Export Tally Data to Client PC Complete Backup and Restore Guide
Your client needs their company books on their own PC. Sending the wrong thing - or sending it the wrong way - either corrupts the data or leaves two copies quietly drifting apart. This guide covers the correct route: Tally's own backup, a secure transfer, a restore on the same or newer version, and a two-minute verification.
Technical AnshuTallyPrime and Tally.ERP 910 minute read
Watch the full video - exporting Tally company data to a client PC, step by step
Accountants move Tally companies between PCs every day, and the job fails in the same few ways: a data folder copied while the company was still open, a backup restored into an older Tally release, or both PCs continuing to type entries into what is now two separate companies with the same name. None of that needs to happen. Tally already has a proper backup and restore built in - the whole job is to use it, transfer the file safely, and verify the result. The full process is also shown in the video above.
File Explorer - TallyPrime Data folder
C:\Users\Public\TallyPrime\Data
10001 <-- one folder = one company
10002
10003
Backup file sent to the client : ABC_Traders_Backup.tbk(single portable file)
Every Tally company lives in its own numbered folder. A backup packs one company into a single .tbk file that can be restored on any PC.
1
Close the Company Before You Touch the Data
Every safe transfer starts the same way: finish the day's entries, then shut the company and exit Tally completely on the source PC. A backup made while vouchers are still being typed can miss the last entries, and copying a data folder while the company is open is the most common way people corrupt Tally data. Thirty seconds of patience here saves hours of repair later.
Press Alt + F1 or use Shut Company to close the company
Exit Gateway of Tally fully - Tally should not be running in the background
Note the company's exact name and its data folder number (shown in the Select Company screen)
2
Take a Proper Backup Using Tally Itself
Do not start by copying folders. Tally has a built-in backup that packs the company, exactly as it is, into one portable file - and that file is what you should hand over.
TallyPrime: press Alt + Y (Data menu) and choose Backup
Tally.ERP 9: from Gateway of Tally press Alt + F3 (Company Info) and choose Backup
Select the company and the destination folder, then accept
Tally creates a single backup file with the .tbk extension - this one file is the complete company
Save the backup to a pen drive or a transfer folder. The file name normally carries the company name, so the client can identify it without opening Tally.
3
Send the File Like It Is the Business - Because It Is
That one .tbk file contains the client's full accounts - ledgers, vouchers, party details, everything. Treat the transfer with the same care as handing over the cash book.
Put the backup in a password-protected archive (for example a 7-Zip file with AES-256 encryption) before sending
Send the archive through one channel and the password through a different one - file by email or drive link, password by phone or message
Confirm the received file size matches the original before the client tries to restore it
Never email a live data folder, and never leave unprotected copies sitting in chat downloads and email inboxes afterwards - delete your transit copies once the client confirms the restore.
4
Restore on the Client PC - Same Version or Newer
On the client's machine the backup goes back in through Tally's own restore, and one rule decides whether it works at all.
Point Tally to the .tbk file and accept the restore
If a company with the same name already exists there, Tally will ask before overwriting - stop and read that prompt, never overwrite blindly
Open the restored company from the Select Company list
The version rule: restore only into the same Tally release or a newer one. A backup taken from a newer release cannot be restored into an older release - Tally data only migrates forward. If the client is on an older version, they must update Tally first, not the other way round.
5
Verify Before You Say Done
A restore that "completed" is not proof the data is right. Spend two minutes proving it.
Open Trial Balance on both PCs for the same date and match the totals
Check the Day Book - the last voucher number and date should match the source PC
Open two or three known vouchers and confirm the amounts and narrations are intact
Only after this check, tell the client the handover is complete - and decide together whether the original PC stops editing this company (see the two-copies warning in this series)
The honest warning most people skip: the moment the client restores your backup, there are two live copies of the same company. Entries typed on your PC will never appear on theirs, and theirs will never appear on yours. A backup export is a handover, not a sync. Hand it over like one.
Watch the Complete Process in the Video
Backup, transfer and restore shown live on screen, with the full knowledge and installation details.
What is the safest way to send Tally data to a client?
Use Tally's own Backup option (Alt+Y in TallyPrime, Alt+F3 in ERP 9) to create a single .tbk file, put it in a password-protected encrypted archive, and send the password through a separate channel. The client restores it with Tally's Restore option.
Can a Tally backup be restored on an older Tally version?
No. Tally data only moves forward. A backup taken from a newer release must be restored into the same release or a newer one. If the client PC runs an older release, update Tally on that PC first.
Can both PCs keep entering vouchers after the export?
They can, but they should not - the two copies are completely independent and will silently diverge. An export is a handover. If both sides must keep viewing the same live data, the company should stay on one PC and the other side should get remote access instead of a copy.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video on exporting Tally data to a client PC. Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments.