Most owners discover they need real bookkeeping on the day a bank, an investor or a tax officer asks for a number and the honest answer is that nobody is sure. Spreadsheets feel free, but the cost shows up later as mismatched GST, stuck vendor payments and a year-end scramble.
This page is for owners comparing the best bookkeeping and virtual CFO services in Delhi. It explains what monthly bookkeeping involves, how Tally, Zoho Books and QuickBooks fit in, what the law says about tax audit limits and record retention, what an MIS pack should show and where a virtual CFO adds value over a bookkeeper.
PC Media House works online from Delhi for businesses across Delhi NCR and India. Our pricing is a custom quote, because cost follows transaction volume, software and the depth of CFO support, and we explain below exactly what drives it, without inventing a headline figure.
Bookkeeping, accounting and virtual CFO: what each one is
Bookkeeping is the discipline of recording every transaction accurately and reconciling it against bank and party balances. Accounting converts those records into statements and tax-ready figures. A virtual CFO sits on top and uses the numbers to look forward: where cash will be tight, which product earns margin, how much a new hire will cost, and what a lender needs to see.
Each layer depends on the one below. A forecast built on unreconciled books is a guess in a nicer font, which is why our engagements start with the monthly close and add CFO work when the owner is ready for it. Some businesses never need the top layer; others need it within a year of starting.
- Bookkeeping answers: what happened this month, and does the bank agree?
- Accounting answers: what is our profit, our tax position and our balance sheet?
- Virtual CFO work answers: what should we do next, and can we afford it?
What happens each month in our bookkeeping cycle
A good monthly cycle is dull in the best way. Data arrives on an agreed date, entries are made, differences are chased and the books are closed. A short MIS pack lands with commentary, and the owner knows where the business stands without opening a single ledger.
The core tasks
- Recording sales, purchases, expenses, receipts and payments, with each transaction mapped to the right ledger.
- Bank, card and payment gateway reconciliation, so every rupee on a statement is explained.
- Customer and vendor ledger matching, to find unpaid invoices, duplicate bills and unadjusted advances.
- Month-end adjustments such as accruals, prepaid items and depreciation.
- Checks that GST, TDS and payroll entries agree with the returns being filed.
Tally, Zoho Books and QuickBooks
We work in all three. Tally is widely used in Indian trading and manufacturing businesses and is a natural fit where the accountant, auditor and tax consultant already use it. Zoho Books and QuickBooks are cloud-based and suit service companies, online sellers and teams that want access from anywhere. If you already use one of them we stay in it. If your books live in spreadsheets, we help you pick one and migrate the opening balances with care. Where the business has outgrown off-the-shelf software, our accounting software development team can scope a custom system.
| Software | Often suits | Points to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Tally | Traders, distributors and manufacturers; businesses whose auditor and tax consultant already use it | Usually desktop-first, so access and backups need a clear routine |
| Zoho Books | Service companies, agencies and growing online businesses that want cloud access | Works best when invoices and bills are raised inside the same system |
| QuickBooks | Businesses with cloud-first teams or mixed domestic and overseas dealings | Check that GST and TDS workflows match how your tax consultant files returns |
The right tool is the one your team will actually keep updated. We do not push a particular product.
A month-end checklist we work through
- Every bank line is matched to a voucher or flagged with a query.
- Open invoices and bills are aged, and unusual balances are explained.
- Advances, deposits and loan balances agree with statements and confirmations.
- Accruals, prepaid items and depreciation are posted before the books are closed.
- Tax ledgers for GST, TDS and payroll liabilities agree with the filed returns or the returns in preparation.
Tax audit limits, record retention and the new Income-tax Act
Bookkeeping is not only good practice; several laws set thresholds and retention periods that it has to meet. These are the ones owners ask about most.
| Topic | Rule in general | Why it matters for your books |
|---|---|---|
| Tax audit, section 44AB (business) | Turnover above ₹1 crore, or above ₹10 crore if cash receipts and payments are each within 5% of the total | Books must be complete and reconciled before the audit report date |
| Tax audit, section 44AB (profession) | Gross receipts above ₹50 lakh | Professionals near the limit should track receipts monthly |
| Presumptive taxation | Special rules under sections 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE; declaring lower profit than the presumptive rate can trigger audit | Choice of scheme affects whether books are mandatory |
| Books of account, Companies Act | At least eight financial years | Vouchers should be kept with the entries |
| Income tax records | About six years from the end of the relevant assessment year, longer if proceedings are pending | Needed for notices, scrutiny and carry-forward of losses |
| GST records | 72 months from the due date of the annual return, longer if proceedings are pending | Invoices and credit notes must remain traceable |
Thresholds follow the Income Tax Department's guidance, and retention periods follow the Companies Act, income tax rules and CGST rules; confirm the position for your own case.
Suppose a trading business in Delhi with turnover of about ₹3 crore pays most suppliers by cash. Because its cash payments exceed 5% of the total, the higher ₹10 crore limit does not help it, and its accounts would need a tax audit. If the owner learns this in August, there is little time. A business with monthly closes would have seen it coming a year earlier.
This year's dates and the move to the Income-tax Act, 2025
For assessment year 2026-27, which covers income of financial year 2025-26, the tax audit report was due on 30 September 2026 and the return on 31 October 2026. The CBDT has extended these to 21 October and 21 November 2026 for the covered audit category. From tax year 2026-27 the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies: tax audit under section 44AB becomes section 63, and the audit forms 3CA, 3CB and 3CD are replaced by Form 26. Your books do not change, but the section numbers and forms in your auditor's report will. Our ITR filing service follows the same calendar.
Companies are generally expected to use accounting software that records an audit trail of edits. Ask your auditor how this applies to your business before choosing or changing software.
MIS reporting and what a virtual CFO adds
A Management Information System pack is the document that turns books into decisions. It should be short enough to read in ten minutes and honest enough to show uncomfortable numbers. Ours usually covers profit and loss against the previous month, balance sheet, cash and bank position, receivables and payables ageing and a handful of ratios chosen for your business.
Where virtual CFO support comes in
- Annual budgets and monthly variance reviews, so overspending is seen early.
- Cash flow forecasts for the next quarter, including tax, payroll and loan outgo.
- Margin analysis by product, client or channel, to see what actually earns.
- Reports for lenders and investors, with schedules that tie to the books.
- Support on working capital, credit terms and collection follow-up.
- Board or partner packs where an entity needs a regular review cycle.
If you want these numbers live on a screen rather than in a monthly file, our business dashboard development team can connect your accounting data to a dashboard. Suppose a services firm with a team of about 25 sees healthy profit every month, yet the bank balance dips every quarter. A simple 13-week cash flow forecast would show that GST, advance tax and salaries cluster in the same fortnight, and the fix may be as small as moving collection dates or part-paying a supplier. That is the kind of insight a monthly pack alone does not give. A virtual CFO does not replace your auditor or tax consultant; the role is to bring finance into everyday decisions between the statutory dates.
What we need from you each month
The less you have to think about this, the more likely it is to happen on time. We give you a checklist and an agreed cut-off, so the monthly share becomes a routine rather than a hunt through emails.
- Bank, credit card and payment gateway statements for every account.
- Sales invoices, credit notes, purchase bills and expense receipts.
- GST return data, TDS challans and payroll summaries.
- Loan statements, interest certificates and asset purchase bills.
- Access to your existing accounting software or your current spreadsheets.
- Answers to our reconciliation queries within the agreed turnaround.
How we onboard and run the engagement
Step 1: Scoping call and review
We learn how the business earns and spends, see your current books and flag backlog or errors.
Step 2: Set-up and opening balances
Chart of accounts, tax ledgers, opening balances and software access are put in place or reviewed.
Step 3: Monthly data collection
On an agreed date you share bank statements, bills and receipts using our checklist.
Step 4: Recording and reconciliation
Transactions are entered, bank and party ledgers are reconciled and queries are sent to you.
Step 5: Close and MIS
The month is closed, key ratios are reviewed and a short MIS pack with commentary is shared.
Step 6: CFO review
Monthly or quarterly, we go through budgets, cash flow, margins and upcoming obligations and agree actions.
Onboarding and the opening-balance review usually take about a week. After that, each monthly close follows the cut-off and turnaround written into your scope, which varies with transaction volume. Backlog clean-up is planned and quoted separately, so monthly work is not held up.
Pricing: why this is a custom quote
We do not publish a flat monthly rate for bookkeeping and virtual CFO work. Two businesses with the same turnover can differ by ten times in the number of transactions, bank accounts and entities, and the work is proportional to those things, not to turnover. A custom quote after a short scoping call is fairer to both sides.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Government fee for maintaining books | No government fee | Retention periods apply under the law |
| Tax audit by a chartered accountant | Separate fee set by the auditor | Not part of bookkeeping unless agreed in the scope |
| Late fees on GST, TDS or income tax returns | Set by the respective laws | Good books help avoid them but filings must still be on time |
| PC Media House professional fee | Custom quote | Based on volume, software, entities and CFO involvement |
The proposal you receive lists each component, so you can drop an item or add one.
What shapes the quote
- Monthly transaction volume, including invoices, bills, bank lines and expense claims.
- Number of bank accounts, payment gateways, legal entities and locations.
- The software in use, and whether data has to be migrated or cleaned.
- Whether GST, TDS and payroll support are included, or bookkeeping only.
- How much virtual CFO work you want: budgets, forecasts, investor reports and meeting frequency.
If payroll is the heavy part of your month, ask us about combining the work with our payroll services, so salary, PF and ESIC figures flow into the books without re-entry.
Options compared, and mistakes that cost money
| Option | What you get | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheets run by the owner | No extra cost and full control | Errors are easy and no audit trail exists |
| Full-time accountant | Daily presence | Fixed salary and key-person risk |
| Outsourced monthly bookkeeping | Reconciled books and MIS at a variable cost | Needs timely data from you |
| Virtual CFO on top | Budgets, forecasts and investor-ready reports | Needs reliable books underneath |
| CA firm for statutory work only | Audit, returns and certifications | Not usually a monthly finance function |
These can be combined; many businesses keep a clerk for daily entries and outsource the close.
Mistakes to avoid
- Mixing personal and business spending in the same account.
- Recording sales only when money arrives, so GST and receivables do not match.
- Skipping monthly bank reconciliation and trying to catch up once a year.
- Keeping controls loose in spreadsheets so changes cannot be traced.
- Waiting for the audit date before organising records.
After onboarding: annual filings, growth and how we work
Once books are current, the rest of compliance becomes lighter. Annual returns for companies and LLPs draw directly on them, and our ROC annual compliance service files the forms on a calendar. For GST questions that sit alongside your books, see our GST registration and filing page.
Year-end becomes a review rather than a rescue. Because each month has already been reconciled, the closing trial balance, schedules for the auditor, and the figures for the income tax return are ready in days instead of weeks. If your turnover is approaching the tax audit limit, we flag it during the year so that you can decide on presumptive taxation, timing of invoices or an audit appointment calmly, rather than in the last fortnight before the audit report date.
How PC Media House works
- We work online from Delhi and serve businesses across Delhi NCR and India, with calls and, by appointment, meetings.
- You receive an itemised quote with a clear scope before work starts, and no hidden charges are added later.
- You choose the software and the access level, and you remain the owner of your records.
- We cannot promise a loan, an investment or a particular tax outcome, only organised numbers and clear advice on what they show.
- To get a quote, share a few details about your volume and software through our contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Bookkeeping records and reconciles daily transactions. Accounting turns those records into financial statements and tax-ready numbers. A virtual CFO uses the numbers to plan: budgets, cash flow forecasts, pricing and margin reviews, and lender or investor reports. Each layer depends on the one below, so reliable bookkeeping comes first.
We work in Tally, Zoho Books and QuickBooks. Tally is common in Indian trading and manufacturing businesses, while Zoho Books and QuickBooks are cloud tools that suit service and online businesses. We usually keep you in the software you already have, unless there is a clear reason to move.
In general, a business needs a tax audit if turnover exceeds ₹1 crore, or ₹10 crore where cash receipts and payments are each within 5% of the total. A professional needs one if gross receipts exceed ₹50 lakh. Presumptive taxation cases have special rules. From tax year 2026-27 the provision moves to section 63.
Companies must keep books of account for at least eight financial years, and an LLP's books are generally kept for eight years too. Income tax rules point to about six years from the end of the relevant assessment year, and GST records are kept for 72 months from the annual return due date. Ongoing proceedings can extend these periods.
A Management Information System report is a short monthly pack that tells you how the business is doing. Ours typically shows profit and loss against the previous month, balance sheet, cash and bank position, receivables and payables ageing and a few key ratios, with brief commentary on what changed and what needs attention.
Usually yes. We first assess what is missing, then record and reconcile the backlog in a planned order, oldest period first, and agree the scope and quote separately from the monthly work. The result depends on the records available, so we flag gaps early and cannot promise that every historical difference can be resolved.
Accurate books make GST returns and input credit reconciliation easier, support TDS compliance, and feed straight into the income tax return and any audit. Mistakes found at return time are more expensive to fix than those caught at monthly close. Our ITR filing service and GST support work from the same books.
The quote is based on monthly transaction volume, the number of bank accounts and entities, the software, whether GST, TDS and payroll are included, any backlog, and how much virtual CFO involvement you want. We scope this on a call and give an itemised proposal, so you can see each component before you commit.
We ask only for the access needed, preferably with limited user rights in your accounting software, and we share files through agreed channels. You remain the owner of your records. No online arrangement can promise absolute security, so we also recommend strong passwords and removing access when an engagement ends.
Usually when decisions depend on forecasts: raising funds, taking a loan, setting prices, planning hiring or managing tight cash. If you mainly need accurate monthly books and compliance support, bookkeeping may be enough. A virtual CFO review can be added quarterly first and made monthly later if it proves useful.
Sources and Official Links
Facts on this page were checked against the sources below, last reviewed on 7 October 2026. Fees, thresholds and rules can change, so confirm the current position on the official site before you pay or file.
- incometaxindia.gov.in/w/as-per-section-44ab-who-is-compulsorily-required-to-get-his-accounts-audited-i.e.-who-is-covered-by-tax-audit-
- incometaxindia.gov.in/w/section-128-81
- metalegal.in/post/maintenance-of-records-an-analysis-of-various-laws
- vjmglobal.com/blog/maintain-books-of-accounts
- incometaxindia.gov.in/documents/81799/11848482/FAQs-on-Interplay-and-Transition.pdf/05f80c1a-073c-a5d7-fb6f-55509242be53?t=1774082865717
- incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/latest-news
- incometaxindia.gov.in/documents/d/guest/cbdt-extends-due-date-for-furnishing-return-of-income-for-ay-2026-27-pdf
- incometaxindia.gov.in/w/return-of-income-2