Top Tally interview questions for accountants

Published 26 October 2026. These are questions an accounts interview in India often asks, answered from double entry and from Tally's published shortcut list. They are not a claim about what any one employer will ask. Practise the entries on the Tally lab and the journal game. Published accounting jobs on this site are a separate list.

What is the Gateway of Tally?

It is the home screen of a company you have already opened. Vouchers, reports, and masters are reached from there. Tally's help also documents Alt+G (Go To) and then Create Voucher as a way to open a voucher without walking the menu. Saying “Gateway of Tally, then Vouchers” is enough if you can also name the voucher type.

Which function key opens which voucher in TallyPrime?

Tally's keyboard-shortcuts page for TallyPrime (help.tallysolutions.com/keyboard-shortcuts-tally-prime/) lists, under accounting vouchers: F4 Contra, F5 Payment, F6 Receipt, F7 Journal, F8 Sales, F9 Purchase. On that same page, Debit Note is Alt+F5 and Credit Note is Alt+F6. The page also shows the older Tally.ERP 9 shortcuts beside them, and those two note types differ: ERP 9 used Ctrl+F9 for Debit Note and Ctrl+F8 for Credit Note. In an interview, name the product. “F5 is payment” is stable across both. “Debit note is Ctrl+F9” is the older product.

Contra (F4) moves money between cash and bank. It is not a payment to a supplier. Payment (F5) is money going out. Receipt (F6) is money coming in. Journal (F7) is an adjustment that is not a cash or bank voucher, such as a provision or a depreciation entry, though the product will also let you pass other journals. Sales (F8) records a sale. Purchase (F9) records a purchase.

Paid office rent of ₹12,000 in cash. What do you pass?

Debit Rent ₹12,000, credit Cash ₹12,000, in a Payment voucher. Rent is the expense. Cash decreased. In the practice lab the same sentence is marked correct only for that pair. If you debit Cash, you have shown cash coming in.

Received cash from a debtor. What are the sides?

Debit Cash, credit Debtor. Use a Receipt voucher in TallyPrime (F6). The debtor is not an income account. Sales was credited when you sold on credit. Collecting the debt moves the balance from the debtor to cash.

Bought furniture on credit. Which voucher?

Debit Furniture, credit the creditor. In TallyPrime that is a Journal voucher (F7) unless you are recording it as a purchase of a stock or asset in the way your company books capital goods. Say which you mean. The lab's keyed answer is Furniture debited and Creditor credited. Do not credit Cash. No cash moved.

What is the difference between a group and a ledger?

A group is a heading in the chart, such as Current Assets or Indirect Expenses. A ledger is the account you post to, such as Rent or a named debtor. TallyPrime ships primary groups. You create ledgers under a group. Posting a voucher to a group instead of a ledger is the mistake the question is fishing for. You post to the ledger.

Is output GST income?

No. GST collected on a taxable outward supply is a liability until you pay it. The accounting quiz on this site marks that option. The GST calculator will compute tax at a rate you type. It will not decide the rate, and it will not split CGST and SGST for you. On an intra-state sale you already understand, you split the tax. On an inter-state sale the whole tax is IGST. The interview wants you to say that you know which one applies. It does not want a guessed rate.

A trial balance agrees. What have you proved?

That the debit totals equal the credit totals. You have not proved that every entry is in the right account, that stock exists, or that a GST return is filed. An entry that debits and credits the same wrong amount still agrees. Say that limit out loud. It is the usual follow-up.

How do you talk about a shortcut you are unsure of?

Say you would open the voucher from the list rather than invent a key. Tally has changed keys between Tally.ERP 9 and TallyPrime for debit notes, credit notes, and several inventory vouchers. The help page above is the list to cite. A wrong key in a live company is recoverable. A wrong debit is the thing the interviewer is actually testing.

Use the mock interview if you want four questions scored only on whether your answer is long enough and names a result. That score is not this list, and it is not a job offer.