Asking Tala questions

Tala understands plain English, so there is no special syntax to learn. A clear question about your books gets a clear answer based on your real figures.

Ask in your own words

1. Open Tala from the top navigation. It is also the first screen after you sign in.
2. Type your question in the prompt box. Press Enter to send it; Shift+Enter starts a new line.
3. Tala shows "Tala is thinking…" while it checks your books, then replies in the chat.

Before your first message, suggestion chips sit under the prompt box, such as "Show my overdue invoices". Choosing one sends it straight away.

Example questions

• "What do I owe in VAT?" - Tala reads the figures from your VAT return periods.
• "Show my overdue invoices" - who still owes you, and how much.
• "Summarise this month's expenses" - what has been claimed and where the money went.
• "What's my cash position?" - your balances across all bank accounts.
• "Which bills should I pay first?" - Tala looks at your unpaid bills and suggests an order, stating its assumptions.
• "What has gone through my Travel account?" - Tala finds the account on your trial balance and lists its transactions.

Ask follow-ups

Tala keeps the thread of the conversation, so you can drill into an answer: "Which of those has been outstanding longest?" or "What should I chase first?"

Speak and listen

If your browser supports dictation, a microphone appears in the prompt box; select it and speak, and your words are typed for you. Under each reply, Read aloud plays the answer back, and Stop ends it.

If Tala cannot access something your question needs, it says so plainly; see What Tala can see. And when an answer leads to action, Tala can draft the change for you; see Tala's action proposals.