GST e-invoicing: what your software should do

If your business crosses the e-invoicing turnover limit set by the GST department, a B2B invoice is not valid until the government's Invoice Registration Portal has given it an IRN — a unique number — and a QR code. Many firms still create the invoice in one system, then have someone copy details into the e-invoice portal by hand, which is slow and invites typing mistakes that come back as GST notices.

Signs your current setup is a problem

• Someone re-types invoice details into the e-invoice portal after billing is done.
• Invoices go to customers without the IRN and QR code already printed on them.
• You find out about a rejected e-invoice only when the buyer asks where it is.
• Credit notes and cancellations are tracked in a separate register, by hand.

What good e-invoicing software does

It should generate the IRN automatically the moment you save the invoice, print the QR code on the invoice itself, and hold the acknowledgement number against that invoice for your records. It should stop you from editing an invoice after the IRN is issued, since the portal will reject the change anyway, and it should let you cancel and reissue cleanly within the allowed window. None of this should need a separate login or a second copy of the data.

What it costs you

The real cost is in getting your product and customer master data clean — correct GSTINs, correct HSN codes, correct addresses — because the portal will reject an invoice over a mismatch that has nothing to do with the invoice itself. Once that is sorted, day-to-day e-invoicing should add no extra work to billing; if it does, the software is not doing its job.

Questions to ask any vendor

• Does the IRN get generated automatically, or does someone still visit the portal separately?
• What happens when the portal is slow or down — does billing stop, or does it queue and retry?
• Can I see my GSTR-1 data reconcile against my e-invoices without extra manual work?
• Is my invoice and customer data stored in a way I can pull out if I switch software later?

How we can help

Kanakku reads your bank and card statements, matches payments to invoices, and posts entries through a proper double-entry ledger, so your books and your e-invoices stay in step without double entry. GST, PAN and IFSC details are checked as you type, so mismatches get caught before they reach the portal. Tell us how you bill today at talk to us and we will show you Kanakku on your own numbers.