A useful audit software free trial goes well beyond repeating what the sales demo already showed: bring a genuinely messy real client export rather than the vendor's clean sample data, deliberately test what happens with a bad or incomplete file, check how prior-year comparatives and carried-forward schedules behave, and ask to see exactly what exporting the firm's own trial data back out looks like before signing anything.
Why the demo already told you nothing useful
A sales demo runs on data the vendor chose specifically because it works well, walked through by someone who knows exactly which buttons to click in which order. None of that tells a firm what will happen on a real Tuesday afternoon, with a real client's inconsistent GSTINs and mixed voucher types, operated by a junior who's seeing the tool for the first time. The trial period exists to find that out, and most firms waste it by just repeating the demo themselves.
What to actually do during the trial
- 01Bring the messiest real client export the firm hasNot a clean sample — a genuine export with inconsistent formatting, missing fields, or unusual voucher types. How the tool handles this is far more informative than any feature list.
- 02Deliberately feed it something brokenAn incomplete file, a duplicate upload, a file in the wrong format. Does the tool fail clearly and informatively, or does it silently produce an incomplete or wrong result?
- 03Test prior-period comparatives, not just the current yearLoad a prior-year file and check whether the comparison features actually work the way the sales pitch described, since this is often weaker in practice than demoed.
- 04Have a junior, not a partner, run a full procedure unsupervisedThe person who will actually use this tool daily is rarely the partner in the sales call. Watching a junior navigate it without guidance surfaces real usability gaps.
- 05Ask to export the trial data back out, before signingThis directly tests the vendor's export claims rather than taking them on faith, and it's far easier to ask during a free trial than after paying.
- 06Call support with a real question during the trial, not after signingResponse time and quality during a trial, when the firm isn't yet a paying customer, is a reasonable proxy for what support looks like after.
If a vendor resists a request to bring real client data into the trial, or discourages deliberately testing edge cases, treat that itself as informative — a product confident in its handling of messy real-world data usually welcomes the stress test rather than steering around it.
How we think about this
Lekhya's trial process is built around exactly this kind of stress test, because a demo on clean sample data proves very little about how the tool behaves on the file a firm will actually upload on a Tuesday afternoon mid-engagement.
This is practical guidance written for audit teams, not an authoritative statement of any standard or statute. Standards, forms and timelines change. Check the current text issued by the ICAI and the relevant authority before relying on anything here in an audit file.
Related resources
- Technology, data & AI in auditChoosing an audit automation vendor: a checklistThe questions that separate a vendor worth trusting with client data from one that merely demos well: security, what's computed versus generated, exit terms, pricing, and India-specific fit.
- Audit workflow & automationEvaluating audit software for an Indian CA firmWhat to test before buying: Indian data and calendar, evidence traceability, review and sign-off, data handling, and the questions vendors find hardest.
- Technology, data & AI in auditAudit software implementation: a firm's checklistThe sequence that works: migrate data deliberately, pilot on one engagement before rolling out firm-wide, and configure methodology before anyone's deadline depends on it.
Free tools, no signup
Each one reads a file entirely in your browser — or, for two of them, just answers a few questions — and nothing is ever uploaded.
- Purchase register checkDuplicate payments, round-sum amounts, weekend-dated invoices, incomplete records.
- GSTR-2B reconcilerMatches your purchase register against GSTR-2B — missing invoices either side, amount mismatches.
- Bank reconciliation checkerMatches your cash book against a bank statement — what's outstanding on each side.
- Fixed asset register checkDuplicate asset codes, missing location or useful life, negative net book value.
- Payroll red-flag scannerBank accounts shared across employees, and records missing an ID, PAN or salary.
- CARO applicability checkerAnswer a few questions about the company and see which CARO 2020 clauses likely apply.
- MSME payment delay checkerMSME-flagged invoices paid — or still unpaid — beyond the 45-day Section 22 limit.
- Related-party transaction screenerTransactions above a threshold you set with no approval reference, grouped by counterparty.
- Depreciation useful life checkerCompares a useful life in use against the Schedule II, Part C indicative figure.
- Materiality calculatorOverall and performance materiality against PBT, revenue, assets or equity, with reasoning shown.
- Sample size calculatorStatistical sample size for a test of controls or a substantive test of detail.