Licence and data stay together
Tally's TVU FAQ says the licence and the company data can't sit on separate virtual machines. So each licence lives on the server that holds its books, which is why a client's licence never sits on your firm's server.
For chartered accountants & accounting firms
Tally on Cloud for CA firms, built for audit season
Keep client books in one secure place instead of on pen drives and staff laptops. Your firm's licensed TallyPrime runs on a private Windows server in India that partners, staff and articles open from the office, from home or a client's site. Clients who log in themselves get their own isolated server, so licences stay clean, and seats grow for audit season and shrink after it.
- Own two-factor login per person
- Seats that flex by month
- Daily automated backups in India
- Starting from ₹799/month
Quick answer
Tally on Cloud for CA firms puts your firm's licensed TallyPrime on a private Windows server in India that partners, staff and articles open from any device with their own two-factor login. Clients whose own people log in get a separate server and licence. Seats flex for GST, ITR and audit peaks, and company clients get a provider-details letter.
The pen-drive problem
Why CA offices outgrow pen drives and WhatsApp backups
Most practices still receive client books the way they did ten years ago: a backup on a pen drive, a zip file on e-mail, a folder forwarded on WhatsApp. Google even suggests "how to share tally data to ca" and "on WhatsApp" as you type, which tells you how common the habit is. It works until audit season, when three people restore three copies of the same company and nobody is sure which one is current.
The release gap makes it worse. A client still on Tally.ERP 9 sends a backup, your office runs TallyPrime 7.1, and opening it means migrating the data to the newer format. Tally stopped renewing TSS for Tally.ERP 9 from 16 August 2026, so you will see more of these files, not fewer; our guide on whether Tally.ERP 9 is discontinued explains what clients should do next.
Then there are the people. Articles rotate every few months and take laptops with them. A partner works on a MacBook, where TallyPrime cannot be installed at all (see Tally on Mac). And when a corporate client's auditor asks where the books were backed up each day, a drawer of pen drives is not an answer.
| Pen drive, e-mail, WhatsApp | Firm cloud server | |
|---|---|---|
| Which copy is current? | Whatever arrived last | One live company per entity |
| Client on an older release | Migrate on restore, keep two copies | Each entity kept on one current release |
| Client data on staff phones | Often | Stays on servers in India |
| Laptop lost or article leaves | Books and backups leave too | Disable one login |
| Partner on a Mac or iPad | Needs a Windows PC | Windows App |
| Daily-backup evidence | Ad hoc, if any | Backup log + provider letter |
Tally.ERP 9 TSS status from Tally Solutions' upgrade page; data-format changes from Tally's data migration FAQ.
How it is laid out
A private server for the firm, an isolated server per client entity
Tally multi-user for a CA firm is not one big shared machine. Your firm gets its own server for its own licence and people, and every client business whose own users log in gets a separate virtual machine with its own licence.
Who connects
PartnersMacBook, iPad or Windows laptop
Staff & articlesOwn login each, office or client site
A client's own accountantReaches only that client's server
Remote Desktop Gateway
HTTPS on port 443 · two-factor login · port 3389 closed
Where the books live · Mumbai, India
Firm serverYour firm's TallyPrime licence and the firm's own books, for your partners, staff and articles
Client books your staff maintainPlaced only after a Tally partner confirms the licensing in writingConfirmed before sale
Client A Pvt Ltd · Client B LLPOne isolated server each, each on the client's own licence
BackupsDaily automated backups, kept in India, 30-day retention
One leaked password, one client
Separate servers mean a client's shared password can't open another client's books, or yours. Our Tally on Cloud security page sets out each control, from the gateway to the backups.
Everyone on the live file
Within each server, everyone posts to the same live company at once, from any device. How teams and branches share one company is covered on our Tally on Cloud multi-user page.
Licensing done right
Whose licence opens which books
Licensing is the part of a Tally cloud set-up for a CA firm that is easiest to get wrong. Tally's rules are short: one licence belongs to one business, and remote sessions count as Tally Virtual Users (TVUs).
1business per licence; sharing across entities is "misuse"
10concurrent virtual users included with Gold
₹125per extra TVU a month, billed annually by Tally
₹6,750a year for Auditor edition TSS, plus GST
Sources: Tally's licensing best practices (updated 11 June 2026), TVU FAQ and TallyPrime cost-of-ownership guide. Prices exclude GST.
| Who opens the books | Whose licence | Where it runs on TallyoCloud |
|---|---|---|
| Partners, staff and articles, on the firm's own books | The firm's licence. More than one person at a time means Gold. | Firm server |
| A client's own staff or accountant | That client's licence: Silver for one user, Gold for more | That client's isolated server |
| You, reviewing a client that keeps its own books | The client's licence, through Tally's Remote Access, after the client authorises you | Client's server; you open it from TallyPrime on the firm server |
| Your staff, on client books the firm maintains | Confirmed in writing by a Tally partner for your set-up | Placed only as that written answer allows |
Clients log in on their own licence
Tally's TVU FAQ answers the service-provider question directly: giving Remote Desktop users access to one licence is fine when they belong to the same company, but "if users are of different companies, it is a violation". Its licensing best-practices page ties each licence to one legal entity and lists cloud-hosted access for external clients as misuse. So when a client's accountant needs to post vouchers, that client brings or rents its own licence and gets its own server. Tally's Silver rental costs ₹750 a month plus GST, which keeps this affordable for small clients; current licence prices are in our TallyPrime price guide.
Tally auditor version: where it fits
Tally lists an Auditor edition next to Silver and Gold, and its TSS renews at ₹6,750 a year (₹12,150 for two years) plus GST. Tally's public pages say little about what it permits on a hosted server, so we don't guess. If your firm holds it, we host it like any other licence, and its scope goes into the same written confirmation. Our Tally Virtual User guide has the full TVU arithmetic for Silver and Gold.
What we confirm in writing before you sign. Tally's public FAQs clearly cover clients who log in themselves. They don't squarely answer whether a firm's staff may keep many clients' books on the firm's own licence on a cloud server. So before any client books your staff maintain go onto your firm's server, a Tally partner's written interpretation for your exact set-up goes on file. If the answer is "a licence per client", we build a server per client instead, and we tell you that before you pay, not after.
TallyoCloud is an independent host, not affiliated with Tally Solutions, and we don't speak for it. Your licences, TSS and any TVU packs are bought from Tally or an authorised partner, in the name of the business that uses them.
Seasonal seats
Seats for GST, ITR and tax-audit peaks, gone when the peak is
A practice's headcount on Tally is not flat. Monthly GST returns set a steady rhythm, the ITR months add juniors, and the audit season in September and October brings everyone in at once. Then it drops.
- Add a login when an article joins. Message us with the name and the companies they may open; we create a Windows login with two-factor sign-in and the TallyPrime security level you choose.
- Remove it when the season ends. Our per-user fee stops with the login, so you are not paying all year for the busiest month.
- Grow the server for the peak. More users need more memory, so we resize your server for the busy months and bring it back down after.
Tally's packs don't flex monthly. Extra TVU packs are billed annually and end on a common date, so size them for your busiest month. Every TallyPrime window counts as one TVU, so ask staff to load several companies in one window and switch with F3 rather than opening a window per company.
Audit-season seat planner
How many seats, and what the year costs
Set how many people use TallyPrime in each month of the financial year. The planner prices each month at ₹799 per person and works out Tally's TVU packs for your peak.
Start from
TallyPrime windows per person
- People using TallyPrime
- Hosting cost per month
- Cost if you paid for the peak all year
₹–6Apr
₹–6May
₹–7Jun
₹–10Jul
₹–8Aug
₹–13Sep
₹–12Oct
₹–7Nov
₹–7Dec
₹–6Jan
₹–6Feb
₹–8Mar
- Busiest month
- September · 13Your server users peak here
- Tally Virtual Users at the peak
- 3 extra packsPaid to Tally, billed annually
- Hosting this year, seats flexed
- ₹–Before 18% GST
- Average per person, per month
- ₹–Hosting only
Flexing seats saves money in the quiet months.
Estimate only. Hosting uses the flat ₹799 per person a month from our pricing page; CA firms receive a written quote. TVU figures use Tally's published India price and volume slabs from its TVU FAQ, assuming a Gold licence. Your TallyPrime licence and TSS are extra.
For corporate clients
Companies (Accounts) Rules 3(5) and 3(6): the letter and the log
If a client is a company, the daily-backup rule is not optional, and the annual disclosure needs facts only the hosting provider can give.
The Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, as amended on 5 August 2022 by G.S.R. 624(E), set out what a company must do when it keeps books of account electronically:
- Rule 3(5): the backup of those books, even if they are kept outside India, must be kept on servers physically located in India, on a daily basis.
- Rule 3(6): every year, when it files its financial statements, the company tells the Registrar the service provider's name, IP address and location, and the address given by the provider where books are kept on cloud.
For every company customer, TallyoCloud issues a signed provider-details letter with exactly those items, plus a daily-backup log for the year that you can keep in your audit file. Because each client company has its own server, each letter carries that company's own server address rather than a shared one. These are Companies Act rules, so they don't bind proprietorships or partnership firms, though daily backups in India are sensible for every business; the SCC Online summary of the amendment is a quick read.
Companies have also had to use accounting software with an audit trail that can't be disabled since 1 April 2023. TallyPrime's Edit Log release keeps that trail switched on, as Tally explains in its audit trail guide. Tell us which clients are companies and we set them up on that release.
Sample fields
Provider-details letter
- Service provider
- TallyoCloud
- IP address
- The client company's server address
- Location
- Mumbai, India
- Cloud address
- As provided for that server
- Backups
- Daily, on servers in India
- Attached
- Daily-backup log for the year
Free template
Download the letter template and checklist
Use the template to ask any provider, including us, for the rule 3(6) details. Add the client's name and year to pre-fill it.
Files are created in your browser; nothing you type is sent to us. Templates are a convenience, not legal advice: check the current rule text and form fields before filing.
Daily-backup evidence checklist
- Signed provider letter for the financial year: name, IP address, location and cloud address.
- A backup log with one entry for every day of the year, showing date, time, result and the backup location in India.
- Retention: how long restore points are kept (30-day retention on our servers) and any year-end copy.
- A recent restore test with its date, proving the backups open.
- Edit Log on all year: the TallyPrime release in use and confirmation the audit trail was never off.
- Mid-year changes: a letter for each provider or server address if the books moved during the year.
- Access in India: books kept accessible in India at all times, as rule 3(1) requires.
For how backups, restore drills and retention work day to day, read our Tally data backup guide.
Confidentiality
Access logs, ICAI ethics, DPDP and DSC work
Chartered accountants owe their clients confidentiality under ICAI's Code of Ethics. Hosting can't carry that duty for you, but it can make reasonable care easy to show.
One person, one login
No shared "office" password. Every partner, staff member and article signs in with their own Windows login and a second factor through the gateway. Inside TallyPrime, security levels limit which companies and reports each person can open, and TallyVault can encrypt a company with a password only its owner holds. When someone leaves, you disable one login.
Logged admin access
Our engineers connect to your server only for a request you approve, through the same gateway and second factor. Every admin session is logged with time, person and purpose, logs are kept for 180 days in India, and you can ask for the log for any period. We never ask for your Tally.NET password.
DPDP processor terms
Client books hold personal data such as payroll and customer details. Under India's DPDP Rules, notified on 13 November 2025, most duties apply from 13 May 2027. We already act only on your instructions, as a processor, and processor terms are available on request.
Data stays in India
Servers run in Mumbai, India, and backup copies are kept on separate storage that is also in India. Nothing is synced to a consumer drive or to staff phones.
DSC tokens for GST and ITR
USB DSC tokens appear to Windows as smart cards. Microsoft's Windows App feature table lists smart-card redirection on Windows and macOS, not Android, so sign from a laptop. The token's driver must be on both ends; our DSC token guide has the steps.
Cost per staff member
What a CA practice pays, and to whom
Two bills, kept separate: hosting from us, and licences from Tally. Here is the whole picture before GST.
| What | Paid to | How much (before GST) |
|---|---|---|
| Firm server, 2–25 people | TallyoCloud | ₹799 per person a month (Multi-user) |
| Larger firms and many client companies | TallyoCloud | ₹799 per person a month on a dedicated server sized for you, quoted in writing (25+ users) |
| A client's own server | TallyoCloud | ₹799 a month for one user (Single-user), billed to you or the client |
| TallyPrime Gold licence | Tally or a partner | ₹67,500 once, or ₹2,250 a month on rental (TSS included) |
| TSS renewal | Tally or a partner | Gold ₹13,500 a year; Auditor ₹6,750 a year |
| Extra TVU packs | Tally | ₹125 per user a month, billed annually, only beyond Gold's 10 |
The cost per staff member stays the same as the firm grows: every person is ₹799 a month, with nothing extra for the server. Six people cost ₹4,794 a month, and a 13-person audit-season peak costs ₹10,387, before GST. Use the planner above to see your own year, and the Tally on Cloud pricing page for every plan and what's included.
Microsoft requires a Remote Desktop licence for every user of a hosted Windows server, which is why hosting is priced per named person rather than per company. Licence prices come from Tally's cost-of-ownership guide and TVU FAQ; confirm the final figure in Tally's cart before you budget.
Referrals
Recommending us to clients, without commission
CA firms are often the first people a business asks about Tally. The ICAI Code of Ethics restricts commission and brokerage for practising chartered accountants, so we are taking professional advice before designing any referral programme, and we pay no referral commission to CAs at launch.
- Recommend us on merit. If the service helps a client, that is reason enough, and the client deals with us directly.
- Nothing hidden. If we introduce an arrangement for CAs after that advice, we will describe it publicly.
- IT firms and Tally resellers have their own programme on our partners page.
Getting started
Moving a practice to the cloud, in four steps
Most of the work is in the first step. Get the map right and the move itself is routine.
Map entities and licences
We list the firm and every client entity, who logs in to each, and which licence covers it. The licensing questions go to a Tally partner for a written answer.
Build the servers
Your firm server first, then one isolated server for each client whose own people log in. Each gets the gateway, two-factor login and daily backups in India.
Move the companies
Companies move in planned batches, with older data migrated to the current format and originals kept. See how Tally data migration works.
Retire the pen drives
Everyone gets their own login on Mac, Windows or iPad. Backups, patches and logs run without you. Support 7 days a week on WhatsApp and phone.
FAQ
Tally on Cloud for CA firms: questions
Can my clients log in to see their own books?
Yes, if it is licensed correctly. Tally's TVU FAQ says Remote Desktop access to one licence is fine for users of the same company but a violation when the users belong to different companies. So a client whose own people log in uses its own TallyPrime licence on its own isolated server, separate from your firm's. You can still review those books through Tally's Remote Access once the client authorises you.
Can we add users only for audit season?
Yes. You can add server users for the busy months, such as the ITR and tax-audit period, and remove them afterwards, paying our per-user fee only for the months a login exists. Tally's own packs work differently: if your Gold licence's ten included virtual users are not enough at the peak, extra TVU packs cost ₹125 per user per month plus tax, billed annually, so size them for your busiest month.
What do corporate clients need to file about their backup provider?
Under rules 3(5) and 3(6) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, a company that keeps its books electronically must back them up daily on servers physically in India and, every year when filing its financial statements, tell the Registrar the service provider's name, IP address and location, plus the cloud address where books are kept. We give each company customer a signed letter with these details and a daily-backup log.
Do you pay referral commission to CAs?
Not at launch. The ICAI Code of Ethics restricts commission and brokerage for practising chartered accountants, so we are taking professional advice before designing any referral programme. Until then, firms can recommend us simply because the service helps their clients, and if we ever introduce an arrangement for CAs we will describe it publicly on our partners page.
How can a client share Tally data with their CA?
There are three clean ways. The client can send a TallyPrime backup file, made from Alt+Y › Backup & Restore, through a password-protected link instead of WhatsApp. The CA can open the company through Tally's Remote Access, which needs active TSS and the company kept connected. Or the client can keep the company on an always-on cloud server, so it stays connected and backups never travel at all.
What is the Tally auditor version, and do we need it?
Tally lists an Auditor edition alongside Silver and Gold, and its TSS renews at ₹6,750 a year plus GST, or ₹12,150 for two years, according to Tally's cost-of-ownership guide. Whether it suits your practice, and exactly what it permits on a hosted server, is a question for Tally or an authorised Tally partner. We host whichever licence your firm holds and keep the partner's written answer on file.
Can partners work from a MacBook or an iPad?
Yes. TallyPrime installs only on Windows, so it runs on your server and partners connect with Microsoft's free Windows App on a Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device. Local printers work from Windows PCs and Macs; on iPads and phones you export a PDF instead. DSC tokens can be passed through from Windows PCs and Macs, not from phones or tablets, so keep signing work on a laptop.
How do you migrate a firm with many client companies?
We first list every company folder, the TallyPrime or Tally.ERP 9 release it was last opened in and whose licence it belongs to. Then we move companies in planned batches so work never stops, migrating Tally.ERP 9 and TallyPrime 2.1 or older data to the current format and keeping the originals. Standard migration is included; for a very large number of client companies we quote in writing first.
Related guides for CA firms
Tally Virtual User (TVU) explained
Free packs, slab prices, the same-company rule and a TVU calculator.
Read the TVU guideIs Tally on Cloud safe?
Every control, from the gateway and two-factor login to backups and logs.
See the security pageMove Tally data to the cloud
Backups, Tally.ERP 9 migration and licence moves, step by step.
Plan the migrationTally on Cloud multi-user
How teams and branches post to one live company at the same time.
Multi-user set-upsTally remote access options
Tally.NET Remote Access, AnyDesk, Tally's own cloud and hosted servers compared.
Compare the optionsTally on Cloud by industry
Distributors, manufacturers, pharma and other businesses your clients run.
All industries
Setup within one business day
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