Why GST Entry in Tally Saves You from Headaches

Before Tally, many small shop owners in places like Srinagar or Pune were maintaining GST in separate Excel sheets. Come filing day, there would be mismatches, panic calls to the CA, and late fees. Tally ERP fixes this by linking every sales or purchase voucher directly to GST. The moment you enter a bill, Tally splits the tax automatically into CGST and SGST for local sales, or IGST for interstate. No manual calculations. No formula errors. Your books and your GST returns stay in sync throughout the month, so filing becomes a calm activity instead of a fire drill.

Understanding CGST, SGST, and IGST Before You Start

Think of it simply. When your Nagpur kirana shop sells goods to a customer inside Maharashtra, the GST splits equally into CGST and SGST. Both halves go to central and state government respectively. When you sell to someone in another state, say you ship dry fruits to Delhi, the whole tax becomes IGST and goes to the centre first. In Tally, you do not need to decide this manually. You set up the GST ledgers correctly once, and Tally picks the right tax type based on the state of your customer. This is why correct ledger setup from Lesson 4 matters so much right now.

Setting Up GST in Your Company Before Making Entries

If you have not activated GST in your Tally company yet, do this first. Go to Gateway of Tally, then press F11 for Features, then select Statutory and Taxation. Enable Goods and Services Tax, enter your GSTIN number, and set your state. Save and come back. Now when you create ledgers for tax, you will see GST options appear automatically. For a dhaba owner in Kochi running under composition scheme, you would select Composition Dealer here. For regular GST filers, keep it as Regular. This one-time setup takes under five minutes and everything else flows from it naturally.

Recording a GST Sales Entry in Tally Step by Step

This is what most shop owners actually need on a daily basis. You sold goods worth ₹10,000 with 18 percent GST. Open a Sales Voucher in Tally by pressing F8. Select your customer ledger, add the stock item or sales ledger, enter the amount. Tally will show you a GST details screen. Confirm the rate. It will auto-calculate ₹900 as CGST and ₹900 as SGST. Total invoice becomes ₹11,800. This is exactly what you show your customer and what gets captured in your GSTR-1 automatically. No separate entry needed anywhere else.

Recording a GST Purchase Entry the Right Way

Purchase entries are equally important because they decide your Input Tax Credit, the GST amount you can claim back. Press F9 for Purchase Voucher. Enter your supplier name, bill number, date, and amount. Add the purchase ledger and let Tally calculate the GST. Here one thing matters a lot. The supplier GSTIN must be correctly entered in their ledger, and the invoice number must match exactly what the supplier uploads in their GSTR-1. If there is a mismatch, your Input Tax Credit gets blocked in GSTR-2B and you end up paying more tax than needed. Always cross-check with the original bill.

Generating GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B Reports in Tally

This is where Tally really pays for itself. Go to Gateway of Tally, then Display, then Statutory Reports, then GST. You will see GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, and more listed there. Click GSTR-1 and Tally shows you a month-wise summary of all your outward sales with HSN codes, invoice details, and tax amounts. GSTR-3B gives you a consolidated tax liability versus ITC picture. You can export this data directly as a JSON file and upload it on the GST portal. Many shop owners in tier 2 cities send this exported file to their CA on WhatsApp and the CA uploads it within minutes. Simple and clean.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1
   Activate GST in Company Features Press F11 in Gateway of Tally, go to Statutory and Taxation, enable GST, enter your 15-digit GSTIN and state name. Save. This activates all GST ledger options and tax calculation across your entire company file.
2. 2
   Create GST Tax Ledgers Under Duties and Taxes Create four ledgers: CGST, SGST, IGST, and CESS if applicable. Group all under Duties and Taxes. Set tax type as Central Tax, State Tax, or Integrated Tax accordingly. Set percentage rate matching your business GST slab, like 5, 12, or 18 percent.
3. 3
   Link GST Rate to Your Sales and Purchase Ledgers Open each sales or purchase ledger, enable GST Applicability as Applicable, and set the correct HSN or SAC code. Enter the tax rate. Tally uses this to auto-fill GST whenever you select that ledger in a voucher. Do this once per ledger.
4. 4
   Record Daily GST Sales Using Sales Voucher F8 Press F8, choose customer, enter stock item and amount. Tally auto-splits GST into CGST plus SGST for local or IGST for interstate sales. Verify the amounts on screen and save. Your GSTR-1 data updates in real time with each saved entry.
5. 5
   Record Purchase Bills Using Purchase Voucher F9 Press F9, enter supplier name with correct GSTIN, bill number, and date. Add purchase ledger and amount. GST auto-calculates. Verify against the physical bill carefully. Accurate purchase entries ensure your Input Tax Credit in GSTR-3B is correct and claimable.
6. 6
   Export GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B as JSON for Portal Upload Go to Display, Statutory Reports, GST. Select GSTR-1, choose the month, press E to export as JSON. Share the file with your CA via WhatsApp or email, or upload directly on gstin.gov.in yourself. Repeat for GSTR-3B before the due date.

Frequently Asked Questions