Set up GST invoices step by step
This page explains how the product works. It is not tax advice; check your rate, SAC code and registration with your tax advisor.
- Open Transactions in your admin, then Invoice Settings.
- Under Invoice identity, fill in Organization name (legal), Registered address, Country and State. When GST invoices are on and your country is India, State is required. Add your GSTIN and your PAN number; the PAN is shown on invoices alongside the GSTIN.
- Under Invoice preferences, switch on Enable GST-compliant invoices. Fields appear for GST rate (%), SAC code and Prices include GST.
- Set the GST rate (18% by default) and the SAC code (the field is filled with a default; confirm it is the right code for your services).
- Choose Prices include GST. On means the listed price already contains GST. Off means GST is added on top of the listed price.
- Under Invoice numbering set an Invoice prefix (letters, numbers and hyphens, up to 10 characters, INV by default) and the Next invoice number.
- Press the preview button at the top of the page to see a sample invoice with your saved settings. It writes nothing and does not use up an invoice number.
What learners get
An invoice for each paid purchase, which they find under Account, then Invoices. It opens as a printable page, and they use the browser's print dialog to save it as a PDF. It is titled a tax invoice and shows the taxable value and the tax separately from the total, your GSTIN and the SAC code on the line item, and the learner's name and details.
You can open the same invoice yourself from Transactions: use the gear icon on a paid row and choose Download invoice. It is available only once the transaction is paid. This works for every kind of purchase: courses, bundles, communities, digital products and webinars.
Worked example: Rs 1,999 at 18% GST
- Listed price, and what the learner pays
- ₹1,999.00
- Taxable value (1,999 / 1.18)
- ₹1,694.07
- GST at 18%
- ₹304.93
- Same state: CGST 9% + SGST 9%
- ₹152.46 + ₹152.47
- Different state: IGST 18%
- ₹304.93
Taxable value plus tax always adds up to the total exactly; the paise are rounded once and the remainder goes to the tax.
The same price with GST added on top
- Listed price (taxable value)
- ₹1,999.00
- GST at 18%
- ₹359.82
- Same state: CGST 9% + SGST 9%
- ₹179.91 + ₹179.91
- Different state: IGST 18%
- ₹359.82
- What the learner pays
- ₹2,358.82
Pick one approach and keep it for a product. Switching later changes what new buyers pay, though invoices already issued stay exactly as they were.
CGST, SGST or IGST
When GST invoices are on and your academy is in India, every paid checkout asks the buyer for their state in a required State field, filled in from the state saved on their profile and saved back when they buy. If the buyer's state is the same as your academy's state, the invoice splits the tax into CGST and SGST. In every other case, including a purchase made before states were collected, it uses IGST.
This is why your own State must be filled in under Invoice identity. Without it TEACHNIQ cannot tell which case applies.
Numbering and issued invoices
- The invoice number is assigned once, the first time that transaction's invoice is opened, and never changes afterwards.
- Next invoice number can only be raised, never lowered, so a number is never repeated.
- An issued invoice is frozen: the number, the GST block, your seller details and the buyer's state are saved as they were. Changing the prefix, rate or address later does not alter invoices already issued.
- Hide zero-value invoices keeps free orders off the learner's invoice list.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Leaving the registered state blank, so every invoice falls back to IGST.
- Advertising a price as "incl. GST" while the setting is off, or the other way round.
- Setting the next invoice number lower than numbers you have already used. It can only go up.
- Expecting the platform's own bill to you to follow these settings. These settings are for the invoices you issue to your learners.
A simple monthly routine
TEACHNIQ produces the invoices and the sales list. Preparing and filing the return is for you and your accountant.
- Open Transactions and filter to the month you are reporting, with the status set to paid.
- Check the footer total for the filtered rows, then use Export page to download the rows as a CSV.
- Open a sample of invoices from the gear menu to confirm the taxable value, tax split and numbers look right.
- Hand the CSV to your accountant. Refunds appear in Transactions too, so tell them which orders were refunded.
Checklist for your accountant
- Legal name, registered address, State, GSTIN and PAN match your registration.
- GST rate and SAC code confirmed with your advisor.
- Prices include GST decided and applied to all products.
- Prefix and starting number agreed.
- A sample invoice previewed and a test purchase invoiced.
- Transactions exported to CSV each month and handed over.