IamRamgarhia/Free-GST-Billing-Software

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⚡ Install in 60 Seconds — one launcher per platform

The download ZIP holds a launcher for each system, a plain-English READ ME FIRST.txt, and a _system/ folder with everything else. Extract the ZIP, double-click the launcher for your computer, click Install — it sets itself up, needs no administrator rights, and opens the app in your browser when it is done.

Free-GST-Billing/
├── Free GST Billing - WINDOWS.hta    ← Windows: double-click this
├── Free GST Billing - MAC.command    ← macOS
├── Free GST Billing - LINUX.sh       ← Linux / NAS
├── READ ME FIRST.txt                 ← step-by-step, in plain English
└── _system/                          ← the app (hidden after install)

 
_{The Windows launcher — one button to install, then one button to open. Everything else is under More options.}

1. Download the ZIP → https://github.com/IamRamgarhia/Free-GST-Billing-Software/releases/latest/download/Free-GST-Billing.zip
2. Right-click the ZIP → Extract All → pick a folder you'll remember
3. Open the EXTRACTED folder. Each launcher is named after the system it is for
   — double-click yours:
       Free GST Billing - WINDOWS.hta     (opens a window with buttons)
       Free GST Billing - MAC.command     (opens Terminal)
       Free GST Billing - LINUX.sh        (opens Terminal — chmod +x first if needed)

⚠ Extract the ZIP first. Windows lets you double-click the launcher

while you are still looking inside the ZIP — but then it unpacks that one

file on its own to a temp folder, and the launcher correctly reports

_system folder is missing even though Explorer is showing it to you.

Prefer one command? Paste this into PowerShell — no admin rights needed:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IamRamgarhia/Free-GST-Billing-Software/main/install.ps1 | iex

It fetches the latest release, installs it to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Free GST Billing, installs Node.js if you do not have it, and creates the Desktop shortcut. See Option 1b for how to choose a different folder.

The launcher:

• Detects if Node.js is installed; installs it on Windows automatically if missing
• Runs npm install inside _system/ (one-time, ~2 min)
• Creates a Desktop shortcut + Start-Menu entry so you never open the folder again
• Starts the server and opens your browser at http://localhost:47371

From then on, click the Desktop shortcut. To update / backup / restore / move to another PC / stop the server — use the buttons in that same launcher, or the in-app ⚙ Control Panel in the sidebar. No batch files, no CMD windows.

☁ Want to run it online instead (access from multiple devices)? See the full Online Deployment Guide → docs/DEPLOY_ONLINE.md — four paths compared (Railway lift-and-shift, Vercel + Supabase serverless, own VPS, free Cloudflare Tunnel) with costs, trade-offs, SQL schema, and code snippets. Read the trade-offs first — the local install is still the right answer for ~95% of users.

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Screenshots

📸 Want more screenshots? Open an issue and we'll add captures of the New Invoice form, GSTR-2B Reconciliation tab, Multi-Account Payments manager, PRs welcome too.

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📑 Table of Contents

• Install in 60 Seconds — Windows one-click
• ☁ Run Online (Vercel + Supabase, Railway, VPS, Cloudflare Tunnel) — for multi-device / team access
• Why Choose Free GST Billing Software?
• Your First Invoice in 5 Minutes — start here if you're new
• Key Features
• Invoicing & Billing
• GST Compliance & Filing
• Business Management
• Reports & Analytics
• Sharing & Export
• Customization
• Quick Start / Installation
• Install as a Desktop App (PWA)
• How to Self-File GST Returns
• Free GST Billing Software vs Paid Alternatives
• Tech Stack
• Roadmap
• Documentation
• Who Is This For?
• Why Is This Free?
• Data Privacy & Security
• Troubleshooting: fix it yourself — find the message you see
• Updates every Saturday
• Contributing
• Contact & Support

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Your First Invoice in 5 Minutes

A step-by-step guide for the very first invoice you create after installing. Targeted at users who've never used billing software before.

Before you start

You need: Windows 10/11 PC, ~50 MB free disk, your business name + bank details (optional, can be added later). No coding knowledge required. No internet needed after install.

Step 1 — Install (1 minute)

1. Download the ZIP — always the latest version. (Do not use the green Code -> Download ZIP button — that gives the source code without the built app.) 2. Right-click the downloaded ZIP → Extract All → pick a folder you'll remember (e.g. Documents\FreeGSTBill) 3. Open the extracted folder → double-click Free GST Billing - WINDOWS (each launcher is named after the system it is for) 4. Click Install Node & App. It installs Node.js for you if you do not have it, then sets everything up. Takes 1–2 minutes the first time 5. Click Open App — the app opens in your browser at http://localhost:47371, and a Desktop shortcut is waiting for you next time

In a hurry? One PowerShell command does steps 1–4 for you:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IamRamgarhia/Free-GST-Billing-Software/main/install.ps1 | iex

💡 Tip: Click the small Install App icon in your browser's address bar to make the app open in its own window like Tally or Word — no browser chrome, looks and feels native.

Step 2 — Set up your business profile (1 minute)

The Welcome Wizard appears automatically on first launch.

1. Welcome screen → pick your region:

• 🇮🇳 India only — enables GST, GSTR-1/3B, UPI QR, E-Way Bill
• 🌍 Outside India — enables VAT / SST / MwSt / TVA labels for 21 other countries
• 🌐 Both — keeps everything visible (default)

2. Business Details → fill in your business name and address. Add GSTIN if you have one (leave blank if not GST-registered). PAN is optional. 3. Bank & UPI → add one bank account + your UPI ID so clients can pay you. You can add more accounts later from Settings → Payment Accounts. 4. Click Done → you land on the empty Dashboard

Step 3 — Create your first invoice (2 minutes)

1. Click + New Invoice in the sidebar 2. Pick the invoice type: Tax Invoice for GST-registered sales, Bill of Supply for exempt goods, Proforma for quotes, Delivery Challan for goods movement 3. Pick 📦 Goods or ⏱ Services at the top — this drives the default unit (Nos for goods, Hrs for services) 4. Type the client's name in the Bill To field. If you've billed them before they auto-suggest. Otherwise click + Save as new client and fill the modal. 5. Add line items in the table:

• Description — what you sold/did
• Qty — how much
• Unit — pick from the dropdown (Nos/Kg/Ltr for goods; Hrs/Day/Session for services). Click ＋ Add custom… for things like Carat / Bundle
• Rate — price per unit
• Tax % — picks from your country's standard rates (5/12/18/28% for India; 5% for UAE; etc.)

6. Click Download PDF in the top-right

That's it. The PDF saves to Saved Invoices/// and the invoice is logged in your bills list with a unique number.

Step 4 — Send to your client (1 minute)

After clicking Download PDF you get three sharing options inline:

• 📱 WhatsApp — opens WhatsApp Web/Desktop with the PDF link prefilled to the client's number
• 📧 Email — opens your default mail app with the invoice summary
• ☁ Google Drive — auto-uploads (optional, requires you to configure your Google Client ID once in Settings)

Step 5 — Track payment (whenever)

Open the Dashboard. The invoice shows in the list with a status badge.

• Click the 💰 icon to record a payment (full or partial) — date, mode, note
• The status updates automatically (unpaid → partial → paid)
• Overdue invoices get a red row + days-overdue counter automatically once the due date passes
• Use the 🔔 Notifications bell in the sidebar to see overdue invoices and upcoming GST filing deadlines

What to do next

Once you're comfortable with the basics, explore:

• Recurring invoices — tick "🔁 Make this recurring" in the Customize panel of any invoice. The app auto-generates it monthly/weekly/yearly on your chosen date.
• Multi-currency — billing an overseas client? Open Customize → Currency → USD/EUR/GBP/AED/etc. The PDF renders the right symbol, locale formatting, and amount-in-words.
• GST Returns — sidebar → GST Returns. Filter by month/quarter/FY, click JSON Export to download GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B ready for the GST portal offline tool.
• GSTR-2B Reconciliation — download your 2B JSON from gst.gov.in, click Import in our 2B tab — we auto-match against your purchase records and flag mismatches.
• TDS / TCS — Customize → tick TDS or TCS, pick a section (194Q / 206C(1H) / etc.). The Reports view aggregates these for Form 26Q / 27EQ filing.

📖 Full walkthrough — see docs/USER_GUIDE.md or the online documentation, which the app's User Guide button opens.

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Why Choose Free GST Billing Software?

Most billing software in India — Zoho Invoice, Vyapar, Tally, myBillBook — charges you monthly, stores your financial data on their servers, and locks you in. Free GST Billing Software is the open-source alternative that changes everything.

• Completely free — no subscription, no premium tier, no hidden charges, no "free trial" that expires
• 100% offline — runs on localhost, works without internet after installation
• Your data stays on YOUR computer — invoices, GSTIN, bank details, client records stored as local JSON files. No cloud, no third-party servers
• GST compliant — auto-calculates CGST/SGST/IGST, generates GSTR-1 & GSTR-3B data, exports JSON for GST portal upload
• Self-file your GST returns — built-in step-by-step filing guide so you don't need a CA for basic filing
• Install once, use forever — MIT licensed, open-source, community-driven

If you're paying for billing software, you can stop now.

📊 Comparison: Free GST Billing Software vs Paid Alternatives

Every 🆕 row below is a feature we shipped in v1.10 that competitors either paywall, cripple in the free tier, or don't offer at all.

| Feature | Free GST Billing Software | Tally Prime | Vyapar | Zoho Books | ClearTax GST | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Price | ✅ Free forever | ₹22,500–₹67,500 one-time | ₹2,599+/year | ₹899–₹2,999/month | ~₹3,599/year+ | | GST invoices (CGST/SGST/IGST) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | 🆕 UTGST for intra-UT supplies | ✅ Auto-detected | ⚠ Manual | ❌ | ⚠ Manual | ⚠ Manual | | GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B JSON export | ✅ | ✅ (paid tier) | ⚠ CSV only | ✅ (Standard+) | ✅ | | GSTR-2B reconciliation | ✅ | ✅ (paid tier) | ❌ | ✅ (Premium) | ✅ | | E-Way Bill JSON | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | | TDS / TCS on invoices | ✅ Form 26Q / 27EQ-ready | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | | 🆕 TCS on right base + ₹50L threshold | ✅ Auto (Circular 17/2020) | ⚠ Manual | ❌ | ⚠ Manual | ⚠ Manual | | 🆕 Income Tax (ITR) with 234B/C interest | ✅ Free | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠ CA add-on | ✅ (separate product) | | Multi-business / multi-GSTIN | ✅ Unlimited | ✅ (Gold tier) | ⚠ Silver tier | ✅ (Premium) | ✅ | | Multi-account payments per business | ✅ Unlimited | ✅ | ⚠ Paid | ✅ | ✅ | | Custom per-line units (kg, ltr, Hrs + custom) | ✅ | ⚠ Limited | ⚠ Paid | ✅ | ⚠ Limited | | 22-country multi-currency | ✅ | ⚠ Paid | ❌ | ✅ (Premium) | ❌ | | PWA installable (own window, no browser) | ✅ | ❌ Desktop only | ❌ Android-first | ❌ Web only | ❌ Web only | | Offline-first (works without internet) | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠ Limited | ❌ Cloud | ❌ Cloud | | Your data on YOUR computer (no cloud) | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠ Cloud sync | ❌ Cloud | ❌ Cloud | | Open-source (MIT licensed) | ✅ | ❌ Proprietary | ❌ Proprietary | ❌ Proprietary | ❌ Proprietary | | No signup / no email collected | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ Phone+OTP | ❌ Email login | ❌ Email login | | Recurring invoices auto-generation | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠ Paid | ✅ | ⚠ | | 🆕 9 one-click design presets (Modern / Corporate / Retail Brand / …) | ✅ | ❌ | ⚠ 2-3 templates (paid tier) | ⚠ Paid | ❌ | | 🆕 Split-view live preview (settings + preview side-by-side) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠ Small preview | ❌ | | 🆕 User-configurable PDF colours (accent, header, text, divider) | ✅ Every colour | ❌ | ❌ | ⚠ Accent only (paid) | ❌ | | 🆕 Print margins (mm) — top/bottom/left/right | ✅ | ⚠ Paid tier | ❌ | ⚠ Paid | ❌ | | 🆕 Multi-language section labels (English/Hindi/Tamil/Marathi/Bengali) | ✅ Free | ⚠ Paid | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | 🆕 Multi-page Rule 48 (Original/Duplicate/Triplicate) — rows never cut | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠ Paid Gold | ⚠ Paid | ⚠ Paid | | 🆕 Watermark (DUPLICATE / DRAFT / custom) on PDF | ✅ | ⚠ Paid | ⚠ Paid Silver | ✅ | ⚠ Paid | | 🆕 Auto-print payment receipt (with view/edit/delete history) | ✅ | ⚠ Paid | ⚠ Paid | ⚠ Paid | ⚠ Paid | | 🆕 Bulk PDF export with progress + cancel | ✅ Free | ⚠ Paid | ❌ | ⚠ Paid | ⚠ Paid | | 🆕 Ctrl+K command palette (search invoices/clients/products) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | 🆕 Notification bell (overdue + low stock + filings + updates) | ✅ | ⚠ Basic | ⚠ Paid | ✅ | ⚠ | | 🆕 Automatic daily backup + Trash bin (30-day retention) | ✅ Free | ⚠ Manual export | ⚠ Paid cloud-sync | ✅ Cloud-only | ✅ Cloud-only | | 🆕 Transactional restore (rollback on error) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | 🆕 Setup wizard with 6 business-type presets | ✅ | ❌ | ⚠ Basic | ⚠ Basic | ⚠ Basic | | 🆕 In-app searchable user guide | ✅ | ❌ External PDF | ❌ External | ❌ External | ❌ External | | 🆕 Barcode + QR of invoice number on PDF | ✅ Every invoice | ⚠ Paid | ⚠ Paid | ❌ | ❌ | | 🆕 Feedback QR (Google Reviews link) on PDF | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | 🆕 Google Drive backup + PDF upload (opt-in) | ✅ Free (your OAuth) | ❌ | ⚠ Paid | ✅ (Premium) | ❌ |

Last verified 2026. Competitors' features change; verify on their pricing pages.

💰 What you'd pay elsewhere for what's free here

If we priced every 🆕 feature at the going rate on the paid alternatives:

• Custom PDF branding + design presets: paid tier on Vyapar, Zoho, ClearTax
• Multi-copy Rule 48: Vyapar Gold (₹3,999/yr), Tally paid module
• Watermarks: Vyapar Silver (₹2,599/yr)
• Auto-print payment receipts: standard on ClearTax + Zoho Standard
• Bulk export: paid tier on all four
• Daily backup with Trash bin: cloud-only (paid) on Zoho + ClearTax
• ITR module (with 234B/C, surcharge cap, 80D senior tiers): ClearTax sells this as a separate ~₹1,500/yr product
• Multi-language invoices: Tally paid module

Total that would cost you ~₹8,000–₹15,000/year on the competing stack. Here: ₹0, forever, MIT-licensed.

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Key Features

🆕 What's new (v1.10.30 → v1.10.42, shipped 2026)

> - Direct-HTML vector thermal print (v1.10.42) — 58/80mm receipts skip the raster PDF path and go straight to the printer as vector text. Sharp glyphs on 203-dpi thermal heads, smaller print jobs. User-toggle to switch back to Via-PDF for finicky printers.

- Payment / receipt reconciliation (v1.10.41) — Dashboard auto-heals any orphaned receipts against their invoice; stale-editor saves can no longer wipe a payment recorded in another tab.

- REPRINT badge polish (v1.10.41) — moved to top-right so it never overlaps the logo; default OFF for freelancers/services (retail/POS can opt in).

- Bill of Supply / Delivery Challan (v1.10.39) — the "no GST" invoice types now correctly remove GST from the invoice total.

- PDF colour crash fix (v1.10.40) — swapped color-mix(in oklab, …) for rgba(); PDF Save & Download works on every browser again.

- Invoice PDF polish (v1.10.38) — accent-tinted TOTAL DUE anchor, footer-block containers matching Bill To, smart Terms format default (services → formatted, goods → compact).

- Payment Accounts — Account Holder Name + Account Type (v1.10.37) — invoices now show whose name is on the bank and whether it's Savings/Current.

- Portal print preview + settings redesign + business-type gating (v1.10.36) — split-view collapses to one column on mobile, sections gated by business preset (freelancer no longer sees thermal-only options), reusable page-header card across every screen.

- Vector-HTML thermal preview + OCR line items (v1.10.35) — OCR now extracts HSN / qty / rate / tax% per line and fuzzy-matches your saved product catalogue.

- In-app ConfirmModal + PromptModal (v1.10.34) — every native browser confirm/prompt replaced with a theme-aware in-app modal.

- Complete 4-mode discount system (v1.10.25) — Net / Unit / Price-with-Tax + invoice-level Total discount.

- Client credit balance (v1.10.24) — overpayments carry forward and apply to the next bill automatically.

- Focus mode + Ctrl+K command palette + Notification bell (through v1.10.36) — keyboard-first workflow for POS speed.

> Full history: CHANGELOG.md. Earlier v1.10 milestones (UTGST bucket, GST Rule 48 multi-copy, 9 design presets, print margins, multi-language labels, daily backup + Trash bin, transactional restore) remain — see the feature tables below.

:receipt: Invoicing & Billing

| Feature | Details | |---------|---------| | 5 Invoice Types | Tax Invoice, Proforma/Estimate, Bill of Supply, Credit Note, Delivery Challan | | 🆕 Cancel Invoice (not delete) | A saved invoice keeps its number for GST. Cancelling stamps CANCELLED on the PDF and removes it from totals, reports and GST returns; stock goes back. Any other status un-cancels it | | 🆕 Logo, signature and stamp | Upload each separately with its own size slider; signature and stamp print centred, side by side, above the signatory name | | 🆕 GSTIN fills in the state | Type a client's GSTIN and the State is filled from it, offline. A mistyped GSTIN is caught by the checksum the number carries, before it reaches a return | | Auto GST Calculation | CGST + SGST for intra-state, IGST for inter-state — uses Place of Supply override and SEZ flag (Section 16, IGST Act) | | 🆕 UTGST Bucket | Intra-UT supplies for Chandigarh, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli / Daman & Diu correctly file as CGST + UTGST instead of CGST + SGST — required by GSTN portal (Chapter II of GST Act) | | 🆕 Interstate Detection Guard | Blank business-state produces a warning + block instead of silently defaulting to intra-state (fresh installs can no longer ship interstate invoices with wrong tax split) | | HSN/SAC Codes | Add HSN or SAC codes per line item with correct tax rates | | Per-Line Units of Measurement | kg, ltr, mtr, ft, hrs, pcs, sqft + 15 more — plus user-defined custom units (Carat, Bundle, anything). UQC propagated to GSTR-1 and E-Way Bill | | TDS / TCS on Invoices | Section 194Q / 194C / 194J / 194I / 194H / 194O / 195 (TDS) and 206C(1H) / 52 (TCS) with per-quarter Form 26Q / 27EQ-ready CSV reports | | 🆕 TCS on Right Base + ₹50L Threshold | Section 206C(1H) computed on receipt including GST per CBDT Circular 17/2020 (not pre-GST subtotal). ₹50 lakh annual per-counterparty threshold properly enforced — no over-collection on the first invoice | | UPI QR Code | Auto-generated QR code on every Indian-rupee invoice from your UPI ID | | Multi-Currency | Bill in INR + 21 other currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, AED, AUD, SGD, CAD, MYR, ZAR, NGN, KES, SAR, NPR, BDT,