What “free” usually means
When you search for free jewellery billing software, you will find four different things under the same word.
A free plan. A basic plan that costs nothing for as long as you use it, usually with limits on firms, users, devices or reports. You pay when you need more.
A free trial. The full product, or most of it, for a fixed number of days. After that you pay or stop.
A free download. An installer for a computer or phone. The download costs nothing; the product may still need a paid plan to keep working or to unlock features.
A free template. An Excel sheet or bill format you fill in by hand. It costs nothing and does no maths for you beyond the formulas you set.
None of these is wrong. But a shop owner who downloads “free” software and later finds the old-gold screen or the Tally export behind a paid plan has lost time, and sometimes data. Read the plan page before you enter your stock.
What free billing tools do well
Be fair to free tools: for many small shops they are a real step up from a carbon-copy bill book. Most free plans let you make a clean GST invoice with your shop’s name and GSTIN, keep a list of customers, see what you sold this month and send a bill as a PDF.
Some of the large general billing brands also have pages built for jewellers, with weight and purity on the item, making charges and old gold exchange. Many run on Android phones, and some work without internet and sync later. If your shop sells a few pieces a day, has one person at the counter and a CA who is happy with an Excel sheet, a free plan may be all you need for now.
What free tools often miss at a gold counter
- The day’s rate per gram, by karat. A general item list has a fixed price. A jewellery bill needs 24K, 22K, 18K and silver rates set each morning, with every new bill priced from them.
- Making charges your way. As a percentage, per gram or a flat amount, line by line, so the customer can see how the price was reached.
- Stones apart from metal. Diamonds and stones priced on their own, so gold is charged on metal weight only.
- Old gold on the same bill. Weigh it, enter the tested purity, work out fine weight, value it at your old-gold rate and take it off the amount to pay. A separate slip makes the hisaab harder to check later.
- HUID on every line. Every hallmarked gold piece carries a 6-character alphanumeric HUID under BIS rules. BIS says printing it on the bill is voluntary for now, but it helps the customer check the piece. If your bill shows it, it should come from your stock, not from someone retyping it.
- 3% GST, split right. Gold and silver jewellery (HSN 7113) carries 3% GST: 1.5% CGST and 1.5% SGST within your state, or 3% IGST for a customer from another state.
- Split payments and dues. Cash, UPI and card on one bill, with the rest going to the customer’s dues.
- More than one login. Free plans often allow one user. A salesperson using the owner’s login means no discount limits and no record of who did what.
- Clean figures for your CA. GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B figures, an HSN summary and an export to Excel or Tally. On some products the Tally link sits only on a higher paid plan.
- Your data out, any time. The test of any tool, free or paid: can you export bills, stock and customers to Excel today, and after you stop paying?
Two well-known options, checked 1 November 2026
Here is what two large billing brands say on their own jewellery pages. We have quoted only what each vendor publishes. Plans change often, so check the vendor’s page before you decide.
Vyapar. Its strengths are a free mobile plan and offline billing. Its jewellery page says “Start free and upgrade only when your jewellery shop needs it.” It lists a Free Mobile plan at ₹0 a month with 1 firm, invoice and bill creation, GSTR reports and expense tracking. Desktop plans shown include Gold and Retail Pro at ₹308 a month and Platinum at ₹833 a month, each “billed annually + GST@18%”; Tally import and export is listed under Platinum. The page says Vyapar works offline on desktop and mobile, is available for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, values old gold by weight and purity against the new bill, and shows hallmark or HUID details on the invoice.
myBillBook. Its jewellery page does not list a free plan; it offers “Sign up for free” and a free demo. The Plus plan is shown at ₹349 a month billed monthly, or ₹3,490 a year billed annually, with unlimited invoices, 1 business, 1 user and 1 CA, on Android, iOS and the web. Tally export is listed on its top plan, “on request”. The page mentions karat-wise stock, making charges, wastage and old-gold exchange records, and “hallmark-related details”; it does not name HUID. Its strengths are a low yearly price and apps on Android, iOS and the web.
| What it offers | Vyapar | myBillBook | CaratOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free Mobile, ₹0 a month | Not stated on its jewellery page | No. 15-day Starter trial on request |
| Lowest paid price shown | ₹308 a month, billed annually + 18% GST | ₹349 a month, or ₹3,490 a year | ₹1,199 a month, GST included |
| Tally | Import/export on Platinum | Export on top plan, on request | Export on Starter, live sync on Growth |
| Old gold on the bill | Yes | Old-gold exchange records | Yes, on the same bill |
| HUID | Hallmark or HUID details on the invoice | HUID not named; “hallmark-related details” | On the piece and every bill line |
| Works without internet | Yes, desktop and mobile | Not stated on its jewellery page | No. CaratOS Desktop is coming soon |
| Android app | Yes | Yes | No. Runs in the browser |
The costs that free doesn’t show
A free plan has no monthly bill, but it can still cost your shop.
Time at the counter. If old gold, making or stones are worked out on a calculator and typed in, each bill takes longer and every busy day carries more risk of a wrong figure.
Leakage. Without a login per person and discount limits, you can’t see who gave which discount or changed which bill.
Your CA’s hours. If the GST figures or Tally entries have to be redone by hand each month, you pay for that in fees or in your munim’s time.
Moving later. The longer you use a tool, the more bills, stock and customers sit in it. Check on day one that you can take all of it out in Excel.
GST on the price. When you compare paid plans, check whether the price shown includes 18% GST. Some vendors show it on top; CaratOS’s prices include it.
Our price guide explains how to compare what jewellery software really costs over three years.
A 15-minute test for any free tool
- Set today’s rate for 22K, 18K and silver, and check that a new bill uses it without retyping.
- Bill a 22K chain with making as your shop charges it, plus one piece with a stone, and read each line.
- Take an old gold chain in exchange on the same bill, with its tested purity.
- Bill a customer from another state and check that GST changes from CGST + SGST to IGST.
- Check that the HUID prints on the bill and comes from the stock record.
- Take part cash, part UPI and leave the rest as dues.
- Add a second person and see what they can see and change.
- Export bills, stock and customers to Excel, and show the file to your CA.
- Read the plan page: which of the steps above are on the free plan, and which need a paid one?
Is CaratOS free?
No. CaratOS has no free plan, and we would rather say so up front. It has a 15-day Starter trial on request: create your account, choose Starter and request the trial. It starts when CaratOS approves your request, and no card is needed.
After the trial, Starter is ₹1,199 a month and Growth is ₹3,999 a month (or ₹42,999 a year), with GST included. Bills, stock and customers are unlimited on every plan, and your CA gets a free read-only login. See pricing for what each plan includes.
Starter covers the counter: the day’s rate, making and stones line by line, old gold on the same bill, 3% GST as CGST and SGST or IGST with HSN codes, the HUID on each line, split payments and dues, and bills on WhatsApp, email, print or PDF. Your CA gets GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B figures with an Excel and Tally export. Karigar jobs are on every plan. Growth adds more logins and branches, Tally live sync, production stages, karigar pay and wastage, and pieces on approval (memo). See Billing and old gold for the full counter.
You can export bills, stock and customers to Excel at any time, even after the trial. More on your data.
What CaratOS doesn’t do today
If any of these matter to your shop, a different tool may suit you better for now. CaratOS runs in the browser at app.caratos.co.in, in English or Hindi, so the counter needs an internet connection. There is no Android app. CaratOS Desktop, which will keep your records on your shop’s own computer, is coming soon, with no date yet. CaratOS does not do girvi (gold loans), RFID or manufacturing BOMs.
So, is free billing software enough?
For a very small shop that sells a few pieces a day and keeps old gold and making simple, a free plan can be enough to start. Once old gold, HUID, split payments, staff and your CA’s figures all have to agree every day, most shops find they need software built for jewellery, whether it is free or paid.
Whatever you pick, run the 15-minute test above with a real bill from last week. To see CaratOS make that same bill, book a demo or request the Starter trial. The jewellery billing guide has a longer checklist, and the free gold price calculator works out a piece’s price without signing up for anything. For a one-off bill, the free jewellery bill maker makes a GST bill with old gold that you can print or save as a PDF; it keeps nothing.
Sources (checked 1 November 2026)
Questions shop owners ask
Is there free jewellery billing software in India?
Yes. Some general billing brands have free plans; for example, Vyapar’s jewellery page lists a Free Mobile plan at ₹0 a month (checked 1 November 2026). Free plans usually limit firms, users or features, so check which jewellery features are included before you rely on one.
Is CaratOS free?
No. CaratOS has no free plan. You can request a 15-day Starter trial, which starts when CaratOS approves it, with no card needed. After that, Starter is ₹1,199 a month and Growth ₹3,999 a month, GST included.
Can I download CaratOS for free?
There is nothing to download today. CaratOS runs in the browser at app.caratos.co.in on a phone, tablet or computer. CaratOS Desktop, for your shop’s own computer, is coming soon, and there is no Android app.
What do free billing apps usually miss for jewellery?
Often the day’s rate by karat, making charges line by line, old gold on the same bill, HUID on each line, more than one login and a Tally export. Some offer these only on paid plans. Run a real bill from your shop to check.
Can I use Excel for jewellery billing?
You can, but Excel only does the maths you build into it. Rates, making, old gold, 3% GST and the HUID all have to be entered by hand, and nothing stops two people editing the same sheet. It works as a start, not for a busy counter.
What GST applies on a jewellery bill?
Gold and silver jewellery (HSN 7113) carries 3% GST: 1.5% CGST and 1.5% SGST for a customer in your state, or 3% IGST for one from another state. Check with your CA how your shop treats making charges and old gold.