What does e invoicing mean?

E-invoicing means generating B2B invoices electronically and authenticating them on a designated IRP portal. Post authentication, a unique Invoice Reference Number is generated with a QR code which is then printed on the invoice. E-invoices are shared with customers, used for filing returns, and more.

Can e invoice be modified?

No, an e invoice cannot be modified once it is generated. However, users can cancel it within a time frame of 24 hours, not post that and then again generate a correct one with the right values.

Can e invoice be canceled?

Yes, an e invoice can be canceled within 24 hours of its generation. The cancellation within 24 hours can be done on IRN, but post that you need to do it manually in GSTR- 1 return on GST portal.

Does e invoice require signature?

Yes, the e invoice requires a digital signature of a representative or the supplier itself as per the Rule 46 of the CGST, Central Goods and Services Rules, 2017.

What is the best software for invoicing?

The best software solutions for invoicing are Zoho Books, Tally Prime, Masters India, etc. They offer a complete solution for generating and sharing invoices.

Is e invoicing mandatory?

In the latest update, as of 1st April 2022, e invoicing is mandatory for businesses involved in B2B transactions that have an annual turnover of more than ₹20 crores under the and Services Tax.

When e invoice is required?

When your business crosses an annual turnover of more than ₹20 crore, e invoicing is required as of 1st April 2022. However, a recent notification has made e invoicing mandatory for businesses with an annual turnover of ₹10 crore from 1st October 2022.

7 Free e-Invoicing Software for Online Billing

Recently, the GST Council has made e-Invoicing mandatory for businesses dealing in B2B transactions with over ₹10 Crore annual turnover, which might go down to ₹5 Cr by January 2023.

e-Invoicing policy has been introduced to ensure better tax compliance for businesses. Governments have now started accepting e-invoices for tax payments. It helps the government and tax authorities to precisely know the amount of taxes owed by the businesses. As far as businesses are concerned, e-invoicing helps them achieve better transparency, reduce data entry errors, prevent duplication while filing returns, and more.

But, at the same time, it has raised a few concerns for businesses. e-Invoicing comes with challenges like training internal teams, discussing the changes in business operations with their ERP vendors, manually entering tax invoices, creating tax formats, etc.

However, here is when using e-invoicing software can help businesses adopt e-Invoicing in a structured manner. It can help businesses to track invoices in real time, reconcile data under GST to minimize errors, improve tax compliance, create invoices with mandatory fields, etc.

Let’s understand what e-Invoicing software you can choose from to best suit the requirements of your business.

What is E-Invoicing Software?

E-invoicing software enables users to generate B2B invoices electronically and authenticate them on a designated IRP portal. After successful authentication, a dedicated IRN (Invoice Reference Number) is generated with a unique QR code which is required to be printed on the invoice.

Businesses can further share eInvoices with customers, track their status, file returns, etc. Moreover, the software helps businesses to avoid human errors and prevent frauds, while saving their efforts on manual invoice generation and return filing.

7 Free e-Invoicing Software for Online Billing

ClearTax – Best for e-Invoicing Under GST
Marg eInvoicing Software – Best for e-Invoice Generation
HostBooks – Best for Customized e-Invoicing
TallyPrime – Best for Instant e-Invoice Generation
Zoho Books – Best GST e-Invoicing System
Masters India – Best e-Invoicing API Solution
GSTHero – Best e-Invoicing Tool for ERP, SAP, and Tally

ClearTax

ClearTax allows enterprises to generate bulk e-invoices anytime with 99.9% uptime and 6 GSP servers. It ensures hassle-free ERP integration, e-way bill, and GST bill integration. Moreover, the e invoicing software solution protects your business-critical invoices with 2 factor authentication, SOC 2 certification, ISO 27001-, and 128-Bit SSL encryption.

ClearTax Features

Centralized user console to manage all e-invoice operations
Share purchase e-invoices with your customers within a single click
Easy upgrades according to the changes in tax law
Customized branding available
Manage data with MIS dashboards and custom user access

ClearTax Pricing: Price on Request

Marg eInvoicing Software

Marg simplifies e-invoicing for businesses by enabling them to generate, print, and track invoices in real time. It allows users to print QR code, IRN, and digital signature on invoices. Further, Marg software facilitates auto error correction, zero downtime, assistance for GST return filing, and more.

Marg e-Invoicing Software Features

Creates a backup on cloud for all invoices, valid up to 7 years
Directly upload invoices in bulk on Invoice Registration Portal using GSTN portal
Facilitates auto reconciliation of B2B invoices in GST ANX- 1 & GST ANX- 2
Validates data to identify violations, errors, incorrect entries, etc.
You can generate and upload bulk E- way bills along with JSON files

Marg e-Invoicing Software Pricing: eInvoicing modules is available for free with Marg ERP, starting from ₹8991.

HostBooks

HostBooks is a cloud-based e invoice processing software that allows you to generate e invoices anywhere, anytime. It helps you to automatically upload e-invoices to the IRP portal, while saving your time and costs.

It guides users through the process of cancellation, amendments of invoices, reconciliation, and more so that business can focus on revenue generation. In fact, users can also store reference numbers for future assistance.

HostBooks e-Invoicing Features

Automated QR code and IRN generation
Access centralized dashboard for uploading and tracking invoices
Import Excels in within a single click
Automate bulk e-way bill generation
Integration available with existing ERP
Access readymade templates to reprint invoices

HostBooks Pricing: Price on Request

TallyPrime

TallyPrime has automated the complete process of generating e-invoices and authenticating them through IRP. Along with this, this free e-Invoicing software sends alerts in case of multi-user scenarios which helps businesses to prevent redundancy. Moreover, it protects you from accidental cancellation, deletion, or modification of any transactional data.

Tally Prime Features

Generate instant single or bulk e-invoices without any manual intervention
Automatic generation of QR code and IRN
Automate e-way bill generation as per your supply requirements
Work in offline mode with JSON files
Access e-invoice reports to identify pending, cancelled, and completed transactions

Tally Prime Pricing: ₹600 per month onwards

Zoho Books

Zoho Books e-invoicing software allows B2B businesses to create e-invoices in a designated format and connect it to the IRP portal directly. Users can easily cancel e-invoices as per their requirement within 24 hours of IRN generation with guidance. It comes with an extra layer of security that checks your generated invoices for any violations, incomplete required fields, or incorrect entries.

Zoho Books Features

Create error free e-invoices with respect to Government mandates
Send bulk e-invoices to the IRP portal and add an extra layer of approval
Easily track e-invoice status like cancelled, pushed, to be pushed

Zoho Books Pricing: ₹749 per month onwards

Masters India

Masters India allows businesses to create e-invoices directly from their ERP platforms using APIs. It enables users to report invoices in real time to the government and then share the valid ones with their buyers, making the complete process highly compliant.

Masters India Features

Ensures AP automation by validating purchase invoices
Compliant with all the government portals
Generates e-invoices on different levels including warehouse, and business units
Assigns custom based roles and permissions to different users

Masters India Pricing: Price on Request

GSTHero

GSTHero offers hassle-free e-invoicing software integration with different ERPs including SAP, Tally, Microsoft, Oracle, and more. It helps you to avoid human errors in GST filing by being completely compliant with the latest GST laws. The software ensures that your return filing goes through 100 validations so that there are no errors whatsoever.

GSTHero Features

Generate bulk e-invoices in just 5 minutes
One-click invoice cancellation from your ERP itself
Automate accounting for your purchase invoices
Receive e-invoice update with real-time alerts
Integrate your invoices with GSTN, e-way, and IRP system

GSTHero Pricing: Price on Request

How Does e-Invoicing Solution Work?

Let’s understand how does an eInvoicing solution work:

Firstly, a supplier generates an invoice JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) in a prescribed format through an ERP or an offline tool.
Then the supplier uploads JSON on the Invoice Register Portal. However, the IRP can be integrated with an ERP to automate this process.
Next, JSON is validated by the IRP portal. Post validation, an IRN is generated for the invoice, and it is digitally signed and embedded with a unique QR code.
Now, this is shared further, and these details are printed on an invoice. However, with ERP integration, this step can also be automated.
Now the signed invoice with the IRN will be sent to GST system and e- way bill system.
With the JSON data from IRP portal, the e-invoice software will auto populate Part A of your e-way bill. In fact, if all the required details of Part A and B are there with the seller when the e-invoice is generated. e-way bill is automatically generated and captured by e-invoice data.
In the same way, the GSTR-1 & GSTR-2A details are auto populated.
Now, the buyer can see the confirmed invoice ITC in GSTR-2A in real time.

Benefits of e Invoicing Tool

eInvoicing tools can help businesses to achieve higher transparency, reduce human errors, facilitate smoother financial operation, and others. Lets understand them in detail.

Achieve Higher Accuracy & Transparency

While using an e Invoicing tool, users are not required to enter data manually, which prevents any chance of human error. The information is automatically taken from e-invoices, which ensures there are absolutely zero errors. In addition to this, there is more transparency maintained between the vendor and supplier as there is no further modification.

Smoother Financial Operations

Free e-Invoicing software has eased out the process of generating and sharing eInvoices automatically. However, when this was done manually, it took a lot of time and effort making the financial processes complicated and late.

E-Invoice Status Tracking

An e-invoicing tool has made it easy for businesses to track invoices statuses like cancelled, pushed, to be pushed. All this can be accessed from any location, at any time, giving you complete control over your business invoices.

Ensures Complete Data Security

The traditional way of generating invoices was more prone to fraud and data leakage, as compared to automated e-invoices. Now, there is no way that an invoice can be faked. In fact, there is no chance of making any modification. If a wrong invoice has been generated, it needs to be cancelled and re-generated. This practice ensures that credibility and security of invoices is maintained.

FAQs

What does e invoicing mean?
E-invoicing means generating B2B invoices electronically and authenticating them on a designated IRP portal. Post authentication, a unique Invoice Reference Number is generated with a QR code which is then printed on the invoice. E-invoices are shared with customers, used for filing returns, and more.
Can e invoice be modified?
No, an e invoice cannot be modified once it is generated. However, users can cancel it within a time frame of 24 hours, not post that and then again generate a correct one with the right values.
Can e invoice be canceled?
Yes, an e invoice can be canceled within 24 hours of its generation. The cancellation within 24 hours can be done on IRN, but post that you need to do it manually in GSTR- 1 return on GST portal.
Does e invoice require signature?
Yes, the e invoice requires a digital signature of a representative or the supplier itself as per the Rule 46 of the CGST, Central Goods and Services Rules, 2017.
What is the best software for invoicing?
The best software solutions for invoicing are Zoho Books, Tally Prime, Masters India, etc. They offer a complete solution for generating and sharing invoices.
Is e invoicing mandatory?
In the latest update, as of 1st April 2022, e invoicing is mandatory for businesses involved in B2B transactions that have an annual turnover of more than ₹20 crores under the and Services Tax.
When e invoice is required?
When your business crosses an annual turnover of more than ₹20 crore, e invoicing is required as of 1st April 2022. However, a recent notification has made e invoicing mandatory for businesses with an annual turnover of ₹10 crore from 1st October 2022.