Chopda Pujan 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November, the Lakshmi Puja day of Diwali; take the muhurat from your own panchang. For TallyPrime users, Diwali does not start a new tax year, so don't create a new company. Print what you need for the puja, take a full backup, and lock last year only after your CA signs off.
What Chopda Pujan means for a trader
Chopda is the Gujarati word for an account book: traditionally the red, cloth-bound bahi-khata. On Diwali, business families, especially Gujarati and Marwari traders, place their new books before Lakshmi and Ganesha, mark them with a swastik, Om and Shubh-Labh, and pray for a good year. Drik Panchang, which also calls the ritual Muhurat Pujan, notes that many business owners now worship their laptop as the chopda.
The ritual also marks a real turn in the business calendar. Dues are chased before the festival, the shop or office shuts for a few days, and work restarts on Labh Pancham with the first entries of the new Samvat. That rhythm is a good moment to look after the books themselves, not just the puja.
Chopda Pujan 2026 date, and the days around it
Chopda Pujan is performed on the Lakshmi Puja day, which is Sunday, 8 November 2026. The central government's 2026 holiday list, issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, also marks Deepavali on that Sunday. We don't publish muhurat times: they depend on your city and your family's tradition, so take them from your panchang or pandit.
- Week beforeCollect dues, tidy entriesBring vouchers up to date and back up before Diwali cleaning moves any PC.
- Lakshmi Puja · Chopda PujanPrint the pages you want for the puja. Keep diyas away from laptops.
- Bestu Varas · Samvat 2083Gujarati New Year. The income-tax year does not change.
- Labh PanchamBusiness restarts. First entries go into the same TallyPrime company.
- GST credit cut-off for 2025-26After this, and with your CA's nod, lock last year's entries.
Tax year unchanged: no new TallyPrime company at Diwali
Some families still remember closing the accounts at Diwali. For tax, the year now runs from April to March for everyone. The Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 April 2026, defines the tax year as the financial year beginning on 1 April. GST returns and the annual return follow the same April-to-March year, and companies use it under the Companies Act too. So Diwali 2026 falls in the middle of tax year 2026-27.
That means you should keep entering vouchers in the same TallyPrime company. One company holds many years of data, and a fresh company in November would split one tax year across two sets of books, which makes GST returns, your CA's work and next year's closing harder.
- Want a Samvat-wise view? Press Alt+F2 (Change Period) and set the dates from last year's Gujarati New Year to Diwali. Your Profit & Loss and Day Book then show that period, with no new company needed.
- Want a fresh start? That is what the puja is for. In TallyPrime, a fresh start means clean, reconciled entries and a backup, not a new company.
Don't split the company at Diwali. Tally's split company data guide (Alt+Y › Split › Split Data) asks you to finalise the books and finish the whole cycle, payments and return filing included, before splitting. That is a year-end job, covered step by step in our TallyPrime year-end checklist.
Puja-day checklist: print, back up, lock last year
Tick items off as you go; your ticks stay on this device. Print it or save it as a PDF for the office, or send the short version to your munim on WhatsApp.
Chopda Pujan 2026: checklist for your TallyPrime books
Lakshmi Puja Sun 8 Nov · Bestu Varas Tue 10 Nov · Labh Pancham Sat 14 Nov
Print what you need for the puja
Many families still buy a paper chopda for the ritual and keep a printed summary with it. Open the Trial Balance or Balance Sheet, press Alt+F2 to set the date to the puja day, then Ctrl+P. If TallyPrime runs on a cloud server, your printer works from a Windows PC or Mac once printer redirection is on. Microsoft's Windows App feature comparison lists no printer redirection on iPhone, iPad or Android, so export a PDF there instead. Our guide to printing from Tally on Cloud walks through every device.
Take a backup you can actually restore
In TallyPrime 7.0 and later, a manual backup is Alt+Y › Backup & Restore › Backup, according to Tally's local backup guide. The same page's best practices include keeping the system on during the scheduled backup time. Over a five-day Diwali break with the office locked and the PC switched off, scheduled backups may simply not happen, so take one by hand before you close, and keep the copy away from the office. Our Tally data backup guide compares TallyDrive, Google Drive and cloud servers.
Lock last year, but not too early
By Diwali most 2025-26 filings are done, so it is tempting to freeze that year. Wait for two things: your CA's confirmation, and 30 November 2026, the last date to claim GST input tax credit on 2025-26 invoices unless the annual return is filed earlier. Then press Alt+K › User Roles, choose the role your staff use and enter a Cut-off Date for Back Dated Vouchers. Tally's user management guide says TallyPrime then won't let that role record a transaction before the date. User access must be switched on first (Alt+K › Create/Alter › Control User Access to Company Data).
Share the checklist with family or your munim
New books kept safe: backups, any device, festive seats
A paper chopda can be lost, burnt or soaked. An office PC can be stolen over the holidays, or its disk can fail the week you reopen. Putting TallyPrime on a cloud server doesn't change the ritual. It changes where the books live and who looks after them.
| Question | Paper chopda | TallyPrime on an office PC | TallyPrime on TallyoCloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the books live | In the shop's almirah | On one computer's disk | On your private Windows server in a secure data centre in India (Mumbai) |
| Backups over the Diwali break | None | Only if the PC stays on | Daily automated backups, 30-day retention |
| If the laptop is lost or damaged | The book is separate | Data lost unless backed up elsewhere | Data stays on the server |
| Check sales from home on Labh Pancham | Carry the book | Needs remote access set up and the PC left on | Phone, tablet, Mac or PC |
| Locking last year | Close the book | User roles and cut-off date | The same TallyPrime user roles and cut-off date |
How the server, backups and sign-in are protected is set out on our Tally on Cloud security page.
Open the new books on any screen
TallyPrime installs only on Windows, but Microsoft's free Windows App opens the server from an iPhone, iPad, Android phone or Mac. On Labh Pancham you can check the first bills of the new Samvat from home, or approve a payment from a relative's house, without carrying a laptop. Our Tally on mobile guide covers set-up and keyboard tips.
Festive seats for the rush
The weeks before Diwali often need an extra billing operator or salesperson. On a cloud server you can add a user for the season and remove the login afterwards; each user costs the same ₹799 a month plus GST, only while the login exists, and the pricing page has the details. Check your licence first: each TallyPrime window opened over Remote Desktop uses one Tally Virtual User. Silver includes one, so a second person working at the same time means moving to Gold, which includes ten; extra packs beyond that come from Tally and are billed annually. Our TVU explainer and multi-user guide go into the detail.
Thinking of moving before Diwali?
Moving is a backup and a restore: we restore your companies on a private server, reactivate your licence and check the trial balance with you, usually within one business day. The steps are in how to move Tally data to the cloud. Pick a quiet week, not the Dhanteras rush, and test your invoice printer on day one.
No Diwali offer, no countdown. Our prices are the same all year. If the cloud suits your business, a 7-day free trial with no card lets you run the festive weeks on it first and decide afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
When is Chopda Pujan in 2026?
Chopda Pujan falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026, the Lakshmi Puja day of Diwali, which is also the central government's Diwali holiday. Drik Panchang lists the Gujarati New Year, which begins Vikram Samvat 2083, on Tuesday 10 November and Labh Pancham on Saturday 14 November. Muhurat timings vary by city and tradition, so take them from your family panchang or pandit.
What does Chopda Pujan mean?
Chopda is the Gujarati word for an account book, traditionally the red, cloth-bound bahi-khata. Chopda Pujan is the Diwali ritual in which business families, especially Gujarati and Marwari traders, place their new books before Lakshmi and Ganesha, mark them with a swastik and Shubh-Labh, and pray for a prosperous year. Many businesses now place a laptop where the chopda would sit.
Do I need a new company in TallyPrime at Diwali?
No. Your income-tax year runs from 1 April to 31 March, and GST returns follow the same financial year, so Diwali falls in the middle of 2026-27. One TallyPrime company can hold many years of data. Treat Chopda Pujan as a fresh start in spirit: print what you need for the puja, take a clean backup and keep entering vouchers in the same company.
Should I lock last year's entries at Diwali?
Only once your CA confirms 2025-26 is final. Under section 16(4) of the CGST Act, input tax credit on 2025-26 invoices can be claimed until 30 November 2026, or until that year's annual return is filed if that comes first, so late corrections are still possible. When you are ready, set a cut-off date for back-dated vouchers under Alt+K, then User Roles, in TallyPrime.
Can I do Chopda Pujan if my books are on the cloud?
Yes. The puja honours the books and the year ahead, not the place a file is stored. Some families still buy a paper chopda for the ritual; others place a laptop or a printed Trial Balance in front of the deities. With Tally on Cloud the data stays on the server, so a diya, kumkum or a spilt glass of water near the laptop cannot damage your accounts.
Is there a Diwali offer on TallyoCloud?
No. There are no countdowns or festival deadlines: our prices are the same all year, and the 7-day free trial needs no card. If you would like your books on the cloud before Diwali, start the trial early enough that migration and printer checks are finished before the busiest days. If it does not suit you, nothing is charged.
Sources we checked
All sources were checked on 2026-10-06. Festival dates can vary by place and tradition; if something has changed, tell us and we'll correct it.
- Drik Panchang: Chopda Puja 2026, Gujarati New Year 2026 and Labh Panchami 2026
- Department of Personnel and Training: holidays for Central Government offices in 2026 (Office Memorandum F.No. 12/2/2023-JCA, 3 July 2025), listing Deepavali on Sunday, 8 November 2026
- Income-tax Act, 2025, section 3 (meaning of tax year), and CGST Act, 2017, section 16(4) (time limit for input tax credit)
- Tally Solutions: Backup to a local drive, Split company data and Manage users in TallyPrime
- Microsoft Learn: Compare Windows App features across platforms