Business (B2B) Invoices
Invoices in the Business's Name, for Their Tax Credit
Offices, resellers and small businesses buy from D2C stores too, and they need an invoice in their own name to claim input tax credit. Mercayo's checkout takes their GSTIN, checks it, and the invoice follows.
- In every plan
- Free for 14 days
Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
At checkout, one line, "Buying for a business? Add your GSTIN for a GST invoice", opens the business part:
- GSTIN, checked as it is typed ("15 characters, for example 29ABCDE1234F1Z5"): its shape, a real state code, and the check character at the end, which catches a mistyped character. A good one shows "Valid GSTIN · Karnataka". The database checks it again when the order is placed, so nothing typed in the browser can slip past.
- Business legal name, typed by the buyer, as on their GST certificate.
- My billing address is different, for an optional Billing Address (address lines, city and PIN code) when the business's registered address is not where the parcel goes.
- A note: "Your GST invoice will name your business, for input tax credit. The delivery address must be in the GSTIN's state."
The State Rule
The GSTIN's state must be the delivery state, because the place of supply, and so the tax charged, is the delivery state's. If it is not, the buyer is told which state the GSTIN belongs to: "This GSTIN is registered in Maharashtra. Deliver to an address in Maharashtra for a business invoice." An optional billing address must also be in the GSTIN's state. Each problem is shown under its own field, so the buyer knows exactly what to fix.
The Invoice
The order's GST invoice names the business: its legal name and GSTIN, its billing address (or the delivery address when there is none), and, when they differ, "Billed to" and "Shipped to" as two blocks. Everything else is a normal tax invoice: the same lines, HSN codes and taxes, CGST and SGST or IGST by the place of supply, numbered in your usual series. Credit notes for the order, from a cancel, a returned parcel or a refund, keep the same recipient, so the business can reverse its credit correctly.
For Your Team and Your Accountant
The order page shows a Business Invoice card with the GSTIN and the billing address, so your team sees at a glance that the order is a business purchase. In the GSTR-1 data Mercayo keeps, the order counts as a B2B invoice, with its own HSN summary and its credit notes reported note by note, separate from your consumer sales.
For your store
Why It Matters
A business that cannot claim its input tax credit pays the full GST as a cost, and will buy elsewhere. Offering a proper B2B invoice at checkout opens your store to office orders, corporate gifting at Diwali, small resellers and boutiques buying stock, with no extra work for your team and no invoices typed by hand afterwards.
Checking the GSTIN as it is typed stops the typos that would otherwise make the invoice useless to the buyer: one wrong character, and their accountant cannot match the invoice to the GST portal. The check character catches most of them before the order is placed.
The state rule keeps your own tax right. Charging one state's tax on an invoice to a business registered in another can cost the buyer their credit; Mercayo simply does not allow it, and tells the buyer why in plain words.
And it costs your consumer shoppers nothing: the business part is one closed line at checkout that they never need to open.
Step by step
How It Works
Keep Business Invoices On
In Settings → Checkout and COD, GST invoice for businesses is on to start with. Your store must be on Regular GST in Settings → Taxes, with its GSTIN, to issue tax invoices the business can claim credit on. If you are not on regular GST, switch business invoices off so buyers are not offered them.
The Buyer Adds Their GSTIN
At checkout they tick "Buying for a business?", type the GSTIN and the business's legal name, and, if the business's address is elsewhere in the same state, tick My billing address is different and fill in the Billing Address.
Mercayo Checks It
A wrong character, an unknown state code or a mismatched check character is shown under the field as it is typed. A GSTIN from another state than the delivery address says which state it belongs to. A billing address outside the GSTIN's state is refused with the state it must be in. The checks run again when the order is placed.
The Invoice Names the Business
The tax invoice is issued as usual, when the order is confirmed or shipped as you chose, in the business's name and GSTIN, with "Billed to" and "Shipped to" when they differ. The buyer downloads it from their order page; your team from the order's GST Invoice card.
Your Team Sees a Business Order
The order page shows the Business Invoice card with the GSTIN and billing address. Refunds and cancels work as for any order, and their credit notes are in the business's name too.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
A business buyer sees one line at checkout, "Buying for a business? Add your GSTIN for a GST invoice", and a few fields when they open it. Mistakes are explained as they type, with "Valid GSTIN" and the state once it is right. Their invoice, in the business's name, is on their order page with DOWNLOAD INVOICE, and any credit note sits beside it. Other shoppers never see more than the closed line.
Settings
Settings You Control
Each one is in your admin. A new store starts with the value shown.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
Mercayo's team can fix this setting for a store, on or off, with a reason your admin shows; every change is in Mercayo's audit log. The GSTIN check runs in the database itself, so no change to a web page can slip an invalid GSTIN onto an invoice. Mercayo does not look the buyer's GSTIN or name up on the GST portal: the GSTIN is printed on the invoice and kept with the order.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- The business's legal name is typed by the buyer; it is not looked up on the GST portal.
- Bill-to and ship-to in different states is not offered: the GSTIN must be in the delivery state.
- A separate billing address is for business invoices only.
- The business part shows at checkout whenever the setting is on; only a store on Regular GST issues a tax invoice the business can claim credit on.
- A GSTIN cannot be added to an order after it is placed.
Questions
About Business (B2B) Invoices
Does the buyer have to be registered for GST?
Yes, for a business invoice: they need a valid GSTIN. Other shoppers simply skip the business part and get a normal invoice in their own name, so there is nothing extra for them to do.
Why must the GSTIN be in the delivery state?
Because the GST charged is the delivery state's, the place of supply. Mercayo tells the buyer which state their GSTIN belongs to, so they can deliver to an address there, such as their office, and get an invoice their accountant can use.
Is the GSTIN verified with the government?
Its format, state code and check character are verified, as the buyer types and again when the order is placed, which catches typing mistakes. The GSTIN and the name are not looked up on the GST portal, so a real but wrong GSTIN is the buyer's responsibility.
How does my accountant see these orders?
As B2B invoices, with the buyer's GSTIN, separate from consumer sales: Mercayo keeps them for the b2b part of GSTR-1, with their own HSN summary and their credit notes reported note by note.
Can the billing address differ from the delivery address?
Yes, when both are in the GSTIN's state. The invoice then shows "Billed to" with the business's billing address and "Shipped to" with the delivery address. A billing address in another state is refused.
Can I add a GSTIN to an order that was already placed?
No. The buyer adds it at checkout, and issued invoices never change. If a business forgot it, one way is to cancel or refund the order, which issues the credit note, and have them order again with their GSTIN.
Related
Related Features
- GST InvoicesEvery order gets the right GST document, a tax invoice or a bill of supply, numbered without gaps per financial year, as a PDF for you and your shopper.
- Phone-First CheckoutOne page that starts with the mobile number and the PIN code, fills in the city and state, shows clear errors and a price breakdown that adds up.
- Tax SettingsSet your registration type, state, GSTIN and legal name, choose whether prices include GST, and keep a rates table by HSN code that every bag and order uses.
- Credit NotesWhen an invoiced order is cancelled, comes back undelivered or is refunded, Mercayo issues the GST credit note itself, once, for exactly what was taken back.
More in GST and Invoices: GST Invoices · Credit Notes · Tax Settings · HSN Finder · Invoices Screen and GSTR-1 Export
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