We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 11 cities confirmed, 156 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Money, pricing & unit economics

I'm not a finance person, what books/records do I actually need to keep from day one?

At minimum: a sales register (every order, with GST split if applicable), a purchase/expense register (raw materials, ads, shipping, software), a bank reconciliation, and inventory records (what you bought vs what you've sold vs what's left). Almost every founder can skip spreadsheets and go straight to a proper accounting tool (Zoho Books, Vyapar, Tally) from month one, GST invoicing and return prep alone make it worth the Rs 500-1,500/month. The real discipline isn't the tool, it's doing it weekly, not saving three months of receipts for your CA at year-end.

Go deeper

3 resources, 3 India-specific, 2 link-checked.

🛠️ Tool
✓ Link checked India Freemium Beginner

The easiest on-ramp into proper bookkeeping for a founder with zero accounting background, free under Rs 25 lakh turnover and GST-compliant invoicing out of the box.

Zoho Books, Online Accounting Software for India

From Zoho Books by Zoho

  • Free tier for businesses under Rs 25 lakh annual revenue
  • Built-in GST invoicing, filing prep, and bank reconciliation
  • Clean interface that doesn't assume prior accounting knowledge
Open zoho.com
📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

A CA firm's practical picks rather than a vendor's self-promotion, useful second opinion when deciding what to actually implement versus what a software company wants to sell you.

Best Bookkeeping Software in India: Best Picks (2025)

From PKC India

  • Recommendations come from a practicing accounting firm, not a vendor
  • Compares tools by realistic small-business fit, not just feature count
  • Good starting shortlist before you demo software yourself
Open pkcindia.com
📄 Article
India Free Beginner

A neutral, feature-by-feature comparison of the three tools every Indian founder actually considers, saves you from three separate sales pitches.

Zoho Books vs. Tally vs. Vyapar: How Do They Compare?

From G2

  • Compares pricing, GST features, and ease of use across the three tools
  • Notes Tally's steeper learning curve versus Zoho/Vyapar's simpler UX
  • Useful for matching tool choice to whether you want desktop-first or mobile-first billing
Open g2.com

People also ask

Also in Starting Up

The same ground, over in Money, pricing & model, our Starting Up track.

Also in GTM

The same ground, over in Close deals and price right, our GTM track.

eChai Partner Brands