Overview
Accurate, up-to-date books are the foundation of every other compliance — GST returns, TDS, advance tax, audits and the annual return all flow from them. Indian law also requires most businesses to maintain books of account and preserve them for years, and lenders and investors will not move without clean financial statements.
Outsourcing to PADM India gives you a trained accounting team, standard month-end close, and a chartered accountant reviewing your numbers — at a fraction of the cost of an in-house department, and without the risk of a single employee leaving with all the knowledge.
We work on Tally, Zoho Books, QuickBooks and Busy, deliver a fixed monthly closing pack, and integrate bookkeeping with payroll, GST and TDS so every filing is prepared from one reconciled set of books.
Who needs this service
- Start-ups and small companies that need compliant books from day one without hiring a finance team
- Proprietors and professionals who have crossed the books-of-account thresholds or want to exit presumptive taxation
- Growing businesses whose founders need monthly P&L, cash-flow and receivables visibility
- Companies with 5–200 employees needing payroll, PF, ESI and professional-tax processing
- Businesses preparing for a bank loan, investor due diligence or a first audit
- Firms that have a backlog of unrecorded transactions and need books reconstructed before a deadline
Eligibility & legal requirements
Legal requirement to maintain books (section 44AA of the 1961 Act; section 62 of the Income-tax Act, 2025; section 128 of the Companies Act, 2013):
Eligibility rules for Accounting & Bookkeeping
| Category | Rule |
|---|
| Companies and LLPs | Every company must keep books of account on accrual basis at its registered office (section 128) and preserve them for 8 years. LLPs must maintain books under the LLP Rules and file Form 8 annually. |
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| Individuals / HUFs in business or non-specified profession | Books required if income exceeds ₹2,50,000 or turnover / gross receipts exceed ₹25,00,000 in any of the three preceding years (or expected to in the first year). |
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| Firms, AOPs and other entities | Books required if income exceeds ₹1,20,000 or turnover exceeds ₹10,00,000 in any of the three preceding years. |
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| Specified professionals | Legal, medical, engineering, architectural, accountancy, technical consultancy, interior decoration, film artists and authorised representatives must keep prescribed books (cash book, journal, ledger, bills) once gross receipts exceed ₹1,50,000 in all three preceding years (Rule 6F). |
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| Presumptive-scheme taxpayers | Not required to maintain detailed books while declaring income at or above the prescribed rate under 44AD / 44ADA / 44AE (merged into section 58 of the 2025 Act) — but GST-registered businesses still need invoice-level records. |
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| Payroll statutory registrations | EPF mandatory once an establishment has 20+ employees; ESI once 10+ employees (wage ceiling ₹21,000/month); professional tax as per state law; TDS on salary under section 192 for every employer paying taxable salary. |
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How to apply — step by step
The official procedure, and how PADM India runs it for you.
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01
Onboarding and chart of accounts
We review your business model, set up (or clean up) the accounting software, chart of accounts, GST and TDS masters, and agree the document flow.
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02
Monthly bookkeeping
Sales, purchases, expenses, bank and card statements, loans and fixed assets are recorded and reconciled every month; vendor and customer ledgers are matched with GSTR-2B and statements of account.
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03
Payroll processing
Salary structuring, monthly payslips, PF/ESI/PT computation and challans, TDS on salary with investment declarations, Form 16 at year-end, full-and-final settlements.
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04
Statutory filings from the books
GSTR-1 / 3B, TDS challans and quarterly statements, advance-tax estimates and PF/ESI returns are prepared from the reconciled books — no re-keying, no mismatches.
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05
Month-end close and MIS
By an agreed date each month you receive a closing pack: P&L, balance sheet, cash-flow, receivables and payables ageing, GST and TDS position, and variance against budget.
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06
Year-end and audit support
Provisions, depreciation, closing entries and draft financial statements in Schedule III format; we coordinate directly with your statutory or tax auditor.
Documents required
- Sales invoices and purchase bills (or access to your billing / e-commerce portals)
- Bank, credit-card and wallet statements for all accounts
- Expense vouchers and employee reimbursements
- Loan sanction letters and repayment schedules; fixed-asset purchase invoices
- Employee master data: appointment letters, PAN, Aadhaar, UAN, bank details, investment declarations
- Previous accounting data (Tally / Excel backup) and last filed returns
- GST, TDS, PF and ESI portal credentials (shared securely)
Key deadlines & penalties
Recurring compliance dates that flow from the books:
Key deadlines for Accounting & Bookkeeping
| Compliance | Due |
|---|
| TDS / TCS deposit for the previous month | 7th of every month (30 April for March TDS) |
| EPF contribution and ECR | 15th of every month |
| ESI contribution | 15th of every month |
| GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B | 11th / 20th of every month (QRMP: 13th / 22nd–24th quarterly) |
| Quarterly TDS statements (24Q / 26Q / 27Q) | 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, 31 May |
| Form 16 to employees | 15 June |
| Advance-tax instalments | 15 June, 15 September, 15 December, 15 March |
| Books and vouchers to be preserved | 8 years (Companies Act); 6 years from the end of the assessment year (income-tax) |
See every due date in the Tax & Compliance Calendar
If you miss it:
- Failure to maintain books when required: ₹25,000 under section 271A; companies and officers liable under section 128(6)
- TDS deposited late: interest at 1.5% per month; statement filed late: ₹200 per day (s. 234E) plus penalty up to ₹1 lakh
- PF / ESI paid late: interest at 12% p.a. plus damages of 5%–25% p.a. depending on delay
- Unreconciled books lead to blocked GST credit, defective-return notices and qualified audit reports
Frequently asked questions
Whatever suits you — Tally Prime, Zoho Books, QuickBooks or Busy. You own the data and the licence; we work in your instance so you can see everything in real time.
Typically within 10 working days of month-end once documents are shared on time. Faster closes are possible with bank feeds and digital invoicing.
Yes. Backlog reconstruction from bank statements, GST data and invoices is a common project, usually completed before the next filing or audit deadline.
Yes — budgeting, cash-flow forecasting, pricing and margin analysis, board packs and lender / investor reporting, on a retainer. See Financial Advisory.
Sources & official references
Thresholds, forms and due dates on this page reflect the law as verified on 6 September 2026 and may change with Finance Acts, CBDT/CBIC notifications or MCA circulars. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice — please confirm your specific position with us before acting.
Ready to get started with Accounting & Bookkeeping?
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