Consolidate multiple companies in TallyPrime

Short answer: In TallyPrime, create a Group Company from the Company menu and pick the member companies; Tally then shows a combined balance sheet, profit and loss account and trial balance. Align ledger and group names first, and adjust for inter-company sales, purchases and loans so they are not counted twice. TallyNexa can also join companies into a group account with inter-company entries taken out, and read a company kept per year as one book.

Before you start

1. Align names. A group company adds up figures by ledger and group name. If one company calls it "HDFC Bank" and another "HDFC Bank A/c", they stay on separate lines. Rename ledgers so like matches like.
2. Use the same base currency in all members.
3. Keep the companies in the same data folder on one computer, on the same TallyPrime release.
4. Bring each company up to date, including closing stock and period-end entries.

Create a group company in TallyPrime

1. Open the member companies in TallyPrime.
2. From the Company menu, choose to create a Group Company.
3. Give it a name and select the member companies.
4. Accept. The group appears in your list of companies.
5. Open the group to see the combined Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss account and Trial Balance.

A group company is for reading. Vouchers are entered in the member companies, and the group shows their sum. The member companies need to be available on that computer when you open the group; check Tally’s help for how your release loads them.

Menu paths differ between TallyPrime releases. If you do not see the option, search Tally’s help for "Group Company".

Inter-company balances

When members trade with each other, the same amount sits in both books. Company A’s sales to Company B are also Company B’s purchases; a loan from A to B is an asset in A and a liability in B. Adding the books together counts these twice.

Adjust for these when you read the group figures:

• Keep one ledger in each company for each other member, named so it is easy to find, such as "Inter-co: Shree Traders Pvt Ltd".
• Agree the balances between members at each period end. A difference usually means an entry missing on one side.
• Take out inter-company sales and purchases, and loans and advances, in a working sheet or with adjusting entries, and keep a note of what you removed and why.
• Watch stock bought from another member and not yet sold; the profit on it has not been earned by the group.

Companies kept per year

Some businesses start a new Tally company every financial year, or split the data when it grows large. To compare years, open both companies and check that each year’s opening balances equal the previous year’s closing balances. A difference often means an entry posted in the old year after the books were split.

Branches as separate companies

If each branch keeps its own Tally company, the same rules apply: matching ledger names, agreed balances between branches, and transfers taken out so they do not inflate sales and purchases. Head office and branch accounts should mirror each other at every month-end.

How TallyNexa does it

TallyNexa reads each company from TallyPrime through its connector and lets you join them in three ways:

• A company kept per year can be linked and read as one book, with each year’s openings checked against the year before.
• Branches kept as separate companies can be read together.
• A group account adds members together with inter-company entries taken out.

The connector reads only companies open in TallyPrime on that computer. Open each member so it syncs; after that TallyNexa shows each one as of its last sync, so the group view still works when some members are closed in Tally.

A month-end checklist

1. Post all inter-company entries on both sides.
2. Agree inter-company balances member by member.
3. Check that ledger names still line up after any new ledgers were created.
4. Read the group figures, then note the eliminations you made.
5. Keep the working sheet with the month’s papers, so next month starts from the same list.

A group view is only as good as its weakest member. If one company is a month behind, the group figures are too, so bring every member up to date before you read them together.