Guidelines

1. Installation

1. Download the setup from the Download page. Install only setups from this website or from an authorised partner.
2. Run RudraERP-Modern-Setup-.exe and follow the steps. Windows may ask for permission — choose Yes.
3. Start Rudra ERP from the desktop icon. Without a licence you see the Welcome screen: A Activate License, or E Work in Education Mode.
4. Create your company (name, address, GSTIN, financial year) and start working.

2. Activating your licence

Activation works offline. Your licence is tied to the computer it is activated on.

1. Press A on the Welcome screen (or Alt+K > License > Activate License).
2. Type your serial number (XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) and your business name.
3. The screen shows this computer's machine code (XXXXX-XXXXX). Press Alt+R to copy the activation request and send it to us on WhatsApp or e-mail.
4. You receive an activation key. Paste it (Ctrl+V) in "Activation Key", press Enter, then Y.
5. The top bar now shows your edition and days left.

3. Company login & users

• Alt+K > Users and Passwords. Create the first user as an Administrator. From then on the company asks for a user name and password when it is opened.
• Roles: Administrator (everything, including users), Accountant (vouchers including alter / delete, masters, reports, import, backup), Data Entry (new vouchers, masters, reports), Viewer (reports only). Custom roles can be created in Settings.
• Give each person their own user. Don't share the Administrator password.

4. Your data & backups

• Like Tally, each company is a numbered folder in Data next to the program: Data\10000, Data\10001 …
• Alt+P on Select Company changes the data path.
• Alt+Y > Backup makes a backup; Alt+Y > Restore brings one back.

Backup rule of three

1. Daily — take a backup at the end of every working day.
2. Off the PC — copy backups to a pen drive or external disk at least weekly.
3. Off-site — keep one recent copy in cloud storage (Google Drive, OneDrive) or another location.

5. Moving to a new computer

1. On the old PC: take a backup (Alt+Y > Backup) and copy it to a pen drive.
2. On the old PC: Alt+K > License > Remove License.
3. On the new PC: install Rudra ERP and restore the backup.
4. Activate with the same serial: send us the new machine code and we send a new key.

If the old PC is dead or Windows was reinstalled, just send your serial and the new machine code with a short note. Replacement keys within your licence term are free.

6. Gold edition: LAN setup

1. Choose one reliable PC (the "server") to hold the Data folder. Keep it switched on while others work.
2. Share that folder on the network with read / write rights for the users who need it.
3. On each other PC, map the share as a drive letter (for example R:).
4. In Rudra ERP on each PC: Alt+P on Select Company and point the data path to the mapped drive.
5. Activate every PC with its own key.

7. Education Mode

Education Mode is free and has the complete program, with these limits:

• Vouchers can be entered or altered only on the 1st, 2nd and 31st of a month.
• Import from Excel is turned off.
• Printed and PDF pages are marked "Education Mode".
• It is for learning only and may not be used to keep the books of a business.

A monthly or yearly licence that has ended also runs in Education Mode until renewed. Your data stays readable.

8. Licence usage rules

• Rudra ERP is licensed, not sold. A serial lets you use the edition and term it was sold for, on the computers it is activated for.
• Silver: one computer. Gold: the number of computers bought.
• Do not share, resell or publish serial numbers or activation keys.
• Do not set the system date back. The program detects it and stops entries until the date is correct.
• Do not modify, decompile or reverse engineer the program.
• You are responsible for your backups and for checking reports and GST returns before filing.

The full text is in the End User Licence Agreement.

9. Updates

• Monthly and yearly licences: all updates during the licence term are free.
• Lifetime licences: free updates until the date shown on the licence; after that, the yearly update plan extends it. The version you have keeps working for ever.
• To update: take a backup, then run the new setup over the old one. Your data and licence are kept.
• See what's new on the release notes.

10. Good practice

• Set the correct financial year and GSTIN when creating the company.
• Keep your Windows date and time correct.
• Use a UPS on the PC that holds the data — power cuts during a save are the most common cause of damaged files.
• Keep antivirus on, but add the Rudra ERP Data folder to its exclusions if it slows the program.
• Renew when the top bar turns amber (15 days left).