Protecting accounting data has become more important than ever. Businesses today depend on reliable cloud backups to safeguard their financial records from hardware failures, ransomware attacks, accidental deletions, natural disasters, and user errors.

With the introduction of TallyDrive in TallyPrime Release 7.0, Tally has provided an integrated cloud backup solution for TallyPrime and TallyPrime Edit Log users. While this service offers the convenience of automatic cloud backups, many organizations are unaware of its storage limitations and whether it is suitable for large company data.

This article explains how TallyDrive works, its free storage allocation, backup mechanism, limitations, and when businesses should consider additional cloud backup options.

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What is TallyDrive?

TallyDrive is the official cloud backup service integrated within TallyPrime. It allows users to automatically back up company data to Tally's cloud servers without requiring third-party backup software.

Key features include:

• Automatic scheduled backups
• Cloud storage
• Backup version history
• Incremental backup technology
• Data encryption
• Restore previous versions
• Integration with TallyPrime and TallyPrime Edit Log

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Does TallyDrive Take Full Backup Every Time?

No.

TallyDrive primarily uses incremental backup technology.

First Backup

The very first backup is always a complete backup of the company data.

Example:

Company Size:

16 GB

Initial Upload:

16 GB

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Subsequent Backups

After the initial backup, only the modified data is uploaded.

For example:

Monday

16 GB Full Backup

Tuesday

12 MB uploaded

Wednesday

18 MB uploaded

Thursday

7 MB uploaded

This significantly reduces internet bandwidth and backup time.

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Does TallyDrive Overwrite Previous Backups?

No.

Instead of overwriting the previous backup, TallyDrive maintains restore points.

You can restore the company to an earlier version depending on the configured retention policy.

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Free TallyDrive Storage

With an active TSS subscription, Tally currently provides:

This storage is shared across the license.

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Is 3 GB Enough?

For many businesses, yes.

For organizations maintaining several years of accounting records or using TallyPrime Edit Log, often no.

Example:

Current Company Size

16 GB

Free Storage

3 GB

Result

The first cloud backup itself cannot be completed because the available storage is insufficient.

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Why Does Tally Data Become So Large?

Large company data is generally caused by:

• Multiple financial years
• Huge voucher volumes
• Inventory transactions
• Payroll
• GST records
• Cost Centres
• Attachments
• Banking transactions
• TallyPrime Edit Log audit trail
• Historical accounting data

Companies using Edit Log generally experience faster database growth because audit history must be preserved.

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Should You Delete Old Financial Years?

Usually not.

Many businesses require:

• Income Tax assessments
• GST scrutiny
• Internal audits
• Statutory audits
• Historical reporting
• Customer history
• Vendor records

Deleting previous years merely to reduce backup size is generally not advisable without considering compliance and business requirements.

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Recommended Storage for Different Company Sizes

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Best Backup Strategy for TallyPrime Edit Log

For mission-critical accounting systems, follow the 3-2-1 backup rule:

• Three copies of your data.
• Stored on two different types of media.
• One copy kept off-site or in the cloud.

Recommended approach:

• Primary working data on the server.
• Daily local backup to a NAS or external drive.
• Automatic cloud backup with version history.

This provides protection against hardware failures, ransomware, accidental deletions, and site-wide disasters.

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Local Backup vs Cloud Backup

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Is TallyDrive Suitable for Large Businesses?

Yes, provided adequate storage has been purchased.

Organizations with 10 GB, 20 GB, or larger company databases should plan their cloud storage requirements in advance to ensure uninterrupted backups and sufficient restore history.

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Alternative Cloud Backup Solution – NoSky Cloud Backup by Bison Infosolutions

If your Tally database exceeds the free TallyDrive storage or you require larger cloud storage capacities with flexible plans, you may also consider NoSky Cloud Backup by Bison Infosolutions.

NoSky Cloud Backup offers storage plans ranging from 25 GB to 25 TB, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes, including those with large TallyPrime and TallyPrime Edit Log databases.

Potential benefits include:

• Automatic scheduled backups
• Multiple backup versions
• Protection against ransomware
• Secure off-site cloud storage
• Suitable for Tally, documents, databases, servers, and other business data
• Flexible storage plans from 25 GB up to 25 TB

For pricing and plan details:

Bison Infosolutions

Phone: +91 9212522725

Email: info@bison.co.in

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Best Practices

• Enable automatic daily backups.
• Verify backup completion regularly.
• Test restoration procedures periodically.
• Maintain multiple restore points.
• Keep at least one offline backup.
• Protect backups using strong passwords and encryption.
• Monitor available cloud storage.
• Avoid relying on a single backup destination.
• Periodically review backup logs for failures.
• Retain historical backups according to your compliance requirements.

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Conclusion

TallyDrive is a valuable addition to TallyPrime, providing integrated cloud backups with incremental technology and version history. However, businesses using large databases—particularly those running TallyPrime Edit Log with many years of historical data—should carefully evaluate their storage requirements.

For small companies, the complimentary storage may be sufficient. For organizations with databases measuring 10 GB, 20 GB, or more, purchasing additional cloud storage or implementing a complementary cloud backup strategy is essential to ensure reliable disaster recovery and business continuity.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is TallyDrive free?

Yes. With an active TSS, Tally provides complimentary TallyDrive storage (currently 1 GB for Silver and 3 GB for Gold licenses). Additional storage can be purchased.

2. Does TallyDrive use incremental backups?

Yes. The first backup is a full backup; subsequent backups typically upload only changed data.

3. Does TallyDrive overwrite old backups?

No. It maintains restore points according to the configured retention settings.

4. Can I restore an older version of my company?

Yes. You can restore from one of the available restore points retained by TallyDrive.

5. Will Edit Log data also be backed up?

Yes. The audit trail is part of the company data and is included in backups.

6. Is 3 GB enough for a 16 GB Tally company?

No. The initial full backup alone would exceed the free quota.

7. Can I purchase additional TallyDrive storage?

Yes. Tally offers paid storage upgrades for customers requiring more capacity.

8. Is local backup still necessary?

Yes. Cloud backups complement—but should not replace—a robust local backup strategy.

9. Can TallyDrive protect against ransomware?

Cloud backups with version history can help recover data after a ransomware incident, but maintaining offline backups is still recommended.

10. What if my Tally database is larger than the free storage?

You can purchase additional TallyDrive capacity or use another business-grade cloud backup solution that meets your storage and recovery requirements.