Balance Sheet in Tally

The Balance Sheet in TallyPrime is a report that shows what the business owns (assets) and what it owes (liabilities and capital) on a particular date. The best part: you don't prepare it by hand. Tally builds it automatically from every voucher you've recorded. You open it from Gateway of Tally ▸ Balance Sheet (or press Alt + G and type "Balance Sheet"). Because it's live, it updates the moment you pass a new entry, which makes it a powerful way to check whether your books make sense.

What the Balance Sheet shows

It answers, "where does the business stand right now?" TallyPrime shows two sides that always total the same amount:

• Liabilities side — Capital (owner's money and profits) and Liabilities (loans, creditors, outstanding dues).
• Assets side — Fixed assets (furniture, machinery), Current assets (cash, bank, stock, debtors).

The two sides are equal because of the accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Capital. If they're equal in Tally, your double-entry is internally consistent.

How to open it

1. Go to Gateway of Tally.
2. Choose Balance Sheet (or Alt + G ▸ "Balance Sheet").
3. Tally displays the report as of the current date. Press F2 to change the date if you want the position on, say, 31 March.

Reading the report

At the top level, Tally groups everything neatly:

The two totals match. If you've enabled GST, your unpaid GST sits under Duties & Taxes in Current Liabilities until you pay it to the government.

Drill down into any figure

This is where Tally shines. The Balance Sheet isn't just a summary; every figure is clickable:

1. From the Balance Sheet, press Enter on a group (say Current Assets).
2. Drill into Sundry Debtors to see every customer and what they owe.
3. Drill into a customer to see every invoice and receipt.

So you can go from "total debtors ₹2,00,000" all the way down to the individual invoice, in a few key presses. This drill-down is how accountants investigate a figure that looks wrong.

Worked example (what a small business shows)

After recording capital, purchases, sales, expenses and some outstanding dues, a shop's Balance Sheet might show:

• Capital: ₹1,00,000 (plus this year's profit).
• Current Liabilities: Creditors ₹20,000, Duties & Taxes (GST payable) ₹5,000.
• Fixed Assets: Furniture ₹75,000.
• Current Assets: Cash ₹30,000, Bank ₹40,000, Stock ₹40,000, Debtors ₹25,000.

Both sides total the same figure. If they didn't, Tally would still show it, but a mismatch would signal that something (like an opening balance) was entered incorrectly.

Change the view

TallyPrime lets you adjust the report to understand it better:

• F2 (Date): view the position on any date.
• Alt+F5 (Detailed): expand groups to see sub-items without drilling.
• Ctrl+A / configure: show or hide percentages and other columns.
• Compare periods: view this year against last year to see growth.

Real-world scenario (using the Balance Sheet as a health check)

An accountant doesn't just print the Balance Sheet at year end; they glance at it through the year as a health check. Cash and bank looking too low? The business may struggle to pay bills. Debtors very high? A lot of money is stuck with customers who haven't paid. Creditors growing? The business is leaning on supplier credit. Because Tally's Balance Sheet is live and drillable, an accountant can spot these signals early and act, chase payments, control spending, arrange funds. Being able to read a Balance Sheet, not just produce it, is what makes you valuable in an accounts role.

Pro tips

• Use F2 to see the Balance Sheet as of 31 March for a year-end view.
• Drill down whenever a figure surprises you; the detail is only a few key presses away.
• If the two sides ever look off, check opening balances first, they're the usual culprit.
• Compare this year with last year to see whether assets and capital are growing.

Common mistakes

• Thinking you must prepare it manually. Tally builds it from your entries; your job is correct entries.
• Ignoring Duties & Taxes. Unpaid GST sits here as a liability; don't overlook it.
• Wrong opening balances. If the sheet won't balance, incorrect opening balances are the most common reason.
• Reading only the totals. The value is in drilling down to see what's behind each figure.

Key takeaways

• The Balance Sheet shows assets, liabilities and capital on a date, built automatically by Tally.
• Open it from Gateway of Tally ▸ Balance Sheet; use F2 to set the date.
• Both sides always total the same (Assets = Liabilities + Capital).
• Every figure is drillable, down to the individual invoice.

Practice task

In your practice company (with some entries recorded), open the Balance Sheet. Drill into Current Assets ▸ Sundry Debtors and then into one customer to reach their invoices. Change the date with F2 and see how the figures update.

Learn to read and use financial reports, not just produce them, in the ADFA program at HCI.