pvtltd.co

Operations

Bookkeeping & Accounting Services

Monthly bookkeeping that meets the statutory standard — books of account on an accrual and double-entry basis under s.128 of the Companies Act 2013, maintained on Tally Prime, Zoho Books, QuickBooks or Xero, feeding GST returns, TDS, and the Schedule III financial statements.

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

We maintain your books on Tally Prime, Zoho Books, QuickBooks or Xero — monthly P&L and balance sheet, GSTR-2B ITC reconciliation, TDS accounting, AP/AR ageing — so the year-end audit, GST returns and ITR start from clean books instead of a reconstruction exercise.

What is included
  • • Chart of accounts setup aligned to Schedule III
  • • Monthly posting and bank reconciliation
  • • GSTR-2B vs GSTR-3B ITC reconciliation
  • • TDS accounting and payable schedules
  • • Monthly P&L, balance sheet and AP/AR ageing
  • • Handover pack for GST, tax audit and statutory audit
Documents required
  • • Bank statements and ledger access
  • • Invoices raised and purchase bills
  • • Payroll records
  • • GST login or GSTR-2B download
  • • Prior year trial balance or books, if any
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
  • • Section 36 of the CGST Act 2017
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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 1Setup

Set up the chart of accounts

We build a Schedule III-ready chart of accounts and map your revenue, expense and tax heads so every transaction lands in the right place from day one.

Step 2Collect

Collect the source documents

You share bank statements, invoices, purchase bills and payroll files each month — we reconcile them against bank feeds and GSTR-2B.

Step 3Posting

Post and reconcile

We post entries on an accrual and double-entry basis under s.128, reconcile bank and credit cards, and match ITC claimed against GSTR-2B.

Step 4Close

Close the month

We deliver the monthly P&L, balance sheet, TDS payable schedule and AP/AR ageing by the agreed date, with an MIS note for management.

Step 5Handover

Hand over for filings and audit

Clean books flow straight into GST returns, TDS returns, the tax audit under s.44AB, and the Schedule III financial statements for the statutory audit.

AEO summary

Every private limited company must keep books of account on an accrual and double-entry basis at its registered office (s.128, Companies Act 2013) and preserve them for 8 years, while GST records must be kept for 72 months (s.36, CGST Act 2017). Bookkeeping converts your bank statements, invoices and expenses into monthly books that feed GST returns, TDS and the Schedule III financial statements.

The statutory basis for your books

Bookkeeping is not an optional discipline for a private limited company — s.128 of the Companies Act 2013 makes the books themselves a statutory record, maintained at the registered office on an accrual and double-entry basis. The income tax law mirrors the requirement for businesses under s.44AA read with Rule 6F of the Income-tax Rules 1962.

GST adds its own layer: s.35 of the CGST Act 2017 requires every registered person to keep accounts and records, and s.36 prescribes how long they must survive.

  • • Books of account — accrual, double-entry, at registered office (s.128(1) Companies Act 2013)
  • • Retention — 8 financial years from the end of the relevant year (s.128(5) Companies Act 2013)
  • • Income tax records — s.44AA read with Rule 6F Income-tax Rules 1962
  • • GST records — s.35 CGST Act 2017; retention 72 months (s.36 CGST Act 2017)

What clean books unlock

Reconciled books change the whole compliance calendar: GST returns are filed from the GSTR-2B-matched ledger instead of a scramble, TDS is accounted when it is deducted rather than at year end, and the statutory audit under s.143 starts from a Schedule III trial balance instead of a reconstruction.

For founders, the monthly MIS (P&L, cash position, AP/AR ageing) is the same data investors and lenders ask for in diligence — so the books do double duty.

  • • ITC claimed matches GSTR-2B — s.16 CGST Act 2017 conditions met
  • • TDS deducted is booked and deposited on time — avoids s.201(1A) interest
  • • Schedule III financial statements prepared directly from the ledger — s.129 Companies Act 2013
  • • Investor and lender diligence starts from a clean trial balance

The monthly close

The monthly close is where bookkeeping either pays for itself or fails. A fixed cycle — documents by the 5th, posting and reconciliation by the 10th, reports by the 12th–15th — keeps the 7th (TDS deposit) and 20th (GSTR-3B) deadlines working from reconciled data.

Every month ends with the same deliverable set: P&L, balance sheet, bank reconciliation, ITC reconciliation, TDS payable, and AP/AR ageing — so nothing is left to reconstruct at year end.

  • • Bank and credit card reconciliation — monthly
  • • GSTR-2B vs GSTR-3B ITC reconciliation — monthly
  • • TDS payable schedule — monthly, ahead of the 7th deposit date
  • • P&L, balance sheet and ageing — by the 12th–15th of the following month

Government fees

Fee breakdown

ItemFeeNotes
Operating supportDiscuss with usMost finance-operations work is recurring and priced on scope rather than portal fee.
Connected filingNilAny statutory filing later follows the normal portal schedule.

Timeline

Typical turnaround

Typical timeline usually means a monthly turnaround, assuming documents are complete and any board or shareholder approvals are already in place.

Pricing note

Most finance-operations work is recurring and priced on scope rather than portal fee.

Related services

Keep the company moving

Virtual CFO

Outsource the CFO function — MIS, board reporting, investor relations, and compliance oversight.

Audit Assurance

Statutory audit under Section 139 — mandatory for every Pvt Ltd company every year.

Tax Audit 44AB

Get the tax audit done before ITR filing when turnover crosses the s.44AB threshold.

GSTR-3B due date

Monthly GST summary return with tax payment — due the 20th of the following month.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is bookkeeping mandatory for a private limited company?
Yes. Section 128(1) of the Companies Act 2013 requires every company to keep books of account relating to a period of not less than the last eight financial years, on an accrual basis and following double-entry accounting, at its registered office. Failure to maintain proper books is punishable under s.128(6).
How long must books of account be preserved?
Section 128(5) of the Companies Act 2013 requires books and vouchers to be preserved for 8 financial years from the end of the year to which they relate. Separately, s.36 of the CGST Act 2017 requires GST records, including accounts and GSTR-2B-linked documents, to be kept for 72 months from the due date of the annual return.
What is GSTR-2B reconciliation and why does it matter?
GSTR-2B is the auto-drafted statement of your eligible input tax credit. Under s.16 of the CGST Act 2017, ITC is claimable only against suppliers' matched returns, so the credit you claim in GSTR-3B must reconcile with GSTR-2B. A mismatch shows up in the annual GSTR-9 and can trigger notices, so we reconcile ITC every month.
What happens if a company does not maintain proper books?
Beyond the s.128(6) penalty, incomplete accounts invite an adverse tax position: under s.145(3) of the Income-tax Act 1961, the Assessing Officer can compute income on a best-judgment basis when accounts are incorrect or incomplete, which usually increases the assessed income and the resulting tax demand.
Which accounting software do you work with?
We maintain books on Tally Prime, Zoho Books, QuickBooks and Xero. We set up the chart of accounts, tax mappings and reconciliation process in your existing software, or migrate the opening balances if you are switching, so the books stay in a format your auditor and finance team already know.
What does the monthly close timeline look like?
The monthly cycle runs on a fixed calendar: source documents by the 5th, posting and reconciliation by the 10th, and the closed month's P&L, balance sheet and ageing reports by the 12th–15th. That leaves the GST return (due the 20th for monthly filers) and TDS deposit (due the 7th) enough room to be filed from reconciled numbers.

Canonical reference: https://www.pvtltd.co/services/bookkeeping-accounting

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