Lesson 2 of 20

How to create a company in TallyPrime

Everything in Tally lives inside a company. Creating one takes two minutes; choosing its dates correctly saves hours later.

What a "company" means in Tally

A company is one set of books: one business, firm or person whose accounts you keep. An accountant may have dozens of companies in one installation, one for each client. Each company's data sits in its own numbered folder on the computer.

Steps

Press Alt+K (Company) and choose Create. On a fresh installation the opening screen also offers "Create Company".
Fill in the company creation screen (details below).
Press Ctrl+A to save.
Tally then shows the Company Features screen (F11), where you switch on what you need, such as inventory and GST. You can change these later.

The details asked

Field	What to enter
Data path	The folder where the data will be kept. Accept the default unless your office uses a shared location.
Company name	The name as it should print on invoices and reports.
Mailing name and address	The name and address for printed documents.
State, country, PIN code	The state matters for GST: it decides whether a sale is within the state or outside it.
Phone, mobile, email, website	Optional, printed on documents if filled.
Financial year beginning from	The first day of the accounting year. In India this is normally 1 April.
Books beginning from	The date from which you start entering vouchers. Usually the same as the financial year start; later if the business began mid-year.
Security	Optional user name and password to control who can open the company.
Base currency	Symbol and name: ₹ and INR for Indian companies.

The two dates, explained

Suppose a shop opens on 10 August 2026. Its financial year still begins on 1 April 2026, because the tax year does. Its books begin on 10 August 2026, because there is nothing to record before that. For an existing business moving to Tally at the start of a year, both dates are 1 April, and the opening balances of last year's closing balance sheet are entered in the ledgers.

Tally will not accept a voucher dated before "books beginning from", and changing these dates after entries exist is troublesome. Check them before saving.

Company features (F11)

The features screen is a list of yes or no choices. The ones a beginner meets:

Maintain Accounts: always yes.
Enable Bill-wise entry: yes if you want to track each party's outstanding bill by bill.
Maintain Inventory: yes if the business buys and sells goods and you want stock records.
Integrate Accounts with Inventory: yes, so that stock values flow into the accounts.
Enable Goods and Services Tax (GST): yes for a registered business. See GST set-up.

To reach this screen later, press F11 from Gateway of Tally.

Opening, changing and closing a company

Open another company: Alt+F3 (Select Company), or Alt+K > Select.
Switch between companies already open: F3.
Change company details: Alt+K > Alter.
Shut a company: Ctrl+F3, or Alt+K > Shut.
Change the period you are viewing: Alt+F2. Change the current date: F2.

A practice company

Create a company only for learning, so that mistakes cost nothing. For the lessons and the practice exercise on this site, use:

Name: Shanti Traders (a made-up stationery wholesaler)
State: your own state
Financial year from: 1 April of the current year; books beginning from the same date
Features: accounts, inventory and GST switched on

Where the data is, and keeping it safe

Company data is stored as a folder of files in the data path. If that computer's disk fails, the books are gone unless there is a backup. Take a backup regularly from Alt+Y (Data) > Backup, and keep a copy away from the computer. The backup lesson shows how.

Common mistakes

Typing the wrong financial year, so that all dates are refused later.
Choosing the wrong state, which makes GST calculate as interstate.
Creating a second company with the same name by accident and entering vouchers in the wrong one. Check the company name at the top of the screen before you start work.
Setting a password and forgetting it. Write it down somewhere safe.

Questions learners ask

How do I create a company in TallyPrime?

Press Alt+K, choose Create, fill in the name, address, state, financial year and books beginning dates, and press Ctrl+A to save.

What is the difference between "financial year beginning from" and "books beginning from"?

The first is the start of the accounting year, normally 1 April. The second is the date from which you actually begin recording vouchers, which is later if the business started mid-year.

Can I keep more than one company in Tally?

Yes. Each company is a separate set of books, and you can open and switch between them.

All lessons

What TallyPrime is Groups and ledgers Create ledgers Voucher types Contra voucher Payment voucher Receipt voucher Journal voucher Purchase voucher Sales voucher Debit and credit notes Stock items and units GST set-up GST entries Bank reconciliation Reports Backup and restore Common errors 30 day plan

Shortcut keys Group quiz Practice exercise Glossary

An independent learning site. Tally and TallyPrime are trademarks of Tally Solutions Private Limited. This site is not connected with, approved by or paid by Tally Solutions, and uses none of its logos, screens or course material. Keys and menu paths were checked against Tally's own help site on 12 November 2026; the software changes with each release, so if your screen differs, follow Tally's help (press Ctrl+F1). Tax treatment in the examples is for learning only: ask your accountant.