Question 1

Why switch from Tally to HelloBooks?

Accepted Answer

Three reasons Indian customers cite most: 1) Users. Tally Silver is single-user at ₹750/month (₹8,100/year, or ₹22,500 for a lifetime licence, all plus 18% GST) — for a 3-person team you need Tally Gold at ₹2,250/month, ₹24,300/year or ₹67,500 lifetime. HelloBooks Pro is ₹499/month with unlimited users, GST included. 2) Tally is Windows desktop — backups, multi-machine sync, and remote access need IT support. HelloBooks runs in a browser or the mobile app, with nothing to install or back up. 3) AI: TallyPrime now ships Connected GST filing, Connected Banking and native document OCR, but as of July 2026 it still has no AI that learns a ledger for your bank transactions — Tally's own help documentation confirms there is no automatic ledger suggestion for unmatched lines and no user-defined matching rules. HelloBooks categorizes with an AI agent that learns from your corrections.

Question 2

How does the Tally-to-HelloBooks migration work?

Accepted Answer

Export your Tally data (Gateway of Tally → Export → Master + Vouchers, runs an XML bundle), upload to the HelloBooks migration tool, and the platform maps Tally ledger codes to the HelloBooks chart automatically. The mapping screen lets you adjust before commit. Chart of accounts, parties (customers/vendors), items with HSN/SAC codes, opening balances, and transactions come across — including GST codes so the next return rolls forward without manual remapping. Typical small business takes under 2 hours; multi-year ledgers with 50k+ vouchers run in a couple of hours.

Question 3

Does HelloBooks handle CA practice workflows the way Tally does?

Accepted Answer

HelloBooks itself is available in India today, and one CA login already manages multiple client workspaces at no extra cost. The separate HelloCPA Practice Management product — batch close workflows, multi-entity consolidations, proposals and engagement letters, time tracking — has shipped in the US only so far and is priced per seat at $9.99 per user per month; India is on the roadmap. See /practice-management to join the India waitlist.

Question 4

What about Tally's local Indian features — vouchers, narrations, bank book?

Accepted Answer

Every Tally voucher type maps to a HelloBooks document type. Payment vouchers → bills, receipt vouchers → customer receipts, contra → bank transfers, journal → journal entries, sales/purchase → invoices/bills with the same narration field. Day Book, Cash Book, Bank Book reports are all there with the same layout you're used to in Tally.

Question 5

Can I run HelloBooks offline like Tally?

Accepted Answer

No — HelloBooks is cloud-first. That's a deliberate trade: you get automatic backups, multi-device access, real-time collaboration across staff, and updates without reinstalling. If offline operation is a hard requirement (very remote locations, weeks without connectivity), Tally remains the right tool.

Feature	HelloBooks	Tally
Free plan	₹0, no card, no expiry: unlimited GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for one GSTIN, 2 users	Paid rental or licence, from ₹750/month plus GST
Pricing	Free Plan; Pro ₹499/mo, GST included, unlimited users, every GSTIN of one legal entity	Silver (1 user) ₹750/mo, ₹8,100/yr or ₹22,500 lifetime; Gold (multi-user) ₹2,250/mo, ₹24,300/yr or ₹67,500 lifetime — all +18% GST
Deployment	Cloud — any browser, any device, no install	Windows desktop only; no native cloud; ODBC sync workarounds
Multi-user / collaboration	Unlimited users on Pro; real-time collaboration	Locks on records; multi-user needs Tally Gold + network setup
GSTR-1 / 3B filing	GSTR-1 and 3B filed (free for one GSTIN); GSTR-9 generated ready to file on Pro; GSTR-2B reconciliation	Connected GST since release 5.0 — GSTR-1 / IFF filed from Tally with EVC or DSC; IMS + GSTR-2B recompute since 6.1
E-invoicing (IRP)	IRN + QR auto-generated, embedded in invoice PDF, fed back to GSTR-1	Native IRN + QR since release 2.0, including bulk generation and cancellation
E-way bills (NIC portal)	Auto-fill from invoice, vehicle update, consolidated e-way bills	Generated from the voucher alongside e-invoicing
AI categorization of bank transactions	Built-in AI agent, learns your patterns	No AI-learned ledger suggestion for unmatched bank lines and no user-defined matching rules — the operator picks the ledger (July 2026)
Multi-state GSTINs in one workspace	All GSTINs of one entity included on Pro and above (Free: one GSTIN)	Multiple GSTINs in a single company since TallyPrime 3.0
Razorpay / Cashfree	Native integrations with gateway-fee reconciliation	No direct integration; manual import
Updates & support (TSS)	No separate renewal — subscription includes updates	Bundled into the rental plans and the lifetime licence; a lapsed TSS stops the statutory updates that keep GST filing compliant
Cloud access	Included — it is a cloud product	TallyPrime Cloud Access is a paid add-on (from ₹1,800 per 3 months on Silver)

HelloBooks vs Tally for Indian businesses

HelloBooks vs Tally (India)

Tally switch — frequently asked

Try the Tally alternative — free