🏆 Module F – Professional finish (Days 29–30) · Day 29
Day 29: Backup, Security, Edit Log & Export
⏱ 60 min📶 Intermediate🎯 100% self-study
Day 29 / 30
✅ Today you will learn
- Take and restore backups safely
- Repair data and split a company by year
- Create users and roles with limited rights
- Use TallyVault and Edit Log
- Import and export data safely
🏢 In the real world
A hard disk fails in the busiest week of March. The office with a tested backup from last night loses one morning’s work; the office without one loses the year. Data protection is not an IT topic – it is the accountant’s responsibility.
Backup and restore
- 1Alt+Y (Data) → Backup.
- 2Source: the company data path; Destination: an external drive or a synced cloud folder.
- 3Select the company (or several) → Backup. TallyPrime creates a compressed backup file.
- 4To restore: Alt+Y → Restore → choose the backup folder and the destination data path → select the company → Restore.
- 5Open the restored company and check the last voucher date and trial balance total.
Good backup habits
- 3 copies, 2 different media, 1 outside the office (3-2-1 rule)
- Daily backup at day end; label by date
- Test a restore every month
- Encrypt copies that leave the office
Common mistakes
- Backup on the same disk as the data
- Copying the live data folder while TallyPrime is open
- Never testing a restore
- Only one backup, overwritten daily
Repair, migrate and split
| Option (Alt+Y) | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Repair | TallyPrime reports data errors after a power cut or crash – take a backup first, then repair |
| Migrate | Moving data from an older release or Tally.ERP 9 to the current TallyPrime release |
| Split | Data has grown over many years – split into a new company from a chosen financial year; closing balances become opening balances |
| Configuration | Change default data, backup and export paths |
ℹ️ No year-end closing needed
TallyPrime carries balances forward automatically – you simply continue entering vouchers in the new year. Split is optional, for very large data.
Users, roles, TallyVault and Edit Log
| Role | Can do | Cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Owner (Administrator) | Everything, including security and data | — |
| Accountant | Create/alter vouchers and masters, view reports | Change security, delete vouchers older than 7 days |
| Data entry operator | Create sales and receipt vouchers | View profit & loss, alter or delete vouchers |
| Auditor | View all reports and Edit Log | Create, alter or delete anything |
- 1Company with security: Alt+K → Alter → enable User Access Control (set during creation on Day 10).
- 2Alt+K → User Roles: create roles with allowed/disallowed actions and reports.
- 3Alt+K → Users and Passwords: create each user with a role.
- 4TallyVault (Alt+K → TallyVault) encrypts the data – keep the password safe; it cannot be recovered.
- 5Edit Log: Alt+G → Edit Log shows every created, altered and deleted voucher or master with user, date and time.
💼 Office practice – professional tipGive every person their own login – never share the administrator password. With individual logins, the Edit Log answers “who changed this invoice?” in seconds; with a shared login, nobody is accountable.
Import and export
- Export (Ctrl+E / Alt+E): any report or masters/vouchers in Excel, PDF, XML or JSON – for the CA, bank or GST returns.
- Import (top menu → Import): masters and vouchers from Excel/XML – useful for opening data and bank statements. Always take a backup before importing and test on a copy company first.
- Share (Ctrl+M / Alt+M): e-mail invoices and reports; WhatsApp sharing is available in newer releases.
Solved examples
Example 1: A backup plan for Rohit Stationers
| Backup | When | Where | Keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | Every evening at closing | External drive (rotated) | 7 copies |
| Weekly | Saturday | Encrypted cloud folder | 4 copies |
| Monthly | After GST return filing | Pen drive kept at owner’s home | 12 copies |
At any time the office holds 23 restore points spread over a year, on three different media, one outside the shop.
Practice exercises (unsolved – answer hidden)
Try each exercise on paper or in TallyPrime first, then open the answer to check.
🏋️ Practice – do it yourself
Task 1: An invoice amount was changed from ₹48,000 to ₹4,800 last week and nobody admits doing it. How will you find out who did it in TallyPrime, and what setting should have been on?
Show solution
Open the voucher’s Edit Log (or Alt+G → Edit Log) – it shows every alteration with user, date, time and old/new values. This needs Edit Log enabled and separate user logins (User Access Control).Task 2: After a power cut TallyPrime shows a data error while opening the company. Write the steps you will follow, in order.
Show solution
1) Do not delete anything. 2) Take a backup of the current data folder (Alt+Y → Backup, or copy with TallyPrime closed). 3) Alt+Y → Repair the company. 4) Open and check the last vouchers and trial balance. 5) If repair fails, restore last night’s backup and re-enter the day’s vouchers.🏅 Job skills unlocked today
✔ Back up and restore✔ Repair, migrate and split data✔ Configure users, roles and TallyVault✔ Audit changes with Edit Log
Quick quiz
🧠 Quick Quiz – test yourself
1. Backup and restore are under:
Alt+Y = Data menu.
2. The 3-2-1 rule means:
Classic backup rule.
3. Which report shows who altered a voucher?
With Edit Log enabled.
4. If the TallyVault password is lost:
It cannot be recovered.
Interview corner
💼 Interview Corner
How do you protect accounting data in TallyPrime?
Daily tested backups on separate media (3-2-1), user access control with roles and individual logins, TallyVault encryption, Edit Log enabled, and controlled import/export.
Is year-end closing required in TallyPrime?
No. Balances carry forward automatically; you can split the company by year if data becomes very large.
Summary
- Alt+Y: Backup, Restore, Repair, Migrate, Split.
- 3-2-1 backups; test restores monthly.
- Individual logins with roles; TallyVault for encryption.
- Edit Log answers who changed what and when.
➡️ Next
Day 30: the final project – a complete GST + inventory month – and interview preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take a backup to Google Drive?
Back up to a local folder that your cloud app (Google Drive, OneDrive) syncs, or copy the backup file there. Never point TallyPrime’s live data path to a syncing folder.
How often should I update TallyPrime?
Update when a new release is available, especially before GST or income-tax changes take effect – after taking a backup.
Tally and TallyPrime are trademarks of Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. This is an independent course, not affiliated with or endorsed by Tally Solutions. All business names, GSTINs and figures in the examples are fictional samples.
