Narration in Tally: Write Entries Your Auditor Can Follow
Good narrations make vouchers easy to search and audit. Learn what to write, how to recall narrations with Alt+R and Ctrl+R, and per-ledger narration.
The narration is the one field in a Tally voucher that explains why an entry exists. A good narration in Tally saves hours at audit time and makes vouchers easy to search months later. A lazy one, such as "Being amount paid", forces someone to dig through files to understand the entry. This guide covers what to write, the shortcuts that make it quick, and how to use per-ledger narration in TallyPrime.
What a good narration includes
Write it for the person who reads it a year from now, usually an auditor or a new accountant:
- What and why: "Office rent for March 2026".
- The reference: supplier bill number, invoice number, cheque number or UTR.
- The period for recurring items such as rent, salaries and subscriptions.
- Approval for unusual entries: "Write-off approved by director, email 12 Apr".
Narration examples by voucher type
| Voucher | Weak narration | Useful narration |
|---|---|---|
| Payment | Being payment made | NEFT UTR 2310xxxx for bill 1182 dated 2 Mar, March rent |
| Receipt | Received from party | Cheque 004512 against invoice 245 and 251, short paid 150 (TDS) |
| Journal | Adjustment entry | Provision for audit fee FY 2025-26, as per engagement letter |
| Credit Note | Sales return | Return of 4 units, damaged in transit, against invoice 245 |
Shortcuts that make narration quick
In the narration field of a voucher:
- Alt+R recalls the last narration saved for the first ledger in the voucher, whatever the voucher type.
- Ctrl+R recalls the last narration saved for that voucher type, whatever the ledger.
For a monthly rent payment, Alt+R brings back last month's narration; change the month and the reference and you are done.
Narration for each ledger
A journal with several ledgers often needs a note per line. TallyPrime supports this: go to Accounts Information > Voucher Types, alter the voucher type, and enable the option to provide narration for each ledger in the voucher. The voucher then has a short narration per ledger line in addition to the common narration at the bottom.
Narration makes vouchers searchable
Because TallyPrime can filter reports on the narration field, consistent wording pays off. If every rent payment says "rent", you can find them all in seconds. Our guide on how to find a voucher in TallyPrime shows how to filter on narration, and the Day Book review routine is the right moment to spot weak narrations and fix them.
Standard narrations for your team
Teams that enter the same kinds of transactions every day benefit from a shared list of standard narrations, so everyone writes them the same way. Keep the list in your accounts manual, or use an add-on: AndurilTech lists one named Narration List; read its product page for how it works and which release it supports. Clear narrations also make the audit trail easier to read, as explained in our guide to Edit Log in TallyPrime.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy the previous narration in Tally?
In the narration field, press Alt+R to recall the last narration saved for the first ledger in the voucher, or Ctrl+R to recall the last narration saved for that voucher type.
Can I write a separate narration for each ledger in a voucher?
Yes. Alter the voucher type under Accounts Information > Voucher Types and enable the option to provide narration for each ledger. The voucher then has a narration line per ledger as well as the common narration.
What should a good narration include?
The reason for the entry and the reference someone would search for later: bill or invoice number, cheque or UTR number, period, and the person who approved it where relevant.