Guides for Indian shopkeepers
Plain-language answers on GST billing, udhaar khata, offline billing and keeping your business data private, from the Vanij team.
CGST, SGST and IGST: Which One Applies to Your Sale?
Three acronyms, one rule. Which tax you charge is decided by where the supply goes, not by what you are selling.
Read the guide →How to Create a GST Invoice: A Step-by-Step Guide
The fields are not negotiable, but the order you fill them in decides how long it takes. Here is the practical sequence.
Read the guide →What Is an HSN Code, and How Do You Find the Right One?
HSN codes are not a Indian invention and not arbitrary. Knowing what they are for makes finding the right one much easier.
Read the guide →The GST Composition Scheme, Explained for Small Shops
Simpler compliance in exchange for real restrictions. The billing side of that trade is where most confusion starts.
Read the guide →Credit Notes: Why You Never Just Edit the Old Bill
Editing a saved bill feels like the tidy option. It is the one that quietly breaks three things at once.
Read the guide →Billing for a Kirana Store: What Actually Matters
Sales are small and constant, half your regulars are on udhaar, and nobody has ten minutes for a billing screen.
Read the guide →Billing for a Hardware and Building Materials Shop
Mixed units, contractor credit and quotes before the sale. A hardware counter stresses different parts of a billing app.
Read the guide →Billing for a Mobile and Electronics Shop
Two businesses in one counter: a few expensive items and a great many cheap ones. They need different things.
Read the guide →Billing for a Clothing and Garment Store
Sizes, colours and seasons make apparel stock harder than it looks. Here is the practical way to handle it.
Read the guide →Moving From a Paper Bahi Khata to a Phone, Without Losing Anything
The hard part is not the app. It is deciding what to do with twelve years of notebooks, and most advice gets that backwards.
Read the guide →What Your CA Actually Needs From You Every Month
Most of what makes filing painful is not complexity. It is gaps, and gaps are avoidable.
Read the guide →Why Offline Billing Still Matters in 2026
A patchy signal during your busiest hour should never mean a lost sale. Here's why offline billing is still a real requirement, not a nice-to-have.
Read the guide →Billing App Pricing: Vyapar vs myBillBook vs Khatabook vs Vanij
What do the popular billing apps actually charge, today, according to their own pricing pages? Here is the comparison, with sources.
Read the guide →Why Your Billing Data Should Live on Your Phone, Not a Server
Your customer list and every invoice you've ever raised is a real business asset. Here's why it should stay on your own phone and your own Google Drive, not a company's server.
Read the guide →Udhaar Khata: 5 Mistakes That Cost Small Shopkeepers Real Money
Udhaar (credit) is normal in Indian retail. Tracking it badly is not. Five common mistakes, and what actually fixes them.
Read the guide →GST Invoice vs Bill of Supply vs Simple Bill: Which One Should You Print?
Three different documents, three different rules. Here is how to tell which one you should be printing, in plain language, no CA required.
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