How to Give Your CA Secure Access Without Sharing Passwords

At the end of every quarter, the same conversation happens in thousands of auto parts shops across India.

The CA calls: “Bhai, I need the data for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. Can you share your login?”

The shop owner shares his main billing software username and password.

The CA logs in, downloads what they need, and files the returns.

This works. But it’s also:

• A security risk (the CA now has complete access to your business)
• An audit risk (the system can’t distinguish what the CA changed vs what you changed)
• A trust dependency (what happens if the CA relationship ends?)

There’s a better way — and modern billing software for auto parts shops includes it as a standard feature.

What the CA Actually Needs

To file your GST returns, your CA needs:

For GSTR-1:

• List of all sales invoices (with customer GSTIN, invoice number, date, amount, tax breakdown)
• Credit notes issued during the period
• Amended invoices

For GSTR-3B:

• Total outward supplies summary (taxable value + tax by rate)
• ITC available (from purchases with GSTR-2B)
• ITC reversal details (if any)

For your business health review (quarterly/annual):

• P&L summary
• Outstanding receivables aging
• Outstanding payables aging
• Stock value

Critically, the CA does NOT need:

• Access to your pricing for individual customers (which you might vary)
• Access to make new invoices or modify existing ones
• Your staff’s salaries or other personal financial data
• Ability to edit inventory or create purchase orders

The Problem with Sharing Your Main Login

When you give your CA your main admin password, they get access to:

• Create or delete invoices
• Change prices on items
• Modify customer ledger entries
• View all customer credit information
• Access your bank/payment data
• See data from before their engagement (potentially years of history)

Most CAs are perfectly trustworthy. But the access is unnecessary, and it creates risk that doesn’t need to exist.

It also creates audit trail problems: if an invoice was modified on a date when you weren’t in the office but your CA was logged in, the system can’t distinguish who did what. For a GST audit, that’s a headache.

The Right Solution: Role-Based Access

Good billing software allows you to create separate user accounts with specific permissions.

For a CA or accountant, you would create a user account with:

• View only access to sales invoices and purchase invoices
• Access to GST reports (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B data)
• Access to P&L and balance sheet summaries
• Access to outstanding reports
• No ability to create, edit, or delete invoices
• No ability to modify inventory or pricing

The CA logs in with their own unique credentials — not yours. Every action they take is logged under their username.

Setting Up CA Access in Wrenchly

Wrenchly includes a dedicated Accountant Portal role designed specifically for this use case.

Step 1: Go to Settings → Users & Roles

Step 2: Click Invite User

Step 3: Enter your CA’s email address

Step 4: Select Role: Accountant

The Accountant role gives access to:

• GST reports (GSTR-1 export, GSTR-3B summary, GSTR-2B reconciliation)
• Sales and purchase reports (read-only)
• P&L and balance sheet
• Outstanding receivables and payables

The Accountant role does NOT give access to:

• Invoice creation or editing
• Inventory management
• Customer credit limits
• User management
• Any action that modifies data

Step 5: Your CA receives an email with login credentials (or a setup link)

Step 6: Your CA logs in to their dedicated accountant view

They see what they need. Nothing more.

What Your CA Sees in the Accountant Portal

When your CA logs in, they see a clean, purpose-built view:

GST Section:

• GSTR-1 data export (JSON or Excel, ready to upload to GST portal)
• GSTR-3B summary with all required table values pre-calculated
• GSTR-2B reconciliation report (purchase invoices vs GSTR-2B)
• Credit note register

Reports Section:

• Monthly P&L
• Outstanding receivables age analysis
• Outstanding payables age analysis
• Stock summary (value only)

No editing controls. No invoice creation. No settings.

The experience for your CA is actually better than logging in as an admin — they don’t have to navigate through billing counters or inventory screens. They go directly to what matters for compliance.

Benefits Beyond Security

For your CA:

• Faster access to the data they need
• Always up to date (they’re seeing live data, not a spreadsheet you send them)
• Exports are GST-formatted — direct upload to the portal
• Less back-and-forth with you (“can you send the April invoices? Can you resend with GSTIN?”)

For you:

• You know exactly what access your CA has
• You can revoke access instantly if the relationship ends (one click)
• Audit trail: every action by the CA is logged separately
• No risk of accidental data changes during CA visits

For the business:

• CA can access data at any time without disturbing your operations
• End of quarter isn’t a data-sharing scramble
• Your CA may catch issues earlier (like GSTR-2B mismatches) because they have real-time access

Multiple Levels of Staff Access

The same role-based approach applies to your other staff:

This means:

• Your counter boy can bill but can’t delete invoices or see your pricing margins
• Your delivery person can see what needs to be delivered but can’t access financial data
• Your CA can access everything they need for compliance but can’t touch operations

What If Your CA Prefers Spreadsheets?

Some CAs, especially those handling many clients with different software, prefer to work with exports rather than direct system access.

In this case, Wrenchly lets you schedule or manually export:

• GSTR-1 data in Excel or JSON
• Purchase register in Excel
• Sales register in Excel
• GSTR-3B summary table

You can send these to your CA via WhatsApp or email. But the accountant portal login is available when you’re ready for a more connected workflow — and most CAs appreciate it once they use it.

Revoking Access

When you change CAs (or if there’s any reason to end the access), go to Settings → Users → [CA’s account] → Deactivate.

Their access is revoked immediately. They cannot log in. All their previous activity is still in the audit log.

No password changes needed on your end. Your regular admin login is unaffected.

Wrapping Up

Sharing your main password with your CA is a habit, not a necessity. Role-based accountant access is more secure, more professional, and actually more convenient for your CA than navigating your full admin interface.

The setup takes 5 minutes. The benefit is a permanent, clean separation between who manages operations and who manages compliance.

→ Wrenchly’s Accountant Portal gives your CA the access they need — GSTR-1, GSTR-3B data, P&L — without ever sharing your password. Included in all plans.

Related reading:

• How to Track Outstanding Payments in Your Auto Parts Shop
• Input Tax Credit for Auto Parts Dealers: What You’re Probably Missing
• GSTR-3B for Automobile Dealers: 7 Common Mistakes