Expert Tax Professionals Manage Your Books, GST, TDS, and Financial Statements from ₹4,999/month - Onboarding in 3 to 5 Working Days
Monthly P&L & Balance Sheet. GST/TDS Compliance. Dedicated Finance Professional. Zoho Books & Tally. Zero Hidden Charges.
*Listed amounts are IncorpX professional charges for end-to-end assistance. Government / statutory fees are charged separately at actuals.
Bookkeeping is the day-to-day recording of a business's financial transactions — every sale, purchase, receipt, and payment, logged against the correct ledger head as it happens. It's the raw, ongoing data-entry layer that everything else in a business's finances is built on top of.
Accounting takes those recorded transactions and turns them into something usable — financial statements, management reports, and tax computations. Where bookkeeping asks "what happened," accounting asks "what does it mean," summarising and interpreting the data into a Profit & Loss statement, a Balance Sheet, and the numbers a business actually needs to file returns, apply for a loan, or make a decision.
The two functions are related but distinct, and the table below lays out exactly where one ends and the other begins.
| Parameter | Bookkeeping | Accounting |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Recording individual transactions as they happen — sales, purchases, receipts, and payments | Interpreting and summarising the recorded data into a coherent financial picture |
| Output | Ledgers, day books, and reconciled bank records | Profit & Loss statement, Balance Sheet, MIS reports, and tax computations |
| Frequency | Daily or weekly, as an ongoing activity | Monthly, quarterly, or annual, built on top of the bookkeeping already done |
| Skillset Required | Accurate data entry and familiarity with accounting software | Knowledge of accounting standards, tax law, and financial analysis — typically handled by a qualified accountant |
Accounting isn't a single function — different types serve different purposes, and most businesses need more than one working together.
| Type | What It Covers | Who Needs It | Governing Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Accounting | Recording, classifying, and summarising transactions into Profit & Loss statements, Balance Sheets, and cash flow statements as per applicable accounting standards. | All registered companies and LLPs | Companies Act, 2013 (Sec. 129) |
| Tax Accounting | Structuring the books to compute income tax, GST, and TDS liabilities correctly, and to support ITR and return filing. | Any business with taxable income or GST registration | Income-tax Act & GST Act |
| Management Accounting | Internal reporting — budgets, MIS dashboards, variance and margin analysis — built to support business decisions rather than statutory filing. | Growing businesses that need data to make operating decisions | Not statutory (advisory) |
| Cost Accounting | Tracking material, labour, and overhead costs per product, project, or department to understand true profitability. | Manufacturing and project-based businesses | Cost Records & Audit Rules, 2014 (specified industries) |
| Forensic Accounting | Examining records to detect fraud or errors and to support disputes, investigations, or due diligence. | Businesses facing disputes, fraud concerns, or investigation | Case-specific |
| Cloud Accounting | Maintaining live books on cloud platforms (Zoho Books, Tally, QuickBooks) with bank feeds and real-time access. | Remote teams, startups, and multi-location businesses | Same statutory basis as financial accounting |
| Bookkeeping | Day-to-day recording of every sale, purchase, receipt, and payment — the foundation all other accounting is built on. | Every business, regardless of size | Companies Act Sec. 128 / IT Act Sec. 44AA |
| Audit Support | Preparing audit-ready statements, schedules, and notes, and coordinating with statutory or tax auditors. | Businesses above the applicable audit threshold | Companies Act & IT Act Sec. 44AB |
A startup burning through its first rounds of funding needs clean books from day one — investors and auditors alike expect to see organised financials, and retrofitting a year of messy transactions later is far more expensive than recording them correctly as they happen.
An SME juggling sales, purchases, payroll, and GST across multiple counters or branches benefits from a dedicated bookkeeping function that keeps daily operations separate from the owner's time, freeing them up to actually run the business.
Even a solo consultant or freelancer needs enough of a record to file an accurate ITR, justify expenses claimed, and — where GST-registered — reconcile invoices against returns filed, without necessarily needing full-scale accounting infrastructure.
Incorporated entities carry statutory obligations — annual financial statements, a mandatory audit for companies, and board-level reporting — that simply can't be met without accurate, continuously maintained books through the year.
Marketplace settlements, platform fees, multi-state GST implications, and high transaction volumes make e-commerce bookkeeping considerably more involved than a typical services business, and errors here compound quickly across hundreds of small transactions.
Inventory-heavy businesses need their books to track purchases, stock movement, and sales margins accurately, since these numbers feed directly into GST reconciliation and into knowing which products are actually profitable.
The governing law, mandatory filings, and audit threshold that apply to your books depend on how your business is incorporated.
| Entity Type | Governing Law | Key Filings | Tax Audit Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Limited Company | Companies Act, 2013 | AOC-4, MGT-7, ITR-6, GST returns | Turnover above the Sec. 44AB limit |
| One Person Company (OPC) | Companies Act, 2013 | AOC-4, MGT-7, ITR-6 | Turnover above the Sec. 44AB limit |
| Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) | LLP Act, 2008 | Form 8, Form 11, ITR-5 | Turnover above the Sec. 44AB limit |
| Partnership Firm | Indian Partnership Act, 1932 & IT Act | ITR-5, GST returns (if registered) | Turnover above the Sec. 44AB limit |
| Sole Proprietorship | Income-tax Act (Sec. 44AA) | ITR-3 / ITR-4, GST returns (if registered) | Turnover above the Sec. 44AB limit |
| Section 8 (Non-Profit) Company | Companies Act, 2013 + 12AB/80G | AOC-4, MGT-7, ITR-7, grant accounting | As applicable to the entity |
Properly maintained books tell you exactly where the business stands at any point — what's owed, what's receivable, and what's actually been earned, rather than a rough sense based on the bank balance.
Accurate, up-to-date books make ITR filing, GST return reconciliation, and tax audit preparation straightforward, instead of a scramble to reconstruct a year's transactions right before a deadline.
Whether it's a statutory audit, a tax audit, or a one-off due diligence request from an investor, well-organised books mean the audit process moves quickly instead of stalling on missing records.
Tracking receivables and payables in real time helps you see cash crunches coming — and collect from customers or plan payments to vendors — well before they become a problem.
Banks, NBFCs, and investors all lean on financial statements to assess a business, and consistent, credible books are often the difference between a smooth approval and repeated queries.
Decisions like hiring, pricing, or expanding into a new product line are only as good as the numbers behind them — accurate books are what let you make those calls with actual data instead of guesswork.
The ongoing, day-to-day layer of work that keeps your books current and reconciled.
Every sale, purchase, receipt, and payment gets logged against the correct ledger head as it occurs, so the books never fall behind actual business activity.
Bank and credit card statements are matched against recorded entries each period, surfacing missed transactions, duplicate entries, or bank charges that haven't been booked yet.
Outstanding vendor bills and customer invoices are tracked separately, so you always know what's due to be paid and what's due to be collected.
Salary computation, statutory deductions, and payslip generation are handled in coordination with your payroll cycle, feeding directly into the books each month.
Transactions are recorded with the correct GST treatment from the start — tax rate, place of supply, and HSN/SAC mapping — rather than being corrected retroactively at return time.
A monthly management information summary gives you a snapshot of income, expenses, and key ratios without needing to dig through the raw ledgers yourself.
The higher-level work built on top of your bookkeeping — statements, reconciliations, and reporting.
Profit & Loss statements and Balance Sheets are prepared from the reconciled books, giving a formal, period-end view of the business's financial position.
GST liability and Input Tax Credit are reconciled against GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, and GSTR-2B on an ongoing basis, so return filing draws on numbers that are already verified.
TDS deductible on payments — salaries, professional fees, rent, and contractor payments — is computed correctly and tracked toward the quarterly TDS return filing.
Beyond the statutory statements, we put together MIS views — expense trends, margin analysis, department-wise costs — tailored to what actually helps you run the business.
At year-end, the books are closed, adjusting entries are passed, and the final trial balance is prepared as the basis for the annual financial statements and tax return.
Salary, statutory contributions, and related liabilities are accounted for correctly each period, keeping payroll figures consistent with what's reported for TDS and PF/ESI.
Where a business operates through multiple entities, we consolidate individual books into a group-level financial view, with inter-company transactions identified and eliminated correctly.
Hiring an in-house accountant isn't the only option — here's how it stacks up against outsourcing to a dedicated team.
| Parameter | In-House Accountant | Outsourced (ComplianceBharo) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 (salary + benefits) | From ₹4,999/month |
| Expertise | A single individual, limited coverage | A team spanning accounting, GST, and TDS |
| Software cost | Often an extra annual licence | Setup handled as part of the engagement |
| Scaling up | Requires rehiring or added headcount | Scope adjusts as volume grows |
| Leave / absence | Work stalls when the person is away | Continuity through a backup team |
| Audit support | A separate professional is usually still needed | Built into the engagement |
| Compliance coverage | Typically one or two areas | Companies Act, IT Act, and GST together |
| Report turnaround | Depends on the individual | A fixed monthly reporting cadence |
| HR overhead | PF, ESI, bonus, gratuity | None |
We review your current books (or lack of them), understand your business model, transaction volume, and existing software, and map out exactly what needs to be set up or cleaned up.
A chart of accounts tailored to your business — the right ledger heads for your specific revenue streams, expense categories, and GST treatment — is set up before any transaction is recorded.
Sales, purchases, receipts, and payments are recorded on an ongoing basis directly against the chart of accounts, keeping the books current rather than backlogged.
Bank statements and internal ledgers are reconciled each period, catching discrepancies while they're still easy to trace back to a specific transaction.
Every relevant transaction is tagged with its correct GST and TDS treatment, so the numbers feeding into your monthly/quarterly returns are already reconciled rather than reconstructed at filing time.
A monthly close produces your P&L, Balance Sheet extract, and MIS summary, giving you a regular, dependable view of the business's financial position.
GST return dates, TDS deposit and filing dates, and advance tax instalments are tracked against your books, so nothing statutory slips because the underlying data wasn't ready in time.
At financial year-end, we finalise the books, prepare the annual financial statements, and support whatever audit — statutory or tax — your business is required to undergo.
This is what we typically ask for to set up or take over your bookkeeping — not everything applies to every business, especially at the very first onboarding stage.
| Document | Why It's Needed |
|---|---|
| Bank statements | To reconcile recorded transactions against actual account activity and catch missed or duplicate entries |
| Sales and purchase invoices | The primary source documents for revenue and expense entries, and for GST input/output matching |
| Expense receipts | To substantiate deductible expenses and keep the expense ledger accurate |
| Payroll records | To post salary, PF/ESI, and TDS-on-salary entries correctly each month |
| Existing books of account (if any) | To establish opening balances and continue seamlessly from wherever your records currently stand |
| GST returns filed to date | To reconcile GST accounting entries against what has already been reported to the department |
| Previous year's financial statements | To carry forward opening balances and maintain year-on-year comparability |
The recurring statutory deadlines that well-maintained books need to feed into, and what's at stake if they're missed.
| Requirement | Form | Typical Deadline | Penalty for Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Books of account (Companies Act) | Sec. 128 | Maintained continuously at the registered office | Fine on officers in default (₹50,000 to ₹5,00,000) |
| Financial statements filing | AOC-4 | Within 30 days of the AGM | Additional fee of ₹100 per day of delay |
| Annual return | MGT-7 | Within 60 days of the AGM | Additional fee of ₹100 per day of delay |
| GST monthly returns | GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B | Monthly (per the notified due dates) | Late fee plus interest on tax due |
| GST annual return | GSTR-9 | By 31 December of the following year | Late fee capped as a % of turnover |
| TDS returns | 24Q / 26Q / 27Q | Quarterly | Late-filing fee under Sec. 234E plus interest |
| Income tax return | ITR-5 / ITR-6 (as applicable) | As per the notified due date (audit vs non-audit) | Late fee under Sec. 234F plus interest |
| Books of account (IT Act) | Sec. 44AA | Maintained continuously above the threshold | Penalty under Sec. 271A (up to ₹25,000) |
Statutory figures and due dates change from time to time — confirm the current position for your entity before relying on them.
We work within whichever accounting platform your business already uses, or help you set one up if you're starting from scratch. Among Indian businesses, the most commonly used platforms are Tally, Zoho Books, and QuickBooks — and our team is comfortable operating in any of them.
If you're migrating from spreadsheets or switching between platforms, we handle the transition as part of onboarding, so historical data carries over correctly rather than starting from a blank slate.
The ₹4,999/month starting price covers a straightforward, low-volume setup. The actual scope and quote depend on a handful of factors specific to your business.
The number of sales, purchases, and payment entries recorded each month is the single biggest driver of effort — a handful of invoices a month costs far less to maintain than hundreds of daily transactions.
Each additional bank or credit card account adds its own reconciliation cycle, so a business operating multiple accounts needs proportionally more reconciliation work.
A GST-registered business needs every transaction mapped and reconciled against GSTR-1/3B/2B, which adds a layer of work that a non-registered business doesn't need.
More employees means more payroll entries, statutory deduction computations, and reconciliation between payroll and the books each month.
Certain business models — e-commerce with marketplace settlements, multi-state operations, or inventory-heavy trading — require more involved bookkeeping than a straightforward services business.
Have questions about bookkeeping or accounting support for your business? Let our experts help you figure out the right scope.
Contact Support