Sharing your books¶

KhataOS can share a company's books with your staff, your CA or an auditor. You don't need to install a server or Docker, and you don't need any IT knowledge. If you have used TallyPrime's Client/Server setup, this works the same way.

There are three ways to share. Pick the one that fits where people sit:

Where are the people?	Use	What you need
Same office, same Wi-Fi or network cable	Office server: one PC acts as the server	KhataOS open on that PC
Anywhere, working together day to day	Relay: end-to-end encrypted, over the internet	An internet connection and a relay address
Anywhere, sending books now and then (month-end, audit)	Accountant file (`.khatapkg`)	Any way to send a file: WhatsApp, e-mail, USB stick

Everyone works on their own copy of the books. KhataOS keeps the copies in step. Every entry is checked by the same rules on every computer, and the audit trail records who made it.

Notes and to-dos, the invoice design and logo, and tax settings such as UK VAT schemes travel the same three ways. If two people change the same note, the later change wins, and a deleted note stays deleted (how this works). Sync passwords and keys never leave your computer.

1. Office server (LAN)¶

One office PC keeps the books for everyone, as in TallyPrime. The others connect to it.

On the PC that will hold the books (the "server")¶

Open the company.
Press Alt+Z (Exchange), then choose Configure: Client/Server.
Press Enter on KhataOS acts as and choose Server. Choose Both if this PC also connects to companies on another server.
Leave Port at 9090. TallyPrime uses 9000, so both programs can run side by side.
Press Ctrl+A to save. The screen shows Server: Running on port 9090, plus this PC's office network address, for example 192.168.1.20:9090.
When asked "Share on the office network now?", press Y.
If Windows or macOS asks whether KhataOS may accept connections, allow it on private networks.

Keep KhataOS open on this PC while others work. Entries made on the server PC are shared within a few seconds.

Invite a colleague¶

On the server PC, press Alt+K (Company) and choose Remote Access.
Press Alt+C (Invite) and choose a role:
Accountant: can enter and change vouchers.
Viewer: can see reports only. Use this for auditors and advisors.
Type who the invite is for (for example Ravi (accounts)). You can also set the number of days before it expires; leave this blank for no expiry. Press Enter through the fields.
KhataOS shows one long invite code that starts with khata1:. Press Enter to copy it, then send it on WhatsApp or by e-mail.

The invite code is shown only once. It works like a key: anyone who has it can open the books, so send it only to the person it is for.

On the colleague's PC¶

Open KhataOS. Press Alt+Z (Exchange) and choose Connect to company…. With a company already open, you can also use Alt+K → Connect to company….
Paste the invite code. KhataOS shows the company name, the server and the access level.
Press Enter. KhataOS creates the company on this PC, copies all the books from the server and opens them.

From then on the books sync by themselves: - when the company is opened; - right after each entry is saved; - every 2 minutes, to pick up other people's entries.

You can change the interval in Alt+K → Configure Online Access. Ctrl+Alt+S syncs straight away.

Removing someone's access¶

On the server PC, open Alt+K → Remote Access, move to the person and press Alt+D (Revoke). Their copy stops syncing straight away. An invite with an expiry date stops working on that date by itself.

Viewers¶

A company opened with a Viewer invite is read-only: every report is available, but nothing can be entered or changed. A Viewer who doesn't have KhataOS can read the reports in a web browser on the office network. Open Alt+K → Browser Access for the address. The Viewer's invite screen shows the company id and token they need to enter on that page.

2. Over the internet: a relay (end-to-end encrypted)¶

Use a relay when people work from different places, for example a CA's office and the business. The relay passes changes between computers, but it cannot read your books: KhataOS encrypts every entry on your computer before it is sent, and only computers with the company's key can open it.

Where the relay comes from¶

KhataOS doesn't switch on any relay by itself. You need a relay address, from one of these:

Option	What to do
Someone runs a relay for you (your CA firm, your IT person, or KhataOS while it offers a hosted relay)	Ask them for the address, for example `https://relay.your-firm.in`. A private relay also has a sign-up key, needed once when you first share a company.
Host your own	Any always-on Windows, Mac or Linux PC can run one. No Docker, no router changes. See Hosting a KhataOS relay.
No relay at all	Send accountant files instead (section 3).

If you choose the relay but no address is set, KhataOS says so and offers these same options.

Press Alt+Z (Exchange) and choose Configure: Client/Server. Set Relay address and press Ctrl+A to save. This is the relay for every company on this computer. A copy of KhataOS can come with an address built in; it is shown as (built in).
Open the company. Press Alt+K and choose Configure Online Access.
Set Sync via to Relay (internet). Relay address shows this computer's relay; change it here only if this company should use a different one. Press Ctrl+A to save.
Choose Alt+K → Connect. If the relay is private, KhataOS asks for its sign-up key once. The key isn't saved.
Invite people from Alt+K → Remote Access in the same way as on the office network. A relay invite code also carries the company's encryption key, so treat it with extra care. People who join with an invite code don't need the relay address or the sign-up key.

The company key is a secret. It is kept inside the company file on each connected computer and in the invite codes. It is never sent to the relay. If you lose every computer that has the key, the relay copy can't be read by anyone, including KhataOS.

Browser Access isn't available for relay companies, because the relay can't read the books.

Moving to another relay¶

A company can move from one relay to another. For example, KhataOS or your CA hosts a relay for a while, and later your firm runs its own.

Ask everyone to sync (Ctrl+Alt+S) and to stop making entries for a few minutes. Sync on this computer too.
On the owner's computer, open the company and choose Alt+K → Move to another relay… (also in Alt+Z Exchange).
Enter the new relay's address and, if it is private, its sign-up key. Confirm.

KhataOS then: - copies every entry to the new relay, encrypted with a new key; - switches this computer to the new relay; - cancels the old invite codes on the old relay.

Colleagues need new invite codes: invite them again from Alt+K → Remote Access. They paste the new code with Connect to company…, which makes a fresh copy of the company on their computer. Their old copy stops syncing; they can keep it for reference or delete it.

KhataOS refuses to move a company while this computer or the old relay has changes the other doesn't, so nothing is left behind. The old relay keeps its encrypted copy. With the old key retired, entries made after the move can't be read with it, even by someone who still has an old invite code.

3. Accountant files (`.khatapkg`): no server, no shared network¶

This is the easiest option for sending books to your CA at month-end, or receiving their adjustments back.

Sending¶

Open the company and press Alt+M (Share). Choose Send to accountant (file).
Choose New entries only (everything since the last file you sent) or Everything. The first time, KhataOS always sends everything.
Type a passphrase twice, at least 8 characters.
Save the file, for example sharma-traders-2026-10-19.khatapkg, and send it any way you like.
Tell the accountant the passphrase by phone or in person, never in the same message as the file.

The file is encrypted. WhatsApp, the e-mail provider or anyone who intercepts it can't read it without the passphrase.

Receiving¶

Press Alt+O (Import) and choose Open accountant file (.khatapkg). With no company open, use Alt+Z → Open accountant file.
Pick the file and type the passphrase.
KhataOS checks every entry before changing anything:
The first file you receive creates the company on your computer.
Later files add only the new entries to that company.
Opening the same file twice changes nothing.

When KhataOS can't apply a file¶

Message	What to do
An earlier file is missing	A file was skipped. Ask the sender for the earlier file, or for a full file (Everything).
Both sides changed the books	You made entries since the last file, and so did the sender. Send your changes to them first, or use the office server or relay, which handle this.
Wrong passphrase	Check the passphrase with the sender.
This file is for another company	Shut the open company and open the file again.

Settings at a glance¶

Setting	Where	Applies to
KhataOS acts as: None / Client / Server / Both	Alt+Z → Configure	This computer
Port (default 9090)	Alt+Z → Configure	This computer
Connect Company on loading: Yes / No	Alt+K → Configure Online Access	This company, on this computer
Sync every (minutes, default 2)	Alt+K → Configure Online Access	This company, on this computer
Relay address (blank = none, or the built-in one)	Alt+Z → Configure	This computer
Sync via: Office server / Relay	Alt+K → Configure Online Access	This company, on this computer
Relay address for this company (blank = this computer's)	Alt+K → Configure Online Access	This company, on this computer

Alt+K → Connectivity Status shows: - the server address; - the last sync; - how many entries on this computer haven't been sent yet; - how many entries the server holds.

Alt+K → Disconnect pauses background sync until you choose Connect.

Security in short¶

Plain http:// is used only on this computer and on private office-network addresses (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, 172.16–31.x.x, .local names, and Tailscale-style 100.64–127.x.x VPN addresses, whose link is already encrypted). Anything across the internet must use https://. KhataOS refuses invite codes that would break this rule.
Only hashes of access tokens are stored on the server. Access can be revoked and can expire.
Every change from another computer goes through the same checks as a local entry before it is saved: balanced vouchers, valid references, and an unbroken audit-trail chain.
Relay companies are end-to-end encrypted. Accountant files are encrypted with your passphrase.
The office server's admin key is random and created once. It is stored in the app's data folder, readable only by your user account.
A relay sees only encrypted entries. A public relay limits how many companies one internet address can create each day, and how much each company can store. See Hosting a KhataOS relay.

Relays: who runs them¶

KhataOS comes with no relay switched on. Use a relay that someone runs for you, host your own on any always-on PC (Hosting a KhataOS relay), or send accountant files. KhataOS may host a relay for a limited period. If it does, its address will be announced, and companies on it can later move to your own relay (see Moving to another relay).