Company Creation in Tally ERP 9: Setup Guide for BeginnersÂ
Introduction
Before you can record a sale, enter a purchase, create a ledger, or check a balance sheet in Tally ERP 9, you need a company. In Tally, the company is the main space where the accounting records of a business are maintained.
The basic route for company creation in Tally ERP 9 is:
Gateway of Tally → Alt+F3 (Company Info) → Create Company
If you have just installed Tally ERP 9 and no company is available yet, the software may show the Create Company option directly when it starts. Tally’s own documentation confirms that an additional company can be created from Company Info using Alt+F3.
Creating a company is easy, but a few fields deserve attention. The financial year, books beginning date, country, state, data location, security settings, and base currency affect how the company is maintained later.
This guide explains each part of the Company Creation screen in plain language, with examples that make sense for an Indian business.
What Is Company Creation in Tally ERP 9?
Company creation simply means setting up a separate accounting entity in Tally ERP 9 for the business whose books you want to maintain. Think of it as creating a new accounting file for a business. Once the company exists, you can  use it to maintain records such as:
- Sales and purchase transactions
- Receipts and payments
- Bank and cash entries
- Expenses and incomes
- Debtors and creditors
- Inventory, where applicable
- Tax-related transactions
- Payroll, where enabled
- Financial reports
Tally ERP 9 uses the transactions recorded in the company to prepare reports such as the Profit & Loss Account, Balance Sheet, Trial Balance and other business reports.
A company in Tally does not necessarily mean a company incorporated under the Companies Act. A sole proprietorship, partnership firm, shop or other business can also maintain its accounts by creating a company in Tally.
Details to Keep Ready Before Creating a Company
You do not need a long list of documents simply to open the Company Creation screen. Still, keeping the correct information ready saves you from going back and changing details later.
Before you begin, check:
- Business or company name
- Mailing name
- Complete business address
- Country and state
- PIN code
- Telephone or mobile details
- E-mail address
- Financial year starting date
- Date from which books are to be maintained
- Data storage location, if you do not want to use the default
- Security requirements
- Base currency
The Mailing Name deserves a little attention. It can be the same as the company name, but it does not have to be. Tally uses the mailing name and address on invoices and reports. For example, a company stored as “ABC Enterprises” could have “ABC Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.” as its mailing name if that is the name required on business documents.
Decide the accounting dates beforehand
Two dates on the Company Creation screen often confuse beginners:
Financial Year Begins From
This is the beginning of the financial year for which accounts are being maintained.
Books Beginning From
This is the date from which you actually want to record the company’s books in Tally.
For an Indian business following the usual April-to-March financial year, the financial year may begin on 1 April. The books beginning date, however, can be later if the business started during the year.
We will look at this difference properly further down.
How to Create a Company in Tally ERP 9: Step by Step Process
Step 1: Open Tally ERP 9
Launch Tally ERP 9 on your computer.
If this is the first company on the installation, you can select Create Company from the startup screen. If another company is already open, go to:
Gateway of Tally → Alt+F3 (Cmp Info) → Create Company
This opens the Company Creation screen.
Step 2: Check the Directory
The Directory field tells Tally where the company data will be stored on the computer or configured data location.
In normal use, you can retain the default data directory. If the business has a specific storage arrangement, however, the location can be changed. Older Tally ERP 9 documentation explains that you can use the Backspace key to modify the path when required.
Do not change this field just because it is available. If you store data in a different folder, make a note of that location. It becomes important when taking backups, moving Tally to another computer or locating company data later.
Step 3: Enter the Company Name
In the Name field, type the name by which you want to identify the business inside Tally.
For example:
ABC Traders
The company name appears whenever you select or work with that company, so choose something easy to recognise.
This becomes more useful when you maintain multiple businesses. Names such as “Company 1” and “New Company” may look harmless at first but become confusing when several sets of accounts are stored on the same system.
Step 4: Enter Mailing Â
Name and Address
Now fill in the business correspondence details.
These may include:
- Mailing Name
- Address
- Country
- State
- PIN Code
The mailing name and address can appear on invoices and reports, so type them as you would want customers, suppliers or other recipients to see them.
Select the correct Country and State rather than treating them as ordinary address fields. The selected country is also used by Tally while providing relevant statutory options and base currency information.
Step 5: Add Contact Information
Enter the contact information available for the business. Depending on the Tally ERP 9 release and configuration, fields may include:
- Telephone
- Mobile number
- Fax
- Website
Not every business will use every field. An outdated fax number, for example, is less useful than leaving that field blank.
The important point is to enter information that is correct and meant to appear in business records.
Step 6: Set the Financial Year
Move to Financial Year Begins From.
For an Indian business maintaining accounts for FY 2026-27, a common entry would be:
01-04-2026
Tally ERP 9 may pre-fill the financial year according to the computer date and selected country. You should still check it rather than assuming the suggested date matches the accounts you plan to enter.
This field is not asking when you installed Tally or when you created the company. It refers to the accounting financial year.
Step 7: Set Books Beginning From
The next field is Books Beginning From.
By default, Tally uses the same date as the financial year, but you can change it when the books need to start on another date.
Suppose a new business started operations on 1 July 2026.
You could enter:
Financial Year Begins From: 01-04-2026
Books Beginning From: 01-07-2026
The financial year still starts in April, but there is no need to pretend the business had accounting transactions before it actually began.
This distinction also matters when a business shifts its records to Tally during an existing financial year.
Step 8: Review Security Settings
Tally ERP 9 provides optional security controls. You do not have to configure every security feature while creating a basic practice company, but business data should not be left unprotected without considering who can access it.
Two concepts you may see are TallyVault and Security Control.
TallyVault encrypts company data and can prevent the company name and information from being viewed without the required password. Tally specifically warns that a lost TallyVault password cannot simply be retrieved, so this is a password that should be handled carefully.
Security Control can be used to provide authorised access through usernames, passwords and user permissions.
If several staff members use Tally, separate access controls are far more sensible than everyone sharing unrestricted access.
Step 9: Check the Base Currency
Tally automatically fills currency details according to the country selected during company creation.
For a business set up in India, the base currency is normally Rupees. Reports and transactions then display values using that base currency.
Currency settings can include details such as:
- Base Currency Symbol
- Formal Name
- Number of Decimal Places
- Symbol position
- Decimal terminology
For a regular Indian business operating in rupees, you usually do not need to customise these fields unnecessarily.
Step 10: Save the Company
Once the details are correct, accept the Company Creation screen.
You can use:
Ctrl + A
to save and create the company.
After successful creation, the company name appears under Name of Company on the Gateway of Tally. The active company is displayed in bold.
At this point, your company is ready for further configuration and accounting entries.
Financial Year vs Books Beginning From
This is one of the most useful distinctions to understand before making your first entry.
Field | Meaning | Example |
Financial Year Begins From | Start of the accounting financial year | 01-04-2026 |
Books Beginning From | Date from which you want to maintain transactions in Tally | 01-07-2026 |
Suppose Neha starts a business on 15 August 2026. The relevant financial year has already started on 1 April 2026, but the business did not exist in April.
In that case:
Financial Year Begins From: 01-04-2026
Books Beginning From: 15-08-2026
Tally’s documentation gives the same type of example: a business that begins maintaining transactions from October can retain an April financial-year start while using October as its books beginning date.
This is better than changing the financial year itself simply because the business started later.
Be especially careful with these fields after transactions have already been entered. Tally warns that moving existing financial-year or books-beginning dates forward through Company Alteration can result in earlier transactions becoming unavailable or lost from the data set.
Important Fields on the Company Creation Screen
Maintain: Accounts Only or Accounts with Inventory
Some Tally ERP 9 versions or configurations provide the Maintain field with choices such as:
Accounts Only
Suitable where you need accounting records but do not intend to maintain stock details in that company.
Accounts with Inventory
Used when accounting and stock records are to be maintained together.
For example, a consultancy may mainly need ledgers, receipts, payments and invoices. A trading business selling physical goods may also want stock items, quantities and inventory reports.
Choose according to actual requirements rather than what appears easier during setup.
TallyVault Password
TallyVault is intended for stronger privacy of company data. It encrypts the company information, including the company name.
Use it when that level of protection is required, but manage the password properly. A forgotten TallyVault password can create a much bigger problem than a few extra seconds spent signing in.
Use Security Control
Security Control is useful when more than one person works on the accounts.
For example, an administrator may need access to reports and settings, while a data-entry operator only needs permission to record vouchers.
Tally ERP 9 supports user-level access controls for this purpose.
Base Currency Information
Currency settings control how monetary values appear in transactions and reports.
For a normal Indian company recording its books in INR, the automatically populated rupee-related settings will usually be appropriate. A business with genuine multi-currency requirements can configure additional currencies separately instead of casually changing the company’s base currency.
Company Creation Example
Consider a small wholesale business called ABC Traders based in Noida.
Its Company Creation screen might contain:
Name: ABC Traders
Mailing Name: ABC Traders
Country: India
State: Uttar Pradesh
Financial Year Begins From: 01-04-2026
Books Beginning From: 01-04-2026
Base Currency: Rupees
If ABC Traders started business only on 1 September 2026, the setup could instead use:
Financial Year Begins From: 01-04-2026
Books Beginning From: 01-09-2026
Nothing else about the business needs to be invented simply to create the company. Tax registrations and accounting features can be configured according to the actual business and applicable requirements.
What to Do After Creating the Company
Creating the company is only the starting point. The next task is to prepare it for the transactions you actually need to record.
Create the required ledgers
You may need ledgers for:
- Bank accounts
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Sales
- Purchases
- Rent
- Electricity
- Salary
- Other income and expenses
Do not create dozens of ledgers in advance unless they are genuinely required. A cleaner chart of accounts is easier to use and review.
Configure company features
Tally ERP 9 allows businesses to enable features according to their needs. These can include accounting, inventory, payroll and statutory or taxation-related settings.
A company that does not need payroll, for instance, has little reason to configure payroll immediately.
Enter opening balances
If you are shifting an existing business to Tally, you may need opening balances for cash, bank accounts, debtors, creditors, stock and other ledgers.
Opening balances need to match the books or migration records being used. Guessing them simply to make the balance sheet look complete creates problems later.
Begin voucher entry
Once the setup and masters are ready, transactions can be entered through the relevant voucher types, such as:
- Contra
- Payment
- Receipt
- Journal
- Sales
- Purchase
Each voucher serves a different accounting purpose, so company creation should be completed correctly before routine entry begins.
How to Alter Company Details in Tally ERP 9
A spelling mistake in the address does not mean you have to create the company again. To change existing company information, use:
Gateway of Tally → Alt+F3 (Cmp Info) → Alter
Select the company, make the required changes and accept the screen. Ctrl+A can be used to save.
You may commonly alter details such as:
- Mailing address
- Contact information
- Administrator or security settings
- Currency information where genuinely required
- Other company details
Take greater care with accounting-period fields. Changing a phone number is routine; moving the financial year forward after transactions have already been recorded is not.
How to Select or Open an Existing Company
If multiple companies are stored in Tally ERP 9, you can select the business you want to work with from the available company list.
When opening Tally, choose Select Company and select the required company.
Tally also allows companies to be configured to load at startup. Always glance at the active company name before entering vouchers. Recording ten purchase vouchers in the wrong company is a very avoidable accounting headache.
How to Shut a Company
In Tally terminology, Shut Company does not mean delete the company.
It simply closes the selected company from the current Tally session.
The route is:
Gateway of Tally → F1: Shut Company
Select the company and press Enter.
This is useful when several companies are loaded and you want to close one of them.
Deleting a company is completely different. Tally’s official documentation warns that deletion is permanent, so never confuse the two options.
Can You Create Multiple Companies in Tally ERP 9?
Yes. Tally ERP 9 allows multiple companies to be created and their transactions to be maintained separately.
This is useful if you manage:
- Two separate businesses
- Multiple legal entities
- Client accounts
- A practice company and a live company
- Sister concerns that need separate books
Tally also provides a Group Company feature for consolidated reporting across multiple companies. A Group Company is mainly for viewing consolidated reports; transactions are entered in the individual member companies rather than directly in the Group Company.
Common Mistakes While Creating a Company
A few minutes of checking at the start can prevent hours of correction later.
1. Selecting the wrong financial year
Do not blindly accept the date suggested by Tally. Make sure it matches the period for which you intend to maintain accounts.
2. Treating books beginning date as the financial-year date
They can be the same, but they do not have to be.
A business starting in July may still have an April financial-year beginning.
3. Choosing the wrong state or country
These fields are used for more than displaying an address. Country selection also affects statutory and currency-related defaults.
4. Changing the data directory without recording it
If you deliberately save company data somewhere else, know where it is. This matters during backup, restoration and system migration.
5. Creating duplicate practice companies
Before creating another company because you cannot immediately see the previous one, check the available data location and company list.
6. Ignoring inventory requirements
If physical stock is central to the business, plan the company setup with inventory requirements in mind rather than trying to maintain everything only through accounting entries.
7. Using passwords casually
TallyVault is useful, but only if the password is managed securely. Tally states that a lost TallyVault password cannot be retrieved.
8. Entering transactions before checking basic details
Verify the company name, dates, state and accounting setup before starting regular voucher entry.
9. Mixing practice and live accounting
Students and new operators often create a practice company. Give it an obvious name so test entries do not accidentally end up in real business records.
10. Changing financial dates after entries exist
Do not treat fundamental date changes like an address correction. Review the effect on existing data and take a backup before making major changes.
Tally ERP 9 and TallyPrime Company Creation Are Not the Same Screen
This distinction matters because many search results now discuss TallyPrime, while plenty of businesses, students and older training environments still refer specifically to Tally ERP 9. The basic idea is similar in both versions: create a company, enter its business details, choose the accounting period, and configure relevant settings.
The menu navigation is different.
Task | Tally ERP 9 | TallyPrime |
Company menu | Alt+F3 / Company Info | Company menu using Alt+K |
Create company | Company Info → Create Company | Create option in Company menu |
Core setup | Name, address, dates, security, currency | Similar business information |
If you are following a tutorial, first check which Tally version is visible on your own screen. Instructions written for TallyPrime may mention menus that do not exist in the same place in Tally ERP 9.
Quick Checklist Before You Start Entering Accounts
Before recording the first live voucher, check:
- Company name is correct
- Mailing name is correct
- Address is complete
- Country and state are correct
- Financial year is correct
- Books beginning date is correct
- Data location is known
- Currency settings are appropriate
- Required security is configured
- Accounting and inventory requirements are understood
- Necessary opening balances are available
- A backup process has been planned
This check takes only a few minutes and is much easier than repairing basic setup mistakes after months of transactions have been entered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the shortcut for company creation in Tally ERP 9?
If a company is already open, press Alt+F3 from Gateway of Tally to open Company Info, then select Create Company. On a fresh setup with no company, Create Company may appear directly.
What does company creation mean in Tally ERP 9?
It means creating the accounting entity in which a business’s masters, transactions and reports will be maintained.
Can I create more than one company in Tally ERP 9?
Yes. Multiple companies can be maintained separately in the same Tally ERP 9 environment.
What should I enter in Financial Year Begins From?
Enter the starting date of the accounting financial year you want to maintain. For many Indian businesses following the April-to-March financial year, this is 1 April.
What does Books Beginning From mean?
It is the date from which you intend to maintain the business’s books in Tally. It may be later than the financial-year start if the business started or moved to Tally during the year.
Can Financial Year and Books Beginning From be different?
Yes. Tally explicitly allows the books beginning date to differ from the financial-year beginning date.
Can company details be changed after creation?
Yes. Go to Gateway of Tally → Alt+F3 → Alter, choose the company and update the required information.
What is the difference between Accounts Only and Accounts with Inventory?
Accounts Only focuses on accounting records, while Accounts with Inventory is used when stock details also need to be maintained along with accounts.
Does Shut Company delete the data?
No. Shutting a company closes it from the current Tally session. Deleting a company is a separate action and is permanent.
Where is company data stored in Tally ERP 9?
It is stored in the data directory configured for Tally. The Company Creation screen allows the data path to be changed if required. There is no reason to assume that every computer uses exactly the same folder because installations and configured data locations can differ.
Final Takeaway
Creating a company in Tally ERP 9 is a simple process, but the initial setup should still be handled carefully. Details such as the company name, financial year, books beginning date, state, data location, currency, and security settings can affect how smoothly you manage accounts later.
Once the company is created, take a few minutes to review the information before entering live transactions. You can then move on to creating ledgers, adding opening balances, configuring inventory or taxation features, and recording vouchers according to your business requirements.
If you need help with Tally setup, configuration, data management, customization, or day-to-day Tally support, TallyMantra’s Tally services can help you set up and manage the software according to your business needs. A properly configured Tally environment makes routine accounting easier and reduces avoidable errors as your records grow.