Simplifying GST for Indian merchants on Shopify
Any small merchant who is looking to get started on Shopify in India is probably looking for answers to these questions!
As someone who is looking for some answers around taxes and selling online on Shopify, this article should cover everything you need to know
Note: I’ve limited the use-cases of taxation to merchants selling from India in INR only (India and internationally) since Shopify’s payment integrations in India currently do not offer multi-currency checkout.
What is GST why do we need it?
The Clear tax website is your holy grail for this and this article couldn’t have explained it better!
How do I set up GST invoices for my website on Shopify?
Let’s say you’re just starting out and building your store on Shopify. You’ve added all the product details and also configured taxes under the settings tab. How do you now generate invoices that are compliant with the Indian tax laws.
Given that tax laws for each country differs immensely and constantly change, its understandable that Shopify has chosen to not build out this feature natively (yet). However, its open APIs empower the Shopify app developer community to solve for this.
The Shopify app store has a couple of apps that solve this for Indian merchants. I am going to list out the Top 3 and compare them based on app store rating, price point and features offered. Note: I have skipped GST invoice pro from this discussion since the app is currently undergoing an overhaul.
1) GST invoice India
This was the only solution on the Shopify app-store for the longest time and has most number of reviews (and highest rated app) in this space.
Pros- Highest rated ,allows users to add their logo to the invoice, free upto 50 orders, usage based pricing; Syncs the order information automatically.
Cons- The template for the invoice is pretty standard and no beautification options offered. Also the app doesn’t sync the HSN and Tax information from the Shopify store, so this will have to be updated manually by the merchant on the app. App UX is pretty average.
2) Advanced Invoice/ GST
This is a relatively new app on the Shopify app store. Launched early 2021. It offers invoicing not just for India, but also a couple of other international countries.
Pros-The user interface of the app looks pretty neat and user friendly. This app has 4 neat templates with some more customisation fields and syncs the order data. It additionally offers credit note & creation of packing slips as a feature. Free for unlimited number of orders
Cons- The templates do not offer branding options. The customised invoice option starts at $56/month. The HSN and Tax information has to be updated separately on the app however bulk import option is available
3) Sufio
One of the most trusted and oldest apps on the Shopify app store. The pricing is largely feature based and has a very intuitive UI/UX. The app offers the maximum number of features and add-ons amongst all of the apps and is a personal favourite.
Pros: app store ratings, number of design templates available, user experience, app support. The app also automatically syncs not just order information but also tax settings and HS codes of products
Cons: The price point is not very friendly for smaller merchants. Starts at approx. $20/month. I cant think of any other con honestly
Which app would I use? As someone just getting started on their e-commerce journey, I’d prolly would like to experiment with Advanced GST app. It looks promising, and the best part is that their free plan currently offers unlimited orders and gets the job done!
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Selling Internationally
Since we’re on the topic of taxes, I’m also sharing use cases of merchants selling internationally in INR
What are HSN codes and why do we need them?
There is a beautiful blog on the Shopify India blog that describes HSN codes that you must read to demystify what they really are and why they’re important!
How do I set up HSN codes for my website on Shopify?
Let’s just say you’re a merchant doing sales of <1.5 Cr per annum and have a small inventory. You have not needed to add HSN codes to your products yet but you want to start selling to some customers internationally now. You’ve taken care of the paperwork and your CA has reminded you that it is mandatory to display the HSN code on invoices. All you want to do right now is update the codes for the existing products on your website.
Pro tip: Check with your GST invoice app first if it is syncing the HS code data from Shopify or not. Most of the current apps choose to not import and sync this data from Shopify (to save server costs) and you’ll mostly have to update the data on the app directly.
You can set this up on Shopify in 3 ways:
1) If you’re creating a new product, you will be able to add the HS code under the Shipping section for that product detail page.
2) If you want to edit an existing product detail page, you will have to select the product from the list of products and under more actions, choose edit product. The bulk editor tool will let you add the HS codes at the variant level
3) If you want to bulk upload the HS codes via CSV: The HS code for some reason is a field on the Inventory CSV and not Product CSV. Use the same to update the field.
Happy selling!
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