How to Create a GST Invoice: Step-by-Step

Creating a compliant GST invoice takes seven steps: enter your business details once, fill in the customer, add line items with HSN/SAC codes, review the auto-calculated tax split, confirm the invoice number, then download or print. The whole thing takes under two minutes once your business profile is saved. Here's each step in detail — open the invoice generator in another tab and follow along live.

Step 1: Gather what you need before you start

Have ready: your business name, GSTIN and address; your customer's name, GSTIN (if they're GST-registered, and here is how to read a GSTIN) and address; a clear description of each item or service you're billing, with its HSN or SAC code; the quantity and unit price for each line; and the GST rate that applies. If you're not sure how many digits your HSN/SAC code needs, see our HSN & SAC codes guide — it depends on your turnover. And if you're not even sure you need GST registration yet, start with our freelancer GST registration threshold guide first.

Step 2: Enter your business details once

In the Settings tab, enter your business name, GSTIN, address, invoice prefix and starting invoice number. This is a one-time step — every invoice you create afterward reuses these details automatically, so you're not retyping your own GSTIN on every single invoice.

Step 3: Fill in the customer (Bill To) details

Enter your customer's name, GSTIN (for a B2B sale) and address. The moment you enter a GSTIN, the tool reads the first two digits — the state code — and compares it against your own. If they match, it's a same-state sale and CGST+SGST applies; if they differ, it's inter-state and IGST applies instead. See CGST vs SGST vs IGST Explained for exactly how that split is calculated, with worked examples.

Step 4: Add line items with HSN/SAC codes

For each item or service, add a description, its HSN or SAC code, quantity, unit price and GST rate. Choose whether your prices are GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive — the summary recalculates instantly either way, so you can enter prices exactly how you normally quote them.

Step 5: Review the auto-calculated summary

Check the taxable amount, the CGST/SGST or IGST breakdown, any discount or shipping charge, and the grand total. Everything here is calculated live from what you entered in Steps 3 and 4 — there's nothing to compute by hand.

Step 6: Confirm the invoice number

The invoice number auto-increments from the prefix and starting number you set in Step 2, satisfying the consecutive-serial-number requirement under Rule 46(b) without you having to track it manually. See GST Invoice Numbering Rules if you want the full detail behind this rule, or the GST portal for the rule text itself.

Step 7: Download or print, and save your records

Download the invoice as a PDF, or print it directly. Saved invoices stay searchable in the Saved Invoices tab, so you can find, duplicate or edit any past invoice later — useful when the same client needs a near-identical invoice next month.

What if I'm exporting services or billing someone outside India?

That's a different flow. Cross-border sales don't use the CGST/SGST/IGST split at all — it's an India-domestic mechanism — and are typically zero-rated exports rather than taxed sales. Switch to the Standard (USA/Global) invoice format inside the app, and see Invoicing International Clients from India and LUT & Export of Services Without GST for how that works in practice.

Ready to try it? Open the invoice generator and follow these seven steps live — no login, no signup, and your data never leaves your browser.