More than three decades ago, Shyam Sundar Goenka, moved out of Kolkata and set up a business in Bengaluru for supplying raw material and machinery to textiles mills. During the course of his business, he wanted to automate his accounting operations but found existing accounting software too complicated to use. He then advised his son, Bharat Goenka, to develop an accounting solution which led to the birth of Tally Solutions in 1986. Together, father and son dedicated themselves to creating software solutions that keep the user at the heart of it all, for, as they say it, the software is made for the user, not the programmer.
Today, Tally boasts an impressive line of business management software ranging from accounting software to GST solutions, commanding a 60% market share. With over two million customer licenses activated worldwide, it caters to more than seven million users in over 100 countries. The home-grown company has evolved with the times to address the needs of small and medium businesses; it is pushing oised for a renewed tech upgrade in the coming millennia with the third generation —Tejas Goenka — at the helm of affairs. Joining as managing director in 2011, his customer-centricity has pushed Tally into creating a huge distribution network of over 28,000 partners. The company is now looking to leverage its new capabilities to expand its user base to international markets.
“The adoption of digital initiatives in India has surged, bringing a transformative shift across industries,” says Tejas Goenka.
Streamlining workflows
Tally recently reached a significant milestone with the introduction of TallyPrime 3.0, the latest upgrade of its business management software that aims to further simplify the way MSMEs manage their businesses. The new release ensures trailblazing speed while generating GST returns and reconciliation of GSTR 1, 2A and 3B in a much more seamless manner. It offers a digital payment request feature, enabling businesses to enhance operations and scalability. Tally is hoping this release will be a stepping stone to double its revenue and take its customer base from 2.3 million to 3.5 million in the next two years.
According to Goenka, the only essential step for the MSMEs regarding technological innovation and adoption is to maintain an open mind and seek solutions that align with their work environment and requirements. Delivering the right products to MSMEs thus becomes critical. “We have been witnessing this in our category itself,” he emphasised, suggesting a two-pronged approach to solve this problem. The first pertains to software manufacturers creating the right tools that businesses can utilise effectively. The second involves working on the ground to help these businesses recognise the benefits of such technology.
Simplicity is the key
“Since the start of the GST journey six years ago, we have seen many changes by the government both to simplify and tighten the compliance system,” he says. Keeping this constant change in mind, Tally has revamped its GST experience to make it flexible for businesses to remain compliant with confidence. “We have also taken our reporting system and introduced the ability to create unlimited custom reports with simple to use search and save capabilities,” he adds.
According to him, the new 3.0 version of TallyPrime is a complete GST solution making the management of multiple GSTINS extremely easy. The solution incorporates improved GST rate setup, expedited access to GST returns, and an integrated payment request feature, resulting in a substantial reduction in collection cycle time.
With the government’s latest e-invoicing mandate for businesses with a turnover of over `5 crore, Tally aims to provide seamless support to MSMEs in adopting e-invoicing. It is not immune to the changes being brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) either. It is conducting research, with particular focus on AI and ML, to explore diverse applications and possibilities, he says.
NUMBER CRUNCHING
* Tally is one of the most popular accounting software
* Used by more than two million businesses across 100 countries
* TallyPrime 3.0 designed to further simplify book-keeping by MSMEs
* Tally is targetting a 50% surge in user base, reaching 3.5 million customers within the next two years
* Strong focus on AI and ML to explore applications in accounting software
