Tally on Mac
Running Tally on a Mac
Tally is a Windows application, so it will not install natively on macOS. The usual workarounds — Boot Camp, Parallels, VMware or a Windows virtual machine — all end with you maintaining a copy of Windows on your own Mac. Hosting removes that problem instead of working around it: Tally runs on a cloud server, and your Mac connects to it with a Remote Desktop client. There is no Windows installation on the Mac at all.
Why the usual workarounds are awkward
Every local approach to Tally on a Mac requires a Windows licence, disk space for a second operating system, and a machine powerful enough to run both at once. Boot Camp additionally means rebooting out of macOS whenever you want to look at a ledger, and on Apple Silicon Macs it is no longer available at all. A virtual machine avoids the reboot but spends memory and battery on running Windows in the background.
None of that is a criticism of those tools; they solve a general problem. It is just a lot of machinery to carry for one accounting application.
What the hosted approach looks like instead
- 1
Install a Remote Desktop client on your Mac
Microsoft's Windows App (previously Microsoft Remote Desktop) is free on the Mac App Store. It is a normal Mac application — a few megabytes, no Windows licence.
- 2
Add the connection once
Enter the server address Airmax gives you and save it. From then on it is a single icon in your dock.
- 3
Sign in with your password and a one-time code
The same OTP-protected login used on every other platform.
- 4
Work in Tally in a Mac window
Tally opens in its own window alongside your Mac applications. Copy and paste works between them, and printing goes to the printer connected to your Mac.
How it compares
| Boot Camp | Virtual machine | Hosted on cloud | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows licence needed | Yes | Yes | No |
| Runs on Apple Silicon Macs | No | Yes, with an ARM build of Windows | Yes |
| Reboot to switch | Yes | No | No |
| Uses your Mac's memory and battery | Fully | Substantially | Minimally |
| Data if the Mac is lost | Lost with the Mac | Lost with the Mac | On the server, unaffected |
| Colleagues can share the same data | No | No | Yes, multi-user is included |
What works, and what to expect
- The full TallyPrime interface, including keyboard shortcuts. Tally is keyboard-driven and that does not change over a remote session.
- Your TDL customisations, because they are installed on the server alongside Tally.
- Printing to a printer at your own location, mapped into the session during setup.
- The same company data your Windows colleagues are working on, at the same time.
Two honest caveats. Tally's interface is a Windows interface, so it will not adopt macOS conventions — it looks like Tally, not like a Mac application. And because the session travels over the internet, a brief lag on a poor connection is possible; a steady connection matters more than a fast one.
iPad and iPhone
The same Remote Desktop client exists for iPadOS and iOS, so the identical login works from an iPad or iPhone. An iPad with a keyboard is genuinely usable for data entry. On a phone, expect to be checking reports and ledgers rather than punching in vouchers — Tally was designed for a full-size screen, and no remote session changes that.
See it running on a Mac first
Airmax has a recorded Mac walkthrough in English and Hindi, and runs a free live demo on request.
Not on a Mac? The full feature list covers Windows, Linux and mobile access in the same way.