Tally account back dated entry in tally

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jayesh (Querist)

17 February 2016 Dear Sir,

I am Internal auditor. the company is using Tally accounting package. How can I find the back dated Journal voucher entered in tally.
The accountant as passed JV of 18TH Nov 2015 in current date. But he is telling that he has passed in Nov 2015 only. How can I check on which date the JV was passed by the accountant in Tally.
Please guide me.
Thanks
Jayesh shah

Aashok Kumar Sharma

Aashok Kumar Sharma

(Expert)

26 July 2025 Hey Jayesh,

Great question! Tally itself **does not maintain an audit trail or timestamp showing the exact date when a voucher was entered or modified**—it only stores the voucher date as entered by the user. So, if the accountant back-dated a journal voucher but actually entered it recently, Tally will just show the voucher date as 18th Nov 2015 (the back date), but **won't tell you when the voucher was actually entered** in the system.

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### So, how can you detect back-dated entries in Tally?

1. **Check Voucher Entry Dates vs. System Backup Dates:**

* If you have periodic backups of Tally data (say monthly), you can restore an older backup (before the current date) and check if that JV exists there.
* If the JV is missing in the older backup but appears now with an old voucher date, it means the JV was entered later with a back date.

2. **Audit Trail Features (if enabled in Tally):**

* Newer Tally versions (like Tally ERP 9 Release 5.0 onwards) have an **Audit & Compliance feature** that can log changes, including voucher creation and alteration dates and times.
* If the company has enabled this feature, you can view the audit logs to see when the voucher was entered or modified.
* To check audit logs:
**Gateway of Tally > Audit & Compliance > Audit Reports > Voucher Alteration Log**

3. **Use External Controls:**

* Sometimes companies use user access controls or external software to track changes.
* Check if the company has any internal controls or logs outside Tally (like user activity logs).

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### What if Audit Feature is NOT enabled?

* Unfortunately, if Audit & Compliance is not enabled, Tally does **not store entry timestamp** anywhere, so you can’t see when the voucher was physically entered.
* The only option is to compare with backups or ask the accountant for manual records.

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### Summary:

| Situation | How to Check |
| ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| Audit feature enabled | Check Audit Reports > Voucher Alteration Log |
| Audit feature NOT enabled | Compare backups to find missing vouchers |
| No backups or audit logs | No direct way inside Tally |

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**Recommendation:**
If you are auditing this company regularly, suggest enabling the Audit feature for future transparency and control.

If you want, I can help guide you on how to enable Audit & Compliance in Tally.

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Hope this helps! Need a step-by-step for audit log or backup comparison? Just ask.

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