Accounting software for traders

GST 2A/2B reconciliation, the trader-specific way

For a trader, the single biggest GST-driven cash leak is unmatched purchases — vendor uploads to GSTR-1 late or wrong, the buyer's GSTR-2A doesn't show the invoice, and the ITC claim has to be reversed. HelloBooks pulls GSTR-2A and GSTR-2B nightly, lines them up against the local purchase register, and surfaces mismatches in three buckets: vendor not filed, vendor filed but with mismatched value or rate, and your own data entry error. Each row has a one-click fix — send vendor a reminder (WhatsApp or email), accept vendor's value, or correct local entry — so the recon screen is the place the AR/AP team lives, not a quarterly fire-drill.

Beyond GSTR-2B matching, traders also have to track Rule 37 (ITC reversal on unpaid invoices beyond 180 days), Rule 42 (proportionate ITC on common inputs serving taxable + exempt outputs), and Rule 43 (capital-goods ITC reversal where the asset serves exempt supplies). HelloBooks runs these reversals automatically, posts them to GSTR-3B Table 4(B), and reverses again if the invoice is paid after the 180-day window closes.

E-way bills, multi-warehouse, and inter-state lanes

Inter-state movement is where the e-way bill rule bites hardest: any goods consignment above ₹50,000 needs a valid EWB generated on the NIC portal before the truck rolls, and validity is one day per 200 km. A Surat-to-Delhi consignment is a 1,200 km haul so the EWB lasts six days; a Mumbai-to-Pune trip at 150 km is one day. HelloBooks generates the EWB from the same invoice record, populates transporter and vehicle details, sets validity, and pings dispatch before expiry — so a stalled truck on the highway doesn't turn into a fresh EWB scramble at midnight.

Multi-warehouse stock is non-negotiable for any trader who runs a HO, a regional depot and a few branch points. HelloBooks supports bin-level tracking within each warehouse, inter-warehouse transfers on delivery challan (not invoice — so it doesn't get treated as a sale), and stock reservation against open sales orders. Reorder points and low-stock alerts run per warehouse, so the Bangalore depot's threshold is independent of the Hyderabad depot's, and physical stocktake reconciles per location with variance posted to the GL.

Credit-day collections and the working-capital reality

Trader working capital lives or dies by collection cycle. Most distributors carry 30–60 day credit terms with retailers, and a 60-day stretch on a thin trading margin is often the difference between liquidity and a desperate factoring deal. HelloBooks tracks days-sales-outstanding (DSO) per customer, ages receivables in 0–30 / 31–60 / 61–90 / 90+ buckets, and runs automated reminders by WhatsApp and email. Beyond reminders, the AI-calling module (Elision dialer + ElevenLabs voice) places a polite recorded follow-up call on overdue invoices — useful for the long tail of small retailers where a human caller is not cost-effective.

Cash flow forecasting for traders

Wholesale distributors live in the gap between credit terms granted to retailers and credit terms taken from manufacturers. A Surat textile trader paying mills on 15 days but giving city retailers 45 days carries a 30-day working-capital float that has to be financed. An electronics distributor on Mumbai Lamington Road handling 120-day brand credit on imports but selling shop-by-shop on 7-day collection runs the opposite shape. Either way, GST is fixed on invoice date, GSTR-2B ITC depends on the supplier filing, and bank repayments come due on calendar dates regardless of collections. HelloBooks cash flow forecasting reads AR ageing and AP ageing buckets simultaneously, applies driver-based assumptions for purchase cycle, sale cycle and retailer collection trend, then projects the working-capital gap forward 13 weeks and 12 months. Scenario branches let a trader model whether a single ₹15 lakh cheque delay still allows the next cash-credit interest payment to clear — moving the conversation from gut feel to numbers.