How to Migrate from Tally to Cloud Accounting (Without Losing Your Mind)

You've been using Tally for years. Maybe decades. Your entire business runs on it. And now someone (maybe your CA, maybe your own frustration with LAN sharing) is telling you to move to the cloud.

Deep breath. It's not as scary as it sounds. Here's exactly how to do it.

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TL;DR: Export XML from Tally → Upload to Sally → Review preview → Confirm. Takes 10-15 minutes for most companies.

What actually gets migrated?

Everything that matters:

  • Account Groups (full hierarchy)
  • Ledgers (with opening balances)
  • Parties (customers + vendors + addresses)
  • All voucher types (Sales, Purchase, Journal, Receipt, Payment, Contra, CN, DN)
  • Stock items, groups, units, godowns
  • Bill allocations (outstanding tracking)
  • Inventory transactions
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What doesn't migrate: Tally customizations (TDL scripts), cost categories, payroll data, and budgets. These are Tally-specific features that don't have direct equivalents.

The migration process

1

Export from Tally

In TallyPrime: Gateway → Export → select your company → choose XML format → Export All Masters + Transactions.

The file will be anywhere from 5 MB (small company) to 200+ MB (years of data). Both work fine.

2

Upload to Sally

Go to Imports → Tally in Sally. Drag your XML file or click to browse. Sally auto-detects the encoding (UTF-8, UTF-16) — you don't need to worry about it.

3

Preview what's coming in

Sally parses the file and shows you exactly what will be imported: number of groups, ledgers, parties, vouchers. Review and toggle what you want (e.g., skip vouchers if you only want masters).

4

Confirm and wait

Small files import instantly. Larger files (50MB+) run in the background — you'll see a progress bar. Most companies with 3-5 years of data finish in under 5 minutes.

Common questions

Will my running balances be correct?

Yes. Sally imports opening balances + all voucher entries. Your Trial Balance will match Tally's exactly.

Can I import multiple financial years?

Yes. Export each year separately from Tally and import them in chronological order. Or export all years at once if your Tally data is in a single company.

What if something goes wrong?

The import is non-destructive. If it fails partway through, you can delete the imported data and try again. Your Tally data is untouched.

Can I keep using Tally alongside Sally during transition?

Absolutely. Many businesses run both for a month, verify everything matches, then switch over fully.

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Pro tip: Import during a quiet period (weekend or month-end) so you can verify your Trial Balance against Tally without new transactions coming in.

Ready to try this yourself?

Sally ERP handles all of this — and more. Free trial, no credit card.

Start Free Trial →