The client has your .tbk backup file. Putting it into their Tally correctly takes five minutes - if you respect the version rule, read the one dangerous prompt, and verify the company before work starts in it.
Technical AnshuTallyPrime and Tally.ERP 97 minute read
Watch the full video - exporting Tally company data to a client PC, step by step
Restoring is the half of the transfer that happens on someone else's computer, often talked through over a phone call. This page is the exact sequence to follow - and the two places where a rushed click can cause real damage: restoring into an older Tally release, and overwriting a live company with the same name.
Tally will restore this company into the Data folder. If a company with the same name exists, you will be asked before anything is overwritten.
The Restore screen reads the backup file first and shows you exactly which company is inside before it writes anything.
1
Before You Restore Anything
Confirm the Tally release on this PC is the same as or newer than the release the backup was taken from - restoring into an older release is not supported
If this PC already has a live company with the same name, take a backup of that company first. Restore can overwrite it, and there is no undo
Keep the received .tbk file somewhere safe, outside the Tally Data folder, until verification is finished
2
Run the Restore
Open Tally and stay at the Gateway / Select Company screen
TallyPrime: press Alt + Y and choose Restore. Tally.ERP 9: press Alt + F3 and choose Restore
Select the backup file location and the .tbk file
Tally displays the company name stored inside the backup - check it is really the company you expected
Accept. If Tally warns that a company with the same name already exists, stop and decide - overwrite only if that old copy is confirmed disposable
3
If Tally Asks to Migrate or Rewrite
Opening data created in an older release, Tally may offer to migrate the company to the current release format. Accept on a restored copy - this is normal, one-way, and exactly why restoring into a newer version works while restoring into an older one does not. If a message suggests the data needs repair or rewrite, let it complete on this copy; you still hold the original .tbk file untouched if anything goes wrong.
4
Open It and Prove It
Select the restored company and check the financial year and the books beginning date
Open the Trial Balance and match the totals against the figures the sender confirmed
Open the Day Book for the last working day - vouchers should run up to the same last entry
Print or view one recent invoice or payment voucher and confirm amounts and narrations survived
Only after these checks pass should daily work start in the restored company - and only in this copy, not in both.
The overwrite prompt is the one dangerous moment in this whole process. It appears before anything is replaced - read it. Restoring over a live company deletes that company's data permanently.
Watch the Complete Process in the Video
Backup, transfer and restore shown live on screen, with the full knowledge and installation details.
From Gateway of Tally, press Alt+Y to open the Data menu and choose Restore. In Tally.ERP 9 it is under Alt+F3 (Company Info) and then Restore.
Restore is asking to overwrite an existing company. Should I accept?
Only if that existing company is genuinely disposable. Take a backup of the existing company first, then decide. There is no undo after an overwrite.
The restore finished but the company does not open. What went wrong?
The usual causes are a version problem (backup from a newer release than this Tally), a damaged or incomplete .tbk file, or data that needs migration or repair. Update Tally to the same or a newer release, re-copy the original backup file, and restore again before trying anything else.
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.