Which accounting software is best in India for GST?

This is a question all kinds of businesses — small or medium, large or very large — have been asking since the GST implementation. But before you delve into the various options available in the market, it’s important to understand the kinds of accounting software that are offering GST-readiness.

Also note that when you are looking for a GST-ready accounting software, you are expecting that it would help you with GST compliances, invoicing and auto-calculation of GST apart from other accounting activities.

Having said that, these are the following types of GST software available in the market:

1. GST-enabled accounting software which helps with accounting and filing

2. GST- filing software that helps only with invoicing, reconciliation and filing

GST pitfalls

Several small and medium businesses along with freelancers or consultants make the mistake of assuming that they should just get a GST-filing software such as ClearTax at the moment. However, with the increasing number of documents to be submitted and the need for permanent reconciliation of accounts with the GST norms, it’s vital that they opt for a GST-enabled accounting software. Moreover, there are software such as Giddh that are not only GST-enabled but also have tie-ups with GST-filing software players in order to give you a truly GST-ready accounting software.

Another pitfall is to sign up for various accounting software for different purposes. For example, there are offline software in India for managing inventory and payroll. Now investing in such software today is not relevant anymore because your accounting data would only increase and it’s best to keep this data on cloud through an online accounting software.

You may need data prior to GST implementation in order to make comparative analysis of the changes and cloud-based GST-enabled accounting software works best in this scenario.

The considerations before choosing

– Size of the business used to be one of the chief criteria for choosing a GST-ready accounting software but this should be taken with a pinch of salt. Unless you own a very large business where SAP is the only way to handle the financial data, your business can do easily with a good Indian cloud-based accounting software.

• Easy accessibility of accounts is another criterion for choosing your accounting software considering GST. The new taxation procedure needs a whole of new documentation that may keep you busy for months. If you choose a cloud-based accounting software such as Giddh, you would be able to access your data anywhere for filing or cross-checking.
• Easy and fast invoice generation is also a crucial factor to consider. Though this is not specifically GST-readiness per se, but it should be a given in your accounting software.
• Time taken to keep the financial statements ready should be counted too. Opt for accounting software such as Giddh that allow a double entry system. That means when you make a debit entry, the system makes a corresponding credit entry into the relevant account. This eliminates chances to errors to 99% and this would become a crucial factor while dealing with GST regulations in India.

So what do we recommend? We recommend a GST-enabled accounting software with service tie-ups with GST filing software players in readiness. For more questions on GST-readiness, feel free to visit us on Giddh.