GST Invoices
A Correct GST Invoice for Every Order, Automatically
Mercayo issues the GST document for each order the moment it should be issued, with every detail the GST rules ask for, and keeps it unchanged for ever. You do not type invoices; you download them.
- 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
For each order, Mercayo issues the GST document your registration calls for:
| Your Registration | What Each Order Gets |
|---|---|
| Regular GST | A tax invoice, for every order that charged GST |
| Composition scheme | A bill of supply, in its own number series, with the line the rules require ("Composition taxable person, not eligible to collect tax on supplies") |
| Not registered for GST | No GST document: the order page and the order emails are the shopper's receipt |
What Every Invoice Carries
Each invoice carries what the GST rules (CGST Rules, rule 46) ask for:
- your legal name, address and GSTIN, with your store's name as the trade name, and your logo when it is a PNG or JPEG;
- a number unique in the financial year, and the date of issue in India;
- the shopper's name, address and state with its state code, printed on every invoice, whatever the amount;
- each line with its HSN code, description, quantity and unit, its value, its share of the discount, and its taxable value;
- the rate and amount of CGST and SGST (UTGST in a union territory without a legislature), or IGST, worked out from where the order goes;
- the place of supply with the state's name and code;
- "Whether tax is payable on reverse charge: No";
- the total in figures and in words, in lakh and crore;
- a signature block: "For" your legal name, a signature line and "Authorised signatory".
It also prints delivery and fees with their GST (at your rate for delivery and fees, 18% to start with), "Prices include GST" when they do, a Round Off line below the taxes when your store rounds totals to the rupee, and, for a part-paid cash order, what was paid online and what is due in cash.
Numbers That Never Skip
Numbers read prefix, financial year, number: INV/2627/00001. They never skip and never repeat, even when two orders are confirmed at the same instant: the second waits for the first, and a number that was taken by an order that failed goes to the next document. The series starts again on 1 April, by India's clock. A number is never longer than the 16 characters the rules allow, even past 99,999 invoices in a year.
Issued at the Right Moment, Frozen for Ever
The document is issued in the same moment as the order event that calls for it: when the order is confirmed (a cash on delivery order when it is placed, an online order when it is paid), or when it ships, as you choose. Once issued, an invoice never changes. Later changes to a product, a price, a rate or your registration never reach an issued invoice, and nobody can edit or delete one.
The PDF is A4, usually one page. A long order runs on to more pages, with the table's header repeated and "Page 1 of 2" at the foot.
For your store
Why It Matters
GST paperwork is where small stores lose hours and make mistakes: missed invoices, the wrong tax for another state, numbers that skip, totals that differ from the bank by a paisa. Mercayo does it at the moment of the sale, from the same numbers the shopper paid, so your invoices always match your orders and your Razorpay settlements.
CGST and SGST are always exactly equal, and the parts always add back to the total to the paisa, so your accountant does not chase one-paisa differences at the end of the month. With prices that include GST, the price the shopper saw never moves: the GST is worked out inside it.
An invoice never blocks a sale. If something is missing, such as a GST rate for a product's HSN code, the order still goes through, the order's history says exactly why the invoice could not be issued, and one button issues it once you have fixed the cause. A problem with paperwork never costs you an order.
And business buyers get what they need too: with business invoices on, a buyer who gives their GSTIN at checkout gets the invoice in the business's name, ready for input tax credit.
Step by step
How It Works
Set Up Your GST Registration
In Settings → Taxes, choose your Registration Type (Regular GST, Composition scheme, or Not registered for GST), your State of Registration, your GSTIN and Legal Name, and whether your prices include GST. The GSTIN is checked as you type. See tax settings.
Give Each Product Its HSN Code
In the product editor, the HSN finder suggests the code and its rate. Your table of GST Rates by HSN Code in Settings → Taxes decides the rate charged; a product whose HSN code has no rate cannot be bought on regular GST, so no invoice is ever issued without its tax.
Choose When Invoices Are Issued
In Settings → Invoices → Invoice Numbers, Issue the GST invoice when the order is confirmed (to start with: a cash order when placed, an online order when paid) or when it is shipped. Whichever you choose, an order that ships without an invoice always gets one then, because GST makes the invoice due when the goods leave.
Set Your Number Prefixes
Invoice number prefix (INV/), Credit note number prefix (CN/) and Bill of supply number prefix (BOS/): up to 6 letters, digits, "-" or "/", starting with a letter or digit. Changing a prefix mid-year keeps the year's numbers running: INV/2627/00041 can be followed by SHOP/2627/00042, one gapless series for the year.
Set GST on Delivery and Fees
In Settings → Invoices → GST on Delivery, GST on delivery and fees is 18% to start with: the rate charged on delivery and the cash on delivery fee, whatever the goods in the bag. Change it only if your accountant advises another rate.
Download From the Order, or Many at Once
Each order's page has its GST Invoice card with DOWNLOAD, and its credit notes. On the Orders list, select orders and choose DOWNLOAD INVOICES for one PDF, or a ZIP for many (up to 100). Shoppers download their own invoice from their order page.
Fix and Issue When Something Was Missing
If an invoice could not be issued, the order's history says why, and the GST Invoice card shows "No GST invoice has been issued for this order" with ISSUE INVOICE. Fix the cause (often a missing GST rate or registration detail), press it, and the invoice takes the next number in the series.
- A Shopper OrdersOn your store, from a phone or a computer. Mobile number first; the PIN code fills in the city.
- PaymentOnline through your own Razorpay account, or cash on delivery after a one-time code.
- UPI
- Cards
- Cash on Delivery
- GST InvoiceMade for the order with CGST and SGST or IGST; a credit note if it is cancelled.
- CourierLabels and pickups with your Shiprocket account; tracking shows on the shopper's order page.
- DeliveredThe shopper can ask for a return or an exchange from the same order page.
- Paid to YouOnline payments settle from Razorpay to your bank. Mercayo takes no fee on your orders.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
Shoppers find DOWNLOAD INVOICE (or DOWNLOAD BILL OF SUPPLY) on their order page, whether they open it from their account, the thank-you page or the tracking page with their order number and phone, and a download for each credit note. The PDF is the same one your team downloads.
A business that gave its GSTIN at checkout gets an invoice in the business's name, for its input tax credit. The product page can also promise "GST invoice" among your store promises, shown only while your store issues them.
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 or limit the invoice settings for a store, such as the prefixes or the GST rate on delivery and fees, with a reason your admin shows; every change is in Mercayo's audit log. Issued invoices cannot be edited or deleted by anyone, Mercayo included: the database refuses it. The wording on the documents follows the GST rules and is Mercayo's to maintain, never a store's, so a rule change reaches every store at once and no store can print a misleading tax line.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- E-invoicing (IRN and QR code from the GST portal) is not built; it applies only above a turnover limit.
- A store not registered for GST gets no GST document; there is no separate plain receipt PDF.
- An issued invoice cannot be edited: a correction is made with a credit note.
- One GST registration per store; a store cannot invoice from two states.
- The GSTR-1 export's b2b sheet should be checked by your accountant before you file.
Questions
About GST Invoices
How does Mercayo know whether to charge CGST and SGST or IGST?
From your state of registration and the delivery PIN code's state, which is the place of supply. Same state: CGST and SGST, each half of the rate (UTGST in place of SGST for union territories without a legislature). Another state: IGST at the full rate.
Will invoice numbers ever skip?
No. Each financial year has one gapless series per store, even when orders are confirmed at the same moment: the second waits for the first. A number taken by an order that failed goes to the next document. The year starts on 1 April, India time.
What if I change a product's price after the sale?
The invoice keeps everything it printed. Each invoice stores every detail it shows when it is issued, so changes to products, prices, rates, your legal name or your registration never reach an issued invoice. New orders use the new details.
What if an invoice cannot be issued?
The order still goes through. The order's history says why, and ISSUE INVOICE on the order page issues it once you have fixed the cause, for example a missing HSN rate. It then takes the next number of the series.
Can I issue invoices when I ship instead of when I confirm?
Yes: set Issue the GST invoice to when it is shipped. This way, an order cancelled before it ships never had an invoice. Either way, a credit note follows any cancel, return or refund of an invoiced order.
Is the round off on the invoice?
Yes, when your store rounds totals to the rupee (on to start with). The Round Off line, at most 50 paise either way, is printed below the taxes and is not taxed, as Indian invoices commonly show it. The taxable values and GST stay exact to the paisa.
Can my accountant get all invoices at once?
Orders → Invoices lists every invoice and credit note with its PDF, and EXPORT FOR GSTR-1 downloads the GSTR-1 files for last month, last quarter or any dates, with the PDFs if you like. See GSTR-1 export.
Related
Related Features
- 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.
- 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.
- HSN FinderType what a product is, like phone case or silver earring, and pick its HSN code from the GST directory, with the rate from the official rate notifications.
- Business (B2B) InvoicesBusiness buyers add their GSTIN and legal name at checkout; the GSTIN is checked and the GST invoice names the business, ready for input tax credit.
- OrdersStatus tabs, saved views your team shares, search by number, phone or name, a money summary, bulk actions, and an order page with one clear next step.
More in GST and Invoices: Credit Notes · Tax Settings · HSN Finder · Business (B2B) Invoices · Invoices Screen and GSTR-1 Export
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