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Folio 01Document management for CA & tax firms

Every client’s books, returns and notices. On a server your CA firm owns.

Baadal is a private cloud server that sits in your office. Client folders, Tally, Busy and your tax software live on it. Partners, managers and articles open what their role allows, in the office or at a client’s premises, and client data stays on hardware your firm owns.

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  • Tally, Busy and your ERP run on it
  • Each client uploads to their own folder
  • Client data on hardware you own

Folio 02Before and after

What changes when your client files live on Baadal.

  1. Today01

    Clients send bank statements and Form 16s on WhatsApp and email. Someone saves them to a laptop. In July, nobody is sure which copy is final.

    With Baadal

    Each client uploads into their own folder on Baadal.

  2. Today02

    Every quarter a client hands over a Tally or Busy backup on a pen drive. You restore it, and by next week your copy no longer matches theirs.

    With Baadal

    Work on the client’s books directly. One set of data, the same for you and them.

  3. Today03

    A GST notice came in eight months ago. Someone saved it. Nobody remembers where, or what they called it.

    With Baadal

    Type “ASMT-10” and every notice comes up, across every client.

Balance c/fOne folder per client. One set of books. One search across every year.

Folio 03Filing season edition

Run the numbers yourself.

Put in your own firm’s numbers. This works out the time your team spends today hunting for files, chasing clients for documents and restoring pen-drive backups, month by month, with your filing season marked.

Your firm, in a normal month
10 people
250 clients
15 min a day
6 a month
Change the working

Collecting the drive, copying, restoring and checking the data all count.

Time your team spends today, a year

974hours

In your filing season

384hours

July, September, October

That is about 122 eight-hour days of one person’s time, or 3.9 hours for every client you file for.

Hours by month, April to March Normal month Filing season

April 66 hours, May 66 hours, June 66 hours, July 128 hours (filing season), August 66 hours, September 128 hours (filing season), October 128 hours (filing season), November 66 hours, December 66 hours, January 66 hours, February 66 hours, March 66 hours.

Tap the months that are filing season in your office

×2
Hunting and chasing10 people × 15 min × 300 days, season months × 2
938 h
Pen-drive restores6 a month × 30 min × 12 months
36 h
Time your team spends today
974 h

An estimate built only from the numbers you entered: the time your team spends on this today. It is not a promise of how much of it Baadal will save. On the demo we look at where that time goes in your own office.

Folio 04No WhatsApp forwards. No pen drives.

Documents and books, straight from the client.

A filing season slows down in two places: documents that arrive on every app except the right one, and client books that arrive on a pen drive. Baadal handles both in your office.

AClient documents

A folder for every client. They upload, you share back.

Share a folder with each client so they upload their own documents, straight into the right place. Send a return, a computation or an audit report back as a view-only link with downloads off, set to expire on the date you choose.

  • Bank statements and Form 16s land in the client’s folder, not on WhatsApp
  • Each client sees only their own folder
  • Revoke access the moment an engagement ends, straight from the folder’s share list

Clients upload with an account on your Baadal, or with an upload link that needs no account.

BClient books

Work on the client’s books directly.

When a client’s Tally, Busy or ERP runs on Baadal, your team opens it directly to check a ledger or post an entry. Nobody restores last quarter’s backup, and nobody wonders whose copy is current.

  • When a client’s accounting or ERP runs on Baadal, you can work on it directly, with no pen-drive backups
  • One set of books, the same for your firm and your client

Day book · July13:30 · Accounts team

Opens a client’s live books in Tally and Busy directly to check a ledger. No pen drive, no waiting for the client to send a backup.

Folio 05Your client folder template

Every new client starts with the same folders.

We set up your client template before Baadal ships. Each new client gets the same structure, so anyone in the firm knows where a Form 16, a 3CD or a notice reply belongs.

  1. a)Built around your filing calendar: KYC, books, income tax, GST, TDS, audit, ROC
  2. b)Folder permissions: your GST team works in GST, your audit team in audit
  3. c)Change the template once and every new client gets it
Client folder template19 heads
  • Clients
    • 0042 · Shah Enterprises
      • 01_KYC & Engagement
        • PDFPAN_Aadhaar.pdf
        • PDFEngagement_Letter_FY25-26.pdf
      • 02_Books & Tally
      • 03_Income Tax
        • AY 2026-27
          • Form16_26AS_AIS
          • XLSXComputation_Final.xlsx
          • PDFITR-V_Acknowledgement.pdf
      • 04_GST
        • GSTR-1 & 3B
        • Notices & RepliesEvery notice and its reply, for every client, in one place
      • 05_TDS
      • 06_Audit
        • Tax Audit 3CD
        • Working Papers
      • 07_ROC & MCA

Folio 06Your own workflow

Build your own workflow, the way your firm already works.

Map how a return moves through your office, from documents in to filing, and name who signs off at each step. That becomes the workflow on your Baadal.

Example workflow · ITR filing

  1. Documents in

    The client uploads Form 16, bank statements and investment proofs into their folder.

    By: Client

  2. Prepare

    The computation is prepared in that year’s Income Tax folder.

    By: Article

  3. Review

    The manager checks the computation and approves it or sends it back.

    By: ManagerSign-off step: Reviewed

  4. Sign off

    The partner gives the final approval before filing.

    By: PartnerSign-off step: Approved

  5. Filed and shared

    The ITR-V is saved to the folder and sent to the client as a view-only link.

    By: Client

This is one example. We set up the workflows for your firm, from GST returns to tax audits, when we configure Baadal.

Folio 07Software you already run

Tally, Busy and your ERP, on your own server.

Baadal runs Windows and Linux virtual machines on the device itself. Host Tally, Busy or another accounting and ERP system on it, and the whole team works on the same data: at full speed in the office, and from outside the office over the internet. No rented server.

  • Your income tax and TDS software runs alongside, on its own VM

Your software, Windows and user licences must cover the users and access you need. We check the software you run on the demo call.

Accounting and ERP software you can host on Baadal

  • TallyPrimeWindows
  • BusyWindows
  • Marg ERPWindows
  • SAP Business OneWindows / Linux
  • OdooLinux
  • ERPNextLinux

Product names and logos belong to their owners and are shown to indicate software that can run on a Baadal virtual machine. Baadal is not affiliated with these vendors.

Folio 08Who sees what

Who sees what, set once by role.

When someone joins, changes teams or leaves, you change one setting, not forty shared links. And each client folder’s share list shows who can open it.

  • Partners

    • Every client, every year
    • Adding staff and disabling accounts, when they hold the admin account
    • Nothing held back

  • Managers

    • Clients on their team
    • Final computations and audit files
    • Partner and firm folders

  • Articles

    • Only the clients they are working on
    • Saving into the year’s folder
    • Other clients’ folders

  • Accounts team

    • The Tally companies they post to
    • Books & Tally folders
    • Income tax and audit files

  • Your clients

    • Their own folder to upload into
    • Links to what you send them
    • Every other client’s folder

Folio 10Confidentiality and data protection

Your clients trust you with their data. Keep it out of third-party clouds.

A CA firm holds PAN, Aadhaar, bank statements and salary details for every client. The Chartered Accountants Act and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 both expect you to protect it. Once the DPDP Act’s duties apply (the DPDP Rules, 2025 bring them in by phases), failing to take reasonable security safeguards can cost up to ₹250 crore.

Notes forming part of your firm’s data practice

  1. Chartered Accountants Act · client confidentiality

    What it asks: Keep what you learn in an engagement confidential. Don’t disclose it to anyone but the client without their consent.

    How Baadal helps

    Client files stay on a server your firm owns, not with a third-party cloud provider. Each client sees only their own folder, and each staff member sees only the clients they work on.

  2. DPDP Act · security safeguards

    What it asks: Take reasonable security safeguards to prevent a personal data breach.

    How Baadal helps

    Encrypted drives with the key sealed to the device, role-based access, folder permissions, and share links you can make view-only, expire or revoke.

  3. DPDP Act · data processors

    What it asks: You stay responsible for personal data even when another company stores or handles it for you.

    How Baadal helps

    With client data on your own hardware, no cloud storage company holds a copy of it, unless you pick a cloud destination for your backups.

  4. DPDP Act · breaches

    What it asks: If there is a breach, inform the Data Protection Board and the people affected.

    How Baadal helps

    Every client folder’s share list names who could reach it, and Activity lists show what was shared and changed, so you can work out what was affected and who to tell.

  5. DPDP Act · erasure

    What it asks: Erase personal data once its purpose is served, unless a law requires you to keep it.

    How Baadal helps

    Client data lives in one place, so erasing it starts in one place, not with a hunt through laptops, WhatsApp chats and personal drives. Empty it from Deleted files too, and allow for the copies held in snapshots and backups.

Baadal supports these obligations; it doesn’t make a firm compliant by itself. Consents, notices, policies and how your team works still matter. This is a summary for orientation, not legal advice.

Folio 11Records and retention

Keep records as long as the law asks. Find them the day you are asked.

Baadal doesn’t make a firm compliant on its own. It makes keeping years of records, and finding one of them in a hurry, far easier, on hardware you control.

  • GST

    72 months

    GST records are generally kept for 72 months from the due date of the annual return for that year, and longer while an appeal or proceeding is open.

  • Audit documentation

    At least 7 years

    Under SA 230, audit working papers are ordinarily kept for at least seven years from the date of the auditor’s report.

  • Income tax

    Years after the AY

    Books and supporting documents have to be kept for a set number of years after the relevant assessment year, and longer while a case is pending.

  • Version history and undelete
  • RAID mirroring
  • Scheduled backups
  • Drives encrypted, key sealed to the device

Retention periods are summarised for orientation, not as legal advice. Check the current rules that apply to each engagement.

Folio 12Your options

Google Drive, a NAS, or Baadal, for a CA firm?

The short version, in the terms that matter to a practice.

Google Drive, a NAS, or Baadal, for a CA firm?
What mattersGoogle Drive / DropboxA NAS from a shopBaadal
Where client data sitsProvider’s infrastructureYour premisesYour premises, on hardware you own
Tally, Busy or ERP for the whole teamNeeds separate hosting or a cloud plan for the softwareDepends on setup; often runs on one office PCHosted on a VM on the device, in the office and outside
Getting a client’s booksBackups uploaded or emailedBackups copied by pen driveWork on the client’s data directly when it runs on Baadal
Collecting client documentsSeparate shared folders per client, set up by handUsually email or WhatsApp, then saved manuallyEach client uploads into their own folder from your template
Finding last year’s noticeSupported file types and plans varyDepends on indexing software and file typeFull-text and AI search, including scanned notices
When an article leavesRemove their account, then find their shared linksChange permissions share by shareDisable their account: their files stay, and the links they sent stop working
Who sets it upYour team or an IT partnerYour team or an IT partnerBaadal sets up your client template, roles and Tally
What you payProvider plan; costs depend on users and storageHardware, plus any software and supportOne-time hardware + annual support plan

Capabilities depend on the product, plan, hardware and configuration.

Folio 13Frequently asked questions

Queries raised, and our replies.

What partners ask us before they move a firm’s client files.

Can my whole team use Tally at the same time?

Yes. Baadal runs Tally on a Windows virtual machine on the device itself, so everyone works on the same data. We size the configuration for your team and workload. Your Tally and Windows licences must support the users and access you need.

Does it work with Busy, Marg or our clients’ ERP, not just Tally?

Yes. Baadal runs Windows and Linux virtual machines, so accounting and ERP software that installs on Windows or Linux can be hosted on it. When a client’s software runs on Baadal, your firm can work on their data directly instead of restoring a pen-drive backup. We confirm your exact software and licences on the demo call.

Can clients upload their documents themselves?

Yes. Share a folder with each client and they upload into it, so statements and proofs land in the right client folder. Each client sees only their own folder, and you can revoke access at any time.

Does Baadal make us compliant with the DPDP Act?

No product can do that on its own. Baadal helps with the parts that depend on where data sits and who can reach it: client data stays on hardware your firm owns rather than with a cloud storage provider, access is set by role and folder, links can be revoked, and Activity lists show what was added, edited and shared. Consents, privacy notices and your firm’s own policies are still needed.

Can articles work from a client’s office?

Yes. They sign in through the myBaadal apps on a laptop or phone and see only the client folders their role allows. Access from outside the office needs an internet connection.

What if the internet goes down in the middle of filing season?

Your team keeps working on the office network while Baadal and your local network have power. Only access from outside the office and sync between offices need the internet.

Can you move our existing client folders and Tally data?

As part of setup we look at where your files and Tally data sit today, then plan the move and your client folder template with you. We confirm the schedule after reviewing your data, applications and migration needs.

We have two offices. Does that work?

Yes. Every office works on the same client files, so a computation saved in one branch is the one the other branch opens.

What happens if the device fails?

Contact Baadal support so we can diagnose the issue and arrange recovery or repair under your support and warranty terms. If you choose mirrored (RAID) drives, that helps with a drive failure, and scheduled backups keep a separate copy. RAID is not a substitute for a backup.

Book a demo20 minutes, on a call

See your client folders on Baadal.

Book a 20-minute demo. We’ll show you Baadal set up the way a CA firm works, with Tally running on it, and tell you what it would cost for your team.

Book a demoWhatsApp us

Call +91 78620 22715

The silver Baadal device on an office desk
Sits in your office. Owned by your firm.