GST billing software for shops, traders and small makers

A bill book or a Word template gives you a page to write on. GST billing software does the parts that go wrong by hand: the tax on each line, the CGST, SGST and IGST split, the next invoice number, and a record of every bill that adds up at month end. When your accountant asks for the GST you collected in September, the answer is a report rather than an evening with a calculator.

The contents of a tax invoice are set by rule 46 of the CGST Rules, published on cbic-gst.gov.in. Two details catch small businesses out. The invoice number must be consecutive, up to 16 characters, unique for the financial year, and may use letters, numbers, hyphens and slashes. And HSN codes depend on turnover: with aggregate turnover up to ₹5 crore in the previous year, B2B tax invoices show a 4-digit HSN code; above ₹5 crore, 6 digits (CBIC notification 78/2020, from 1 April 2021).

Software does not decide your GST rates. Since 22 September 2025 most goods fall under two main rates, 5% and 18%, with 40% for a short list of luxury and sin goods, while some items keep special rates or are exempt. Check the current rate for each HSN code on the CBIC or GST portal, and save it on the product so every bill uses it.

Most small businesses bill in two ways. Walk-in customers are billed at the counter: scan, take payment, hand over a receipt. Business customers, such as a retailer buying from a distributor, place an order, take delivery and pay later. Billing software for a shop that also has trade customers should handle both without two bill books.

In managemate, a counter sale is invoiced the moment it completes, with the payment recorded at the same time by UPI, cash, card or a split. A trade sale starts as a draft that prints as a quotation, becomes a sales order, is delivered in one go or in parts with a delivery challan, and is invoiced from the order when you are ready. Both share one invoice series, so numbers stay consecutive whichever counter or salesperson raised the bill.

The difference is in what each bill carries. A counter receipt prints on 58 mm or 80 mm paper, titled Tax invoice when your GSTIN is saved, with a GST table by rate and a barcode of the bill number for returns. An order invoice prints on A4 as an original, duplicate or triplicate copy, with billing and shipping addresses, a due date from the customer's payment terms and a How to pay slip with a UPI QR for the balance.

You set the fixed parts once in Settings: business and legal name, address, state, GSTIN, logo, numbered terms and conditions, UPI ID and bank details. Under Document numbering, choose the prefix, the next number and the number of digits for invoices, credit notes, orders and other documents. A prefix can be up to 12 letters, numbers, slashes or hyphens, so INV/26-27/ followed by five digits stays within the 16-character limit.

Each product carries its GST rate and HSN or SAC code, so lines fill in when you scan or search. Turn on Selling prices include GST if your shelf prices already include tax, and the invoice works out the tax inside each price. Leave it off if you quote prices before GST, as most wholesalers do, and tax is added on top. Discounts are a percentage on each line.

When the invoice is issued, managemate compares the state in your GSTIN with the ship-to state, or with the state in the buyer's GSTIN when there is no shipping address. The same state gives CGST and SGST; a different state gives IGST. The invoice prints the place of supply with its state code, a tax table by rate, the amount in words and an authorised signatory line. Without a GSTIN, the same document prints as a plain invoice.

When billing and stock live in separate places, every sale is entered twice, once on the bill and once in the stock register, and the second entry is the one skipped on a busy evening. Billing software with inventory removes that step. In managemate, completing a counter sale or recording a delivery takes the goods out of stock at that location straight away.

Because the bill and the stock are one record, useful checks follow. The counter warns when a bill asks for more than is in stock at that location, and the sale is not recorded until the stock is there. The batch with the earliest expiry goes first, and expired batches cannot be billed. A customer return puts goods back into the batch they came from and records a numbered credit note against the invoice. People allowed to see costs get the cost and margin of each order, from the batches actually delivered.

The same record feeds your dues. A credit sale's due date follows the customer's terms, the invoice moves to Overdue by itself when that date passes, and a WhatsApp reminder with the balance and your UPI ID is a tap away. Reports show net sales before GST, GST collected on sales, GST paid on purchases and the difference, for any period including the current financial year.

Most of the switch is a one-time setup. Sign up and answer the onboarding questions about your business, GST registration, branding, invoice numbering and how customers pay you. Then import your product list from Excel or CSV with names, SKUs, prices, GST rates and HSN codes, and your customers with their GSTINs, addresses and payment terms. Each file can hold up to 5,000 rows, and every row is checked before anything is saved.

Two details keep your records continuous. Set the next invoice number to follow the last bill in your old book, so the series has no gap. And record opening stock before your first sale, by importing it or by counting the shelves with a scanner or phone camera, because managemate will not bill stock it does not have.

Old bills stay where they are. Past invoices and customer balances do not import, so keep your old book or file for dues raised before the switch, and bill everything new in managemate from a chosen date. The first of a month, or the start of a financial year with a new invoice prefix, keeps the handover clear for your accountant.

managemate costs ₹299 per user per month, or ₹2,870 per user per year, which is about 20% less. Every plan has every feature, including the counter, inventory and reports. A shop with an owner and two counter staff pays for three users: ₹897 a month, or ₹8,610 a year. Prices are inclusive of all applicable taxes. The 60-day free trial for up to 5 users needs no card and is available once per customer, and the first payment has a 7-day money-back guarantee, also once per customer.

Know the limits before you choose it. managemate makes GST tax invoices but does not file GST returns, prepare GSTR files, or generate e-invoice IRNs or e-way bills; those are done on the GST portal, and the delivery challan has spaces to write the e-way bill, vehicle and LR numbers. It has no composition scheme bill of supply and no reverse charge marking. There is no discount on the whole bill, only on lines. It needs an internet connection to bill, and lists cannot be exported to Excel.