In this guide · 9 sections
- Export the trial balance for the full financial year, ledger-wise (the Detailed view, Alt+F5 in TallyPrime) — a group-only TB cannot be mapped to the statements.
- Turn on opening balances and the year's debits / credits (F12 → Configure) so each ledger has Opening | Debit | Credit | Closing.
- Export with Alt+E → Export → Current in Excel (.xlsx) format. Avoid CSV and PDF: they lose the Dr / Cr side or cannot be read reliably.
- Tally's trial balance does not include closing stock; take it from the stock summary or the client's valuation, and note it separately.
- Before you use the file, check it tallies, that the period and company are right, and that last year's closing equals this year's opening.
Try SignReady: Upload the Tally TB as exported — SignReady checks it tallies and rolls forward.
Start freeAlmost every finalisation starts with the client's trial balance from Tally. A good export saves an hour of re-keying and catches problems early; a poor one — groups only, the wrong period, closing balances without their Dr / Cr side — causes errors that surface only when the Balance Sheet will not balance. This guide sets out how to export a trial balance that is ready for audit work, and what to check before you use it.
Before you export: three settings that matter
| Setting | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Period — the full financial year (for example 1-Apr-2025 to 31-Mar-2026) | By default Tally shows the trial balance up to the date of the last voucher entered, which may not be 31 March. A TB for part of the year has the wrong closing balances, and the P&L figures cover only part of the year. |
| Detailed view — ledgers, not just groups | A group-level TB ("Sundry Debtors ₹42 lakh") cannot be mapped ledger by ledger, and debtors in credit or creditors in debit are hidden inside the group total. |
| Opening balance and transactions — Opening | Debit | Credit | Closing | With these columns you can check that this year opens where last year closed, see fixed asset additions and depreciation, and spot balances that did not move all year. A TB with closing balances only still works, but you lose these checks. |
Step by step in TallyPrime
- Open the company and go to Display More Reports → Trial Balance (or press Alt+G (Go To), type Trial Balance and press Enter).
- Set the period to the full financial year: press F2 (Period) and enter the first and last day of the year, for example 1-4-2025 to 31-3-2026.
- Show ledgers under their groups: press Alt+F5 (Detailed).
- Press F12 (Configure) and set Show Opening Balance and Show Transactions (the year's debits and credits) to Yes, and leave Nett Transactions at No, so each ledger shows Opening | Debit | Credit | Closing. If sub-groups do not open up, set Expand all levels in Detailed format to Yes.
- Export: Alt+E → Export → Current, choose the Excel (Spreadsheet) format, note the folder and file name, and export. TallyPrime saves an .xlsx file.
In the exported sheet, groups and sub-groups appear as heading rows with their totals, and ledgers appear under them. Many TallyPrime exports show ledgers in italics and groups in upright type, and indent the rows; do not delete the group rows — they tell you which group each ledger belongs to.
Tally ERP 9
The steps are the same in spirit: Gateway of Tally → Display → Trial Balance; set the period with Alt+F2; show ledgers with Alt+F1 (Detailed); turn on opening balances and transactions in F12; and export with Alt+E to Excel. ERP 9 saves Excel exports as .xls: open the file and save it as an Excel Workbook (.xlsx).
SignReady reads TallyPrime and ERP 9 exports — groups, sub-groups, opening balances and the year's debits / credits, one year or both years in one file — and tells you at once if the reading does not tally.
Why not CSV or PDF
- CSV (or a text / ASCII export) can lose the Dr / Cr side. Tally often keeps balances positive and shows the side only through the cell's number format ("1,25,000.00 Cr"). A CSV keeps the number but drops the format — every balance looks like a debit, and the TB no longer tallies.
- PDF cannot be read reliably. Columns run into each other, long ledger names wrap onto two lines, and the side markers can attach to the wrong figure. Use a PDF only to look at, never to import.
- Excel Workbook (.xlsx) keeps the figures, their number formats and the row layout — the safest format to work from.
Closing stock is not in the trial balance
Tally's trial balance shows the opening stock but not the year-end closing stock — closing stock appears in Tally's Balance Sheet and P&L, not in the TB. Some clients pass a manual entry to a "Closing Stock" ledger; if you see one, make sure it is not counted twice. Take the closing figure from the stock summary or the client's valuation sheet (by category: raw materials, work-in-progress, finished goods, stock-in-trade) and keep it with the file, with the basis of valuation. Closing stock needs its own audit work: SA 501 requires attendance at physical inventory counting where inventory is material, and the valuation is tested separately.
Five checks before you use the file
| # | Check | What a problem looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The TB tallies: total debits = total credits (closing column) | A difference usually means a group row was counted as a ledger, a column was misread, or the CSV lost the Cr side |
| 2 | Company name, period and "as at" date in the header | The TB for the wrong company, or only up to the last voucher date instead of 31 March |
| 3 | This year's opening = last year's closing, ledger by ledger | Last year's final adjustments were never booked, or last year's TB was exported before them |
| 4 | Suspense, "difference in opening balances" and unusual balances | A balance in Suspense A/c; debtors in credit; creditors in debit; cash in credit |
| 5 | The Profit & Loss A/c ledger | It should carry last year's profit brought forward (or the amount transferred to capital accounts for a firm) — a mismatch points to an unposted transfer |
When the client sends a revised TB
Ask for the full revised export in the same layout, not a list of changes. Then compare the two versions ledger by ledger — balances changed, ledgers added or removed, and ledgers moved to a different group — and re-do any work that relied on the old figures. Keep both versions in the file with their dates; your working papers should show which version the final statements were drawn from (SA 230).
Try SignReady: Both years in one file? SignReady creates both TBs from one upload.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
Which Tally report should I export for an audit — trial balance or Balance Sheet?
The trial balance, in the Detailed (ledger-wise) view for the full financial year. The Balance Sheet and P&L in Tally are summaries by group; the trial balance gives every ledger with its balance, which is what you map to the statements and analyse.
Why does my exported TB not tally in Excel?
Usually because group totals were added to ledger balances, a column other than the closing balance was summed, or the file was saved as CSV and lost the Dr / Cr side. Sum only ledger rows of the closing column, treating credit balances as negative.
Do I need opening balances and transactions in the export?
Not strictly — closing balances are enough to draft the statements. But with Opening | Debit | Credit | Closing you can check that the year rolls forward from last year, see additions and depreciation on fixed assets, and find balances that did not move during the year.
Can I export both years in one file?
Yes. You can add last year's closing column next to this year's in the same sheet, or export the two years separately. Keep both years at ledger level and in the same group structure so they can be compared.
Where is closing stock in the Tally trial balance?
It is normally not there: the TB shows opening stock, and closing stock comes from the stock summary or the client's valuation. Record it separately with its basis of valuation.
Sources
- Tally Solutions — TallyPrime Help: Trial Balance
- Tally Solutions — TallyPrime Help: Export data
- ICAI — SA 230 Audit Documentation
- ICAI — SA 501 Audit Evidence — Specific Considerations for Selected Items (attendance at physical inventory counting)
Upload this year's and last year's TB: SignReady maps the ledgers, checks that the years roll forward, and drafts Schedule III statements in editable Excel for your review — first 3 finalisations free.
Version history: 4 Oct 2026 — first published.
