Setting up your shop in billing software takes a few minutes: you enter your shop name, say whether you are registered for GST, pick how you print bills, and make a first test bill. This guide walks through that first-run setup step by step, using Yojika as the example, so you can start billing at the counter the same day.
Before you start
You do not need much. Keep these handy:
- Your shop name as it should print on bills.
- Your GSTIN (15-character GST number) — only if your shop is registered for GST.
- The printer you bill on: a thermal receipt printer (58 mm or 80 mm) or an A4/A5 page printer.
That’s it. You do not need an internet connection, and the software does not register you for GST — that is a separate process you do on gst.gov.in.
Step 1 — Enter your shop details
The first time you open the app, it shows a Set up your shop screen:
- Business name — the name of your shop. This is required and prints on every bill.
- Are you registered for GST?
- On: your bills charge GST and print as a “TAX INVOICE”. A GSTIN box appears — type your 15-character number. Your state is set automatically from it.
- Off: your bills are plain bills with no tax, and you simply pick your state from the list. You can turn GST on later when you register.
- How do you print bills? — choose your printer size (thermal 58/80 mm, or A4/A5). You can change this, or override it on a single bill, later.
- More details (optional) — your phone, email, address and an invoice prefix
(the letters before each bill number, such as
INV). The contact details print on your bills, so they are worth adding.
Click Save and continue. On a fresh install you then start a free 14-day trial or enter a licence key — no card needed to try it.
About your GSTIN and state
Your GST number is exactly 15 characters: the first two digits are your state code
(for example 29 for Karnataka, 27 for Maharashtra), followed by your PAN, an entity
digit, a fixed Z, and a check character (verify a GSTIN on gst.gov.in).
That state code decides the tax split — a sale within your state splits into
CGST + SGST, a sale to another state is a single IGST. Good software works
this out for you; see CGST, SGST and IGST explained.
Step 2 — Add your first items (or import them)
You can type items in one at a time on the Items screen — a name, a price, a tax rate and a unit is enough to start. If you already have a product list in Excel or in your old software, import a CSV instead: download the template, fill it in (or export from your old tool), choose the file, and review the preview before anything is saved.
A tip: enter prices the way you say them at the counter. If you price at MRP (tax included), keep the Incl. GST setting on and the software works the GST out of the price; if you quote prices before tax, switch to Excl. GST.
Step 3 — Add a customer or two (optional)
For walk-in cash sales you don’t need to add anyone — bill to “Walk-in customer”. For regulars, credit (udhaar) customers or suppliers, add them once under Customers/Vendors so their balance builds up over time. Parties can be imported from a CSV too.
Step 4 — Check how your bills are numbered
Billing software numbers your bills for you so the series stays neat and gap-free. In India the financial year runs 1 April → 31 March, and a bill number is built as:
prefix + financial year + running number — for example INV2026-27/0042.
The running number counts up by one with each bill and resets to 0001 every 1 April.
You cannot type a number by hand — that is deliberate, because it keeps the series free of
missing or repeated numbers, which keeps your records clean at GST-return time. You can
change the prefix any time under Settings → Transactions.
Step 5 — Make your first test bill
Now prove it works end to end. Make one small bill, print it (or save the PDF), then delete it if you like — it is only a test.
Worked example. Ravi has just set up Ravi Stationery in Hubli, Karnataka
(state code 29). He sells 10 notebooks at ₹50 each to a walk-in customer, also in
Karnataka. His first bill is number INV2026-27/0001.
- Taxable value = 10 × ₹50 = ₹500.
- Notebooks here are billed at 18% (this rate is only an example — confirm the current rate on cbic.gov.in or with your CA).
- It’s a sale within Karnataka, so the 18% splits into CGST 9% = ₹45 and SGST 9% = ₹45.
- Bill total = ₹500 + ₹45 + ₹45 = ₹590.
If Ravi made the same sale to a customer in Goa (a different state), it would be inter-state: a single IGST 18% = ₹90, and the total is still ₹590 — shown as one IGST line instead of two. The tax split changes; the total does not.
Seeing that first ₹590 bill print correctly is the sign your setup is done.
What billing software will not do for you
Be clear on the boundary. Billing software like Yojika does not register you for GST (you do that yourself on the GST portal), does not file GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B for you (it prepares the figures and lets you export the data — you or your CA still file on gst.gov.in), and is not an e-invoice or e-way-bill service. Keeping billing and filing separate is normal and correct: the software’s job is to make every bill fast and accurate at the counter.
Setting up your shop in Yojika’s billing software
Yojika is offline-first GST billing software built for Indian small shops, so all of the above happens on your own PC — your shop’s data never leaves the machine. Setup is a single Set up your shop screen, the tax engine handles the CGST/SGST/IGST split from your state automatically, invoice numbering resets correctly each financial year, and you can print to A4, A5 or a thermal receipt printer in any of 22 official Indian languages.
- See everything it does on the features page.
- Check simple, transparent pricing on the pricing page.
- Or download Yojika and set up your shop free for 14 days.
New to making bills? Start with how to make a GST bill, and if you’re still comparing tools, see our honest guide to the best GST billing software for small business in India.
This article is general information, not tax advice. GST rules, rates and thresholds change — confirm the current position on gst.gov.in / cbic.gov.in or with your CA.