Unit 3: Advanced inventory information in Tally
Workshop on Computerised Accounting notes · PTU syllabus (BCOMSEC 401-18)
On this page
Unit summary
Tally's power lies in its masters — groups, ledgers and stock items — and in the vouchers that record transactions. This unit covers stock groups and categories, stock item types and decimal places, accounting groups (capital, current assets, current liabilities, loans, revenue), ledger creation, purchase and sales orders, and inventory vouchers.
After this unit you can
- Explain Tally's predefined accounting groups
- Create ledgers under appropriate groups
- Create stock groups, categories, units and stock items
- Record purchase and sales orders and inventory vouchers
PTU syllabus topics
- Stock groups and stock categories
- stock item types and decimal places
- accounting groups (capital account, current asset/liability, loans, revenue)
- ledger creation
- purchase and sales orders
- inventory vouchers
Payment
F5: money paid
Receipt
F6: money received
Journal
F7: adjustments
Sales
F8: goods or services sold
Purchase
F9: goods bought
Topic 1
Accounting groups
Tally has 28 predefined groups — 15 primary groups (9 balance sheet, 6 P&L) and 13 sub-groups.
Balance sheet — liabilities
Capital Account, Loans (Liability), Current Liabilities, Suspense A/c, Branch/Divisions
Balance sheet — assets
Fixed Assets, Investments, Current Assets, Misc. Expenses (Asset)
Profit and loss — income
Sales Accounts, Direct Incomes, Indirect Incomes
Profit and loss — expenses
Purchase Accounts, Direct Expenses, Indirect Expenses
| Sub-group | Under primary group |
|---|---|
| Reserves & Surplus | Capital Account |
| Bank OD A/c, Secured Loans, Unsecured Loans | Loans (Liability) |
| Duties & Taxes, Provisions, Sundry Creditors | Current Liabilities |
| Bank Accounts, Cash-in-hand, Deposits (Asset), Loans & Advances (Asset), Stock-in-hand, Sundry Debtors | Current Assets |
- User-defined groups can be created (Gateway → Accounts Info → Groups → Create) under any primary group.
Topic 2
Ledger creation
- 1
Gateway of Tally → Accounts Info → Ledgers → Create
- 2
Enter name
E.g., Furniture, Ravi Traders, Rent
- 3
Select group
Fixed Assets, Sundry Creditors, Indirect Expenses
- 4
Opening balance (if any) with Dr/Cr
- 5
Optional details
Address, GSTIN, bill-wise details for parties
- 6
Accept with Ctrl + A
| Ledger | Group |
|---|---|
| Capital — Mr X | Capital Account |
| Drawings | Capital Account |
| SBI Bank | Bank Accounts |
| Building, Machinery | Fixed Assets |
| Purchases | Purchase Accounts |
| Sales | Sales Accounts |
| Wages, Carriage inwards | Direct Expenses |
| Salary, Rent, Electricity | Indirect Expenses |
| Commission received | Indirect Incomes |
| Output CGST, SGST | Duties & Taxes |
| Debtors (customers) | Sundry Debtors |
| Creditors (suppliers) | Sundry Creditors |
- Single ledger or multiple ledgers creation; alter or delete (Alt + D) if no transactions exist.
Exam tip
Wrong grouping gives a wrong balance sheet even if every entry is correct — grouping questions are common in practical exams.
Topic 3
Stock groups, categories, units and items
- Enable inventory in F11 Features.
- Stock group: classifies items with common features (e.g., Mobile Phones, Laptops).
- Stock category: a parallel classification (e.g., by price range or brand) — optional.
- Units of measure: simple units (Nos, Kg, Ltr) with decimal places (0 for Nos, 2 or 3 for Kg) and compound units (Box of 12 Nos).
- Stock item: the actual goods — name, under stock group, category, unit, opening quantity, rate and value, GST details.
- 1Units of measure
- 2Stock groups
- 3Stock categories (optional)
- 4Godowns/locations (optional)
- 5Stock items
- Types of stock items: raw materials, finished goods, consumables, goods for resale; batch-wise and expiry-tracked items can be enabled.
Topic 4
Vouchers, orders and inventory vouchers
| Voucher | Shortcut (Tally ERP 9) | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Contra | F4 | Cash ↔ bank transfers, deposits, withdrawals |
| Payment | F5 | Payments by cash or bank |
| Receipt | F6 | Receipts in cash or bank |
| Journal | F7 | Adjustments, credit purchase of assets, depreciation |
| Sales | F8 | Sales of goods and services |
| Credit Note | Ctrl + F8 | Sales returns |
| Purchase | F9 | Purchases |
| Debit Note | Ctrl + F9 | Purchase returns |
| Purchase Order | Alt + F4 | Order placed with supplier (non-accounting) |
| Sales Order | Alt + F5 | Order received from customer (non-accounting) |
| Receipt Note (GRN) | Alt + F9 | Goods received |
| Delivery Note | Alt + F8 | Goods delivered |
| Stock Journal | Alt + F7 | Transfer between godowns, manufacturing |
| Physical Stock | Alt + F10 | Recording actual stock counted |
- Purchase and sales orders are order vouchers — they do not affect accounts or stock; enable "Use Purchase/Sales Order processing" in F11. Later purchase/sales vouchers can be linked to orders and pending orders tracked.
- Inventory vouchers (receipt note, delivery note, rejection in/out, stock journal, physical stock) affect only stock, not accounts.
Example
Credit purchase of 10 laptops @ ₹40,000 + 18% GST from Ravi Traders: F9 Purchase voucher — party Ravi Traders, Purchases ledger, stock item Laptop 10 Nos @ 40,000, Input CGST 9% ₹36,000, Input SGST 9% ₹36,000; total ₹4,72,000. Stock and accounts update together.
Key terms
- Primary group
- One of Tally's 15 top-level groups mapping to final accounts
- Ledger
- An account head created under a group
- Stock item
- Goods tracked in inventory with units and rates
- Voucher
- Document for recording a transaction in Tally
- Purchase order
- Order voucher that records an order without affecting accounts or stock
Quick revision
- 28 predefined groups: 15 primary + 13 sub-groups.
- Ledger creation: Accounts Info → Ledgers → Create → group.
- Inventory masters: units → stock groups → categories → godowns → stock items.
- Voucher keys: F4 contra, F5 payment, F6 receipt, F7 journal, F8 sales, F9 purchase.
- Orders and inventory vouchers do not affect accounts.
Important exam questions
Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).
Short-answer questions
- Q1.How many predefined groups are there in Tally?
- Q2.Under which group is Sundry Debtors placed?
- Q3.What is a stock category?
- Q4.Distinguish simple and compound units.
- Q5.What is a contra voucher?
- Q6.What is a purchase order voucher?
Long-answer questions
- Q1.Explain the predefined accounting groups in Tally.
- Q2.Explain the procedure for creating ledgers and grouping them.
- Q3.Explain the creation of stock groups, categories, units and stock items.
- Q4.Explain accounting vouchers, order vouchers and inventory vouchers in Tally.
Stuck on this unit?
Message SBS on WhatsApp for help with Workshop on Computerised Accounting, or to ask about studying B.Com at Synetic.