Free GST Filing Software for Startups in India: A Founder's Guide

You've raised a small seed round, the first enterprise customer's procurement team wants your GSTIN, and your co-founder just asked whether "we even file GST yet". An early-stage startup with one GSTIN can file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B free with HelloBooks, straight to the GST portal, as long as it stays within 200 transactions a year. Filing is the easy part, though. What catches founders out is the stuff that's specific to startups: you register before you have revenue, you pay for a dozen foreign tools, and you pile up input credit you can't use yet.

Does DPIIT recognition get us out of GST?

No, and it's worth saying plainly because founders often assume otherwise. DPIIT recognition helps with income tax and some compliance. GST follows the normal rules.

You must register once aggregate turnover crosses ₹20 lakh for services, or ₹40 lakh for goods-only businesses in most states (lower in the special category states). You also must register, whatever your turnover, if you supply goods across state lines, sell goods through an online marketplace (a narrow exemption exists for small intra-state sellers with a portal enrolment number), or owe tax under reverse charge.

Most B2B startups don't wait for the threshold, though. They register on day one, and the reasons are practical. Enterprise customers won't add an unregistered vendor. Your cloud bill, your co-working seats and your CA's fees all carry GST you can only claim back once registered. The flip side is that you'll file returns every period from then on, including nil returns in months with no sales. A missed nil return still means a late fee, so don't register and then forget about it.

The GST situations that are very "startup"

Your foreign SaaS stack

Count the tools you pay for in dollars: design, analytics, CRM, developer tools. For a GST-registered business, paying a foreign company for a service is usually an import of services. You pay 18% IGST yourself under reverse charge (RCM), in cash, and then take the same amount back as ITC in the same return.

On paper the net cost is nil. But if you just don't report it, a notice can later ask for the tax plus interest, and the credit timing gets messy. Some global vendors now charge Indian GST under their own Indian registration, so look at each invoice instead of assuming.

Director fees

Pay a non-executive or independent director a sitting fee? GST on that is paid by the company under reverse charge. Whole-time directors on an employment contract are generally outside GST. Plenty of early boards miss this for a year or two.

ITC that piles up before revenue

A pre-revenue company with a fit-out, laptops and rent will build a healthy balance in its electronic credit ledger. That balance doesn't vanish. But the right to claim each invoice has a deadline under Section 16(4). For invoices from FY 2026-27, you must claim them by 30 Nov 2027, or by the date you file that year's annual return if that comes first. So enter purchase bills in the right period even when there's no sales tax to set them against.

Credits you can't take, however tempting

Section 17(5) blocks credit on food and beverages, team outings, club memberships, most health and life insurance, and anything that goes into building immovable property. Office interiors that become part of the building sit in a grey zone. If the fit-out bill is large, get a CA's view before you claim it.

Free pilots and launch discounts

A genuinely free pilot with no consideration usually isn't a "supply" at all. A pilot at 80% off is taxed on what you actually charge. Show the discount on the invoice and the taxable value comes down with it.

What rate does your product attract?

It depends on what you sell. A few common models:

If you sell SaaS to a foreign customer, that may be an export of services. It's zero-rated under an LUT if all the export conditions are met. Our HSN/SAC tool helps you settle on codes before invoices go out.

A month in the life of a seed-stage SaaS company

Picture a five-person B2B SaaS company in Bengaluru. It files monthly because its biggest customer wants invoices in GSTR-2B every month. Here's Nov 2026 (illustrative):

The ₹10,800 of RCM tax has to be paid in cash; you can't pay reverse charge from the credit ledger. The forward-charge tax after credit is ₹99,000 − ₹82,800 = ₹16,200, subject to the usual IGST/CGST/SGST set-off order. So roughly ₹27,000 leaves the bank, and the RCM portion comes straight back as credit. GSTR-1 is due 11 Dec 2026 and GSTR-3B 20 Dec 2026.

Note the laptops. One purchase month like this can wipe out most of the cash tax, which is exactly why registering early paid off.

Should we file monthly or quarterly?

Under ₹5 crore turnover you can pick QRMP: quarterly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, with monthly tax paid by PMT-06 by the 25th. It's less admin, and the optional IFF lets you push B2B invoices to customers monthly anyway.

We'd still nudge some startups toward monthly filing. If you have enterprise customers chasing credit, regular reverse-charge payments, or you're trying to build a monthly close habit before your Series A diligence, monthly keeps things tidy.

Either way, mind the GSTR-3B lock. Since the Jul 2025 tax period, the sales liability that flows into GSTR-3B from GSTR-1 can't be edited inside 3B. A wrong invoice gets fixed through GSTR-1A before you file 3B, or in a later GSTR-1. So check GSTR-1 properly before the 11th. Month-end invoicing sprints are where the mistakes come from.

How HelloBooks fits at each stage

At the start, HelloBooks Free costs ₹0, needs no card and doesn't expire. It files GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for one GSTIN directly to the GST portal from inside HelloBooks. It reconciles GSTR-2B so you only claim credit that's actually there. It gives you 2 users (say, a founder and your CA) and the P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow your investors keep asking for. It also comes with free AI credits for categorising expenses. GST filing never touches those credits, and if they run out, your books and filing carry on as normal. Collections can be matched through bank statement import and Razorpay or Cashfree reconciliation.

You'll outgrow Free, and that's fine. Fifteen monthly subscribers plus your vendor bills will take you past 200 transactions in about a year. Pro at ₹499/month is the next step when you need more than 2 users, a second GSTIN for another state under the same PAN, e-invoicing or e-way bills once you cross those thresholds, or GSTR-9 generated ready to file. If you set up a second company, the Business plan at ₹1,999/month covers several legal entities. Our Free vs paid GST software page walks through the trade-offs.

A founder's short GST list

• [ ] Register on purpose, and pick monthly or QRMP on purpose too
• [ ] Give your GSTIN to every Indian vendor so their bills reach your 2B
• [ ] List every foreign subscription and account for RCM
• [ ] Check board fees for reverse charge
• [ ] Reconcile GSTR-2B before every GSTR-3B
• [ ] File nil returns on time in zero-revenue periods
• [ ] If your turnover requires it, plan GSTR-9 for FY 2026-27 by 31 Dec 2027

FAQs

Does DPIIT recognition exempt a startup from GST?

No. Registration and filing follow the normal GST rules, recognition or not.

We have no revenue yet. Is registering worth it?

If you sell B2B, it usually is, because of the ITC and because customers need your GSTIN. Just keep up with the nil returns.

How do we handle GST on foreign software?

If the vendor doesn't charge Indian GST, you usually pay IGST under reverse charge in GSTR-3B and claim it back as ITC. Have your CA confirm the treatment vendor by vendor.

Can HelloBooks Free cover our GST filing?

Yes, for one GSTIN, up to 200 transactions a year and 2 users. Pro at ₹499/month adds GSTR-9, e-invoicing, unlimited users and every GSTIN of your company.

What happens if GSTR-3B goes in late?

You pay interest at 18% a year on tax paid late in cash, plus a late fee. HelloBooks shows the GST portal's own figure before you file.

Get the reverse-charge habit right in your first quarter and GST will be one of the boring parts of running the company, which is how it should be.

Start free — GST filing included, no card. Try HelloBooks Free