Software comparison
Sevastack vs Tally — NGO accounting software comparison
Tally is a capable accounting tool for businesses. But Indian NGOs have compliance requirements — 80G receipts, FCRA tracking, Form 10BD/10BE, and donor CRM — that Tally was never designed to handle.
Feature comparison
How Sevastack and Tally compare across the features Indian NGOs actually need.
| Feature | Tally | Sevastack |
|---|---|---|
| 80G receipt automation | No — not a built-in feature | Auto-generated and emailed on every donation |
| Form 10BD / 10BE generation | No — no awareness of Indian NGO filing requirements | Generated from donation records, ready to submit |
| FCRA compliance tracking | No — no FCRA module or deadline reminders | Deadline alerts 30 days before, FCRA reports included |
| Donor CRM with PAN | No — Tally has ledgers, not donor profiles with PAN | Full donor profiles with PAN validation and history |
| UPI donation collection | No — Tally records transactions, does not collect payments | Public donation page with UPI, Razorpay, and bank link |
| CSR proposal builder | No — no CSR-related functionality | CSR proposal templates with project and budget builder |
| CA portal | No — CA receives exports; no dedicated portal access | Read-only CA portal with reports, receipts, and audit trail |
| Free tier | No — Tally requires a paid license from day one | Free to start, with paid plans only for advanced features |
| NGO-specific accounting (R&P, I&E, Balance Sheet) | Partial — requires manual chart-of-accounts setup for NGOs | Receipts & Payments, Income & Expenditure, Balance Sheet built in |
| Cloud-based access | Partial — Tally Prime has cloud sync, but primarily desktop-based | Fully cloud-based — access from any browser, any device |
| Double-entry bookkeeping | Yes — Tally's core strength | Yes — built on standard accounting principles |
| GST filing support | Yes — Tally is well-known for GST compliance | Focused on NGO compliance — GST via your CA using Sevastack reports |
Why Tally is not enough for Indian NGOs
Tally does accounting. Indian NGOs need compliance, donor management, and purpose-built reporting — all in one place.
Tally was built for businesses, not non-profits
Tally's ledger model does not map to how NGOs work. Donor receipts, project-based fund accounting, FCRA foreign contributions, and 80G certificates are all outside its scope.
No NGO-specific compliance
Indian NGOs must file Form 10BD, issue Form 10BE, maintain FCRA records, and track 80G URN expiry. Tally has no awareness of any of these — you end up maintaining a parallel system anyway.
It requires an accountant to operate
Tally is designed for trained accountants. NGO staff who handle donor communications or volunteer coordination cannot use it. Sevastack is built for the whole team.
License cost with no free tier
Tally Prime charges per user from day one. Sevastack is free to start — meaningful for small NGOs that are still in early growth.
Purpose-built for Indian NGOs — free to start
Use Tally alongside your CA for GST if needed. Use Sevastack for everything your NGO actually runs on — donors, receipts, compliance, projects, and reports.
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