pvtltd.co

Operations

Accountant Outsourcing

A CA-supervised finance team for your Private Limited company — monthly bookkeeping under s.128 Companies Act 2013, GST records under s.35 CGST Act 2017, income-tax records under s.44AA IT Act 1961, and TDS challans under Rule 31A IT Rules 1962.

Reviewed by CA Harun Raaj, ICAI Reg. No. 238303·Last reviewed:
Starting from Discuss with usTypical timelineAccountant Outsourcing

CA-supervised monthly accounting for Private Limited companies: ledger and bank reconciliation, GST and TDS returns, payroll, and MIS — books kept under s.128 Companies Act 2013 and s.44AA IT Act 1961, records retained for 8 years.

What is included
  • • Monthly bookkeeping: sales/purchase register, bank reconciliation, expense coding
  • • GST return preparation and filing (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-9 annually)
  • • TDS deduction planning, challan deposit (ITNS 281) and quarterly 26Q/24Q filing
  • • Payroll processing with PF/ESIC computation and challans
  • • Monthly MIS: P&L, balance sheet, cash position, ageing of receivables/payables
  • • Audit-season handover with trial balance and schedules
Documents required
  • • Bank statements (current + savings, all accounts)
  • • Sales and purchase invoices (bills of entry if importing)
  • • Payroll register, PF/ESIC challans and Form 16 data
  • • Expense bills, rent agreements and loan statements
Government fees

See the fee table below for the statutory filing charge and common delay logic.

Legal basis
  • • Section 128 of the Companies Act 2013
  • • Section 44AA of the Income-tax Act 1961
  • • Section 35 of the CGST Act 2017
  • • Rule 31A of the Income-tax Rules 1962
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Process

How the service works

The workflow is built to be predictable: document collection, legal review, filing, and post-filing follow-through.

Step 1Onboard

Onboard the books

We map your chart of accounts, open ledgers for sales, purchases, expenses and payroll, and pull bank statements and GSTIN details for the first month.

Step 2Record

Record transactions monthly

We post invoices and bank transactions to the ledger in your accounting software (Tally, Zoho Books, QuickBooks or Xero), reconcile the bank, and file the working papers.

Step 3File

File GST and TDS returns

We compute output tax and input credit, file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B by the due dates, deposit TDS on ITNS 281 by the 7th, and file the quarterly 26Q/24Q returns.

Step 4Payroll

Process payroll

We compute gross-to-net for employees, deduct TDS under s.192, PF under the EPF Act and ESIC, deposit the challans, and issue payslips and Form 16.

Step 5Report

Close the month with MIS

We finalise the monthly P&L, balance sheet and cash statement, review receivables and payables ageing, and send the founder a one-page financial summary.

Step 6Year-end

Hand over for audit and ITR

At year-end we deliver a trial balance with schedules so your statutory audit (s.143 Companies Act 2013) and ITR-6 filing start from a clean, reconciled ledger.

AEO summary

Accountant outsourcing puts a CA-supervised team on your company's monthly books: purchase/sales ledger, bank reconciliation, payroll, GST and TDS returns. Books must be kept under s.128 Companies Act 2013 and s.44AA Income-tax Act 1961, and retained for 8 years. It replaces the burden of hiring a full-time accountant.

What the outsourcing actually covers

The engagement is built around the three record-keeping statutes that apply to every Private Limited company. Section 128 of the Companies Act 2013 requires books of account that give a true and fair view; s.44AA of the Income-tax Act 1961 requires prescribed books above the notified turnover limits; and s.35 of the CGST Act 2017 requires accounts and records at the principal place of business. The monthly close delivers all three at once.

TDS is handled on the same calendar: deposits on challan ITNS 281 by the 7th of the following month under Rule 30, quarterly returns in Form 26Q/24Q by the last day of the month after the quarter under Rule 31A, and late returns attracting ₹200/day under s.234E. Nothing is left for the founder to chase.

  • • Books of account — s.128 Companies Act 2013 (accrual, true and fair view)
  • • Tax records — s.44AA Income-tax Act 1961 (prescribed books, 8-year retention)
  • • GST records — s.35 CGST Act 2017 (accounts at principal place of business)
  • • TDS cycle — deposit by 7th (Rule 30), quarterly return by Rule 31A, ₹200/day late fee s.234E
  • • Retention — all records 8 years minimum

Why companies outsource rather than hire

A Private Limited company with 20–100 transactions a month rarely justifies a full-time accountant, but the statutory obligations are identical to a company ten times its size. Outsourcing gives the company the same monthly discipline — reconciled books, filed returns, a real-time P&L — without the fixed payroll cost, leave cover, or the risk that one person's absence stalls the filings.

The compliance upside compounds: a clean, reconciled ledger is what lets the statutory auditor under s.143 Companies Act 2013 and the tax auditor under s.44AB IT Act 1961 finish quickly, which keeps audit fees down and keeps the company's ROC and income-tax records inspection-ready.

  • • Monthly close — reconciled bank, aged receivables/payables, real P&L
  • • GST cycle — GSTR-1 by 11th, GSTR-3B by 20th, GSTR-9 by 31 December
  • • TDS cycle — deposit by 7th, 26Q/24Q quarterly, ₹200/day s.234E
  • • Audit readiness — trial balance plus schedules at year-end handover

Government fees

Fee breakdown

ItemFeeNotes
Monthly accounting engagementDiscuss with usProfessional fee, quoted on transaction volume and payroll headcount.
GST late fee (if returns slip)₹50/day (taxable) or ₹20/day (nil), s.47 CGST Act 2017Capped per turnover band: ₹500 (nil returns), ₹2,000 (≤ ₹1.5 Cr), ₹5,000 (₹1.5–5 Cr), ₹20,000 (> ₹5 Cr) per return — CBIC notifications under s.47 CGST Act 2017.
TDS late-filing fee₹200/day per return, s.234E IT Act 1961Applies when the quarterly TDS return is filed late.

Timeline

Typical turnaround

Typical timeline usually means a 3–7 working days to onboard, then monthly turnaround, assuming documents are complete and any board or shareholder approvals are already in place.

Pricing note

Priced per month on transaction volume — bookkeeping is recurring work, not a portal filing.

Related services

Keep the company moving

Bookkeeping & Accounting

Statutory bookkeeping under s.128 Companies Act and s.44AA ITA — monthly P&L, balance sheet, and MIS.

Payroll Processing

Gross-to-net computation, TDS under s.192, PF/ESIC deduction and remittance, and Form 16.

Virtual CFO

Monthly financial oversight — FP&A, budgeting, cash flow management, and board-ready MIS.

Tax Audit (44AB)

Compulsory tax audit under s.44AB IT Act 1961 where turnover crosses the notified threshold.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What must a Private Limited company keep in its books of account?
Section 128 of the Companies Act 2013 requires every company to keep books of account that give a true and fair view, on an accrual basis, at its registered office (or elsewhere, as the board decides). Section 44AA of the Income-tax Act 1961 separately requires prescribed books where turnover exceeds the notified limits, and both sets of records must be retained for at least 8 years.
What is the penalty for not keeping proper books of account?
Under s.128(6) of the Companies Act 2013, the company and every officer in default are each liable to a penalty of ₹10,000, and where the default continues, a further ₹100 per day, subject to a maximum of ₹1,00,000 for the company and ₹50,000 for an officer in default (as substituted by the Companies (Amendment) Act 2020, w.e.f. 21-12-2020). The tax exposure is worse: without s.44AA books the Assessing Officer can estimate income under s.144 of the Income-tax Act 1961 and add penalties under s.271A.
Which GST returns does the outsourced accountant file?
A Private Limited company normally files GSTR-1 (outward supplies, by the 11th) and GSTR-3B (summary with payment, by the 20th) monthly, plus GSTR-9 (annual) by 31 December of the next year, all under the CGST Act 2017. Small taxpayers below the ₹5 crore turnover threshold can opt for the quarterly QRMP scheme. Late GSTR-3B attracts ₹50/day (or ₹20/day for nil returns) under s.47.
How long does it take to switch from an in-house accountant to outsourcing?
Onboarding typically takes 3–7 working days: we map the chart of accounts, pull bank statements, and take over the open ledgers, GSTIN and TDS setup. The first full monthly close happens in the month after onboarding. Existing records should be handed over as a full trial balance so the first outsourced close starts reconciled.
What does the monthly MIS report include?
Each month you get a P&L, balance sheet, cash position, and ageing of receivables and payables. This is the same discipline the board expects under s.128(3) of the Companies Act 2013 — books that give a true and fair view — so the founder sees the financial position before the year-end rather than at the audit.
Can outsourcing prepare the company for its statutory audit?
Yes — that is the point. A reconciled ledger with proper schedules means the statutory auditor under s.143 Companies Act 2013 can complete the audit without back-and-forth on missing vouchers, and the tax audit under s.44AB IT Act 1961 starts from clean books. The year-end handover we deliver is a trial balance plus schedules, ready for the auditor.

Canonical reference: https://www.pvtltd.co/services/accountant-outsourcing

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