Key takeaways
- Tally
- Books, GST, statutory reports, basic stock
- eManage
- Orders, production, lots, job work, quality, costing and accounts
- Customisation
- Every eManage installation is set up around one plant's process
- Together
- Floor on eManage, books in Tally, if your accountant prefers
- Moving over
- Masters and balances move from Tally in days
eManage vs Tally at a glance
Both are Indian products used by thousands of businesses, and both handle GST. The difference is what they are built to run. Tally is built for the accountant. eManage is built for the plant: the gate, the store, the floor, the quality desk and the owner, with accounts as one part of it.
| Area | Tally | eManage |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Accounting and inventory value for any business | Textile and engineering plants, in 12 industry editions |
| Main users | Accountant and owner | Gate, store, supervisors, inspectors, dispatch, accounts, owner |
| Stock | Item quantity and value | By lot, heat number, shade, count, rack and bin |
| Production and WIP | Finished goods entries; WIP mostly outside the books | Job cards, routings, line and machine WIP, output by shift |
| Job work | Challans and stock with processors | Challans by lot, receipts matched, shortage against allowance, processing bills, ITC-04 |
| Quality | Not a quality system | Inspection plans, holds that block dispatch, certificates from lot data |
| Cost per order | Purchase and sales values | Actual material, yield, wages, job-work charges and overheads per order |
| Floor entries | Desk software for accounts users | Android apps for gate, warehouse, approvals and garment QC |
| Customisation | Add-ons and TDL work through Tally partners | Configured to your process by eManage engineers, kept in the product |
| Implementation | Install and start; partner help if needed | Process study and set-up on site, live in about 4 to 6 weeks |
| GST, e-invoice, e-way bill | Yes | Yes, generated from the dispatch entry |
What Tally does well
Tally deserves its place. It is fast, every accountant in India knows it, it is inexpensive, and it keeps up with GST changes. For many small traders and simple manufacturers it is the right tool, and eManage engineers recommend staying on it when a plant does not need more.
- Sales and purchase vouchers with GST
- Ledgers, receivables, payables, bank
- GST return data and statutory reports
- Stock quantity and valuation
- TDS and simple payroll
- Balance sheet, profit and loss, audit trail
If you buy material, make a few products with little waste, sell to a handful of customers and use no job workers, Tally plus a production register may be enough for now.
Where a factory outgrows Tally
Tally records transactions and values them. It is not designed to follow material through a process. Plants usually feel the gap in this order:
- Stock by lot. You need to know which yarn lot, heat number or shade is where. The books show a quantity and a value.
- Work in progress. Material issued to the floor disappears until finished goods are entered, so nobody can say what is half-made.
- Job work. Material at knitters, dyers or platers is tracked in a notebook, and shortages are argued instead of measured.
- Quality holds. Nothing stops a failed lot from being invoiced and dispatched.
- Actual cost. Cost per order needs consumption, yield, wages and job-work charges that the books never see.
- Many hands. The gate, store and inspectors need to make entries without access to the accounts.
The usual result is a ring of Excel files around Tally, kept by two or three people. The books are right; the business runs on the spreadsheets.
eManage is customised for each plant
eManage is not a blank system you configure yourself, and it is not one fixed screen for every factory. Each installation starts from the edition for your trade and is then customised to your plant by the engineers who implement it:
- Masters in your terms: count, GSM, shade, heat, grade, drawing
- Your documents: job cards, challans, gate passes, tags
- Your print formats for invoices, packing lists and certificates
- Your approval routes for POs, challans and payments
- The reports you read every morning, laid out your way
- Your weighbridge, scales, barcode printers and machines
The customisation lives inside the product, not in a separate copy of the code. When GST rules change or a new release comes out, your set-up moves forward with it. Changes after go-live, such as a new process, a second plant or a new buyer's format, are made by the same team.
Running eManage with Tally
You do not have to switch off Tally on the first day. Plants choose one of three set-ups with their accountant during implementation:
- eManage for everything. Operations and accounts run in eManage, with GST returns, e-invoice and e-way bill from the same entries.
- eManage for the floor, Tally for the books. eManage runs gate to dispatch and sends the vouchers to Tally, so the accountant keeps working where they are used to.
- A parallel quarter. Both run for one quarter; Tally is retired after the first GST filing from eManage matches.
Moving over takes days, not months: party, item and ledger masters, opening balances, outstanding bills, opening stock and open orders are taken from Tally, cleaned and imported by our team. History stays in Tally for reference.
Which one does your plant need?
You probably need eManage alongside or instead of Tally if three or more of these are true:
- Stock in Tally and stock on the floor disagree at every count
- Material at job workers is tracked outside Tally
- Order cost is known only long after dispatch
- Buyers or OEMs ask for lot, heat or shade traceability
- Three or more people keep Excel sheets that feed Tally
- A failed lot has reached a customer because nothing stopped it
If only one or two are true, Tally used well may be enough for now. If most are true, book a demo and bring a week of your orders and registers.
Questions buyers ask
Is eManage a replacement for Tally?
It can be. eManage includes accounts, GST returns, e-invoice and e-way bill, so a plant can run fully on it. Many plants instead run the floor on eManage and keep Tally for the books, or run both for one quarter before retiring Tally.
Can eManage send entries to Tally?
Yes. When the accountant prefers Tally, eManage runs operations and sends the sales, purchase and job-work vouchers to Tally for the books. The choice is made during implementation.
How is eManage customised for my plant?
Each installation starts from the edition for your trade and is set up to your process: masters, documents, print formats, approval routes, reports and connections to scales or weighbridges. The work is done by eManage engineers on site and kept inside the product.
Will customisation stop GST and software updates?
No. Your customisation is part of the product, not a separate copy of it, so statutory updates and new releases apply to your plant without redoing the work.
How long does it take to move from Tally to eManage?
Masters and balances move in days. A single plant usually goes live in about 4 to 6 weeks, including the process study, set-up and training on site.
Is eManage more expensive than Tally?
Yes, because it runs far more of the plant and includes on-site implementation and training. Compare it with the cost of the spreadsheets, stock losses, shortages and late costing it replaces.