THE PROBLEM

Accounting teams and practising CAs repeatedly spend time on manual accounting entries from bank statements. Common pain-points:

· Bank statements arrive in multiple formats (CSV, XLSX) with inconsistent column names and date formats.

· Manual mapping of narration to ledgers is slow, error-prone and non-standardised.

· Importing many entries into Tally manually (or via incorrect XML) causes voucher type/format errors and duplicate work.

· Lack of consolidated workflow from statement import → ledger mapping → Tally XML generation → posting.

· Need for an offline, auditable tool that reduces human error and speeds up posting.

THE SOLUTION

Smart Bank Entry Pro — a desktop GUI tool that automates the flow from bank statement to Tally import.

Key capabilities:

· Import bank statements (CSV, Excel).

· Clean and normalise dates, amounts and narrations.

· Auto-classify transactions as Receipt / Payment.

· Map transactions to existing Tally ledgers (fetch via ODBC).

· Edit ledger assignment inline (double-click).

· Generate Tally-compatible XML (masters + vouchers).

· Post directly to Tally over HTTP (batch posting).

· Batch error handling, logging and user feedback.

This reduces manual intervention while keeping final control with the accountant.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Connect to Tally (ODBC): Reads the active Tally company and ledger list using DSN TallyODBC, displaying real-time connection status.

2. Fetch Ledgers: Retrieves Bank Ledgers and All Ledgers separately and loads them into the dropdown and ledger selection list.

3. Import Statement: Accepts .csv/.xlsx files, cleans date and amount fields, and validates presence of essential columns like Amount and Date.

4. Auto Classification & Cleaning: Computes Receipt/Payment type, standardises amounts, cleans narration, and normalises ledger names using Unicode NFKC.

5. Map Ledgers: Automatically assigns all rows to Suspense, allowing the user to double-click and choose the correct ledger from the fetched list.

6. Preview / Edit: Displays all entries in a clean tree-view with inline ledger editing that updates the underlying DataFrame instantly.

7. Export XML: Generates Tally-compliant XML containing master ledgers and vouchers and saves it to any selected path with row count confirmation.

8. Post to Tally (Auto Import): Sends XML to http://localhost:9000/ in batches of 500 and interprets <LINEERROR> responses for precise troubleshooting.

9. Clear / Reset: Removes all loaded data and resets the UI to a clean workspace for the next statement.

KEY BENEFITS

Benefit Impact for CA / Firm

Time saving Reduces statement-to-voucher time by 70%-80%

Fewer posting

errors Standardises amount/date parsing and XML creation; reduces XML import errors in Tally.

Flexible imports Works with CSV and Excel (xlsx) — Just need 3 Column (Date, Narration, Amount)

Safe offline

operation Works standalone with ODBC and local Tally HTTP interface — no cloud dependency.

Scalable posting Batch posting for large statement volumes with error reporting.

TECHNOLOGIES USED

· Python 3 – core language.

· PySide6 (Qt) – desktop GUI.

· pandas – statement parsing, cleaning and DataFrame operations.

· pyodbc – Tally ODBC connectivity (reads Company, Ledger metadata).

· requests – HTTP post to Tally for auto import.

· unicodedata – ledger name normalisation and consistent matching.

MEASURABLE IMPACT

Metric Before Smart Bank Entry Pro After Implementation

Time to map & prepare 1

month bank statement 20–45 mins 3–8 mins

Frequency of XML import

errors High (manual XML / format mismatch) Low — standardised XML with master creation

Manual ledger mapping effort Full manual per row Default Suspense + quick pick ledger from Dropdown List

Posting throughput Single voucher manual import Batch posting (500 rows) with diagnostics

SUPPORTED FORMATS & REQUIREMENTS

· Input: CSV, XLSX — columns expected: Amount (mandatory), Date or date, Narration/Description optional.

· Tally connection: DSN TallyODBC6 configured locally; Tally HTTP server listening (default http://localhost:9000/) for direct posting.

· Platform: Desktop (Windows recommended for Tally/ODBC compatibility).

· Python packages required: PySide6, pandas, pyodbc, requests. (Install via pip or a venv.)

USE CASES

· Chartered Accountants preparing monthly bank entries for clients.

· In-house finance teams automating bank entry creation.

· Firms that need consistent Tally XML output for multiple companies.

· Auditors who want a reproducible import process for bank entries prior to audit.