Tally Prime MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that bridges Tally Prime's XML/HTTP gateway to MCP clients like Claude Cowork, Claude Desktop, Claude in Chrome, ChatGPT Desktop, Perplexity Desktop, Cursor, and any other tool that speaks MCP.

It exposes Tally Prime as a set of typed tools — list/create masters, post vouchers, run reports — built directly on top of the documented Tally XML envelopes:

• Understanding Tally XML Tags
• XML Integration
• Sample XML

Prerequisites

1. Tally Prime (Silver or Gold edition recommended — the Educational edition restricts dates and will return partial data).
2. Node.js 18 or newer — this is non-negotiable. The MCP SDK uses ES modules; Node 8/10/12/14/16 will fail at startup with SyntaxError: Unexpected token import.
   • Check with node --version. If it reports anything below v18, install the latest LTS from nodejs.org (use the 64-bit MSI on Windows).
   • On Windows specifically, make sure your claude_desktop_config.json points at the new install — usually C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe, not C:\\Program Files (x86)\\nodejs\\node.exe.
3. Tally's XML/HTTP gateway enabled.

Enable the Tally XML gateway

Open Tally Prime, then:

F1 (Help) > Settings > Connectivity > Client/Server configuration

Set:

TallyPrime acts as = Both        (or Server)
Port              = 9000

Quick check — with Tally running you should be able to curl http://localhost:9000 and get an XML response.

Install

git clone <this folder>
cd "Tally Prime MCP"
npm install
npm run build

That produces dist/index.js, which is the executable MCP server entry point.

Wire it into Claude Cowork / Claude Desktop

Edit your claude_desktop_config.json (open via Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config) and add:

Windows:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tally-prime": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe",
      "args": ["C:\\absolute\\path\\to\\Tally Prime MCP\\bootstrap.cjs"],
      "env": {
        "TALLY_HOST": "localhost",
        "TALLY_PORT": "9000"
      }
    }
  }
}

macOS / Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tally-prime": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/Tally Prime MCP/bootstrap.cjs"],
      "env": {
        "TALLY_HOST": "localhost",
        "TALLY_PORT": "9000"
      }
    }
  }
}

bootstrap.cjs is a CommonJS shim that first verifies Node ≥ 18, then loads the ES-module server from dist/index.js. Pointing at the shim instead of dist/index.js directly is what surfaces a readable error if the wrong Node version is in use.

Restart Claude. The Tally tools (prefix tally_) will appear in the Tools menu.

Optional environment variables

| Variable | Default | Notes | | ------------------ | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | TALLY_HOST | localhost | Tally machine's hostname / IP. | | TALLY_PORT | 9000 | Port from the Tally Client/Server settings. | | TALLY_COMPANY | (unset) | Default SVCURRENTCOMPANY. Otherwise the active company is used. | | TALLY_TIMEOUT_MS | 60000 | HTTP timeout — bump for very large data exports. |

Tools

All tools share an optional targetCompany argument; if omitted the currently active company in Tally is used.

Master data

| Tool | What it does | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | tally_list_companies | List all companies known to the running Tally Prime instance. | | tally_list_masters | List masters of a collection: Ledger, Group, StockItem, Unit, Godown, etc.| | tally_get_ledger | Fetch the full master record for one ledger. | | tally_create_ledger | Create or alter a ledger (alter: true). Set parent, optional address/GSTIN. | | tally_create_group | Create or alter a group. | | tally_create_stock_item | Create or alter a stock item. | | tally_create_stock_group | Create or alter a stock group. | | tally_create_unit | Create a simple or compound Unit of Measure. | | tally_create_godown | Create a godown / location. | | tally_create_cost_centre | Create a cost centre. |

Vouchers

| Tool | What it does | | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | tally_create_voucher | Post any voucher type (Sales, Purchase, Receipt, Payment, Journal, Contra, Stock Journal, Debit/Credit Note, custom). Ledger entries use signed amounts: negative = Debit, positive = Credit; totals must net to zero. Set isInvoice: true and supply inventoryEntries with accountingLedger for item invoices. | | tally_alter_voucher | Modify an existing voucher by voucher type + number + date. | | tally_cancel_voucher | Cancel an existing voucher. | | tally_get_voucher | Fetch full XML for a voucher by number. |

Reports

| Tool | What it does | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | tally_trial_balance | Trial Balance — opening + closing balance per ledger over a period. | | tally_balance_sheet | Balance Sheet — closing balances as on a date. | | tally_profit_loss | Profit & Loss — net activity per ledger over a period. | | tally_ledger_balance | Single ledger closing balance as on a date. | | tally_ledger_account | Voucher-level statement for one ledger. | | tally_ledger_outstanding | Outstanding bills for one party ledger. | | tally_day_book | Day Book for a date range, optionally filtered by voucher type. | | tally_stock_summary | Closing qty / rate / value per stock item as on a date. | | tally_stock_item_balance | Opening + closing for a single stock item. | | tally_stock_item_account | Voucher-level inward/outward movement for a single stock item. | | tally_bills_outstanding | Bills Receivable or Bills Payable summary. | | tally_chart_of_accounts | Group hierarchy (BS vs PL, Dr vs Cr, affects gross profit). | | tally_raw_request | Escape hatch — POST any custom Tally XML envelope and return the raw response. |

Conventions

• Dates accept YYYY-MM-DD, DD-MM-YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, D-Mon-YYYY, or YYYYMMDD. Internally normalised to Tally's uni-date YYYYMMDD.
• Amounts in reports follow Tally's sign convention: negative = Debit, positive = Credit.
• Voucher posting also uses signed amounts in ledgerEntries: negative for Debits, positive for Credits. Total must net to zero or Tally will reject the voucher with a "Voucher totals do not match" error.
• Targeted company: every tool takes an optional targetCompany. If unset, the request flows to the active company; set TALLY_COMPANY env var to make a global default.

Example prompts you can try in Claude

List the companies loaded in Tally.

Give me the trial balance for 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Create a ledger named "Acme Corp" under Sundry Debtors with GSTIN 29ABCDE1234F1Z5 and address "12 MG Road, Bengaluru, 560001".

Post a sales voucher dated today: 1× "Sony TV 32-inch" at ₹25,000 to "Acme Corp", VAT 14% extra. Allocate to the "Sales" ledger.

Show outstanding receivables as of today, sorted by amount.

Stock summary as on 31 March — flag any item with closing value below cost.

Architecture

src/
├── index.ts                  # MCP stdio server (entry point)
├── jsonschema.ts             # Lightweight Zod → JSON Schema for tool inputs
├── tally/
│   ├── config.ts             # Reads TALLY_HOST / TALLY_PORT / TALLY_COMPANY
│   ├── client.ts             # HTTP POST wrapper around Tally :9000
│   ├── xml.ts                # Envelope builders + response parser (uses fast-xml-parser)
│   └── util.ts               # CSV rendering, amount/date parsing
└── tools/
    ├── types.ts              # Tool descriptor type
    ├── masters.ts            # Ledger, Group, StockItem, Unit, Godown, CostCentre
    ├── vouchers.ts           # Create / alter / cancel / get voucher
    └── reports.ts            # Trial Balance, P&L, Balance Sheet, Day Book, Stock, etc.

Every tool builds an XML envelope that mirrors the official Tally Help pages. The tally_raw_request tool is the escape hatch — pass any well-formed <ENVELOPE> and you get the raw response, useful for custom TDL reports.

Troubleshooting

SyntaxError: Unexpected token import at startup
Your Node.js is older than 18. Check with node --version. Install the latest LTS from nodejs.org and update the command field in claude_desktop_config.json to point at the new node.exe. On Windows that's almost always C:\\Program Files\\nodejs\\node.exe (the 64-bit install) — not C:\\Program Files (x86)\\nodejs\\node.exe (the legacy 32-bit one your error log showed).

Could not connect to Tally at http://localhost:9000
Tally isn't running, or the XML gateway isn't enabled. Re-check F1 → Settings → Connectivity.

Tally returned failure status: DESC not found
The <ID> (report or collection name) doesn't exist in your Tally. Try tally_list_masters first to discover what's defined.

Voucher totals do not match
The signed amount values in ledgerEntries don't net to zero. Negative = Debit, positive = Credit.

Educational version warnings
Tally Educational restricts dates to 1st, 2nd, and the last day of each month. Use a Silver/Gold licence for full data.

License

MIT