What’s Included in Bookkeeping Services for Indian Businesses?

Key takeaways

CA-led Virtual Accounting gives you a full bookkeeping, GST, TDS, income tax and compliance engine, the AI dashboard is for visibility, tracking and comfort, not for DIY accounting by founders.
Clean books drive everything, accurate GST and TDS, timely filings, strong cash planning, audit readiness, and investor grade reporting.
The cadence is daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly, with reconciliations, audit trails and sign offs that keep numbers reliable.
Expect reconciled banks, AR and AP ageing, trial balance, profit and loss, balance sheet, cash summaries and schedules every close.
Scope clarity matters, bookkeeping is not the same as tax filing, payroll processing, audits, ERP implementation or advanced FP and A.
AI dashboards surface receivable risk, cash runway and compliance ticks in real time, while a CA team does the underlying accounting work.
When documents flow on time, and controls are consistent, financial statements and tax outcomes align with reality, not guesswork.

What CA-led Virtual Accounting means

Virtual Accounting, in this context, means a CA-led team operating your end to end bookkeeping and compliance, while you get an AI dashboard for clarity on cash, AR and AP movement, GST and TDS status, month close health and exceptions. The dashboard exists for transparency and faster decisions, not for founders to post entries. The CA team handles the work, you review and approve.

Simple promise: your books stay accurate and current, your GST and TDS stay aligned with ledgers, your filings stay on time, your cash decisions rely on facts, and you always know what is pending.

To set a common baseline, it helps to anchor on widely accepted definitions. See the bookkeeping overview by NetSuite and the bookkeeping definition by CFI for context around core bookkeeping principles.

Bookkeeping in plain English for Indian businesses

Bookkeeping exists to create a clean, dated and classified record of every rupee in and out, so financial statements, tax workings and management reviews are based on facts. Without this, GST returns do not match books, TDS ledgers drift, vendors chase for paid bills, and banks show balances the books do not reflect. It solves the basic problem of memory and mismatch.

In clear terms, it means systematic recording using a consistent chart of accounts, keeping an audit trail to source documents, and producing a ledger and trial balance that roll into a profit and loss and a balance sheet. If the foundation is weak, everything downstream suffers. For a primer, see the basics of business bookkeeping.

Included tasks in India

The following tasks convert the idea of bookkeeping into daily work that keeps books in sync with reality, cash positions correct and compliance reliable.

Capturing and categorising income and expenses

Record all sales, across bank, UPI, cash, cards and gateways, with correct dates and customers.
Record operating expenses under clear heads, attach or reference bills and receipts.
Split GST correctly between CGST, SGST, IGST, link to invoices, and align with GST compliance services in India.
Flag TDS implications on vendor payments and salaries for further action, aligned with TDS and income tax services.

Accounts receivable

Create and track customer invoices and credit notes.
Apply receipts against invoices, maintain customer ledgers, prepare AR ageing.
Highlight past due items and expected cash, so collections can be prioritised.

Accounts payable

Record purchase bills, debit notes and vendor credits.
Apply payments and advances, maintain vendor ledgers, prepare AP ageing.
Surface early payment discounts and overdue items for cash planning.

Bank, credit card and cash

Post all transactions from statements and vouchers.
Perform monthly bank and cash reconciliations, supported by bank statement analysis.
Identify charges, interest, missed entries or duplicates and correct them.

Payroll entries

Post monthly salary expense and net pay.
Record employer contributions, PF, ESI, PT and TDS on salaries.
Use payroll reports as basis, payroll processing itself is separate.

Fixed assets and depreciation

Maintain a fixed asset register with additions and tags.
Post depreciation as per policy and law, record disposals and gains or losses.

Inventory where applicable

Record receipts, issues and returns, tie to physical counts.
Compute cost of goods sold from opening, purchases and closing stock.

Period end journals

Post accruals, prepayments, provisions and reclassifications.
Record interest, EMIs and forex differences where relevant.

Documentation and audit trail

Organise invoices, bills, receipts, contracts, bank advices and payroll reports.
Link documents to ledger entries for easy review or audit.

For additional perspectives, see what are bookkeeping services exactly, what does bookkeeping include and how a bookkeeping business works.

Standard outputs you should expect

Outputs matter because they let owners and CAs check completeness and reliability. Without these, decisions rely on feelings, not facts.

Reconciled bank and credit card statements, monthly, with differences explained.
An up to date general ledger, correctly dated and classified entries.
A trial balance at each period end, rolling into profit and loss and balance sheet.
AR ageing and AP ageing by customer and vendor, with clear buckets.
Monthly profit and loss, ideally with year to date view, and a balance sheet at month, quarter and year end.
A simple cash movement summary, opening to closing with inflows and outflows.
Reconciliation schedules, bank, GST ledgers versus portal, TDS ledgers versus challans if in scope, fixed assets, prepaid and advances, tax ledgers.

For context, review the bookkeeping articles by NetSuite and the CFI guide to bookkeeping.

What is not included in basic bookkeeping

Scope clarity prevents gaps, delayed returns and audit pain. Typically outside basic bookkeeping:

Tax return preparation and filing for GST, TDS and income tax, statutory audits and certifications, these are separate compliance or assurance services.
Payroll processing and statutory returns for PF, ESI and PT, separate from posting payroll entries.
ERP or accounting system implementation and process design, these are consulting tasks.
Advanced FP and A or advisory, budgets, valuations, fundraising and complex dashboards, outside basic scope.

For more, see the basics of business bookkeeping and bookkeeping overview.

Operational cadence, how the work runs

A consistent rhythm keeps books current and avoids last minute rush before returns or audits.

Daily: capture sales and receipts for cash position, record urgent disbursements, track basic bank balances.
Weekly: post purchase bills and expenses, update AR and AP ledgers, short recons for high volume accounts, share AR and AP lists for follow up.
Monthly close: complete postings, full reconciliations for bank, loans and cards, post depreciation and accruals, update fixed assets and schedules, generate and review TB, P and L, BS, cash summary, AR and AP ageing, clear or explain old items.
Quarterly and year end: tighter cut offs, review balances in detail, identify write offs and provisions, prepare final schedules for audits and tax filings.
Cut off discipline: set document deadlines, use a closing checklist, and freeze the period post sign off.

Reference: basics of business bookkeeping.

What information and access you must provide

Good books depend on timely and complete inputs. Late or partial inputs create wrong GST, wrong TDS and wrong cash positions, which lead to interest, penalties and bad calls.

Bank and credit card: read only data feeds where possible, monthly statements, loan and EMI schedules and interest certificates.
Sales: invoice copies or exports with GST details, platform or POS reports like Amazon, Shopify, Zomato or Swiggy, credit notes and returns.
Purchases and expenses: purchase bills, service invoices and contracts, expense receipts, petty cash vouchers and a simple log.
Payroll reports: monthly payroll summary, PF, ESI and PT challans, TDS on salaries.
Inventory and production: inward, outward and issue reports, periodic stock counts.
Master data: customer and vendor masters with GSTIN and PAN, chart of accounts preferences, cost centres if used.

How accuracy is maintained

Controls exist to keep entries consistent and traceable. Without them, numbers drift, reconciliations never clear and audits become painful.

Consistent chart of accounts: define clear heads so similar items post the same way.
Document retention: ensure every entry ties to an invoice, receipt, contract or bank advice.
Reconciliations: monthly bank and cash recons, vendor statements tied to books, confirmations for old or large balances, GST and TDS ledgers tied to portals where in scope.
Handling unknowns: use suspense, resolve and reclassify before closing.
Review of unusual entries: scan for large or rare items, negative balances, very old AR or AP, correct before close.
Sign off: issue TB, P and L, BS and key schedules, CA or management review, then freeze the period.

Further reading: what bookkeeping includes and basics of business bookkeeping.

One month example for an Indian SME

During the month, invoices are raised, purchase bills and receipts collected, HR runs payroll and generates reports.

By the 7th of the next month, share bank and card statements, sales and purchase documents, payroll summary and PF, ESI, PT and TDS challans, and stock counts if applicable.

Bookkeeper postings include recording sales and purchases with correct GST splits, expenses and petty cash with vouchers, payroll entries for salaries, PF, ESI and TDS, bank, loan and EMI entries including charges and interest, fixed asset additions and depreciation.

Reconciliation and review covers bank and card recons, apply receipts and payments to invoices, prepare AR and AP ageing, review old AR and AP, advances and suspense, resolve queries based on documents and confirmations.

Close and outputs include accruals and prepayments, TB, P and L, BS, cash summary, AR and AP ageing, bank recons and fixed asset schedules, then sign off and lock the period.

How the AI dashboard fits in

The AI dashboard is your real time cockpit, it does not replace the CA team. It highlights what matters so you decide faster, while professionals do the accounting. Typical views include:

Cash clarity: opening, inflows, outflows, closing and upcoming vendor payments.
AR and AP health: ageing, top overdue customers, suppliers due this week, expected collections.
Compliance status: GST and TDS tick marks, challans filed, portal versus ledger reconciliations.
Close checklist: which schedules are ready, which reconciliations are pending.
Exceptions: duplicate bills, missing documents, large unusual entries that need sign off.

Result: Managers spend minutes, not hours, to see what changed, what is due and what needs approval. Founders stay in control, without touching entries.

Who benefits most from CA-led Virtual Accounting

Venture backed startups and SMEs that need audit ready books, monthly closes and compliance on time.
Manufacturing, D2C and services companies with multi channel sales, payment gateways and input tax credits to optimise.
Founders who want visibility without DIY accounting, and finance heads who want a consistent close every month.

To dive deeper, you can also browse authoritative primers such as the basics of business bookkeeping and bookkeeping definition.

FAQ

What does CA-led Virtual Accounting cover for an Indian SME, and what does the AI dashboard actually add?

The CA team runs bookkeeping end to end, AR and AP, bank and card posting, reconciliations, fixed assets, payroll entries and period end journals, then prepares a trial balance, profit and loss, balance sheet and schedules. GST, TDS and income tax compliances are handled as part of the managed service if included in your engagement. The AI dashboard adds timely visibility into cash, AR and AP ageing and compliance ticks, it is designed for tracking and decisions, not for founders to post entries. Think of the dashboard as the pane of glass on top of the work.

How is this different from hiring an in house accountant and buying accounting software?

An in house setup needs recruiting, training, controls and reviews to ensure accuracy, and it still needs a CA to sign off for audits and tax. In a CA-led model, you get an experienced team with review layers and closing discipline from day one, plus the AI dashboard for real time visibility. Tools help, but process and reviews ensure clean numbers.

Will I or my team be expected to do data entry in the AI dashboard?

No. The dashboard is for visibility and approvals, not for DIY accounting. Your team shares documents and approves queries, the CA team does the postings, reconciliations and closes the books. This keeps separation of duties clear and maintains control quality.

What exactly will I see on the dashboard every week, and how do I act on it?

You will see AR and AP ageing with changes since last week, cash movement summary, bank reconciliation status, GST and TDS tick marks, open queries and missing documents. You act by prioritising collections, approving vendor payments, and clearing document gaps. For example, an AI-enabled service like AI Accountant would flag overdue customers, duplicate bills and portal mismatches so you can resolve them quickly.

How do you ensure GST and TDS ledgers match portal balances before filing?

We reconcile GST and TDS ledgers to portal data each close, clear suspense, and trace back to invoices and challans. Exceptions are raised for documents or corrections, then resolved before filing. The dashboard shows a simple green or red status with notes so you can see mismatches without digging into ledgers.

What monthly outputs should I expect without fail, and are they audit ready?

Expect reconciled bank and card statements, AR and AP ageing, trial balance, profit and loss, balance sheet, cash summary and key schedules, fixed assets, GST and TDS reconciliations if in scope, prepaids and advances. These are prepared with an audit trail so auditors can trace entries to source documents. AI Accountant style teams typically package these in a close binder for easy review.

What is not included in basic bookkeeping, and how do you price add ons?

Tax filings, audits, certifications, payroll processing and ERP implementations are outside basic bookkeeping. They can be included as add ons and are quoted based on volume, complexity and deadlines. For example, monthly GST and quarterly TDS filings are bundled when volumes justify economies of scale.

How quickly can you start, and what do you need from us in week one?

Most clients start within a week. We need read only bank access or statements, prior TB and ledgers, customer and vendor masters with GSTIN and PAN, the latest payroll summary and statutory challans, and a document sharing method. The dashboard will be activated after initial data mapping so you see early signals immediately.

How do you handle backlogs and clean up previous periods without derailing current operations?

We run a two lane approach, current month on cadence so you do not miss filings, backlog clean up in parallel with a cut off date and a reconciliation plan. The dashboard will show a separate backlog tracker, so stakeholders know what is done and what remains, without mixing it with current month health.

What controls do you follow to prevent errors or fraud, especially with remote work?

We use maker checker posting, monthly reconciliations, document to ledger traceability and exception reviews for unusual entries. Payments remain with your team, we only prepare lists and support documents. Read only bank feeds, restricted access and audit trails reduce risk. AI Accountant style anomaly checks add another layer by scanning for duplicates and outliers.

Can the service scale if our transaction volume doubles after a fundraise?

Yes. Because the work is process led, we scale headcount and adjust the cadence, often adding mid month recons, more frequent AR follow ups and a deeper dashboard slice by channel or cost centre. You continue to approve, while the CA team absorbs the extra volume behind the scenes.

Do you work with our existing accounting software, or do we have to migrate?

We can work with your current system if it supports audit trails and exports, or we can propose a migration plan if controls are weak. In both cases, the dashboard sits on top, fed by ledgers and reconciliations, so your visibility remains consistent even if systems change.

What service level commitments do you offer around monthly close and filings?

Typical SLAs include document cut off by the 7th, draft close by the 12th, management review by the 15th, and filings by statutory due dates. Exceptions are highlighted on the dashboard so there are no surprises. This rhythm keeps you compliant and investor ready.

How do you price CA-led Virtual Accounting, and what drives cost?

Pricing depends on transaction volume, number of bank and gateway accounts, complexity of GST and TDS, number of entities and reporting requirements. Fixed monthly fees are common, with add ons for heavy compliance months or audits. The dashboard is usually bundled so decision makers get continuous visibility without extra tools.