Press Release

HostBooks Onboards Insurance Expert Sunil Juneja for Innovation and Growth

New Delhi, Apr 04, 2024

HostBooks, a leading enterprise business management solutions provider, has announced a strategic partnership with Sunil Juneja, a seasoned veteran in the insurance and technology sectors.

This collaboration aims to expand HostBooks' market presence, enhance customer engagement, and integrate digital marketing strategies to advance technological advancements. The partnership has garnered online coverage from The Reporting Today, Daily Hunt, and Biz Life News, in addition to print coverage featured in The North East Times, Arthik Lipi, and Prabasher Khabar.

Leveraging Juneja's expertise in insurance privatization and technological advancements, both parties are excited about the potential for innovation and customer-centric solutions. Kapil Rana, HostBooks' Founder and Chairperson, highlights the partnership's potential to set new industry standards. HostBooks and Juneja aim to redefine the financial and accounting sector, promoting efficiency, compliance, and growth.

HostBooks welcomes Invenio Business Solution as a Platinum Partner

New Delhi, Apr 03, 2024

HostBooks Ltd. has announced a strategic partnership with Invenio Business Solutions, designating them as a Platinum Partner. This collaboration signifies a significant advancement in accounting and financial management, aiming to leverage cutting-edge technology and innovation to reshape the future of businesses in India. Under the leadership of Shankar Das, renowned for his expertise in driving technological advancements, Invenio Business Solutions brings a wealth of experience to the partnership.

Das expresses enthusiasm for the collaboration, emphasizing the shared vision of utilizing the latest advancements to meet evolving business needs. With a focus on user-friendly interfaces and state-of-the-art technology, HostBooks' commitment aligns perfectly with Invenio's mission to deliver unparalleled value to clients.
The partnership is set to catalyze HostBooks' expansion, enhancing product accessibility and reaffirming its dedication to streamlining operations, improving compliance management, and driving growth.
Abhijit Dutta, CSO of HostBooks, expresses excitement about the partnership, highlighting its strategic importance in delivering top-notch business solutions across various industries in India.This partnership marks the beginning of a new chapter for both companies, promising transformative changes in financial management and accounting for Indian enterprises toward a future of efficiency, innovation, and success.

HostBooks Featured in FTCCI Review Magazine

New Delhi, Apr 02, 2024

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HostBooks, a prominent ERP SaaS-based business automation solution provider, proudly announces its recognition in the esteemed FTCCI Review magazine for pioneering contributions to the ERP software industry. This acknowledgment highlights HostBooks' commitment to innovation and reflects the shared values and objectives between HostBooks and FTCCI Review.

FTCCI Review magazine, with a rich history dating back to its establishment over a century ago, has been dedicated to amplifying the voices of industry, commerce, and trade. Originally founded as The Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce in 1917, the organization represented the entire erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad, encompassing present-day Telangana, Marathwada region of Maharashtra, and some districts of present North Karnataka. Over the years, FTCCI has evolved into an apex organization representing large, medium, and small-scale industries, fostering a conducive business climate and advocating for policies beneficial to trade and commerce.

HostBooks is committed to innovation and excellence in ERP software solutions, and it aligns perfectly with FTCCI Review's vision and mission. As a leading provider of ERP SaaS-based business automation solutions, HostBooks simplifies accounting, taxation, and compliance processes, empowering businesses to achieve sustainable growth. The recognition by FTCCI Review underscores HostBooks' pivotal role in fostering a conducive business environment not only in Telangana but also on a broader scale.
This acknowledgment validates our dedication to innovation and emphasizes our shared objectives with FTCCI Review in promoting trade interests and addressing commercial queries.With over 3000 direct members and more than 25,000 indirect members through its 160 associations and chambers of commerce, FTCCI Review has become an essential platform for interaction between government and businesses.
HostBooks remains committed to delivering cutting-edge ERP solutions that streamline business operations and contribute to the economic development of Telangana and beyond.

HostBooks Welcomes Darsh Infotech as Platinum Partner

New Delhi, Mar 20, 2024

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HostBooks Ltd. proudly announces a strategic partnership with Darsh Infotech, a renowned expert in retail solutions led by Bharati Nathwani, bringing over 15 years of experience in POS, ERP, CRM, and auditing. This collaboration signifies a significant stride in our distribution and service capabilities, aiming to streamline operations and fuel seamless growth for mid-large enterprises across various sectors.

With Darsh Infotech's expertise and extensive network, we anticipate substantial enhancements within our focal areas, bolstering our position as a leader in the cloud software market. This partnership underscores our commitment to democratizing access to top-tier enterprise solutions, offering tailored software to address diverse business needs efficiently. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration, delivering innovative solutions to empower Indian enterprises and drive holistic business development.

Hostbooks onboard Aster Business Solution as platinum partner for fueling growth

New Delhi, Mar 19, 2024

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HostBooks Ltd, a pioneering Enterprise Business Management Solution provider in India, is thrilled to unveil its latest strategic partnership with Aster Business Solutions LLP. This partnership signifies a pivotal moment in our journey towards enhancing distribution and service capabilities.

Led by Mohammad Ateeq, Managing Partner of Aster Business Solutions LLP, this collaboration aims to revolutionize the digital landscape for businesses across various sectors including manufacturing, hotel & restaurant, and distribution. Leveraging Ateeq's extensive tech background and HostBooks' innovative solutions, we are poised to streamline operations and drive unprecedented growth for enterprises.

At HostBooks, we are committed to redefining industry standards for financial and compliance management. This partnership with Aster Business Solutions LLP aligns perfectly with our mission to provide cutting-edge solutions that empower Indian enterprises on their digital transformation journey. Together, we aspire to foster a landscape of increased efficiency and sustained growth, revolutionizing how businesses manage their operations.

HostBooks' Strategic Move with Sajit Roy as Platinum Partner Garners Major Media Attention in the Middle East

New Delhi, Feb 26, 2024

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HostBooks' recent announcement of onboarding Sajit Roy as a Platinum Partner for their Middle East expansion has captured the attention of 11 prominent media houses and news websites in the Middle East region with a combined readership of over 3.2 million.
News of this strategic partnership has been featured on reputable platforms such as Emirates Free Press, UAE Daily Journal, Abu Dhabi Reporter, and Middle East News Journal, among others. The coverage highlights the significance of Sajit Roy's appointment in spearheading HostBooks' expansion efforts in the Middle East, particularly from their Dubai base.

The articles commend HostBooks for choosing an industry veteran like Sajit Roy, citing his extensive experience in IT sales and proven track record in the region. The news has also gained traction on popular search engines, further amplifying the visibility of HostBooks' strategic move.

This widespread media coverage is a testament to the excitement and anticipation surrounding HostBooks' expansion plans, showcasing the company's commitment to making significant growth in the Middle East market.

SAM's Appointment as Full-Time Gold Partner Garners Global Recognition Across 9 Prominent News Websites

New Delhi, Feb 13, 2024

GBPR

HostBooks Limited has recently appointed Soumyabrata Dutta (SAM) as its Full-Time Gold Partner to spearhead sales channels and drive exponential growth. SAM, with over 19 years of experience, has a robust track record in software development, SAP operations, and entrepreneurship. His expertise is will strengthen our position in the cloud enterprise software market.
Under SAM's leadership HostBooks aims to become a premier service provider globally, offering comprehensive solutions for organizational needs.

This new joining has gained significant coverage across 9 reputed multiple news websites with a combined viewership of over 3.5 million, including Hello Kotpad, Quick Biz News, Business Micro, Passionate in Marketing, CXO Today, India Communication Forum, Adgully, voice15, and APN News.

These publications showcase the industry's recognition of SAM's appointment and HostBooks' strategic move towards enhanced growth and global market leadership.

Onboarding Girish Belekar as Head of Implementation Draws Media Spotlight and Recognition from Top News Agencies

New Delhi, Jan 25, 2024

GBPR

HostBooks has recently welcomed Girish Belekar as Head of Implementation, a move that has garnered significant attention from major news agencies. Mr. Belekar, armed with a Six Sigma certification and boasting over 23 years of expertise in various domains, including AP ECC, Oracle EBS, OTM, INFOR ERP Implementation, and more, has become a focal point for media coverage.

Nine prominent news agencies have covered Belekar's onboarding, collectively reaching an expansive readership of over 5 million. The coverage emphasizes his strategic role in facilitating HostBooks' exponential growth. News outlets such as CXO Today, Passionate in Marketing, APN News, Business Micro, Online News 9, BizRapidx, and so on have highlighted the significance of Belekar's leadership in HostBooks' journey.

To delve into the details of this noteworthy development, explore the coverage on the following links:

This widespread coverage underscores the industry's recognition of HostBooks' commitment to excellence and innovation in leadership.

Our Presence at INDIASOFT Covered by 30+ Newspapers with a Readership Exceeding 10 Million

New Delhi, Jan 23, 2024

In a remarkable display of Cloud-Based Business Automation Solutions, our participation in the recent INDIASOFT event garnered widespread coverage from over 30 newspapers with a combined readership exceeding 10 million. The event served as a dynamic platform for us to showcase our innovative Enterprise management solutions and connect with industry leaders.

Our engagement at INDIASOFT highlighted our commitment to providing cutting-edge business automation solutions. The extensive coverage by reputable newspapers not only recognizes our presence at the forefront of industry innovation but also emphasizes the widespread interest in our transformative ERP system offerings.

The event allowed us to interact with a diverse audience, fostering meaningful discussions and potential collaborations. The positive reception from attendees and the subsequent media coverage underscores the relevance and impact of HostBooks cloud-based business automation solutions across various sectors.

As we continue to pioneer advancements in finance, compliance, and automation, the widespread acknowledgment from leading newspapers reinforces our position as a key player in the industry. We are thrilled by the recognition and look forward to leveraging this momentum for sustained growth and success.

Click on the links below to check out what the News reports say about us.

MSME Super-app, HostBooks raises $3Million in Series-A Funding from Razorpay; Plans to Strengthen its Product Suite

New Delhi, June 10, 2022

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) focused fintech start-up HostBooks today announced that it has raised $3 Million in a Series-A funding round led by Razorpay, India’s Leading Full-Stack Financial Services Company. HostBooks plans to utilize the fund to not only add new features to its existing product suite but also to develop innovative products including a deep learning-based Business Intelligence System and an AI-based Posting and Recommendation System. HostBooks raises $3Million

Hostbooks intends to utilize the Series-A funding to further scale its operations and enhance its existing product suite with the launch of new products supporting order management, neo-banking, advanced inventory & production management and AI based business decision making tools to better support its wide customer base in the country. With this, HostBooks will be a step closer to becoming a one-stop shop for all Business and Finance Operations needs of MSMEs in India.

Commenting on the announcement, Kapil Rana, Founder, HostBooks said “We are simplifying and automating the entire business process by focusing on the sources of the transactions, banking, accounting, and tax compliances with an integrated end-to-end business management solution. With the growth in the economy combined with tax norms, the process of accounting and statutory compliance has become more complex. HostBooks, with its large range of services like billing, accounting, inventory management, payroll, compliance management, banking, and advanced business reporting, envisages making the whole process automated, easy to understand, hassle-free, and efficient.”

“We share a common vision with Razorpay, which is to build the financial backbone for businesses in India and enable them to thrive. This funding is a major step forward in that direction. Through Razorpay’s support and expertise, we would not only be able to make business processes simpler for entrepreneurs but also give them the tools they need to fast track the growth of their business.” added Biswajit Mishra, Co-founder, HostBooks.

HostBooks has transformed tedious backend business processes including accounting and compliance for MSME/SME through a single sign-on collaborative platform. With over 250,000 businesses on its platform, HostBooks has been able to reduce costs of business operations by up to 70%. Along with many features, HostBooks also offers an in-built e-Document Management System with free cloud storage.

Commenting on this funding Harshil Mathur, CEO & Co-founder, Razorpay said, “Small businesses are a major driver of the Indian economy and we, at Razorpay have been on a mission to enable them in every step of their growth journey. It is promising to see that companies like HostBooks are playing a critical role in creating a thriving growth environment for small businesses. It gives me immense pleasure for Razorpay to be a part of HostBooks’ growth journey. With our shared vision of fostering growth for businesses with our unified financial management solutions, we would work together towards building a stronger, frictionless business operations SaaS and banking ecosystem for millions of MSMEs in India.”

HostBooks was founded by Kapil Rana in 2017 and was joined at an early stage by Biswajit Mishra. HostBooks is an innovative cloud-based financial platform that offers end-to-end solutions that cater to the complete value chain of businesses and enable them to automate their business processes. The platform caters to the complete value chain of business functions – be it handling F&A, Tax, GST, e-Way Bills, e-Invoicing, Banking, Inventory Management, Order Management, Billing & Invoicing, Cash & Bank Management, Business Intelligence, BP Portal, Procurement & Payroll.

About HostBooks

Gurgaon-based Fintech start-up, HostBooks offers end-to-end, all-in-one automated business solutions empowering small and medium enterprises to manage their accounting, tax, GST, TDS, e-way bill, E-invoicing, Income Tax, payroll, and point-of-sale (POS/m-POS). It offers statutory record maintenance, a single-click easy-to-use filing solution, customizable and intelligent business reporting as well as hassle-free compliances. These features help businesses save significant costs and time, thus enabling smart decision-making and helping MSME/SMEs’ to focus on their core business.

HostBooks help in streamlining and reducing business leakages by building intelligence into the routine business processes from sourcing/purchasing to invoicing and accounting and cash flow tracking as it has direct interfaces with financial/banking providers. It allows seamless integration with external systems and is hosted on Cloud thus making it a fully secure and state-of-the-art offering. The robust compliance frameworks and automation reduce the risk of non-compliance as well as its cost significantly. The founding and the leadership team, come with a considerable amount of first-hand experience in accounting and tax as well as company law compliances. The company was co-founded by Kapil Rana and Biswajit Mishra, both professionally qualified Chartered Accountants. For more information, please visit www.hostbooks.com/in/.

HostBooks Signs MoU with ICAI to promote technology automation

31 January 2020

As part of the MoU, HostBooks will be offering three users all-in-one accounting & compliance solutions to ICAI members for three years free of cost bundled with other benefits. GSP

Gurgaon based FinTech Company HostBooks has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the national professional accounting body to encourage the use of technology and automation among chartered accountants, which will help them increase their efficiency and productivity in practice.

As part of the MoU, HostBooks will be offering three users all-in-one accounting & compliance solutions to ICAI members for three years free of cost bundled with other benefits. The initiative is aimed at promoting the use of cutting-edge technology among members and hence increasing efficiency in their practice. This MOU is signed in the event of ICAI and World Bank on “Training Program on Auditors engagement in Procurement post review for World Bank Funded projects" in New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Kapil Rana, Founder & Chairman, HostBooks Limited, said, “chartered accountants play an integral role in reducing the compliance burden for businesses. To facilitate further simplification and enhance their efficiency, HostBooks will provide automated and cloud-based end-to-end solutions to practitioners."

Furthermore, the company will provide dedicated support and service center for ICAI members after the installation of the integrated accounting and compliance software. To ease the transition process, the accounting professionals will also get a dedicated team for implementation from time to time to provide training.

How digital transformation enables small businesses to deal with the pandemic?

September 24, 2020

The young, dynamic and visionary entrepreneur, Kapil is the proud owner of strong business acumen and holds a solid background in strategic management, finance, law and IT. News

Apart from impacting the public health system, the ongoing pandemic situation has led to significant economic problems, forcing small and large business enterprises to rethink the way they operate. People across the country are limiting their movement, and with restrictions for public gathering to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the supply chains and cash flows have witnessed an extensive disruption. Many small businesses are getting closed permanently due to the irreparable damage caused by the pandemic outbreak.

During this crisis, we have seen businesses laying off their staff and allow employees to work remotely from home. Thanks to the latest technological innovations and the internet, organizations were able to transition smoothly into the remote work culture. Small businesses are also struggling with the burden of repayment of loans and interest payments. Some of the troubling issues that small and medium-sized enterprises are facing include liquidity crunch, decline in demand, lack of funding, and a general sense of uncertainty over when things would go back to normal.

In addition to the policies introduced by the government, businesses can adopt technology and tech-enabled services for the resources and opportunities they need to adapt to the new normal. Due to challenges posed by the novel coronavirus, companies started putting more focus on digital transformation and taking advantage of digital solutions to reach their customers. Even organizations like schools that require person-to-person interaction were quick to adopt remote or distance-learning.

Because of the always-on nature of the internet, businesses are prioritizing the needs of the customers andaccordingly planning their digital transformation strategies. Such transformation drastically changes the way, companies operate and deliver value to their customers, enabling them to integrate digital technologies into the entire business cycle. The successful adoption of digital solutions not only includes technological transformation within an organization but also of suppliers and other stakeholders.

Technology Adoption for Small Businesses in a post-COVID World: Due to the strict social distancing guidelines and state-wide lockdowns, small businesses, especially with the physical establishment, are struggling to reach their customers and are compelled to move their business online. They need to integrate digital solutions in all business processes, including inventory management, accounting, customer support, sales and marketing, and more, allowing them to optimize their performance, enhance operational efficiency, and steer the business towards growth.

Behavioral Investment Biases influencing your financial decisions

September 24, 2020

Investors’ investment decisions are subject to a variety of biases. A bias is considered an irrational belief or assumption that warps the power to recognizing facts and evidence.

The tendency to only invest in familiar investment instruments or sticking to losses within the belief that they’re going to get recovered can harm your budget.

Taking smart and comprehensive decisions involving money can be tricky these days. One of the most important challenges for investors is avoiding their own instinctive behavioral biases. Investors’ investment decisions are subject to a variety of biases. A bias is considered an irrational belief or assumption that warps the power to recognizing facts and evidence.

These biases can lead investors to form illogical or irrational decisions when it involves investments and wealth management as a full. If you don’t have a financial advisor to assist manage your investments, you ought to consider it.

Hindsight bias: Hindsight bias is also known as “Knew-it-all-along” bias, is based on your past financial decisions. The hindsight bias tends to administer investors a false sense of security therein they overestimate the accuracy of their past predictions. Investors may select investments in keeping with a hunch or gut reaction instead of the facts.

Avoid this bias by specializing in the info, not your predictions. Taking the assistance of a financial advisor can help you to make sound investments.

Confirmation Bias: Once you find more reasons to support your own belief, like consulting Google, you’re using confirmation bias to help your decisions. Investors will often search out information that supports (or confirms) their belief system, and ignore contrary information that threatens the validity of their beliefs.

GST Compensation Gap Can't Be Met From Consolidated Fund: AG

Aug 27, 2020

The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held 41st Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on August 27 were it was said that the GST collections got severely impacted due to Pandemic. News

In the 41st Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting held in the capital, the revenue secretary informed that the GST collections were severely impacted due to coronavirus pandemic this year. At the meeting, two options of compensating states were discussed, including borrowing from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The meeting comes in the backdrop of certain guarantees provided in the GST laws to the State Governments under which the states get compensated for any loss of revenue in the first five years of GST implementation which came into effect from July 1, 2017. However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the compensation cess collection have jumped.

The finance minister made it clear that the options discussed for meeting GST shortfall are only for the current fiscal. The GST Council will look at the issue again in April next year, she said.

Kapil Rana, Founder and Chairman, HostBooks said: "The GST Council meeting brings out the clarity on the reimbursement of compensation periodicity which is June 2017 to July 2022 i.e. 5 years. Since the compensation gap cannot be met from the Consolidated Fund of India, the Government is working on various modalities and one of them is that compensation cess levy can be extended beyond 5 years, to meet the shortfall. This is a welcome move that the GST council has not proposed any increase in Tax Rates."

Divakar Vijayasarathy, Founder & Managing Partner, DVS Advisors LLP said: “The states would have had a fair idea of what is coming their way considering the opinion of Attorney General was clear that the centre is not liable to pay for the compensation. However, the bifurcation of the shortfall as due to GST and due to Covid would have not been expected. The decision making has again been postponed by another 7 working days.

GST Council extending cess levy beyond 5 years would worry business: Experts

Aug 27, 2020

Deloitte India Partner M S Mani said any decision to extend the cess beyond five years in order to fund the present compensation deficit could become a precedent. Hence, the period of extension of the cess should be minimal and predefined so that the cess does not become a permanent tax.

The GST Council not looking to increase tax rates to fund revenue shortfall of states is a positive move, but extending the period of levy of compensation cess beyond the originally envisaged five years would worry businesses, tax experts said. At the 41st GST Council meeting on Thursday, the Centre presented before the states options to meet the shortfall in GST revenue, saying the deficit can be made good by states borrowing using a special window. This loan can be repaid after five years from the collection of GST cess.

If the states agree, it would effectively mean that the cess would continue beyond five years of the GST rollout.

Deloitte India Partner M S Mani said any decision to extend the cess beyond five years in order to fund the present compensation deficit could become a precedent. Hence, the period of extension of the cess should be minimal and predefined so that the cess does not become a permanent tax.

"Not considering any rate increases to make up for the shortfall in cess is a welcome measure, however moving to a market borrowing mechanism which would extend the tenure of the cess beyond five years would worry businesses that are subject to the cess," Mani said.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co Partner Rajat Bose said the Centre has put the onus on the states to borrow funds with due facilitation from the central government at a reduced rate of interest, which can be paid back after five years from the collection of cess.

HostBooks Ltd founder and Chairman Kapil Rana said the government is working on various modalities and one of them is that the compensation cess levy can be extended beyond five years.

180 million PANs may be defunct without Aadhaar

Aug 21, 2020

The govt may track expenditure patterns of individuals who spend large sums on luxuries but underreport income News

At least 180 million permanent account numbers (PANs) could become defunct unless linked with Aadhaar numbers by the March 31 deadline, as the income-tax (I-T) department, which is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), is all set to nab tax evaders who use multiple PANs and conduct high-value transactions, two officials said, requesting anonymity.

The government may also track expenditure patterns of individuals who spend large sums on luxuries but underreport their income and evade tax, they said. The I-T law provides for a statement of financial transaction (SFT), earlier known as an Annual Information Return (AIR), to track prescribed high-value transactions undertaken by taxpayers.

The department gets such expenditure details through banks, financial institutions, mutual funds, credit card companies, and other entities.

“It is surprising that in a population of 1.3 billion only 15 million contribute to the I-T kitty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also pointed this out recently. Available data suggest that there is an urgent need to expand the tax base,” one of the officials said.

PM Modi unveiled India’s first charter of taxpayers’ rights and duties on August 13 and had appealed to the public to introspect on the fact that only 15 million people in a population of 1.3 billion pay income tax.

The official quoted above said there are 509.5 million (50.95 crore) PAN cardholders in the country as on June, but only 64.8 million (6.48 crore) of them file income-tax returns (ITR), and only 15 million actually pay tax.

“Around 49.8 million people file ITR. But they either show zero tax liability or claim the full amount of tax paid through ITR,” he added.

How many homes can you legally buy in India to stay clear of taxman?

Aug 20, 2020

Whether an Indian citizen can buy and own more than one house property in the country without inviting the wrath of the taxman? Find out

A key aspect while buying a second home is understanding the taxation component of the purchase.

If one were to observe the investment preferences of a majority of Indian investors across varied asset classes, real estate or property would emerge as a top investment destination. This brings us to a fundamental question on whether an Indian citizen can buy and own a second home or more than one home in the country.

Thankfully, the answer to the query is absolutely simple. The Constitution of India has guaranteed the Right to Property to all the citizens of India and the law does not specify any restrictions on the purchase of a second residential property in India.

“A second home can be viewed as a strategic investment as part of a diversified asset portfolio. It holds the potential for long-term capital value appreciation. While earning substantial income in the form of rentals, it can also take care of the maintenance cost of the property. A second property can be an income generation tool and create a substantial savings corpus for the owner over a period of time. Alternatively, it can also serve the purpose of a weekend getaway home for relaxation and recreation,” says Rajesh Narain Gupta, Managing Partner, SNG & Partners.

However, while taking the crucial decision of making a second home purchase, several key issues need to be taken into account.

Income Tax Benefits: A key aspect while buying a second home is understanding the taxation component of the purchase. A home buyer needs to be aware of the tax deductions he/she can avail.

In present times, people generally have more than one residential house. In some cases, all house property may remain self-occupied, while in other cases, one may remain self-occupied and the other one may be rented out. Let’s understand how we can claim tax benefits on the second house.

I-T crackdown against people holding multiple PANs after March 31

Aug 20, 2020

The government may also expand the list of high-value transactions to track expenditure patterns of those unscrupulous people, who spend large sums on luxuries but underreport their income and evade tax. News

Over 180 million permanent account numbers (PANs) could become defunct unless linked with Aadhaar numbers by the March 31 deadline, as the income-tax (I-T) department, which is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), is all set to nab tax evaders conducting high-value transactions by using multiple PANs, two officials said, requesting anonymity.

The government may also expand the list of high-value transactions to track expenditure patterns of those unscrupulous people, who spend large sums on luxuries but underreport their income and evade tax, they said.

The I-T law provides for a statement of financial transaction (SFT), earlier known as an Annual Information Return (AIR), to track prescribed high-value transactions undertaken by taxpayers.

The department gets such expenditure details through banks, financial institutions, mutual funds, credit card companies, and other entities.

“It is surprising that in a population of 130 crores only 1.5 crores contribute to the I-T kitty. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also pointed this out recently. Available data suggest that there is an urgent need to expand the tax base,” one of the officials said.

PM Modi had unveiled India’s first charter of taxpayers’ rights and duties on August 13 and had appealed to the public to introspect that only 15 million people in a population of 1.3 billion pay I-T.

The official quoted above said there are 509.5 million (50.95 crore) PAN cardholders in the country as on June, but only 64.8 million (6.48 crore) of them file income-tax returns (ITR), and only 15 million actually pay I-T.

Faceless e-Assessment Scheme for Taxpayers: Challenges and impact on the Indian tax administration

Aug 19, 2020

Under the new system, taxpayers won’t have to visit territorial jurisdiction tax officers or the income tax department on receiving income tax scrutiny or assessment notices.

For the past few years, the government has been taking several measures to bring in transformation in both direct and indirect taxes. The objective has been to create a taxpayer-friendly ecosystem by introducing greater transparency, simplification, and ease of meeting tax compliance. The introduction of the Faceless e-Assessment process by the Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) for income tax returns is a remarkable step towards achieving the objective.

The faceless tax administration means taxpayer by himself or through any professional or through the representative, Assessee personally or physically need not to visit the tax office or face the tax authorities for any assessment, appeal or any other ancillary tax administrative work.

The pretext was rightly set during the budget speech on the 5th July 2019 and subsequently, on 7th October 2019, the e-assessment system was inaugurated by the Finance Minister. On 13th August 2020, the PM of India launched Transparent Taxation “Honouring the Honest” platform and by that lists out the rights of Assessees in a statute under the Income Tax law. The e-assessment scheme as announced by the FM will be known as the Faceless Assessment Scheme.

The outcome of this scheme is that the taxpayers will no longer be attached to a specific territory or jurisdiction or office for assessments as the Central Board of Direct Taxes has instead started a faceless, randomized and completely electronic assessment scheme, eliminating all human interfaces. The National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) has been empowered as the main gateway for communication between the taxpayers and the tax authorities. The National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) has been set up and shall have headquartered at New Delhi. Further, Regional e-Assessment Centers across 20 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, under the faceless assessment scheme, notified on the 13th August 2020.

Taxpayer charter, faceless assessment may not always reduce torment: Expert

Aug 14, 2020

Unreasonable collection targets, mainly towards year end, often prompt tax official to make aggressive demands; in case of disputes, the official may favour the dept's view. News

Taxpayers’ charter unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday is designed to build trust between the income tax department and taxpayers but the government needs to carry out reforms in administration to make it really work, say experts.

Faceless assessment, which was expanded to the entire country by Modi, is likely to reduce litigation in general, but it would work otherwise in complex cases.

The charter has several good points such as treating every taxpayer as honest unless there is a reason to believe otherwise, providing fair, courteous and reasonable treatment etc. However, these are statements of intent and unless reforms are taken to change the behaviour of the officials on the ground, not much will change. Also, these officials have been tasked with unreasonable collection targets, mainly towards the end of the year. And that is when the task of making aggressive demand begins.

One of the things which the charter talks about is that the department would be accountable to the taxpayers.

“However, we have seen on several occasions that high-pitched assessments are quashed by courts with absolutely no implication on the tax officer who made an unsustainable tax demand in the first place,” Amit Maheshwari, tax partner at AKM Global, said.

On the other hand, he said taxpayers lose precious time and money in litigation.

While there are many taxpayers’ rights in the charter, one thing missing is the taxpayers' right to negotiate a settlement with the tax office of pay the outstanding tax demands in easy installments. “Many a times, taxpayers face genuine liquidity issues and such enforcement of tax demands impacts their business activity,” Maheshwari said.

Experts explain: How new transparent taxation platform will help taxpayers and should you expect more?

Aug 13, 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a new the `transparent taxation` platform to further digitise the Income Tax Department’s functioning. It aims to bring into effect faceless assessment of taxpayers, faceless appeals and the Rights` Charter for the taxpayers. News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a new the `transparent taxation` platform to further digitise the Income Tax Department’s functioning. It aims to bring into effect faceless assessment of taxpayers, faceless appeals and the Rights` Charter for the taxpayers. With the `Transparent Taxation Honouring the Honest` that is aimed at carrying forward the journey of direct tax reforms, the taxpayers would not be harassed or treated with suspicion here on.

SR Patnaik, Partner & Head – Taxation, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas believes that this is a significant announcement from the Indian taxation perspective and an overhauling of the tax department is also on the way.

"The PM has today announced Taxpayer's Charter and Faceless Assessment scheme, as promised by the FM at the time of budget. Even the appeals are going to be faceless from September 25. These are significant announcements from an Indian taxation perspective. However, having said this, it is expected that an overhauling of the tax department is also on the way and it is expected that the tax authorities would also ensure their deliveries within time,” he said.

The recent move will help taxpayers by providing them fair, courteous and rational behavior maintain taxpayer’s dignity and the valuable time and efforts, explained Kapil Rana, Founder & Chairman, HostBooks Limited.

India Inc, Experts Hail 'Transparent Taxation' Platform By PM Modi

Aug 13, 2020

India Inc., and tax experts have hailed the PM Modi's initiative of 'Transparent Taxation - Honoring The Honest' platform, a move aimed at easing the compliance for assessees and reward the "honest taxpayer". "The country's honest taxpayer plays a big role in nation building... The new facilities being launched today reinforce the government's commitment to honoring the honest," PM Modi said on August 13. News

The Transparent Taxation platform is based on reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal and taxpayers' charter... A 'faceless' tax system will give the taxpayer confidence on fairness and fearlessness," PM Modi said in a virtual address. "Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest" platform is a new milestone in the structural reforms initiated by the NDA Government. The basic aim is now to focus on making tax-paying seamless, painless, and faceless. 'Faceless as it shouldn't matter who is paying tax and who is tax officer', the PM explained.

Sudhir Kapadia, National Tax Leader, EY India said this initiative will go a long way in ensuring “ease of tax compliance’’ for honest and law abiding tax payers. "As an immediate relief, it would be highly desirable if CBDT instructs release of all pending refunds to companies ( without any monetary thresholds) as quite a few companies are left with no choice but to consider approaching Courts to expedite their refunds in these pandemic induced stressful business environment,” Kapadia said.

Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said, “This is another milestone in our journey of structural reforms and will tremendously boost the confidence of the taxpayers in the country. Prime Minister Modi has clearly articulated that the government is committed to honour and respect the honest taxpayers and make them a part of the team that is working towards realising the vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”

Legal heirs not bound to inform I-T dept about assessee's death, rules HC

Aug 13, 2020

The court reasoned that there might be instances where the deceased assessee was estranged from legal representatives or the deceased assessee might have bequeathed their wealth to charity. News

The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that there was no obligation on the legal heir to inform the tax department about the death of a taxpayer.

“This Court is of the view that in the absence of a statutory provision it is difficult to cast a duty upon the legal representatives to intimate the factum of death of an assessee to the income-tax department,” the court ruled.

It said there might after all be cases where legal representatives would be estranged from the deceased assessee or the deceased assessee might have bequeathed their entire wealth to a charity.

“Consequently, whether the PAN record was updated or not or whether the department was made aware by the legal representatives or not is irrelevant,” the court said.

The court passed an order in a case related to the tax department issuing a notice to a person in March, 2019, regarding some unexplained income not mentioned in the return. The person in question had died in December 2018. Subsequently, a showcause notice was also served on the deceased as to why penalty should not be levied on him.

Upon finding that the assessee was dead, the assessing officer passed an order in November 2019, imposing a penalty upon the deceased-assessee through his legal heir for non-compliance of notices issued to the assessee.

Kapil Rana, founder and chairman, HostBooks Ltd, said: “The legal heirs can be a party to the assessment process where the assessment has already started or the legal heir by his own accord agrees to become a party to the assessment.”

Accounts should be maintained by software, not manually: HostBooks founder and chairman Kapil Rana

August 06, 2020

Growing up on a farm, Kapil Rana – founder and chairman, HostBooks – learnt the value of teamwork, the importance of working hard and smart, and how to manage when short of funds. These lessons have come in handy while Rana, a chartered accountant, has built his fintech enterprise, which has been pushing its cloud ever since India introduced GST. News

“Covid-19 has forced people who were hesitant to adopt the new technology and put their data on the cloud, to switch their accounts to the cloud,” he says. HostBooks has swelled its customer base by 30 per cent in the last four months, and Rana expects that increase to continue – and not just for his startup. “Because people can work from anywhere and anytime, and access resources online, fintech will at least double, maybe even triple, in the next two years,” he predicts.

Ready, steady, GST: I was facing a lot of challenges during my articleship, and in my practice – problems like multiple software, manual data punching, same inputs for multiple requirements (like TDS returns), income tax compliance, etc. So, when the government started implementing GST, that’s when I decided to launch our application in India, initially with GST and TDS. We had started our research at the time when the government was researching on GST. We ran some Google campaigns to find out the exact problems users were facing, took more than a million calls from customers who were facing these issues, and we built our application according to the requirements. It was a new tax regime, so even the government was not sure what it was going to do, and even the businesses were not sure.

Ease of doing business: A lot of people want to start a business but there are too many procedures to follow. Prior to GST, it was not easy, but after GST it has become easier. Still, if you compare it with Western countries, it’s painful, but it’s improving day by day. Earlier, it would take a month to form a company, including income-tax and GST registration. Now, you can form a company within two-three days – you can get your back account up and running, your income tax registered with the company, and you can get your GST registered online.

Now you can regularise your past I-T returns till this date

August 5, 2020

The CBDT circular extending the timeline for verification of all previous years' ITRs is a well-structured move by the government as it is doing its every bit to ease the cash flow for citizens. News

If any ITR for the past 5 years (AY 2015-16 to 2019-20 ) remains unverified after September 30, 2020, such a return shall be treated as an invalid one.

In India, each taxpayer needs to file their income-tax return (ITR) for every financial year. Section 139 of the Income Tax Act 1961 has laid down procedures and processes for filing the returns. Wherein, an individual needs to verify their ITR through e-filing generated confirmation called ITR-V within 120 days from the date of filing.

If the ITR is not verified through any mode as mentioned below within the given time, then it will be treated as an Invalid ITR and it will be construed as if the return is not filed at all. Hence, taxpayers need to file it again and all consequences of non-filing of ITR are applicable to taxpayers.

Centre may extend deadline for emergency capital loans

August 3, 2020

The Union government may extend the October 31 deadline to avail the emergency working capital loan facility -- worth a total of Rs 3 lakh crore -- for small enterprises and individual professionals to help them tide over the crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the matter. News

The government has already extended the scope of the provision by enhancing eligibility criteria to include larger units and individual professionals such as doctors and chartered accountants. The proposal to continue the scheme beyond October is also under active consideration, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

The Union Cabinet on May 20, 2020 approved an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for about five months ending October 31.The scheme provides for an easy additional working capital loan at a concessional rate of interest to an existing borrower who is not a defaulter.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday expanded its scope at the request of industry in line with the revised definition of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the cap on funding under the scheme doubled from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore. Apart from industrial units with turnover up to Rs 250 crore (earlier cap was Rs 100 crore), the finance minister extended the facility to individual professionals.

HT reported the development on Sunday.

StartUp Circle: How HostBooks has changed the way online bookkeeping is done?

July 31, 2020

Small and medium businesses are the backbone of the economy. There is also a massive push from the government to favour this segment. Over the period the scale of business and the dynamics have changed a lot and hence the operational complexities. These business owners have to deal with various challenges in their day-to-day operations. These challenges are resulting from lack of optimum manpower, technical knowhow, lengthy time consuming manual process required to keep a track of their inventory, sales, profit and loss. News

Hypothetically, a Kirana owner would find it cumbersome to sell his products, maintain records of the transaction, sales, inventory, file regulatory compliances etc all at the same time. So, to record every single transaction, he would require enormous books of account. This will lead to hefty bookkeeping cost and also operational mistakes. The process is even more hectic for e-commerce companies. Thus, all of these companies need an easy-to-go PoS system.

Today, the Point of Sale system is a solution that helps retailers to centralize all the business operations. Thus, we took an opportunity, to talk to Mr Kapil Rana of HostBooks, who is one such FinTech that eases bookkeeping needs.

How does the platform work?: HostBooks is Gurugram-based an all-in-one accounting application. As a comprehensive platform for all accounting needs, it minimizes time and manual requirements. It thereby reduces the propensity of human errors. Running on the cloud, it is available to customers on-the-go anytime, anywhere, curbing IT infrastructure costs significantly. Our focus is always to deliver simple but efficient products with a vision to be the leading automated business solution for every small and medium enterprise by significantly saving their cost and time in accounting, reporting, and compliances.

HostBooks accounting software functions via a simple, single-entry window used for record-keeping that can process accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and inventory, among others. It manages all compliance needs and filing of GST, TDS, e-way bills, POS and Income Tax. HostBooks has also integrated almost all banks within its platform, making the bank recompilation process seamless and with built-in intelligence. It has also helped in reducing the e-way bill generation burden. It simplifies GST billing as well as returns and TDS filings with a single-click filing solution.

States can borrow to fund GST compensation, Centre not obliged to pay: AG

July 30, 2020

There is already a 100-150 basis points difference between the yields on Central and state government bonds, he said. Attorney general K K Venugopal has given a way out to the Centre to wriggle out of the compensation mess under the goods and services tax (GST) system, even as he did not recommend borrowings by the GST Council. News

He suggested that the Council can recommend to the Centre to allow the states to borrow on the strength of the future receipts from the compensation fund, sources said.

He also said that there is no obligation on the Centre to pay the GST compensation shortfall, according to sources. Experts, however, did not like the idea of burdening the states with further debts.

Pronab Sen, country director at International Growth Centre (IGC), said at the end of the day, the responsibility is not of the states to compensate themselves.

“If The GST Council says that the states can borrow over and above what the Centre permits, you will be pushing the states into further indebtedness,” the former chief statistician said.

More importantly, there will be an excessive supply of state government bonds, which effectively means the yields on these papers will rise, he said, adding this will leave a permanent effect on the states expenditure because interest burden in the future will go up.

He suggested that the Council recommend to the Centre that the latter could borrow and transfer the funds to the states as grants.

Waiting for your tax refund? Know the reasons for delay and check the status

July 24, 2020

Income tax refunds could be delayed in case the income tax department raises any clarification or query. News

You can check the status of your income tax refund on the websites of the I-T department or NSDL

The income tax department stated in a notification, dated 17 July, that it has issued refunds worth ₹24,603 crore to 19.79 lakh taxpayers between 8 April and 11 July. The department has expedited the refund issuance process with an aim to provide liquidity to taxpayers given the ongoing financial crisis due to covid-19, but there could still be many of you waiting for your refund.

If you haven’t got your tax refund yet despite filing your income tax return (ITR) within the specified timeline, read on to know what could be the possible reasons for the delay. We also tell you how to check the status of your tax refund.

Reasons for delay: Tax refunds are generally issued in around a month’s time after the processing of ITR. “Normally, refunds are processed within 20 to 45 days from the completion of processing of ITR by the Centralized Processing Centre. The taxpayer eligible for a refund claim up to ₹5 lakh gets direct bank credit within five to seven business days from the issuance of refund," said Kapil Rana, founder and chairman, HostBooks Ltd, a tax return filing service provider.

But there could be a couple of reasons for delay in receiving tax refund.

One, refunds could be delayed in case the tax department raises any clarification or query. “Refunds are usually withheld by the department on account of ongoing assessments for the relevant assessment year or on account of a mismatch in the ITR filed and the details available with the department," said Shilpa Bhatia, director, direct taxes, AKM Global, a tax consulting firm.

HostBooks to invest Rs 35 cr, eyes 2 lakh customers this year

July 22, 2020

Cloud-based business solution provider HostBooks on Wednesday said it will invest Rs 35 crore in product development and business growth this year to increase customer base by four times to 2 lakh. News

HostBooks, which provides services through automated accounting software, has a customer base of 51,000 and plans to take the numbers to 2 lakh by the end of 2020, it said in a release.

Kapil Rana, founder and chairman of HostBooks, said the company's engineering and AI are focused towards understanding data and make the software interactive to help users drive their business effortlessly without any third-party assistance.

"Most of our clients are MSMEs, Chartered Accountants, Lawyers and tax professionals," he said.

With advanced data security, the software used by HostBooks meets the security need of businesses, he added.

Rana further said the company acquired 30 per cent of its customers during the lockdown imposed in the country.

"Our point-of-sale (POS) systems are becoming the preferred technology for retailers to improve the efficiency of their business accounting. The POS systems devices help customers save time spent on paperwork, scheduling employees, accounting and inventories, among other important features," he added.

HostBooks enables businesses to add and assign work to users based on their expertise while also allowing them to restrict access to their company's sensitive data

HostBooks to invest Rs 35 cr, eyes 2 lakh customers this year

22 July 2020

New Delhi, Jul 22 (PTI) Cloud-based business solution provider HostBooks on Wednesday said it will invest Rs 35 crore in product development and business growth this year to increase customer base by four times to 2 lakh.

HostBooks, which provides services through automated accounting software, has a customer base of 51,000 and plans to take the numbers to 2 lakh by the end of 2020, it said in a release.

Kapil Rana, founder and chairman of HostBooks, said the company's engineering and AI are focused towards understanding data and make the software interactive to help users drive their business effortlessly without any third-party assistance.

'Most of our clients are MSMEs, Chartered Accountants, Lawyers and tax professionals,' he said.

With advanced data security, the software used by HostBooks meets the security need of businesses, he added.

Rana further said the company acquired 30 per cent of its customers during the lockdown imposed in the country.

'Our point-of-sale (POS) systems are becoming the preferred technology for retailers to improve the efficiency of their business accounting. The POS systems devices help customers save time spent on paperwork, scheduling employees, accounting and inventories, among other important features,' he added.

HostBooks enables businesses to add and assign work to users based on their expertise while also allowing them to restrict access to their company's sensitive data.

Here's why you should continue investing in FDs despite falling rates

July 20, 2020

A fixed deposit (FD), also known as term deposit, gives a fixed rate of interest until maturity. While conventional investors consider it as one of the best investment options because of its risk-free nature, the falling rates in the current scenario have become a point of concern for them. News

Afixed deposit (FD), also known as term deposit, gives a fixed rate of interest until maturity. While conventional investors consider it as one of the best investment options because of its risk-free nature, the falling rates in the current scenario have become a point of concern for them.

A majority of lenders have recently reduced their FD rates in tandem with the RBI's decision to cut the repo rate on multiple occasions.

Considering that, investors may have doubts as to whether they should still invest in FDs.

Experts say that investing in FDs should still be continued seeing its risk-free nature.

The need to have emergency funds has come to the forefront in recent times. Thus, experts say, it is advisable to set aside an amount that could be sufficient to survive for at least three to six months in case of emergency.

"Investment options that offer ample safety and liquidity should only be chosen as an emergency fund," experts say. FD, being a secure investment, can hence be used as an emergency fund investment.

CBDT’s new Form 26AS will remind taxpayers to file major financial transactions

July 18, 2020

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has introduced a new auto-generated ‘Form 26AS’ which will handhold taxpayers while filing their ITRs in a faceless manner from the current assessment year. News

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has introduced a new auto-generated ‘Form 26AS’ which will handhold taxpayers while filing their ITRs in a faceless manner from the current assessment year , an official statement said.

The new form has been introduced to ensure that taxpayers will no longer forget to mention major financial transactions such as cash deposits and withdrawals, investments in shares and mutual funds, and property transactions in their annual income-tax returns (ITRs).

Form 26AS is an auto-generated financial statement that includes taxation-related information, including details of high-value transactions. The form earlier used to give limited information related to tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS) besides certain additional information including details of other taxes paid, refunds and TDS defaults.

The CBDT explained that the income tax department already receives information such as cash deposit and withdrawal from saving bank accounts, sale and purchase of immovable property, time deposits, credit card payments, purchase of shares, debentures, foreign currency, mutual funds, buy back of shares, cash payment for goods and services as per the Income-Tax Act since 2016.

“Now all such information under different SFTs [Statement of Financial Transactions] will be shown in the Form 26AS,” the statement said.

New Form is faceless hand-holding of taxpayers, says CBDT; will help file returns accurately

July 18, 2020

Taxpayers will be able to file their income tax returns electronically, with faceless hand-holding through the new Form 26AS, which will carry additional details on taxpayers’ financial transactions.

The improved Form 26AS will specify all financial transactions in the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFTs) in Part E of the new form that will be implemented from assessment year 2020-21, which is the ongoing financial year.

The new form will facilitate voluntary compliance, tax accountability and ease of e-filing of returns for taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement Saturday.

“The same can be used by the taxpayer to file her or his income tax return (ITR) by calculating the correct tax liability in a feel-good environment,” the Board said, adding that it would also bring in further transparency and accountability in the tax administration.

“This would help the honest taxpayers with updated financial transactions while filing their returns, whereas it will desist those taxpayers who inadvertently conceal financial transactions in their returns,” the Board added.

The earlier Form 26AS used to give information regarding tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source relating to a PAN, besides certain additional information including details of other taxes paid, refunds and TDS defaults.

The department used to receive information like cash deposit/withdrawal from saving bank accounts, sale/purchase of immovable property, time deposits, credit card payments, purchase of shares, debentures, foreign currency, mutual funds, buy back of shares, cash payment for goods and services, etc. under Section 285BA of Income-tax Act, 1961 from “specified persons” like banks, mutual funds, institutions issuing bonds and registrars or sub-registrars etc., with regard to individuals having high-value financial transactions from FY 2015-16 onwards.

How POS Is Improving the Efficiency Of Business Accounting

July 15, 2020

It doesn't matter what kind of retailer you are, adopting a POS gadget can turn your enterprise around by imparting an all-in-one technique to solve the mess of everyday issues. News

Point-of-sale (POS) systems are increasingly becoming the preferred technology for most retailers to improve the efficiency of their business accounting.

It doesn’t matter what kind of retailer you are, adopting a POS gadget can turn your enterprise around by imparting an all-in-one technique to solve the mess of everyday issues. Inventories that fail to shape tallies, unrecorded sales, human mistakes and the time wasted on correcting them are all fairly commonplace troubles confronted by shops on a daily basis.

These can be easily prevented through the usage of a POS machine as it collects data, permitting you to truly see how your business is functioning and the way to continually improve it.

Here are some reasons why POS is the perfect tool for retailers to manage their business accounting.

Enhance Efficiency: The moment you install a POS device in your retail store, it will save you the time spent on paperwork, scheduling employees, accounting and inventories, among other important features in your enterprise. That means you'll have more time to serve customers. A reliable POS system will make your business efficient and your customers would be highly satisfied with your store than before.

Reliable Data: Accountants normally need to log in to the client’s factor of sale software, pull numerous reports to get the records they need, manually vet each report, and finally, enter one’s numbers into an accounting programme.

This SaaS startup is making financial management easy for over 45,000 businesses

July 7, 2020

India’s SaaS success story is being led by unicorns like Freshworks and bootstrapped icon Zoho. Be it enterprise Saas or SMB SaaS, or others, the sector is growing in leaps and bounds. News

In fact, the Indian SaaS market is forecast to grow from $6 billion in 2019 to more than $20 billion by 2022, according to the India Private Equity Report 2020 by Bain and Co. In this brouhaha of growth forecasts, HostBooks, founded by chartered accountant Kapil Rana, has been quietly and steadily gathering steam.

A chartered accountant by training, Kapil set up HostBooks to enable small businesses to use accounting tools without worrying about proprietary hardware.

An all-in-one accounting application, HostBooks is a comprehensive platform for all accounting needs, says Kapil.

"IT MINIMISES TIME AND RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS CHANCES OF HUMAN ERRORS. RUNNING ON THE CLOUD, IT IS AVAILABLE TO CUSTOMERS ON-THE-GO ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, CURBING IT INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS SIGNIFICANTLY.".

Conventional accounting processes revolve around book-keeping, banking, MIS, reporting, compliances, internal and external audits, all of which required repetitive work that ties down entrepreneurs. Modern enterprises need on-the-go accessibility of data, secured tools or applications, and data protection.

To fill this gap between conventional methods of accounting and modern needs, Kapil got the idea of HostBooks in 2015, but launched in 2018 after a year of testing in 2017.