An Introduction to GST:
Goods and Services Tax (GST) could be a style of tax levied on the provision of products and services. It’s a destination-based, multistage, and comprehensive tax. As of now, India, Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, Monaco, Spain, Nigeria, South Korea, and Brazil are some countries that have implemented GST.
Before GST, businesses had to pay a multitude of taxes, such as service tax, VAT, etc. GST submerges all these taxes into one, making the taxation process easier. But, you still need to file GST. And with various products having different HBN codes and tax percentages, complying with GST can be difficult for businesses.
Here’s where a GST software solution comes into play.
Table of Contents
What Is GST Software?
A GST software solution is a computer program that allows you to create GST-compliant invoices with ease, file GST returns, and generate GST reports. In a nutshell, it enables your business to be GST compliant.
Some key features included in a GST software solution are:
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GST-ready invoices.
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GST-ready reports.
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ITC Match/mismatch reports.
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Cloud support.
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Automatic calculation of taxes.
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Data Security.
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SAC/HSN code lookup.
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Integration with third-party apps.
Importance of GST Software for Businesses:
Now, why does your business need GST software? If you want, you can create GST invoices and reports and file taxes.
Here’s why businesses ought to invest in GST Software:
1. Rising Digitization:
Business automation and digitization of processes have become the new normal. Businesses need to become competent in this hyper-competitive business landscape. By implementing a GST computer code resolution, firms will leverage technology to create their operations a lot cheap.
2. Complex Document Management:
Managing a company’s finances is a document-heavy process. A lot of documents, ranging from GST-compliant invoices to reports, need maintenance. Storing documents in a paper-form has drawbacks to security and sustainability. Thus, businesses need to move to electronic documentation, and GST software helps do that.
3. Lack of Compliance:
Compliance is one of the essential elements of GST implementation in various countries. Small and midsize businesses that rely on manual processes may find it difficult to adopt the new taxation system and structure. With a GST system in place, taxation and compliance become effortless.
4. Problems with Systemization:
Businesses often struggle with undisciplined goods and unsystematic service movement. GST software makes things more systematic, thereby making things easier for both companies and consumers.
5. Lack of Security:
Paper-based accounting and taxation procedures are always at risk of data loss or breach. A GST software solution allows you to store data in digital form, eliminating the risk of loss. Besides, these solutions come with cutting-edge security features to ensure your confidential data never land in the wrong hands.
Benefits of GST Software:
With GST law being a new affair in India, staying compliant is the topmost priority for businesses. But the benefits of GST software go beyond compliance. A robust solution can go a long way in boosting your productivity, efficiency, and profitability.
Let’s look at some key benefits of using a GST software solution.
1. New Invoice Creation:
Invoice creation is one of the first processes every business should automate. Whether you’re an enterprise, agency, or freelancer, creating and sending invoices is an essential part of the business. But, manual invoice creation takes time. A study showed that companies spend about 25 days on manual invoice processing.
Automated invoice generation is, thus, a necessity. Besides, generating invoices isn’t enough. You need to ensure that your invoices are GST compliant. A GST software solution allows you to create GST-compliant invoices.
2. Customer Records:
We live in the era of personalization, where costumes expect companies to keep their records. If a customer returns to you, she expects you to remember her past buy information and preferences. Thus, creating customer records is critical.
Manual creation of customer records can be increasingly time-consuming. You have to juggle through invoices and bills and then summarize them into customer records.
GST software makes the process easier. It allows you to summarize customers’ personal and buy information and integrate it into a centralized database. This way, you can access the data whenever you want to provide a better customer experience.
3. Payments Processing:
It’s 2021, and if you still accept cash payments only, soon you’ll have no customers. In today’s age, people want options. They want to pay in cash, card, e-wallet, or whatever way they’re comfortable with. As a business, you need to make sure that you accept all payment methods.
A GST software system helps you do that. It integrates with many payment modules, allowing you to ease transactions through many ways and channels.
Some advanced billing solutions also have automatic billing and recurring invoice functionalities. If you’re a contract or service-based business, you can set up automatic billing and allow customers to make payments easily.
4. Access to Templates:
Your business’ branding goes beyond your website design and advertisements. In this interconnected era, companies need to focus on Omnichannel branding. In a nutshell, Omnichannel branding refers to sending out a consistent brand message across many channels and platforms.
When you generate bills and invoices, including your company’s logo and choosing the right color palette can go a long way in boosting your branding efforts. The best GST solutions come with various templates, allowing you to customize your invoices.
5. Many Currency Options:
Globalization has enabled companies to do business across borders. You can deliver your products and services to consumers worldwide. This means you need to accept payments in many currencies.
GST programming permits you to make solicitations and get installments in different monetary forms. It comes with a real-time currency converter and tax calculator to help you generate accurate invoices and stay compliant.
6. Send Automatic Reminders:
Late payments can hurt your business, and sadly, they’re prevalent. 60% of invoices paid late in the US, showed a report by Market Invoice. India remains to be the most affected country when it comes to late payments, with 93.7% of entrepreneurs having gotten late installments from homegrown and unfamiliar clients.
The reasons for late payments can vary. Maybe the supplier went out of business or had declared bankruptcy. These instances, although rare, are out of your control, and it’s the risk you need to take. But often, suppliers make late payments because they simply forget.
GST software allows you to send automatic reminders. When the due payment date approaches, the software sends reminders via email and text. This builds the opportunity of you getting paid on time.
Wrapping Up:
The implementation of GST, along with the digitization of accounting, has made GST software an essential tool for all businesses. It helps you generate GST-compliant invoices and manage your company’s finances and taxes from one place. All in all, it provides an edge and helps you thrive in this competitive landscape.
