Invoices

With the Invoice Billing add-on, every buyer enquiry becomes a draft invoice, so billing an order takes a few clicks.

Most small businesses type the same order twice: once in the quotation and again in the bill. Invoices removes that second step. The buyer's products, prices and quantities are already there, so you only check them and finalise.

You can also create invoices from scratch, upload bills you made elsewhere, and record payments as they come in. Everything stays in one list, so you always know who still owes you money.

Invoice stages

Every invoice is in one of three stages. The stage decides what you can still change.

Draft invoices from enquiries

Each enquiry creates a draft with the buyer, products, prices, HSN and GST filled in. Click Draft Invoice to see them, then Edit, Draft PDF, Finalise or Delete.

You do not press any button to create these drafts. They are made automatically when the buyer sends the enquiry. Package enquiries create a draft too, with the package as one line.

What the draft already contains

• Bill From: your business name, address, GSTIN, PAN, phone, email and logo, from your business settings.
• Bill To: the buyer's name, company, city, phone and email.
• Items: each product with its quantity, the price the buyer saw, its SAC/HSN code and GST rate.
• Document Type: Tax Quotation if GST is on for your business, otherwise Quotation.
• Notes / Terms: the buyer's note plus standard lines such as "This is a computer-generated document." and "Quotation valid for 7 days."

The buyer's address, GSTIN and state are not filled in. Add them before you finalise a tax invoice.

The Draft Invoices list

The list shows the Draft No., Client Name, Amount and Created Date. Use the client filter to find a buyer's drafts. Draft PDF downloads a PDF marked with a DRAFT watermark, so you can share a preview without it looking final.

Finalising a draft

1. Click Finalise next to the draft.
2. Enter an invoice number, or leave it blank to get the next INV-YYYY-NNNNN number.
3. Set the invoice date, due date and payment terms (Net 7, Net 15, Net 30, Net 45 or Custom).
4. Click Confirm & Finalise. The invoice moves to Active Invoices as outstanding.

A draft needs at least one item before it can be finalised. The due date cannot be before the invoice date.

Create an invoice

Use Create Invoice for orders that did not come through a catalog link, such as a phone order or a walk-in buyer.

1. Click Create Invoice. Leave the number blank to number it automatically.
2. Check Bill From and choose the Document Type (Tax Invoice, Proforma, Quotation and others).
3. Fill in Bill To from a saved buyer or by hand.
4. Add Items, discount, payment methods and notes.
5. Set the dates and payment terms, then click Finalise Invoice.

Choosing the document type

The editor, section by section

• Invoice Details: document type, invoice number (shows "Auto if blank"), Invoice Date, Due Date and Payment Terms. The due date starts 30 days after today.
• Bill From: Company/Seller Name is required. GSTIN and PAN come from your business.
• Bill To: pick a buyer from Select client name, or choose Manual / no saved client and type the details. Client Name is required.
• Items: Item, SAC/HSN, GST %, Quantity and Rate. The first item is required.
• Pricing: a Flat or Percent discount, and Round off total.
• Payment Methods: up to a few lines such as "UPI" with your UPI ID, or "Bank Transfer" with account and IFSC.
• Other Details: LUT Number for exporters, and custom label/value pairs such as "PO No." or "Vehicle No.".
• Notes / Terms: delivery, warranty or jurisdiction terms.

Invoice numbers must be unique. If you type a number that is already used, ShowCato asks you to change it.

GST

ShowCato applies CGST + SGST for buyers in your state and IGST for other states. GST PDFs include a GST summary and the amount in words.

The choice depends on your GST state (from your business settings) and the Buyer State in Bill To. The editor shows the tax mode under the totals: "Intrastate - CGST + SGST applicable" or "Interstate - IGST applicable". The Place of Supply fills in from the buyer state.

Worked example

Say you are a textile trader in Surat, Gujarat. You sell fabric worth ₹10,000 (taxable value) at 5% GST.

The total tax is the same. Only the split changes, which matters for your GST return and the buyer's input tax credit.

Inclusive or exclusive prices

Each item can follow your business setting (Inherit) or be set to Inclusive or Exclusive. Exclusive means GST is added on top of the rate. Inclusive means the rate already contains GST. GST rates available are 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.

If GST is not on for your business, you can instead add up to two simple taxes by name and percentage.

Upload an invoice

Click Upload Invoice and choose a PDF up to 10 MB. It is saved as outstanding, due in 30 days.

Use this for bills you already made in Tally, Busy or another tool. You can add the client name, amount and invoice number in the Upload PDF Invoice form. If you leave the number blank, the next INV number is used. Uploaded invoices then sit in Active Invoices with the rest, so you can track their payment.

Uploaded invoices cannot be edited, because ShowCato keeps your original PDF. PDF downloads that same file.

Track payments

• Mark Paid records date, method, reference and amount. Part payments are allowed.
• Mark Outstanding reopens a paid invoice.
• Filter by client, status or date. download CSV exports the list.

Recording a payment

1. In Active Invoices, click Mark Paid on an outstanding invoice.
2. Enter the payment date and choose the method: Bank Transfer, UPI, Cash, Cheque or Other.
3. Add the transaction or cheque reference, and the amount received.
4. Click Confirm Payment.

If the amount is less than the balance, the invoice stays outstanding with a smaller outstanding amount. Once the payments add up to the total, it turns Paid.

Example: an invoice of ₹50,000 gets ₹20,000 by UPI as advance. It shows ₹30,000 outstanding. When the buyer sends the remaining ₹30,000 by NEFT, record it as a second payment and the invoice becomes Paid. Open the invoice to see every entry under Payment History.

Reading the summary

The top of Active Invoices shows Total Number of Invoices, Total outstanding and Total paid for the current filters. Filter by one client to see exactly what that buyer owes you.

download CSV exports invoice number, client name, status, invoice amount, outstanding amount and due date. Share it with your accountant at month end.

Mark Outstanding

Use Mark Outstanding when you marked an invoice paid by mistake, or a cheque bounced. The full total shows as outstanding again, and you can then edit it or record payments.

Common mistakes

To switch on Invoice Billing, see Pricing & Add-ons.