Jewellery billing software in India: what to look for before you buy

Why a general billing app falls short for jewellery

Most billing apps are made for shops that sell items at a fixed price: a soap, a shirt, a phone. A jewellery shop doesn’t work that way. The price of a chain changes every morning with the gold rate, depends on its exact weight to the milligram, and carries making charges that differ from piece to piece.

Then the customer hands over an old bangle in exchange, pays part in cash and part on UPI, and asks for the bill on WhatsApp. A general app can’t value that old gold, and your staff end up working figures out on a calculator and typing totals in by hand. That is where mistakes and leakage creep in.

Good jewellery billing software is built around weight, purity and the day’s rate. Before you compare names or prices, be clear about what your counter actually needs. The list below is a good place to start.

What gold jewellery billing software must handle

• The day’s rate per gram, by karat. You set 24K, 22K, 18K and silver rates each morning, and every new bill uses them. Bills already quoted should keep the rate they were quoted at.
• Making charges your way. As a percentage of the gold value, per gram, or a flat amount for a piece, because different items are priced differently.
• Wastage, if your shop charges it. Some shops show wastage (value addition) separately; others fold it into making. The software should match how you already explain prices.
• Stones apart from metal. Diamonds and stones priced on their own, so the gold is charged on the metal weight, not on the stone.
• Old gold exchange on the same bill. Weigh it, enter the tested purity, work out the fine weight, value it at your old-gold rate and take it off what the customer pays.
• 3% GST, split right. CGST and SGST for a customer in your state, IGST for one from another state, with HSN codes on the bill.
• HUID on every line. The 6-character hallmark code of each piece, carried from your stock to the bill.
• Split payments. Cash, UPI and card on one bill, with the rest going to the customer’s dues if they pay later.
• Estimates. A quotation the customer can take home, which you can turn into a bill when they come back.
• Bills on WhatsApp. Share the GST bill on WhatsApp or email, or print it, before the customer leaves the counter.
• Staff discount limits. Each salesperson can give a discount up to a limit; anything bigger waits for your approval.
• Clean figures for your CA. GST return figures, an Excel export, and a Tally export so your munim doesn’t retype bills.

How to judge the best billing software for your jewellery shop

There is no single best jewellery software in India for every shop. A one-counter shop in a small town and a three-branch showroom need different things. The best billing software for your jewellery shop is the one your staff use correctly on a busy Saturday, that gets the GST and old gold right every time, and that you can afford for years.

Judge each option on a few things. Does a real counter sale, with old gold and split payment, take a minute or ten? Can you see how every rupee on the bill was reached? Can you take all your data out in Excel whenever you want? Is the price written down upfront, with what each plan includes? And who helps when something goes wrong in the middle of Dhanteras rush?

Read the price guide for what jewellery software usually costs in India, and the GST billing guide for the tax rules your bills must follow.

Questions to ask in a jewellery billing software demo

• Can you make a bill for a 22K chain with 12% making, a diamond ring, and an old gold chain in exchange, and show me each line?
• If I change today’s gold rate, what happens to bills I quoted this morning?
• How does the bill change when the customer is from another state?
• Where does the HUID come from, and does it print on the bill?
• Can the customer pay part in cash, part on UPI and the rest next week?
• What can my salesperson see and change? Can I hide cost price from them?
• How does my CA get the figures for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B? Can they log in themselves?
• How do I bring my existing stock in, and how do I take all my data out if I leave?
• Does it work without internet? What happens if the connection drops?
• What is the full price for my shop, with GST, and what changes on the next plan up?

Mistakes to avoid when buying

• Choosing from a feature list alone. Ask for a demo with your own pieces and your own rates, not a sample shop.
• Ignoring old gold. If exchange is half your sales, make sure it sits on the same bill, not on a separate slip.
• Not asking your CA. Show them a sample bill and the GST report before you pay.
• Forgetting your data. Check you can export bills, stock and customers to Excel at any time.
• Giving every staff member full access. Limits on discounts and who sees cost price protect your margin.
• Paying for what you won’t use. Start with what your counter needs today and move up when you grow.

How CaratOS handles jewellery billing

CaratOS is jewellery billing and shop management software made for Indian jewellers. Here is how it handles the list above, and where it doesn’t yet.

Rates and pricing. You set your own gold and silver rates for the day, including an old-gold rate. Scan the price tag, or search by name, tag number or HUID, and the piece is priced from your rate with weight, purity, making and stones shown line by line. Making can be a percentage or a flat amount. Open bills keep the rate they were quoted at.

Old gold. Add the customer’s old gold or silver to the same bill. Weigh it, enter the tested purity, and CaratOS works out the fine weight, values it at your old-gold rate and takes it off the amount to pay. The old gold joins your old-gold stock.

GST and HUID. Every bill is a GST bill with 3% GST as CGST and SGST, or IGST when the customer is in another state, with HSN codes and the HUID on each line. GST e-invoices with IRN are on the Growth plan.

Money. Split the payment across cash, UPI and card. The bill is finished only when the split adds up, and anything left goes to the customer’s dues, with a warning before a customer crosses their credit limit.

Sharing. Share the bill on WhatsApp or email, print it on A5 on any printer your computer or tablet can print to, or save it as a PDF. Invoice numbers run without gaps.

Staff. Give each salesperson a discount limit. A bigger discount comes to you or your store manager to approve, and the bill waits. Estimates, returns, orders and repairs sit on the same screen.

Your CA. Reports give the figures for GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B with the HSN summary, with Excel and Tally export on every plan. Your CA or munim gets a free read-only login. Growth adds Tally live sync.

See it all on Billing and old gold, and the stock with HUID guide for how pieces get their HUID and price tags.

What CaratOS doesn’t do today

Being honest saves you time. CaratOS doesn’t do girvi (gold loans) or RFID today. It runs online, so the counter needs an internet connection; a desktop version is on the way. Printing straight to a Bluetooth printer from a phone isn’t there yet. If your shop shows wastage as its own line, ask us in the demo how it fits your bills.

Book a jewellery billing software demo

The quickest way to judge any billing software is to watch it make your kind of bill. Book a demo and bring a real sale from last week: the pieces, the making, the old gold and how the customer paid. We’ll make that bill in CaratOS in front of you.

You can also work out a piece’s price yourself with the free gold price calculator, and see plans on pricing.

Questions shop owners ask