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, 173 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Money, pricing & unit economics

What accounting software should a small D2C brand in India actually use, Zoho, Tally, Vyapar, or just Excel?

Zoho Books is the easiest starting point, GST-compliant invoicing built in, free under Rs 25 lakh turnover, and a clean interface if you've never done bookkeeping before. Vyapar is mobile-first and popular with sellers who want fast billing and inventory tracking off their phone rather than a desktop workflow; Tally remains the CA's favourite for its depth but has a steeper learning curve for a solo founder. Skip pure Excel the moment you're issuing more than a handful of invoices a month, reconciling GST manually against a spreadsheet is where founders lose entire weekends.

Go deeper

4 resources, 4 India-specific, 3 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 Intermediate

Surveys options specifically for ecommerce sellers (marketplace integrations, multi-channel order sync) rather than generic small-business accounting, relevant once you're selling on more than just your own site.

What Are the Top 10 Ecommerce Accounting Software in India 2025

From Vyapar TaxOne by Vyapar

  • Compares tools by ecommerce-specific features: marketplace sync, inventory, tax compliance
  • Useful once you're selling across Shopify + Amazon + Flipkart simultaneously
  • Published by a vendor in this space, so cross-check claims
Open taxone.vyapar.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

Terms in this answer

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