The Billing module is the daily engine of SaathiX ERP. Every sale — retail counter, wholesale challan or B2B tax invoice — starts here. This guide walks through every field, keyboard shortcut and setting that shapes an invoice, so a new user can bill their first customer in under two minutes and a power user can push 400 bills a day without touching the mouse.
01Where to find it
From the sidebar, open Dashboard → Billing. The New Invoice screen has three columns: Party on the left, Items in the middle, Totals & payment on the right. On mobile the columns stack; the item search stays sticky at the top.
02Choosing the right document type
SaathiX ERP supports six document types under Billing, each with a different legal footprint and print layout. Pick the right one before you add items — switching later re-numbers the document.
- Tax Invoice — for GST-registered sales, prints HSN, tax split and IRN if e-invoice is enabled.
- Retail Bill — for B2C sales under Rs. 200 or where the buyer does not need GST credit.
- Estimate / Quotation — non-accounting document, does not affect stock or ledgers until converted.
- Proforma Invoice — commitment document sent before payment; converts to a tax invoice with one click.
- Delivery Challan — used when goods move without a sale (job work, branch transfer, approval).
- Credit / Debit Note — for returns and rate corrections; auto-links to the original invoice.
03Adding a party
Start typing a customer name in the Party field. SaathiX ERP searches across name, phone, GSTIN and city. If the party doesn't exist, press Ctrl+N (or tap Add new) to create it inline — GSTIN is validated in real time against the GST portal and pre-fills legal name, address and state. State controls whether the invoice charges CGST+SGST (intra-state) or IGST (inter-state).
04Adding items fast
The item row is optimised for keyboard use. Type the first three letters of an item name, HSN, SKU or barcode; use ↑↓ to select and Enter to add. Every item added remembers its last-sold rate for that specific party, so repeat customers see their negotiated price by default.
- Alt+B — scan a barcode using the device camera or USB scanner.
- Alt+U — change unit (PCS ↔ BOX ↔ KG) using the item's conversion table.
- Alt+D — apply a discount % or flat amount at the row level.
- Alt+X — split a line into batches / serial numbers.
- Alt+E — edit the tax rate for this line only (useful for reverse-charge lines).
05Discounts, charges and rounding
Row-level discounts stack with the invoice-level discount. Additional charges like freight, packing or insurance can be added in the Totals column and marked taxable or non-taxable. Rounding is controlled from Settings → Business → Invoice; the default is 'round to nearest rupee' with the difference posted to the Rounding Off ledger automatically.
06Payment & saving
Enter the amount received in Cash, UPI, Card or Bank; SaathiX ERP splits the balance to Outstanding and creates the receipt entry against the party's ledger. Press Ctrl+S to save and print, Ctrl+Shift+S to save without printing, or Ctrl+Enter to save and start the next bill on the same party. Every saved invoice syncs to the cloud in under two seconds; you'll see a green tick next to the invoice number when it's safe.
07Printing and sharing
SaathiX ERP ships with 14 invoice templates — thermal 58 mm, thermal 80 mm, A5 and four A4 designs, plus GST-compliant e-invoice layouts. Change template per document under Settings → Themes. From the saved invoice you can email as PDF, send on WhatsApp with a pre-written message, generate a payment link or copy a public view-only URL.
08Common mistakes to avoid
A few habits cause 90% of billing errors we see in support tickets. Fix these once and never worry again.
- Selecting Retail Bill for a B2B customer — the buyer loses input tax credit.
- Leaving Place of Supply blank on an inter-state invoice — GSTR-1 will reject.
- Editing a saved invoice instead of raising a credit note — breaks audit trail.
- Skipping HSN on items above the mandatory turnover threshold.