions by people trying to figure out the migration process, and provide a solid starting point, yet in order to make sure your journey of migrating from Tally to Zoho is smooth, we have attached a migration checklist you can follow in order to ensure your comfort:
Objective: This checklist is designed to guide and assist in migrating books of accounts from other ERPs to Zoho Books.
Approach: Books of accounts to Zoho books can be migrated at a specified date or from the first day with all historical transactions. The approach we take will have an impact on efforts and the timeline for migration. Migration on a specified date is easy and less time-consuming as compared to a full migration of all transactions. We recommend migrating as of April 1, 2024, in order to have books of accounts for the whole financial year in one ERP.
Item
Details
Migration approach
Specified date
Date of migration
Cutoff date for migration
Organization profile
Legal entity name
Chart of accounts
GL Name
Voucher / Entry types
Bank payment
Customer Master
Customer code
Vendor Master
Vendor code
Banking
Bank account number
Product/Service
Product/Service name
GST configuration
HSN / SAC registered codes
TDS configuration
TDS deduction types
Invoice template configuration
Legal entity name
Open balances
Opening balances of Balance sheet items as of cutoff
Pre-migration
Identify data format, location, and sensitivity.
Execution
Migrate all sale transactions using Zoho template.
Post-migration checks
Generate trial balance post migration and compare account wise balances.
Still, have questions about the migration process?
If you require a deeper dive into the whole process we recommend following the official guide made by Zoho Books.
We would also like to extend special thanks to our CA experts, whom you can contact regarding the migration process Guru & Jana and Prem from Z Trainings - for their invaluable contributions. With their expertise, businesses can navigate this transition confidently and efficiently.
Happy Migrating :)
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