Why Does Your Business Need Proper GST Billing Software?

Since the Goods and Services Act was passed in 2017, businesses throughout the nation have been making sure that they remain compliant with the requirements of the GST Act.

The GST Invoicing Software allows enterprises to properly file their GST invoicing software so that they do not fall behind on their taxes and run into legal trouble. However, manually preparing invoices on paper or excel is extremely inefficient and prone to error.

Therefore, businesses need the assistance of GST billing software, guiding them to generate and manage invoices as per the statutory guidelines. In the sections below we would learn what GST billing software is all about, the components of a GST invoice and why businesses need the guidance of a good GST billing software.

What is GST Billing Software?

GST billing software is an application designed to help businesses manage their billing and invoicing processes in compliance with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulations.

GST invoicing software typically includes features such as creating and managing invoices, calculating taxes, generating reports, managing inventory, and tracking payments. It is designed to automate the billing process and ensure accurate GST compliance, which can save businesses time and reduce the risk of errors.

How Does The GST Billing Software Help Businesses?

The GST invoicing software is crucial for businesses. Below are the reasons that how necessary a GST software is:

• Automate Business processes and calculations:

  The GST billing software automates all the processes of filing GST returns by making the necessary yet complex calculations on its own. These processes range from billing, filing, invoicing, and calculation of taxes, liabilities, penalties, etc.

• Saves time and prevents delays:

  With the help of the GST invoicing software businesses can file GST returns by following all the guidelines of the income tax department without any delay or confusion. Because any delay in filing returns on time can lead your business to incur extra penalties in the form of late fees.

• All-round performance:

  The GST billing software can multi-task effectively while not compromising on the accuracy of its calculations. Therefore, It enhances operational productivity for the business which generates the desired profit.

• Covers all the forms:

  File various forms like GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, and GSTR-9 online with precision.

• Aids in decision making:

  The GST invoicing software enables businesses to make sound financial decisions as the software puts a macro picture of the business in front of the decision maker and paves the way for making effective and efficient business strategies.

• Prevents from making errors:

  The GST billing software prevents the business from making any undue error while filing GST returns like the entry of the wrong HSN code. Any error while filing the GST form can lead to legal hassles, and if not checked can further lead to the cancellation of the license of the business owner.

• Easy Reconciliation:

  This is a key feature of the GST invoicing software because reconciling documents. The software has an inbuilt feature to match and reconcile separate forms and matches the sales and purchase data effectively.

• Accurate Filings:

  GST invoicing software enables your enterprise to make precise entries while filing the GST form. This reduces the problem of making wrong entries and saves businesses from running into any legal trouble later.

• Reporting and Analysis:

  Businesses can generate reports and carry out evaluations that would lead to deciding a better course of action for the business in the future.

Components Of GST Invoices

Below are the things that one needs to take care of while generating a GST invoice. These components are crucial to the structure of the invoice

• Invoice Number
• Date on which invoice was issued
• Name of the Customer
• GSTIN of the customer and taxpayer
• Place from where supply was made
• HSN or SAC code
• Details of the item like their weight, value and quantity
• Rate of SGST, CGST and IGST applied
• Things to be taxed and calculated
• Signature of Supplier
• Taxable amount and discount
• Whether or not, the GST is paid on reverse charge basis

Various Types Of GST Bills On GST Billing System

Within GST, there are various types of separate notes and bills that serve a particular purpose. Below are these very notes and bills for the reference:

• Tax Invoice: A tax invoice is a legal document that provides details about a taxable supply of goods or services made by a registered supplier to a registered recipient.
• Bill of Supply – For every GST-exempted product/service, the bill of supply is generated instead of an invoice, and this is made operational via various modification tools and a platform enlisting the exempted products, thereby ensuring accuracy.
• Invoice-cum-Bill of Supply: It is a combination of a tax invoice and Bill-of-supply and is issued when goods/services that are either taxed or untaxed/exempted or both are supplied to an unregistered individual.
• Revised/Supplementary Invoice – These invoices are issued in case the issuer notices any discrepancy or fault in the original invoice that has already been issued. The invoice can either be in the form of a debit note or a credit note.
• Debit Note: This is a note that the purchaser of goods issues to the supplier to return the goods received due to some or the other issue related to their quality or any other reason while stating the reason that why the good was returned in the first place.
• Credit Note: It is a note issued by the supplier of the goods to the buyer confirming that the goods have been received. It is mainly issued after the supplier has received a debit note.
• Receipt Vouchers: These are generated when a company is supposed to be paid in advance for the sale of its products/services to the customer. Therefore, the receipt voucher functions as proof of advance payments received by the company.
• Refund Voucher: Suppose a company fails to deliver the goods/services which it had promised to deliver earlier in accordance with the terms of payment.

Must Have Features In Your GST Billing Software For Small Business Compatibility

As GST software, there are some necessary features that they need to provide in today’s market dynamics. These features not just help the business to avoid threats or losses but capitalize on its strengths and opportunities:

• Cloud-Based Storage: Businesses often face trouble due to unprotected and underwhelming data storage facilities. Therefore, it is crucial for any GST billing/invoicing software to have the facility of cloud-based data storage that would enable them to store and access their crucial data anytime, anywhere while keeping their data secure from any physical harm at reduced data storage costs.
• Migration facility: A good GST billing software is one which can make it easy for businesses to migrate/transfer easily from any other software without affecting their operations in any manner. For e.g., the closure of QuickBooks in India has put a lot of its users on the back foot and affected their operations. This is something good software needs to take care of.
• Multi-User facility: This facility is important as many top GST invoicing software don’t provide their users with the option to add multiple users and businesses in a single profile/account. This affects the user by restricting its capability to scale up its operations and hinders its growth.
• Technical Support: A dedicated GST billing software would allow its users to have a human connection as well. Hence the software should provide the facility to directly connect with a team of professionals for any business or software-related issue and that too anytime, anywhere.

Conclusion

The market dynamics are changing at a rapid pace and businesses often aren’t able to keep up with it. The Goods and Services Tax, 2017 is aimed at unifying the taxation systems that are often reviewed from time to time and important changes are made. Hence proper GST billing/invoicing software can become a backbone for the business by providing them with a reliable and efficient way to manage their invoicing, accounting, and GST compliance requirements.

FAQs

Does filing GST invoices/bills mandatory for every business?

Any company with an annual revenue of over INR 40 lakhs, need to file

Can a person having multiple business verticals in a state obtain different registrations?

Yes. In terms of Sub-Section (2) of Section 25, a person having multiple business verticals in a State may obtain a separate registration for each business vertical, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed

Is the Registration granted to any person permanent?

Yes, the registration Certificate once granted is permanent unless surrendered, cancelled, suspended or revoked.

Should, my business get a GST billing software?

If your annual business turnover is more than INR 40 lakhs, then you must get a GST billing software to make filling and billing of GST invoices easy

Is it necessary for the Govt. organization to get registration?

A unique identification number (ID) would be given by the respective state tax authorities through GST portal to Government authorities / PSUs not making outwards supplies of GST goods (and thus not liable to obtain GST registration) but are making inter-state purchases