For most Indian shops and traders, myBillBook and Vyapar are the easiest places to start. Both support GST invoices, inventory and mobile billing at a relatively low annual cost. Zoho Books is better when you need full accounting and a separate login for your CA, while TallyPrime remains the practical choice when your accountant already works in Tally.
Freelancers and service businesses that only need professional invoices can start with Zoho Invoice or Swipe. Restaurants should evaluate Petpooja, while distributors and inventory-heavy businesses should look more closely at Marg ERP and BUSY.
The right choice depends on four practical questions: will you bill from a phone or a counter PC, do you need offline access, does your business require e-invoicing, and which system can your accountant work with comfortably?
Billing Software Compared
| Software | Best for | Free option | Paid from | E-invoicing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| myBillBook | Shops and traders billing on phone and desktop | Free trial | ₹3,490/year | Pro Max plan |
| Vyapar | Counter billing, including offline | Free mobile app | ₹283/month (long-term plans) | Higher tiers |
| Zoho Books | Accounting with GST filing and a CA login | Free under ₹25 lakh revenue | ₹749/month (annual) | Standard and above |
| TallyPrime | Businesses whose CA uses Tally | No | ₹750/month rental or ₹22,500 one-time | Yes |
| Zoho Invoice | Freelancers sending GST invoices | Free (500 invoices/year) | Free | Not listed |
| Swipe | Fast invoicing from mobile | Free core app | ₹2,999/user/year (third-party listing) | ₹7,499/user/year plan |
| Refrens | Agencies and service businesses | Free (15 documents) | See official page | Accounts Pro |
| Marg ERP 9+ | Distributors, pharma and FMCG | No | ₹10,300 one-time (third-party listing) | Yes |
| BUSY | Inventory-heavy traders and manufacturers | No | ₹11,000 one-time | Yes |
| GimBooks | Budget mobile billing | 7-day trial | ₹278/month (3-year term) | Separate plan |
| Petpooja | Restaurants and cafés | Demo | Quote | Not the focus |
| Vasy | Multi-store retail | Demo | From ₹12,999 | Quote |
Prices exclude 18% GST unless stated. Where a vendor’s page didn’t show plan amounts, we’ve used the latest figure from our software profiles or a labelled third-party listing.
How We Chose These Tools
We compared official pricing, plan documentation and product help pages with independent user feedback. We focused on GST invoicing, e-invoicing and e-way bill support, offline access, inventory depth, user and device limits, accountant access and realistic first-year cost. We did not run a business on every platform, and third-party prices are clearly labelled where a vendor does not publish them.
Best Billing Software for Shops, Traders and Distributors
1. myBillBook: Best All-Round Choice for Small Shops
myBillBook is a cloud billing and inventory app that works the same way on a phone, the web and a desktop. A shopkeeper can create a GST invoice at the counter, share it on WhatsApp, track stock across godowns and give the CA read access, without any setup beyond adding items and customers.
Plus costs ₹3,490 a year and Pro ₹3,990, which adds the desktop app, bulk invoice download and marketing messages. Both include one user plus your CA. E-invoicing, unlimited e-way bills, POS billing and extra users need Pro Max, so a business above the e-invoicing threshold should budget for that tier from the start.
2. Vyapar: Best for Counter Billing and Offline Use
Vyapar is one of the most widely used billing apps among Indian small traders, mainly because the free Android app covers basic invoicing and the Windows desktop app keeps working without internet. For a kirana store or hardware shop with an unreliable connection, that offline mode matters more than any feature list.
Paid plans are sold as Silver, Gold and Platinum licences per device, from about ₹283 a month on longer billing terms. Platinum is shown at around ₹9,999 a year. The catch is per-device pricing: a shop with two billing counters and an owner’s phone pays for each device, so count devices before comparing it with cloud tools.
3. Marg ERP 9+: Best for Distributors and Pharma
Marg is built for distribution businesses: pharma wholesalers, FMCG distributors and medical stores that track batches, expiry dates, schemes and salesman orders. It’s desktop software with a one-time licence, which suits businesses that would rather pay once than subscribe.
A third-party Indian software listing puts Basic at ₹10,300, Silver at ₹13,900 and Gold, with unlimited users and multi-branch reporting, at ₹26,000, all one-time plus GST. Annual maintenance and setup are quoted separately, so ask Marg or a local partner for the full first-year cost. For a general retail shop, it’s usually more than you need.
4. BUSY: Best for Inventory-Heavy Traders and Small Manufacturers
BUSY covers billing, GST returns, inventory with batches and serial numbers, and basic manufacturing, in a desktop package that has been popular with traders for years. Its perpetual editions cost ₹11,000 for Basic, ₹16,500 for Standard and ₹22,000 for Enterprise, plus GST, with yearly renewal for updates and support at ₹4,000 to ₹7,500. BUSY also sells 360-day subscription plans from ₹5,000.
It’s a strong fit if you need detailed stock control, multiple godowns or production entries. Like Tally and Marg, it’s built around a desktop workflow, so mobile billing is more limited than in myBillBook or Vyapar.
Best Accounting Software With GST Billing
5. Zoho Books: Best Cloud Accounting With a Free Plan
Zoho Books goes beyond billing into full accounting: bank reconciliation, purchase bills, GST returns, reports and a separate accountant login. Its free plan covers one user plus an accountant for businesses with revenue under ₹25 lakh a year, which is generous for a small service or trading business.
Paid plans start at ₹749 a month on annual billing (₹899 monthly) for Standard with three users and e-invoicing, rising to ₹1,499 for Professional with five users. If you already use Zoho CRM or Zoho Payroll, the connections save a lot of re-entry.
6. TallyPrime: Best When Your CA Already Uses Tally
TallyPrime is still the accounting software most Indian CAs know best, and that alone is a reason to choose it. Billing, inventory, GST returns, e-invoicing and e-way bills are all built in, and your accountant can work directly on your data without exporting files.
According to Tally’s own pricing guide, Silver (single user) costs ₹22,500 one-time or ₹750 a month on rental, and Gold (multi-user) costs ₹67,500 one-time or ₹2,250 a month, all plus 18% GST. The one-time licence includes a year of TSS (updates and remote access); renewal is ₹4,500 a year for Silver. Tally is less friendly for staff who only need to bill quickly from a phone, so some businesses pair it with a simpler billing app.
Best Free and Low-Cost Invoicing Apps
7. Zoho Invoice: Best Free Option for Freelancers
Zoho Invoice is free for Indian businesses, with GST-compliant invoices, quotes, payment reminders and time tracking. The free plan allows two users and up to 500 invoices a year, and invoices carry a small “Powered by Zoho Invoice” line. It doesn’t track inventory, so it suits consultants, designers, tutors and agencies rather than shops.
8. Swipe: Best for Fast Invoicing From Your Phone
Swipe is designed to get an invoice out in under a minute from a phone or browser, with payment links and GST reports. The core app is free. Swipe’s own page didn’t show paid amounts when we checked, but a recent third-party listing shows paid plans from ₹2,999 per user a year, with the RISE + E-Invoice plan at ₹7,499 per user a year. Confirm the current price in the app before buying.
9. Refrens: Best for Agencies and Service Businesses
Refrens combines invoicing with a light sales pipeline, expense tracking and multi-currency invoices, which suits agencies and freelancers billing clients in India and abroad. The free plan gives two users and 15 documents, enough to test it. GST compliance features such as e-invoices, e-way bills and GSTR reports start at the Accounts Pro tier.
Best Billing Software for Specific Industries
10. GimBooks: Best Budget Mobile Billing App
GimBooks targets small traders that want mobile billing, stock tracking and GST reports at a low long-term price. Its advertised monthly equivalent is lowest when you commit for several years, so compare the full amount payable rather than only the monthly figure.
E-way bill usage may depend on credits, while e-invoicing can require a separate plan. Confirm those limits if compliance features are essential.
11. Petpooja: Best Billing Software for Restaurants
Petpooja is not a general billing app. It is a restaurant operating system with KOTs, table management, recipe-level inventory, menu controls and integrations with delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato.
Pricing is quote-based and depends on outlets and modules. A café, restaurant or cloud kitchen should evaluate it against other restaurant POS systems rather than against a basic GST invoice app.
12. Vasy: Best for Multi-Store Retail
Vasy fits retailers that need central inventory, POS billing, purchasing and reporting across several stores or a warehouse. Published entry pricing starts from ₹12,999 for inventory software, while a complete retail implementation is quoted based on scope.
It is more system than a single small shop usually needs, but it becomes relevant when stock must stay synchronised across locations.
Do You Need E-Invoicing? Check This First
E-invoicing and normal GST invoicing are not the same thing. Every GST-registered business must issue compliant tax invoices, but only businesses crossing the notified turnover threshold need to report eligible invoices to the Invoice Registration Portal and obtain an IRN.
| Your situation | What applies |
|---|---|
| Aggregate turnover under ₹5 crore in every year since 2017-18 | E-invoicing not required; a normal GST invoice is enough |
| Turnover of ₹5 crore or more in any year since 2017-18 | E-invoicing mandatory for B2B invoices (since 1 August 2023) |
| Turnover of ₹10 crore or more | E-invoices must be reported to the IRP within 30 days of the invoice date (since 1 April 2025) |
| Moving goods worth more than ₹50,000 in one consignment | E-way bill usually required, regardless of turnover |
Once a business crosses the relevant e-invoicing threshold in any applicable year, a later drop in turnover does not automatically remove the obligation. Exemptions also apply to certain entities and transaction types. Confirm your position with your CA or the current GST e-invoice guidance before relying on a software setting.
Which Billing Software Fits Your Business?
| If you are | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A kirana, hardware or retail shop | Vyapar or myBillBook | Fast counter billing, stock and low annual cost |
| A shop with poor internet | Vyapar desktop | Works offline and syncs later |
| A distributor or pharma wholesaler | Marg ERP or BUSY | Batches, expiry, schemes and salesman orders |
| A business whose CA uses Tally | TallyPrime | No exports or re-entry at return time |
| A service business under ₹25 lakh | Zoho Books free | Full accounting at no cost |
| A freelancer or consultant | Zoho Invoice or Swipe | Free GST invoices with payment links |
| An agency billing foreign clients | Refrens | Multi-currency invoices and a sales pipeline |
| A restaurant or café | Petpooja | KOTs, table billing and aggregator orders |
What a Small Business Actually Pays in Year One
| Business | Likely setup | Approximate first-year cost |
|---|---|---|
| Single shop, one counter, owner’s phone | myBillBook Pro | ₹3,990 plus GST |
| Shop with two offline counters | Vyapar, two device licences | Roughly ₹7,000 to ₹20,000 plus GST, depending on tier and term |
| Trading firm whose CA uses Tally | TallyPrime Silver, one-time | ₹22,500 plus GST, then ₹4,500 a year |
| Service business, ₹18 lakh revenue | Zoho Books Free | ₹0 |
| Growing firm needing three users and e-invoicing | Zoho Books Standard, annual | ₹8,988 plus GST |
Software is only one part of the budget. Thermal printers, barcode scanners, data migration, onboarding, cloud hosting and your accountant’s setup time may add more than the licence itself.
What to Check Before You Buy
- Picking a tool your CA can’t work with, then paying for exports and re-entry every quarter.
- Paying for e-invoicing below the ₹5 crore threshold, or ignoring it when you’re close.
- Choosing a cloud-only app when your shop’s internet drops during peak hours.
- Forgetting that some tools charge per device or per user, not per business.
- Skipping a backup plan. Check how data is backed up and how you can export it if you switch.
Final Recommendation
Choose myBillBook for an affordable all-round billing and inventory system, or Vyapar when offline counter billing is the priority. Pick Zoho Books when you need cloud accounting and collaboration with your CA, and choose TallyPrime when accountant compatibility outweighs ease of mobile use.
Whichever tool you shortlist, test it using your real invoice format, printer, stock list, GST workflow and internet conditions before committing to a long-term plan.
