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Bookkeeping · checked 11 November 2026

Record every sale, purchase, expense and bank movement as it happens and reconcile with the bank each week; use Tally or Zoho Books once GST is due.

Run a separate business bank account, keep every bill, and give your CA clean books monthly, not once a year. Excel works for a handful of transactions but cannot file GST returns; TallyPrime costs Rs 750 a month or Rs 22,500 for a lifetime single-PC licence, and Zoho Books has a free plan. Learn accrual basics once you sell annual plans, since cash-basis books hide your real monthly revenue.

The steps 7 answers

  1. How do I do bookkeeping for a small business, in Excel or Tally? Starting Up
  2. Do I need an accountant and proper bookkeeping from day one? Starting Up
  3. What are the most expensive accounting and finance mistakes early founders make that only show up a year later? Starting Up
  4. Do I need to understand accrual accounting and things like deferred revenue, or is cash-basis enough for a SaaS just starting out? Starting Up
  5. Should I hire a full-time finance person, keep using a CA firm, or handle books myself, and at what stage does each make sense? Starting Up
  6. I'm not a finance person, what books/records do I actually need to keep from day one? D2C
  7. Should I hire a bookkeeper/accountant now or keep doing my own books for as long as possible? D2C

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The terms

Accrual AccountingDeferred RevenueGoods and Services Tax

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