How to Create a Company in Tally

To create a company in TallyPrime, open Tally and select Create Company, then fill in the business name, address, state, financial year beginning date and base currency, and save with Ctrl + A. A "company" in Tally simply means one business whose books you're keeping. You must create it before you can pass a single entry, so this is always your first step.

What a "company" means in Tally

In Tally, a company is one set of books. If you run a shop and also keep accounts for a friend's business, those are two separate companies in Tally. Each has its own ledgers, vouchers and reports, kept completely apart.

Step by step: create your company

1. Open TallyPrime. On the start screen, click Create Company (or go to Gateway of Tally ▸ press Alt + K ▸ Create).
2. Company Name — type the business name, e.g. "Sharma Traders".
3. Address, State, Country — enter these correctly. The State decides GST behaviour later, so get it right.
4. Financial Year beginning from — for most Indian businesses this is 1-Apr-2026. Tally fills the year automatically once you set the start.
5. Books beginning from — usually the same as the financial year start, unless you're starting mid-year.
6. Set a base currency symbol (₹ for India).
7. Press Ctrl + A to accept and save.

The settings that matter

• Financial year — in India this runs 1 April to 31 March. Setting it wrong throws off every report.
• State — used for CGST/SGST vs IGST once you enable GST.
• Security control — optional. Turn it on if more than one person uses Tally and you want a username and password.

Worked example

You're setting up books for "Verma Electronics" in Jammu & Kashmir, starting this financial year:

• Company Name: Verma Electronics
• State: Jammu & Kashmir
• Financial year beginning from: 1-Apr-2026
• Base currency: ₹

Save it, and Tally drops you at the Gateway of Tally, the main menu where all your work begins.

Open, switch or edit a company later

• Select/Open: Alt + K ▸ Select, or press F3 to switch between companies.
• Alter (edit details): Alt + K ▸ Alter, to fix the name, address or year.
• Shut: closes the company without deleting it.

Pro tips

• Double-check the financial year and state before saving. Fixing them after entries exist is painful.
• If you're just practising, create a company called "Practice" so you don't mix test entries with real books.
• Keep the company name exactly as it appears on invoices and GST records for consistency.

Common mistakes

• Wrong financial year start. Entering a date other than 1-Apr can misplace all your transactions.
• Wrong state. This breaks GST calculations later, since GST type depends on the state.
• Turning on security and forgetting the password. Note it down; there's no easy reset.

Key takeaways

• A company in Tally is one business's books.
• Create Company ▸ enter name, state, financial year, currency ▸ Ctrl + A.
• The financial year (1-Apr–31-Mar) and state are the critical fields.
• Use F3 to switch between companies.

Practice task

Create a practice company for an imaginary shop in your state, with the financial year starting 1-Apr-2026. Then use Alter to change its address, and Select to reopen it. You're now ready to create ledgers.

Learn TallyPrime the practical way, from setup to GST returns, in the ADFA program at HCI.