ClearTax unveils GST-ready bill book for SMEs

With just a little over two weeks left for the GST rollout, I-T returns e-filing and enterprise compliance service provider ClearTax on Tuesday announced the launch of a bill book software for self-employed professionals, entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Considered as the primary growth driver of the economy, there are around three million SMEs in India, contributing almost 50% of the industrial output and 42% of the country’s total export.

ClearTax has been preparing for GST for over a year now. “We commenced a pilot run by working with 10,000 SMEs, and we ensured that issues were sorted out. We are targeting one lakh SMEs in 90 days, and 10 lakh in another one year,” ClearTax.com Founder and CEO Archit Gupta told DH.

ClearTax has also applied to become a GST Suvidha Provider (GSP). A GSP is considered as an enabler for the taxpayer to comply with the provisions of the GST law through its web platform.

“Every month, one has to upload every single invoice and a new billing solution is a must in the GST era. While the bill book software is available free of cost, our GST-compliance package is available from Rs 100 a month to Rs 10 lakh a year, depending on the size and scale of businesses,” Gupta said, adding that the bill book will work both online and offline.

The GST bill book will automatically identify IGST (Integrated GST) or SGST (State GST) in the invoice. “GST bill book will help in curbing the tedious task of uploading to GSTN every month,” he said. The GST bill book supports key features needed for SMEs such as creating a sales invoice, recording of discount, freight, insurance, and package handling charges.

In addition to creating sales bills, it can be used to record purchases and expenses under the GST regime. It will also support other documents mandated by GST such as delivery challan, e-way bill, advance payment receipts etc, Gupta explained.

While ClearTax mainly targets SMEs, the package is also available for enterprises that are waiting for ERP patches. “From just 100 people, we have now grown to 400, and in the next two years, our focus will only be on growth. We have invested close to $5 million in this GST package,” Gupta said.