TallyKhata helps small businesses go digital

TallyKhata, a mobile phone application, can help small businesses go digital by allowing them to record sale, purchase and expense transactions.

The free app introduced by SureCash – a mobile financial services platform – can also help in credit recovery and providing profit and cash reports as well, allowing the users to use it offline too.

The app, already adopted by over 6 lakh registered users countrywide, eliminates hassles in keeping traditional manual ledgers in the forms of incorrect entries, calculation errors and credit disputes etc.

Discussants said all these at a webinar titled "Digital Empowerment of CSMEs for Business Growth and Post-Covid Support" on Sunday.

The webinar was organised by UNCDF and SureCash to mark the release of an update version of TallyKhata with latest features and benefits. The Business Standard was the media partner of the event.

Md Ashadul Islam, senior secretary at Financial Institutions Division, Ministry of Finance, was the chief guest in the programme.

He said connecting this sector digitally has become even more important during this time of the pandemic. The government is proactive to work with all the partners to make this happen.

"We appreciate the efforts of digital platforms like TallyKhata to help these businesses grow."

Panel speaker Dr Lila Rashid, executive director of the Bangladesh Bank, said a bigger portion of the small businesses are not getting adequate support from the banks. Providing necessary capital to this sector has been a challenge. But breakthroughs can be made by ensuring such digital platform services properly.

Dr Shahadat Khan, chief executive officer of SureCash, said, "Superstores use software for their operations. We developed TallyKhata to bring digital benefits for small businesses – both urban and rural. This app helps businesses digitise their accounts using a simple and easy-to-use interface."

TallyKhata also allows merchants to receive digital payments from customers, make payments to suppliers and transact directly with banks by attaching their own SureCash mobile banking accounts.

Speakers said the app data cannot be manipulated because it has secured credentials. And TallyKhata's data are stored only when the mobile phone connects to Internet.

Brac Bank Managing Director Selim RF Hussain said micro-merchants are the key driver of the economy. But to provide loans to the sector is very much costly because it is an intensive supervisory credit.

"So, we need digital solutions to convert analog business to digital."