Every question we get asked
The six below are the ones people arrive with. Underneath them are the 464 questions asked across the rest of the site, grouped by section and linked back to the page each one belongs to.
The short answers
What is tBiz?
tBiz is business software that keeps accounting, inventory, manufacturing, payroll, HR, CRM and field-staff tracking on one ledger, for businesses in India and the UAE. Every module posts to the same set of books, so a sale moves stock, opens a receivable and updates the GST register in one action.
What does tBiz cost?
There is no published rate card, because a five-person trading firm and a three-branch manufacturer are not the same job. Tell us what you run — modules, users and country — and you get a scoped quote in writing within one working day. There is also a free plan, capped at one company and two users, that needs no card.
How many users does tBiz allow?
Unlimited on a paid plan. tBiz is not billed per seat, so the accountant, the storekeeper, the sales team and the field staff can all work in the same company data without a licence conversation.
Can tBiz handle both Indian GST and UAE VAT?
Yes, in the same account. The tax regime is set per company, so an Indian entity runs GST in INR on an April year and a UAE entity runs VAT in AED on a January year, under one login.
Can I migrate from Tally, Busy or Marg?
Masters, opening balances and Day Book vouchers import directly from Tally and Busy. There is no direct Marg importer — that migration goes through CSV with our team, normally inside a week. Itemised historical invoices do not move in any of these cases; the old file stays as your archive.
Does tBiz file my returns for me?
No. It computes GST and VAT returns from your own books, checks them against a readiness list, and exports the figures or the JSON the portal accepts. Filing happens on the portal with your own credentials — we do not hold your login.
Features
Can I raise a bill of supply and a tax invoice from the same company?
Yes. The document type is chosen per invoice, so a composition supply, an exempt item and a standard taxable sale can all be billed from one company without switching anything.
Does the invoice number series follow the GST rules?
Yes. Numbering is continuous, per financial year, per document type and per branch if you use branches, and tBiz will not let you reuse or skip a number in a posted series.
Can I edit an invoice after it is posted?
You can, and the change is recorded — the audit trail keeps the old values, who changed them and when. Where an edit would break something downstream, such as a settled receipt, tBiz refuses and tells you which document is in the way.
Does raising an invoice reduce stock automatically?
Yes, from the warehouse on the line. That is the point of one ledger: there is no separate stock issue to remember and no end-of-month reconciliation between the sales register and the stock register.
Which businesses must issue e-invoices under GST?
E-invoicing applies to B2B supplies by businesses above the turnover threshold notified by the GST Council, which has been lowered several times since 2020. tBiz flags the invoices that need an IRN against whichever threshold applies to you, so the answer does not depend on somebody remembering.
What does tBiz do about invoices that have not been reported?
They sit in a pending register, oldest first, and stay visible until they are reported or cancelled. Nothing is marked as reported unless an IRN actually came back for it.
Can I cancel an e-invoice?
Within the cancellation window the IRP allows, yes — and tBiz tracks that window per invoice. After it closes the correct instrument is a credit note, which tBiz links to the original document.
Do I need a separate utility to prepare the JSON?
No. The payload is built from the invoice you already raised, and validated against the schema in the same step, so there is no export-edit-upload loop and no second copy of the invoice to keep in step.
When is an e-way bill required?
For most movements of goods above the notified consignment value, including branch transfers and job work where no sale takes place at all. Because tBiz raises the bill from whichever document caused the movement, a stock transfer is treated the same way as a sale.
How long is an e-way bill valid?
Validity is based on the distance the consignment has to travel, counted in days from when Part-B is completed. tBiz computes it from the two PIN codes and shows the expiry on the bill.
Can I raise an e-way bill without an invoice?
Yes — against a delivery challan, which is the correct document for job work, branch transfers and goods sent on approval. The challan carries the values the bill needs without booking a sale.
What happens if the vehicle changes in transit?
A new Part-B is recorded against the same bill and the previous vehicle stays in the history, which is what you need if the consignment is stopped and the papers are checked.
Can I receive goods before the supplier’s bill arrives?
Yes, and you should — the GRN updates stock on the day the lorry comes, and the bill is matched to it later. Stock that is physically in the godown but invisible in the system is the single most common cause of a stock ledger nobody trusts.
How does tBiz handle a short delivery?
The GRN records what actually arrived, the purchase order stays open for the balance, and if the supplier has already billed the full quantity the mismatch is flagged when the bill is entered.
Does tBiz reconcile input tax credit against GSTR-2B?
Yes. Purchase entries are matched against the 2B for the period, and the unmatched ones are listed both ways — bills you have that the portal does not, and portal entries you have not booked.
Can two people approve a purchase before it is paid?
Yes. Approval rules are configuration, not code: you set who must approve a bill above a value, and the payment cannot be made until they have.
Is tBiz real double-entry accounting or a billing app with reports?
Real double entry. Every document — invoice, bill, payslip, stock write-off — posts a balanced voucher to the general ledger, and the trial balance is computed from those postings rather than assembled from summaries.
Can Tally-trained staff use it without retraining?
Largely, yes. Voucher entry is keyboard-driven with a key strip and the same grid conventions, so the muscle memory carries over. The concepts — groups, ledgers, vouchers, cost centres — are the same ones.
Can I keep more than one company?
Yes, and more than one branch within a company. Companies keep separate books and separate numbering; branches share a company’s books and can be filtered out of any report.
What stops somebody back-dating a voucher?
Period locking, and the audit trail. You can close a period so nothing new posts into it, and any edit that is allowed is recorded with its before-and-after values.
Does tBiz file my GST returns for me?
No. tBiz computes the return from your registers, checks it, and exports the JSON the portal accepts — filing happens on the GST portal with your own credentials. Anything that claims to file on your behalf is holding your portal login, which is a different decision and one worth making deliberately.
What is the biggest cause of a rejected GSTR-1?
A B2B invoice with no customer GSTIN, or a missing HSN code. Both are caught by the readiness check before filing, which is why that check runs first rather than last.
Can I see which invoices make up a figure in 3B?
Yes. Every box traces back to its documents, so a number that looks wrong can be opened rather than argued about.
Does the 2B reconciliation tell me what credit I am losing?
Yes. It lists purchases you have booked that do not appear in the 2B — the credit at risk — and portal entries you have not booked, which is usually a bill somebody has not sent to accounts.
Does tBiz produce the VAT 201 return?
Yes. Every box is computed from your own invoices, bills and vouchers, with a worksheet for the adjustments that cannot be derived from documents — bad-debt relief, the capital assets scheme, and exempt apportionment.
What is the difference between zero-rated and exempt in tBiz?
They are separate classifications with separate boxes, because they have different consequences: input VAT on a zero-rated supply is recoverable and on an exempt supply it is not. tBiz will not let one stand in for the other.
Can one account hold an Indian company and a UAE company?
Yes. The tax regime is set per company, so a group can run Indian GST books and UAE VAT books in the same account, each with its own currency, financial year and numbering.
Does tBiz handle corporate tax?
tBiz keeps the books corporate tax is computed from, and the profit and loss on the accrual basis the law expects. The return itself is not generated — that is a separate filing and we would rather say so than imply otherwise.
Does the stock value in tBiz match my balance sheet?
Yes, because they come from the same postings — a stock movement is a ledger movement. The reconciliation most businesses do once a year between the stock register and the accounts does not arise.
Which valuation methods does tBiz support?
FIFO and weighted average, applied per item and consistently over time. The method is a decision you make once; changing it later changes your reported profit, so tBiz makes that deliberate rather than easy.
Can I hold the same item in several warehouses?
Yes, with its own quantity, its own reorder level and its own valuation at each. Transfers between them post a document, so the movement is traceable and can carry an e-way bill.
Can I scan barcodes on a phone?
Not with the phone’s camera — tBiz has no camera scanning today. What does work, and is what most counters and stock counts actually use, is a USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner: it presents itself as a keyboard, types the code into the item field, and tBiz matches it against the SKU or either alias. A Bluetooth scanner paired to a phone or tablet works the same way.
Can I track batch and serial numbers on the same item?
Yes. Tracking is set per item, and an item can carry both — a batch for the lot it came from and a serial for the individual unit, which is common in electricals and medical devices.
Does tBiz stop me selling expired stock?
Expired batches are held out of available quantity, so they do not get picked by accident. Selling one is possible only deliberately, which is the right way round.
How quickly can I find who received a recalled batch?
One query. The batch is on the invoice line, so the list of customers, invoices and dates comes straight out of the sales register rather than being reconstructed from delivery notes.
Is FEFO or FIFO used for picking?
First-expiry-first-out where a batch has an expiry date, first-in-first-out where it does not. Selling the oldest stock is not the same as selling the stock that expires first, and for perishable goods the second one is what matters.
Does tBiz handle job work?
Yes. Goods sent out on a job work challan stay on your books as your stock at the job worker, and what comes back is reconciled against what went out — including the wastage the job worker is allowed.
Can a bill of materials have sub-assemblies?
Yes, to as many levels as you need. Each sub-assembly is an item with its own BOM and its own cost, and the costs roll up so the finished item shows what it really cost to build.
How is wastage treated?
Normal wastage — the amount the process inherently loses — is absorbed into the cost of the finished goods. Abnormal wastage is written off to the profit and loss, because it is a loss and not a cost of production.
Do I need the manufacturing module if I only assemble?
Usually yes, and it is simpler than it sounds: assembly is a one-level BOM. The value is that the assembled item carries a real cost instead of a guessed one.
Does the payroll post to the accounts automatically?
Yes. The salary run posts one balanced journal — gross to salary expense, each statutory deduction to its own liability account, and the net to salary payable. That journal is the main reason payroll and accounts stop disagreeing.
Can I re-run a month after fixing attendance?
Yes. Re-running recomputes the month and clears any contested-day flags that were resolved, and the previous posting is reversed rather than left behind as a duplicate.
Does tBiz handle PF and ESI?
It computes employee and employer shares on the correct base and posts them to separate accounts. Filing the returns with the authorities remains yours — tBiz produces the figures, not the submission.
Can employees see their own payslips?
Yes, through the worker portal, with a code-and-PIN or an email login. That removes most of the questions that otherwise arrive on the accountant’s desk on the first of the month.
Can employees check their own attendance?
Yes, in the worker portal, and they can raise a query on a specific day. The query is flagged for a supervisor, and the effect on pay follows the resolution — which removes most salary-day disputes by having them a week earlier.
Does tBiz handle overtime?
Yes, computed against the shift rather than against a flat day length, with the unpaid break deducted. Overtime that needs approval can require it before it reaches payroll.
Can I be reminded before a visa or licence expires?
Yes. Employee documents carry expiry dates and raise a reminder ahead of time, which matters most for UAE businesses where a lapsed document stops somebody working.
What happens when somebody changes shift mid-month?
The shift history is kept per employee, so each day of the month is paid against the shift that was actually in force that day rather than the current one.
Is the CRM separate from the accounting?
No, and that is the point. A lead becomes a quotation, an order and an invoice against the same party ledger, so the salesperson sees the outstanding balance and the accountant sees where the sale came from.
Can I send quotes and reminders on WhatsApp?
Yes, through the Meta Business API, so messages go from your business number and the delivery status comes back. It is a real integration rather than a click-to-chat link.
Can sales staff be stopped from seeing the whole ledger?
Yes. Permissions are per role, so a salesperson can see their own parties’ balances without seeing the company’s books.
Does a lost lead stay in the system?
Yes, with its reason. A list of what was lost and why is the most useful report the CRM produces, and it only exists if losing is recorded rather than deleted.
Does tBiz track staff all day in the background?
No. Location is captured while the app is open — at check-in, at each visit and at check-out. Continuous background tracking needs a native build and is not what ships today, and we would rather say so than let you assume otherwise.
What happens if somebody checks in from the wrong place?
The check-in is recorded and flagged with the distance from the site. It is not refused, because a genuine reason is common — the customer moved the meeting — and a flag that a supervisor reviews is more useful than a block that gets worked around.
Do employees have to agree to be tracked?
Yes. There are two switches: the company enables it and the employee consents on their own device. Without both, no location is captured.
Can field staff take orders offline?
They can take an order wherever there is a signal, against live stock and the customer’s credit limit. A patchy signal delays the sync rather than losing the order.
What is the difference between a branch and a company in tBiz?
A company is a separate set of books for a separate legal entity, with its own returns and its own numbering. A branch is a location within one company that shares its books and can be filtered out of any report. Getting this right at the start saves a migration later.
Can I see profit per branch?
Yes — profit and loss, trial balance, stock and receivables can all be filtered to a branch, because every document carries the branch that raised it.
Do branches need separate licences or logins?
No. Users are unlimited and a login is scoped by permission rather than by licence, so adding a branch does not mean a purchasing conversation.
How do stock transfers between branches work?
As a document, with a challan — which is also the document an e-way bill is raised from. Stock leaves one warehouse and arrives in another, and both sides are traceable.
Can I export reports to Excel?
Yes — Excel, CSV or PDF, from both lists and reports. Dates export as dates and numbers as numbers, so a pivot table works on the file without anybody cleaning it first.
Will reports still be fast with five years of data?
Yes. Reports are aggregated in the database rather than by fetching the whole ledger into the application, which is what makes the difference at volume. The system is tested against a workspace holding five years of trading.
Can I compare this year with last?
Yes, on the profit and loss and the balance sheet, and per branch or cost centre where you use them.
Can my CA get read-only access?
Yes. A role with read access to the books and nothing else, and users are unlimited, so it costs nothing to give them their own login rather than sharing yours.
Compare
Is tBiz a replacement for Tally?
For most small and mid-sized businesses, yes. tBiz covers double-entry vouchers, ledgers, GST returns, inventory and manufacturing, and adds cloud and mobile access, CRM, payroll and field-staff tracking in the same product. The one place Tally is ahead today is transmitting e-invoices and e-way bills to the portal.
Can I move my Tally data into tBiz?
Yes. tBiz imports Tally masters, opening balances and Day Book vouchers, bringing the vouchers across as balanced journals with exact totals. What it does not do is re-create each old sale as an itemised GST invoice — that line detail stays in your Tally data, which is why most people keep the old file as an archive.
Does tBiz use the same keyboard-first entry as Tally?
Yes. Voucher entry is keyboard-driven with shortcut keys and a visible key strip, and the concepts — groups, ledgers, vouchers, cost centres — are the same, so Tally-trained accountants keep their muscle memory.
What does tBiz cost compared with Tally?
There is no published rate card for either product that would make an honest comparison — Tally is priced per seat and per edition, tBiz is priced per workspace with unlimited users. Tell us what you run and we will price it in writing, which is usually the only comparison that matters.
Is tBiz better than Zoho Books for inventory?
For a stock-heavy business, yes — multi-warehouse stock, batch and expiry, serial numbers and a real bill of materials are in the product rather than in a higher plan or a separate subscription. For a services business with a handful of items the difference is small and Zoho’s interface is excellent.
Do I need separate subscriptions for payroll and CRM in tBiz?
No. Payroll, HR, CRM and field-staff tracking are modules of the same product and the same workspace, which is the arithmetic that usually decides this comparison at fifteen or twenty users.
Can I import my Zoho Books data?
Parties, items and opening balances import from CSV exports. Historical transactions are usually better left in Zoho as an archive and started fresh in tBiz from a period boundary — that is cleaner than a partial replay and takes less time.
Does tBiz work offline like a desktop product?
No. tBiz runs in a browser, with a Windows build and an Android app, all of which need a connection. If you work somewhere with no reliable internet, a desktop product is still the right answer.
Can tBiz import Busy data?
Yes — masters, opening balances and Day Book vouchers, brought across as balanced journals with exact totals. Old sales are not re-created as itemised invoices, so most people keep the Busy file as an archive for the closed years.
Will my staff have to relearn voucher entry?
Not substantially. Entry is keyboard-first with a visible key strip and the same grid conventions, and the underlying concepts are identical. The adjustment is usually a day rather than a course.
Does tBiz handle multi-godown stock like Busy?
Yes — stock is held per warehouse with its own reorder levels, transfers post a document that an e-way bill can be raised from, and valuation ties to the balance sheet.
What if our internet goes down?
tBiz stops, as any browser product does. That is the honest trade for having the books reachable from three towns, and it is the main reason a business with a genuinely unreliable line should stay on a desktop product.
Can tBiz import my Marg data directly?
No — there is no Marg importer today, and we would rather say so than let you find out during onboarding. Parties, items, batch stock and opening balances come across as CSV exports, and our team runs that import with you, which normally takes under a week.
Does tBiz track batch numbers and expiry like Marg?
Yes. Batch is recorded on the invoice line, picking suggests the earliest expiry first, near-expiry stock is reported per warehouse, and a recall resolves to every customer who received a given batch in one query.
Can van salesmen take orders on a phone?
Yes, on the Android app, against live stock and the customer’s credit limit, with collections recorded at the counter. That is usually the strongest single reason a distributor moves.
Is tBiz suitable for a pharma distributor specifically?
For batch, expiry, multi-godown stock, credit control and the field team, yes. What it does not have is Marg’s pharmaceutical scheme and rate-structure handling built to the trade’s conventions — if your business runs on those, test them carefully before committing.
When should I move from Vyapar to a full accounting system?
Usually at one of three moments: when your CA starts rebuilding your accounts outside the software, when stock is held in more than one place, or when you start paying salaries. Any one of them means the billing app is now the smaller half of the job.
Is tBiz harder to use than Vyapar?
It asks more of you at setup — a chart of accounts, warehouses, a numbering policy — because it is doing more. Day-to-day billing is comparable, and the Android app covers the same ground.
Can I import my Vyapar data?
Parties, items and opening balances, by CSV. Transaction history is usually better left where it is and started fresh from a period boundary.
Does tBiz do proper double-entry accounting?
Yes. Every document posts a balanced voucher to the general ledger, and the trial balance, profit and loss and balance sheet are computed from those postings rather than summarised from the sales register.
Is QuickBooks enough for GST compliance in India?
It will produce tax reports, and many businesses make it work with a CA filling the gaps. What it does not do natively is build GSTR-1 table by table, reconcile against the GSTR-2B, or check invoices for the errors that cause rejections — which is where the monthly time goes.
Does tBiz handle UAE VAT as well as QuickBooks?
For the return itself, yes — every box of the VAT 201 is computed from your documents, with emirate-wise standard supplies, reverse charge and designated zones. The one place QuickBooks is ahead is bilingual Arabic invoicing, which tBiz does not do today.
Can I keep an Indian and a UAE company in one tBiz account?
Yes. The tax regime is set per company, so one login covers GST books and VAT books, each with its own currency, financial year and numbering.
Can I import my QuickBooks data?
Chart of accounts, parties, items and opening balances by CSV. Transaction history is normally left in QuickBooks as an archive rather than replayed.
Does myBillBook do double-entry accounting?
It produces the reports most small businesses need day to day, but the general ledger behind it is simplified — which is why a CA usually rebuilds the accounts elsewhere at period end. tBiz posts a balanced voucher for every document, so the trial balance is the system’s own.
What do I gain by moving?
The accounting your CA currently does outside the software, plus stock in multiple locations, purchase orders and GRNs, payroll, and branch-wise reporting. What you give up is simplicity, which is a real cost and worth being honest about.
Can I still bill from a phone?
Yes. The Android app covers billing, collections, approvals and stock, and the field app adds geofenced check-ins for staff who are out all day.
Will my invoice numbering carry over?
You set the series and the starting number when you open the company, so the numbering continues rather than restarting — which matters, because a broken series is a GST problem and not just an aesthetic one.
Does tBiz print tax invoices in Arabic?
No. There is no Arabic in the product today, and if a bilingual Arabic and English tax invoice is something you must issue, tBiz is not the right choice yet. Wafeq does this and does it well.
Does tBiz produce the VAT 201?
Yes — every box computed from your own invoices and bills, with emirate-wise standard-rated supplies, zero-rated and exempt kept apart, reverse charge booked both ways, and a worksheet for bad-debt relief and capital assets.
Can tBiz handle a group with companies in the UAE and India?
Yes, in one account. The tax regime is set per company, so the Indian entity runs GST in INR on an April year and the UAE entity runs VAT in AED on a January year, with one login across both.
Which is better for a Dubai trading company?
If you hold real stock, tBiz — warehouses, batches, serials and transfers are in the product rather than absent from it. If you invoice in Arabic or your team works in Arabic, Wafeq, and that consideration usually outranks the others.
Alternatives
What is the best alternative to Tally?
It depends which problem you are solving. For seats and locations, a cloud product like tBiz or Zoho Books; for a desktop trading system, Busy or Marg; for simple billing, Vyapar or myBillBook. There is no single best answer, and anyone who gives you one without asking what you run is selling.
Can I move my Tally data to another system?
Masters, opening balances and Day Book vouchers generally move. Itemised transaction history usually does not, in any product — which is why most migrations happen at a financial year boundary and keep the Tally file as the archive for closed years.
Is a cloud accounting product safe for my books?
The risks are different rather than larger: you trade the risk of one office PC failing for the risk of a connection failing, and you gain backups and access control you would otherwise have to arrange yourself. A business with genuinely unreliable internet should stay on a desktop product.
Will my accountant accept books from a non-Tally system?
Most will, given exports in Excel and a proper trial balance. Some insist on a Tally company file, and if yours does that is a real constraint to settle before you shortlist anything.
Why do businesses move off Busy?
Almost always for reach rather than for features: a second branch, salespeople in the field, or a user count that has made the licence an annual argument. The accounting itself is rarely the complaint, which is why the replacement has to be strong on trading features or the move goes badly.
Which alternative is closest to Busy in day-to-day use?
For keyboard-driven voucher entry and trading depth, tBiz is deliberately close — a key strip, the same grid conventions, the same concepts. For staying on a desktop, Tally and Marg are the nearest relatives.
Can I import Busy data into tBiz?
Yes — masters, opening balances and Day Book vouchers, brought across as balanced journals with exact totals. Old sales are not re-created as itemised invoices, so most people keep the Busy data as an archive.
What do I lose by moving to a cloud product?
Working without the internet, and portal filing in our case. Those are the two honest costs, and for some businesses either one is decisive.
What can actually replace Marg for a pharma distributor?
Realistically Busy or tBiz, depending on whether you want to stay on a desktop. General cloud ledgers like Zoho Books and QuickBooks do not handle batch and expiry to the depth a pharma distributor needs, and it is better to hear that before a trial than after one.
Will I lose my scheme and rate structures?
Probably, at least in part. Marg’s pharmaceutical scheme handling is built to trade conventions that generic products do not replicate, and this is the single thing to test hardest before committing to any alternative.
Can I import Marg data into tBiz?
Not directly — there is no Marg importer. Parties, items, batches and opening balances come across as CSV exports with our team running the first import, which normally takes under a week.
Does tBiz handle expiry-first picking?
Yes. Where a batch has an expiry date the earliest-expiring stock is suggested first, near-expiry stock is reported per warehouse, and a recall resolves to every customer who received a batch in one query.
Why do businesses outgrow Zoho Books?
Two reasons, both about scale rather than quality: the inventory module runs out when you need multiple warehouses, batch tracking or manufacturing, and the subscription stack grows when payroll, CRM and inventory each become a separate product with its own per-user bill.
Is there an alternative with better inventory that is still cloud-based?
tBiz is built that way — stock depth in the core product rather than in a higher plan. The honest comparison is that Zoho has a much larger ecosystem and prints Arabic invoices, and we do not.
Can I export my data out of Zoho Books?
Yes, parties, items and balances export to CSV without difficulty. Transaction history is usually better left in place and started fresh from a period boundary.
Will I lose the app integrations?
Most likely yes, and it is worth listing which ones you actually use before moving. That list is usually shorter than people expect, but occasionally it contains something decisive.
When should I move off Vyapar?
When your CA rebuilds your accounts outside the software, when stock is held in more than one place, or when you start running a payroll. Any one of those means the billing app is now the smaller half of the job.
Is there a free alternative to Vyapar?
tBiz has a free plan with one company, GST invoicing, vouchers and ledgers, which is enough to run a small set of books properly. It is capped, and the caps are published, because a "free" tier that quietly stops working mid-month helps nobody.
Will moving be disruptive?
Less than people fear if you move at a year end: parties, items and balances import, and you start the new year clean rather than replaying old transactions. Mid-year moves are where migrations get painful.
Do I need double-entry accounting?
If anyone outside your business reads your accounts — a bank, an investor, the tax authority, a buyer — then yes, and sooner is cheaper than later. If nobody does, a billing app may genuinely be enough for now.
Why do Indian businesses leave QuickBooks?
Because GST compliance is monthly and mostly happens outside the software. Producing GSTR-1 table by table, reconciling against the GSTR-2B and catching the errors that cause rejections is where the time goes, and a general-purpose ledger leaves that work to you.
What is the best QuickBooks alternative for the UAE?
Wafeq if you need Arabic and have little stock; tBiz if you hold inventory or have an Indian entity as well. Both produce the VAT 201; only Wafeq prints bilingual Arabic invoices.
Can I keep my chart of accounts?
Broadly yes. The chart, parties, items and opening balances import from CSV, and it is worth taking the opportunity to prune it rather than carrying twenty years of unused heads across.
Does tBiz file returns with the authorities?
No. It computes the return from your books, checks it, and exports the JSON the portal accepts. Filing happens on the portal with your own credentials, which is a deliberate choice about who holds your login.
What is the main limitation of myBillBook?
The general ledger behind the billing is simplified, so a proper trial balance, balance sheet and cost-centre reporting are not really available from the system itself — which is why a CA usually rebuilds the accounts at period end.
Is tBiz harder to set up?
Yes, and honestly so: a chart of accounts, warehouses and a numbering policy are decisions a billing app does not ask you to make. That setup is what buys you books you do not have to rebuild later.
Can I keep billing from my phone?
Yes. The Android app covers billing, collections, stock and approvals, and there is a separate field app with geofenced check-ins for staff who are out all day.
Will my invoice numbers carry over?
You set the series and starting number when you open the company, so numbering continues unbroken. That matters under GST, where a broken series is a compliance problem rather than an aesthetic one.
What is the best Wafeq alternative for a trading company?
tBiz, if stock is the reason you are looking — warehouses, batch and expiry, serials and transfers are in the core product. The condition is that you do not need Arabic invoices, because tBiz does not produce them.
Does any alternative handle both UAE VAT and Indian GST?
tBiz does, in one account: the tax regime is set per company, so a UAE entity runs VAT in AED on a January year and an Indian entity runs GST in INR on an April year under one login. That is unusual and it is the main reason Gulf groups with an Indian arm look at it.
Will I lose Arabic invoicing?
With tBiz, yes — there is no Arabic in the product. With Zoho Books, no. That single question settles most of these comparisons and it is worth answering before anything else.
Can I get VAT 201 figures out of the alternatives?
tBiz computes every box from your own documents, with emirate-wise standard supplies, reverse charge and a worksheet for bad-debt relief and capital assets. Zoho and QuickBooks produce VAT reports of varying depth; check yours against a real quarter before committing.
When should a business stop using Excel for accounts?
When more than one person needs the numbers at once, when you hold stock that has to reconcile, or when GST returns are being assembled by hand. Any one of those turns the spreadsheet from a useful record into a source of monthly risk.
Can I import my spreadsheets?
Yes, and this is the easiest migration there is. Parties, items, opening balances and stock quantities import directly from the sheets you already maintain — no export step, because you are already in the format.
Do I lose my history?
No, you keep the workbooks. The practical approach is to import opening balances at a period boundary and keep the spreadsheets as the archive for closed years, which is exactly what people do when moving between accounting products too.
Is this going to be a big project?
For a business that has been running on spreadsheets, usually a few days rather than a few weeks — the data is small and already structured. The slow part is deciding your chart of accounts, which is worth doing carefully once.
Industries
Can I stop a salesman billing a customer who is over their limit?
Yes. Credit limits and payment terms are held per party and enforced at the point of sale, so the block happens while the order is being taken rather than at the ageing review a month later.
Can I see margin by salesman?
Yes — margin by salesman, by party, by item and by branch, computed after discounts from the same postings that produce the profit and loss.
Does tBiz handle stock on a van?
Yes, as a warehouse. Stock issued to a van is still yours and still on the books, and what comes back at the end of the route is reconciled against what went out.
How many SKUs can it handle?
Tens of thousands without difficulty — the reports are aggregated in the database rather than downloaded and summed in the app, which is what fails first at volume.
How fast is billing at the counter?
Scan-and-tender fast — the barcode drives the line and the GST split happens behind the screen. The practical limit is the printer and the customer, not the software.
Does it work with a barcode scanner and thermal printer?
Yes. A scanner behaves as a keyboard, and thermal printing is supported alongside the full-size invoice templates for customers who want a proper tax invoice.
Can I run several shops?
Yes, as branches of one company, each with its own stock, its own till and its own day close — with a consolidated view for head office that needs no exporting.
What happens to a return from last month?
It raises a credit note linked to the original bill, restores the stock and reverses the tax in the current period, which is what keeps the GST return and the stock ledger honest.
Do I need to write a BOM for every product?
No, and you should not start that way. Write them for your highest-volume products first — those usually account for most of the cost and most of the variance, and the rest can follow once the habit is established.
How does tBiz handle job work?
Goods go out on a job work challan and remain your stock at the job worker’s premises. What comes back is reconciled against what went out, with the allowed wastage accounted for, so material does not quietly vanish at a third party.
Can I see cost per unit for a specific run?
Yes, with material, labour and overhead separated and traceable back to the vouchers behind them — and compared against what the BOM predicted.
Does it handle assembly rather than full manufacturing?
Yes, and it is simpler: assembly is a one-level BOM. The value is the same — the assembled item carries a real cost instead of an estimated one.
Can I trace every customer who received a specific batch?
Yes, in one query — the batch is recorded on the invoice line, so the list of customers, invoices and dates comes straight out of the sales register. That is the whole reason for capturing batch at goods inward rather than at dispatch.
Does tBiz prevent selling expired stock?
Expired batches are held out of available quantity so they cannot be picked by accident. Selling one requires a deliberate override, which is the right way round.
How are saleable returns from chemists handled?
As a credit note against the original invoice, restoring the specific batch to stock with its own expiry intact — not as a generic quantity that loses its identity on the way back in.
Does tBiz handle pharmaceutical schemes and rate structures?
Standard discounts, free quantities and party-wise rates, yes. What it does not replicate is the specialised scheme handling built into pharma-specific desktop products, and if your business runs on those you should test that carefully first.
Can I track fabric sent to a dyer or processor?
Yes. It goes out on a job work challan, stays on your books as your stock at their premises, and what comes back is reconciled against what went — including shrinkage, which is recorded as a cost rather than quietly lost.
Does tBiz handle size and colour variants?
Yes, as variants of one style rather than as separate item masters, so a forty-SKU range is one item with its combinations instead of forty things to maintain.
Can I buy in kilograms and sell in metres?
Yes. Unit conversions are held against the item, so purchase, processing and sale can each use the unit that trade actually uses.
How is lot-wise stock different from batch tracking?
Mechanically it is the same feature; the reason differs. Pharma tracks batches for expiry and recall, textiles tracks lots because shade and quality vary between them and customers notice. Both are recorded on the invoice line.
Can I bill by actual weight rather than theoretical?
Yes, and record both. The gap between the chart weight and the weighbridge is a recurring conversation with customers, and having both figures on the document ends it quickly.
How do I handle rates that change daily?
Rates are held per item and updated as they move, while a quotation keeps the rate it was given at until it expires. That way an old quotation does not silently bill at today’s price or yesterday’s.
What happens to offcuts from a cutting job?
The full length is consumed and the offcut is received back into stock as a remnant, so it stays on the books as something sellable instead of vanishing into a rounding difference.
Can I see margin after freight?
Yes. Transport is booked against the consignment rather than as a general overhead, so margin per tonne is calculated after delivery cost — which is the only version of that number worth looking at.
Can I run van sales with stock on each vehicle?
Yes. Each van is a warehouse: stock is transferred to it in the morning and settled in the evening against what was sold, what came back and what was collected, so shortages surface on the day rather than at month end.
Does tBiz handle schemes and free quantities?
Buy-x-get-y and slab discounts are applied when the order is taken, and the free quantity issues from stock and carries its cost — so the margin on a scheme is the real margin.
Can I see which outlets were not visited?
Yes — outlet coverage per route per day, including the ones skipped and the ones that have not ordered for several weeks, which is usually where the lost revenue is.
Do salesmen need a data connection all day?
They need one to place an order and record a collection. Patchy coverage delays the sync rather than losing the entry, but a route with no signal at all is a genuine limitation worth testing first.
Can I see profit per site?
Yes. A site is a cost centre, and material, labour, subcontractor bills and plant hire all carry it, so site-wise cost and profit are a filter on the same postings rather than a separate exercise at month end.
Does tBiz handle retention money?
Yes. Retention is deducted when a running account bill is certified and held as a receivable until it becomes due, so it stays visible instead of being remembered a year late.
How is material issued to a site treated?
As stock at that location until it is consumed, which is the only way to know what is actually lying at site versus what has been built into the work.
Can I track subcontractors separately?
Yes — work orders, running bills, advances, retention and TDS per subcontractor, with their cost landing against the right site.
Can I see margin per trip?
Yes. Freight billed, diesel, tolls, driver advances and any return load are booked against the trip, so the margin is computed rather than estimated — and vehicle-wise running cost falls out of the same data.
How is reverse charge on goods transport handled?
The supply is classified on the document as one where the recipient pays the tax, so it stays out of your output tax and appears in the right table of the return without a correction afterwards.
Can I track driver advances?
Yes, issued against a trip and recovered on settlement, with a running balance per driver so nothing depends on a notebook in the office.
Does tBiz raise e-way bills for consignments?
It prepares them from the document that caused the movement, with Part-A from the consignment and Part-B when the vehicle is known. Transmission to the portal is not wired yet, which we would rather say plainly.
How does tBiz handle TDS deducted by my clients?
You record the receipt at the amount actually banked; the shortfall is booked as TDS receivable and the invoice is settled in full. The balance in that account is what you should be able to match against your Form 26AS.
Can I bill a retainer automatically each month?
Yes, as a recurring invoice on a schedule, which removes the most common cause of a month’s revenue going out late — somebody forgetting.
Do I need the inventory module?
No. A services firm can run on invoicing, vouchers, receivables and reporting alone, and the stock screens stay out of the way.
Can I see profit per client or per project?
Yes, using cost centres per engagement, with subcontracted work, travel and apportioned salaries tagged to them. That report is usually the most uncomfortable and most useful one a services firm runs.
Can tBiz calculate my food cost?
Yes, if your dishes carry recipes. Selling a dish consumes its ingredients from the store, so food cost as a percentage of sales is a daily figure per category rather than an annual surprise.
Do I have to write a recipe for every dish?
No. Start with the twenty highest-selling dishes — they usually account for most of the consumption, and the rest can be added as you go.
Does it handle delivery aggregator sales?
Yes, as a separate channel with its own settlement, so the commission and the difference between what was billed and what was received are both visible rather than netted off invisibly.
How are staff meals and complimentary dishes treated?
As their own categories of consumption, separate from spoilage and from sales. Keeping them apart is what lets you see whether a rising food cost is waste, generosity, or theft.
Can I look up a warranty from an IMEI or serial number?
Yes — the serial is on the invoice line, so one lookup gives you the sale date, the customer, the warranty status and any service history. That is the single most useful thing serial tracking buys you.
Does tBiz handle service jobs?
Yes, raised against the specific unit, with parts consumed from stock and labour recorded, so the cost of servicing a model is visible rather than buried in overheads.
Is scanning serials at goods inward slow?
It takes a few seconds per unit with a scanner, and it is the only moment the information is cheap. Capturing it later means reading it off a box, which is far slower and frequently wrong.
Can I transfer a specific unit between shops?
Yes. A transfer moves that serial, so both stores’ stock statements stay accurate down to the individual unit.
Can I search by the number printed on the old part?
Yes. An item can carry several identifiers — the manufacturer’s number, your own code and the printed part number — and any of them finds it, which is what the counter actually needs.
Does tBiz suggest alternate parts?
Yes. Alternates and equivalents are linked to the original, so when the OE part is out of stock the substitute appears on the same screen with its own price and availability.
How are warranty returns to the manufacturer handled?
As a claim tracked against the part and the supplier until it is credited, rather than as a write-off. Spares businesses lose real money to claims that were raised and never chased.
Can I see which stock is not moving?
Yes, by brand, category and age. For a spares dealer this is the most important report in the system, because dead stock is the main way the business consumes its own capital.
Can I record purchases against a kanta slip?
Yes — gross weight, bardana deduction and net weight are recorded on the purchase against the slip number, so the entry matches the weighbridge rather than a rounded figure.
How are hamali, mandi fees and commission handled?
As part of the landed cost of the purchase rather than as general expenses. That is the difference between knowing your real cost per quintal and discovering at year end that the margin was smaller than it looked.
What about weight lost to drying?
Recorded as a stock adjustment when it is noticed, so the shrinkage is a visible cost rather than an unexplained difference between what you bought and what you sold.
Can I keep accounts for commission agents?
Yes, as parties with commission payable tracked per transaction, so what is owed to an arhtiya is on the ledger rather than in a diary.
India
Which is the best accounting software for a business in India?
It depends on whether your problem is accounting or coordination. If the books are fine but stock, payroll and sales live in separate systems, a single-ledger product like tBiz is the answer; if you need a desktop product for one accountant, Tally or Busy remain excellent. Anyone who names a winner without asking what you run is selling.
Does tBiz work for all states?
Yes — all 28 states and 8 union territories, with the state code driving place-of-supply logic, and multi-state registrations held as separate companies or branches depending on how you are registered.
Can I file GST returns from tBiz?
tBiz computes GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and the 2B reconciliation from your books, checks them, and exports the JSON the portal accepts. Filing happens on the portal with your own credentials — we do not hold your login.
Is there a free plan?
Yes, capped at one company, two users and fifty invoices a month, which is enough to run a small set of books properly. The caps are published rather than discovered mid-month.
How does tBiz decide between IGST and CGST/SGST for a Delhi business?
From the place of supply, which follows the GST rules rather than the customer’s billing address alone. For NCR that matters constantly: a Delhi seller billing a Gurugram customer raises IGST, and a bill-to Delhi ship-to Noida transaction is resolved by rule rather than by guess.
Do I need an e-way bill to send goods from Delhi to Noida?
For most consignments above the notified value, yes — it is an inter-state movement even though it is a short one. tBiz prepares Part-A from the invoice and Part-B when the vehicle is known.
Can I run a Delhi and a Haryana registration together?
Yes. Separate registrations are separate companies in one account, each with its own GSTIN, numbering and returns, under a single login.
Is support available in Hindi?
Yes, in Hindi and English, by phone, from people who have actually filed returns rather than a script.
Can I keep stock in Bhiwandi and bill from Mumbai?
Yes. Each location is a warehouse of the same company, so you bill from the office and issue stock from the godown, with transfers between them posting a document that an e-way bill can be raised from.
Does tBiz handle service businesses as well as trading?
Yes — SAC codes, service place-of-supply rules, retainers, milestone billing and TDS on receipts. A services firm can run without touching the inventory screens at all.
How do I track TDS my clients deduct?
Record the receipt at the amount actually banked; the shortfall books as TDS receivable and the invoice settles in full. The balance in that account is what you match against your 26AS.
Can my CA in Mumbai get access to the books?
Yes, with a read-only role of their own. Users are unlimited, so there is no reason to share a login.
Does tBiz handle export invoices under LUT?
Yes, as a distinct document type — export without payment of tax under a Letter of Undertaking, zero-rated, separate from an export with payment of tax. The two have different refund consequences and conflating them is a common and expensive error.
Can I invoice in USD and receive in INR?
Yes. The invoice is raised in the foreign currency, the receipt is recorded at the rate actually realised, and the exchange gain or loss posts to the ledger rather than being absorbed into the customer’s balance.
How are SEZ supplies treated?
As zero-rated supplies, classified on the document, so they appear in the correct table of GSTR-1 and do not have to be reclassified at filing time.
Is tBiz suitable for a software services company?
Yes — SAC codes, export-of-service conditions, retainers, milestone billing and TDS tracking. The inventory side simply stays out of the way.
Can tBiz track components sent out for job work?
Yes — they go out on a job work challan, remain your stock at the vendor’s premises, and what returns is reconciled against what went, with the allowed wastage accounted for. For an ancillary sending parts through three operations, that register is the difference between knowing your stock and guessing it.
Does it handle supply against a customer schedule?
Yes. A sales order stays open against the call-off, deliveries are made against it, and invoicing can be per delivery or consolidated, with the balance still to supply visible on the order.
Can I run a two-shift or three-shift attendance register?
Yes, with rosters per employee, unpaid breaks deducted from the shift rather than assumed, and shift history kept so a month spanning a change is paid correctly.
Is support available in Tamil?
Support is in Hindi and English today. That is an honest limitation rather than a soft yes — most of our Tamil Nadu customers work with us in English.
Does tBiz link raw material batches to finished batches?
Yes, through the production voucher: the components consumed are recorded with their batches against the finished batch received, so traceability runs both ways — forwards to customers and backwards to suppliers.
Can I track retest dates as well as expiry?
Batch attributes include manufacturing and expiry dates, and a retest date can be held alongside them, with reporting ahead of each.
How is yield and wastage handled in formulation?
Normal wastage is absorbed into the cost of the output and abnormal wastage is written off to the profit and loss, so a bad run shows up as a loss rather than quietly inflating your cost per kilogram.
Is tBiz used by bulk drug and API businesses?
The batch, costing and traceability features are built for exactly that shape of work. What it does not include is regulated electronic-records validation, so if you are working to a standard that requires a validated system, check that requirement first.
Can tBiz handle supply against a customer’s monthly schedule?
Yes. The schedule sits as an open sales order, deliveries are made against it, and scheduled-versus-supplied-versus-balance is a live figure rather than something assembled at the end of the month.
How are customer rejections handled?
As a credit note against the original invoice, restoring stock and reversing the tax, with any replacement supply tracked as its own document so the two are not confused in the margin.
Can I see cost per component against what it should have cost?
Yes — planned against actual per production run, with material, labour and overhead separated, which is where the variance on a tight-margin component actually shows up.
Does it work for a business with plants in Chakan and Pimpri?
Yes, as branches of one company, each with its own stock and its own costs, with consolidated and branch-wise reporting from the same postings.
Can I hold two batches of the same chemical separately?
Yes, each with its own quantity, its own rate and its own identity on the invoice line. For dyes and pigments this is essential rather than optional — a customer matching a shade needs to know which batch they received.
Does tBiz handle buying in drums and selling in kilograms?
Yes. Unit conversions are held against the item, so purchase, stock and sale can each use the unit that trade actually uses without anybody converting by hand.
How are rate changes between quotation and delivery handled?
A quotation holds the rate it was given at until it expires, while the item carries the current rate. The difference is visible before the invoice goes out rather than after.
Can I run a Gujarat and a Maharashtra registration together?
Yes, as separate companies in one account, each with its own GSTIN, numbering and returns, under a single login.
Can I track fabric sent to a dyer or processor?
Yes — it goes out on a job work challan and stays your stock at their premises. What returns is reconciled against what went out, and the shrinkage is costed into the lot rather than quietly lost, which is the number most Surat traders cannot currently produce.
How is lot-wise stock handled?
Each lot is tracked separately through grey, processing and finished stages, with its own cost. That matters because a shade difference between lots of the same quality is a return waiting to happen, and the invoice records which lot went to which customer.
Can I buy in kilograms and sell in metres?
Yes, with the conversion held against the item, so the purchase, the job work challan and the sale each use the unit that stage actually uses.
Does tBiz handle embroidery and value-addition units?
Yes, as job work of the same kind as dyeing — material out on a challan, value added elsewhere, material back with a cost attached.
Can I invoice metal, stones and making charges separately?
Yes, as separate lines on one invoice with their own rates and tax treatment, which is both how the trade quotes and what the GST rules require for a jewellery supply.
How is metal issued to a karigar tracked?
As job work: the metal goes out on a challan and stays your stock at the craftsman’s premises, and the finished piece coming back is reconciled against what went, with wastage recorded as a cost.
Does tBiz handle exports of handicrafts?
Yes — export invoices with or without payment of tax, foreign currency with exchange differences posted, and the documentation set that has to agree with your shipping bill.
Can I track stock by carat as well as by piece?
Yes. An item can carry more than one unit with conversions held against it, so stones by carat, metal by gram and finished pieces by number coexist in one stock ledger.
Does tBiz compute e-way bill validity for long routes?
Yes, from the distance between the two PIN codes, and it shows the expiry rather than leaving it to be counted. For consignments into the north-east, where a journey can run a week, that is the difference between a smooth delivery and a detained lorry.
Can I hold stock at upcountry depots?
Yes, as warehouses of the same company. Transfers post a document that an e-way bill is raised from, and each depot’s stock is reconcilable on its own.
How is freight on long routes handled?
Booked against the consignment rather than as a general overhead, so the margin on a Guwahati delivery is calculated after what it cost to get there.
Is support available in Bengali?
Support is in Hindi and English. That is a real limitation and we would rather state it than imply otherwise.
Can tBiz cost castings after rejections?
Yes. Rejections are recorded on the production run and the cost is spread over the good castings, which is the only cost per piece worth quoting from. Spreading it over everything poured understates it every time.
Does it handle knitwear job work through several units?
Yes — fabric goes out to knitting, dyeing, printing and stitching on challans, stays your stock at each, and accumulates cost through the chain so the finished garment carries what it actually cost.
Can I include power cost in production costing?
Yes, as an overhead allocated to the run rather than absorbed into general expenses, which matters a great deal for melting and processing operations.
Does tBiz work for both the Coimbatore unit and a Tiruppur unit?
Yes, as branches of one company or as separate companies depending on how you are registered, with their own stock, costs and reporting in either case.
Can I track yarn and fabric through several small job workers?
Yes. Each movement is a job work challan, the stock stays yours at the unit’s premises, and cost accumulates through knitting, dyeing and stitching so the finished garment carries what it actually cost rather than an estimate.
How do I control credit across a hosiery season?
Credit limits and terms per party, enforced at the billing screen, with ageing on real terms. The useful thing is seeing it during the season rather than in March when the money has not come.
Does tBiz handle piece-rate wages?
Yes — wages computed on pieces produced as well as on days present, which is how most knitwear and parts units here pay their workers.
Can one style cover many sizes and colours?
Yes, as variants of one item rather than a separate master per combination, so a full size range stays manageable.
Can I record a purchase against a kanta slip?
Yes — gross weight, bardana deduction and net weight against the slip number, so the purchase entry matches the weighbridge exactly rather than a rounded quintal figure.
How are hamali, mandi fees and commission treated?
As part of landed cost rather than as general expenses. That single decision is usually the difference between knowing your real cost per quintal and finding out at year end that the margin was smaller than it looked.
Does tBiz handle processing yields and by-products?
Yes, through the bill of materials: an input with multiple outputs, each carrying its share of cost, so oil and de-oiled cake or dal and husk are both valued rather than one being treated as free.
Can I keep accounts for commission agents?
Yes, as parties with commission payable tracked per transaction, so what is owed to an arhtiya sits on the ledger.
Can I hold stock at several depots across UP?
Yes, each as a warehouse of the same company with its own stock, reorder levels and reconciliation, and transfers between them posting documents rather than adjustments.
How do I see which dealers have stopped ordering?
A coverage report per depot and per route showing who ordered, who was visited and who has gone quiet. For a distributor covering a whole state, that list is usually more valuable than the sales figure.
Can salesmen record collections at the dealer’s counter?
Yes, on the Android app, settling against that dealer’s open invoices immediately so the ageing is accurate the same evening.
Is support available in Hindi?
Yes, in Hindi and English by phone, from people who have filed GST returns themselves.
How does tBiz handle an export received at a different exchange rate?
The invoice is raised at the rate on the day and the receipt recorded at the rate actually realised, with the difference posted as exchange gain or loss to the ledger. It does not sit in the customer’s balance pretending to be an unpaid amount, which is the usual failure.
What about weight lost to drying before shipment?
Recorded as a stock adjustment when it is noticed, so the shrinkage is a visible cost rather than an unexplained difference between what you bought and what you shipped.
Does tBiz support export with and without payment of tax?
Yes, as two distinct document types. They have different refund consequences and treating them as one is a common error that surfaces months later when the refund does not arrive.
Can I hold stock at a third-party cold store?
Yes, as a warehouse of your company. It is your stock wherever it is physically sitting, and it should be on your books accordingly.
UAE & GCC
Does tBiz produce the VAT 201 return?
Yes. Every box is computed from your own invoices, bills and vouchers, with emirate-wise standard-rated supplies and a worksheet for the adjustments that cannot be derived from documents. Filing happens on the FTA portal with your own credentials.
Can one account hold a UAE company and an Indian one?
Yes. The tax regime is set per company, so a group runs VAT books in AED on a January year and GST books in INR on an April year under one login. That is the main reason Gulf groups with an Indian arm look at tBiz.
Does tBiz print invoices in Arabic?
No. There is no Arabic in the product today. If you must issue bilingual Arabic and English tax invoices, tBiz is not the right choice yet, and we would rather say so here than have you discover it in week three.
Does tBiz handle UAE corporate tax?
It keeps the books corporate tax is computed from, on the accrual basis the law expects. The return itself is not generated — that is a separate filing.
How are re-exports treated for VAT?
An export of goods out of the UAE is zero-rated where the conditions are met, and it is classified as such on the invoice rather than being sorted out at the quarter end. Movements that never enter the mainland at all are treated differently again, which is why the classification belongs on the document.
Can I run a free-zone company and a mainland company together?
Yes, as separate companies in one account — separate books, separate TRNs where they apply, and separate returns, under a single login.
Does tBiz handle stock in a Jebel Ali warehouse?
Yes, as its own warehouse location, so goods sitting in the zone and goods that have cleared into the mainland are distinguishable in the stock ledger rather than being one total.
Can I invoice in Arabic?
No — tBiz has no Arabic today. If bilingual tax invoices are a requirement for your customers, that is a genuine reason to look elsewhere, and we say so plainly rather than burying it.
Does tBiz handle progress billing and retention?
Yes. A progress bill shows cumulative work done, previously certified and the amount for this certificate, with retention deducted and tracked as a receivable until it becomes due — so it stays visible rather than being written off mentally.
How is VAT accounted on a certified progress bill?
On the value certified for that bill, in the period the tax point falls. Retention is handled so the return reflects the right amount in the right quarter rather than needing a correction later.
Can I see profit per project?
Yes. Each project is a cost centre and material, labour, subcontractor bills and plant hire all carry it, so project profitability is a filter on the same postings.
Can I run Abu Dhabi and Dubai entities in one account?
Yes, as separate companies with their own books and returns, or as branches of one company if that is how you are registered — the emirate on the invoice drives the box the supply lands in either way.
Does the emirate on my invoice affect the VAT return?
Yes — box 1 of the VAT 201 is reported emirate by emirate, based on the place of supply. tBiz takes it from the invoice, so a Sharjah manufacturer selling into Dubai reports that supply against Dubai rather than against its own registration emirate.
Can tBiz cost a manufactured product?
Yes, through a bill of materials with sub-assemblies, production vouchers that consume components and receive finished goods, and wastage split into normal and abnormal so a bad run shows as a loss rather than inflating your unit cost.
How is material sent to a finisher in Dubai handled?
As job work — it goes out on a challan, stays your stock at their premises, and what comes back is reconciled against what went out.
Can I hold stock in several industrial units?
Yes, each as its own warehouse, with transfers between them posting documents rather than adjustments.
I have just registered for VAT. Where do I start?
Set the company to AED with your TRN, enter your opening balances, and classify every supply as you invoice it. Getting the classification right at the invoice is what makes the return computable — reconstructing it at quarter end is where first-time filers lose days.
What is the most common mistake on a first VAT return?
Claiming input VAT on an expense with no valid tax invoice, and missing a customer TRN on a supply that needs one. tBiz flags both before filing rather than after.
Is tBiz too big for a three-person company?
The free plan is one company, two users and a capped number of invoices, which suits a small trading or service business. The rest of the modules sit unused until you need them, which is the point of not having to migrate later.
Does it handle a free-zone company?
Yes, with its own books, its own currency and its own return. Whether your free zone is a designated zone for VAT purposes changes the treatment of goods movements, and that classification sits on the document.
Can I bill by weighbridge ticket?
Yes — the actual weighed quantity goes on the invoice against the ticket number, rather than a nominal load. For aggregate and bulk materials that is the difference between an invoice a customer pays and one they argue about.
How do I see margin after delivery cost?
Freight is booked against the load rather than as a general overhead, so margin per destination is after transport. For deliveries into Dubai that number is usually much smaller than people expect.
Which emirate do I report a Dubai delivery against?
The place of supply, which for delivered goods is where they are supplied. tBiz takes it from the invoice so box 1 splits correctly without anyone sorting it out at quarter end.
Does tBiz handle a RAK free-zone company?
Yes, with its own books and returns. Whether the zone is a designated zone for VAT affects how goods movements are treated, and that sits on the document as a classification.
Does tBiz file the VAT 201 with the FTA?
No. It computes every box from your books, checks them and gives you the figures to file on the FTA portal with your own credentials. Software that files on your behalf is holding your portal login, which is a separate decision worth making deliberately.
Why does box 1 need to be split by emirate?
Because the return asks for it, and the split is by the place of supply rather than where you are registered. A Sharjah company delivering into Dubai reports that supply against Dubai, and getting this wrong is one of the most common corrections the FTA raises.
How is bad-debt relief handled?
Through the worksheet, entered deliberately against the invoices it relates to. It depends on conditions — how long the debt has been outstanding and what you have done about it — that no system can infer from a document, so it is a decision you record rather than a figure we invent.
What if I make exempt as well as taxable supplies?
Input VAT has to be apportioned, and the method and the calculation go in the worksheet. tBiz gives you the taxable and exempt totals to apportion against and records what you decided, which is what you will need if the calculation is ever questioned.
Can tBiz print an invoice in Arabic?
No. There is no Arabic in the product today and no right-to-left handling in the print templates. We would rather say that on the page that ranks for the question than let you find out during a trial.
Which products do print bilingual Arabic tax invoices?
Wafeq and Zoho Books both do, and both are reasonable choices if that is a hard requirement for you. Our comparison pages for each say the same thing.
Does everything else about UAE VAT work in tBiz?
Yes — 5% standard, zero-rated and exempt classification, reverse charge, designated zones, TRN capture and validation, emirate-wise box 1 and the full VAT 201 working. Arabic document rendering is the specific gap, not VAT itself.
Is an Arabic invoice always required in the UAE?
Not universally. The circumstances in which an Arabic version must be provided are a matter for your tax adviser and depend on who you are supplying and what has been requested. Many UAE businesses invoice in English without difficulty, which is why tBiz is usable here at all — but if Arabic is required for you, it is required, and no amount of other features substitutes.
Is a free zone company exempt from UAE VAT?
No, and this is the most costly misunderstanding in UAE bookkeeping. Some zones are designated zones where certain movements of GOODS are outside the scope; services are generally treated normally, and anything entering the mainland is an import. The treatment depends on the zone, the supply and the counterparty, which is why it belongs on the invoice as a classification.
Can I run a free zone company and a mainland company in one account?
Yes, as separate companies with separate books, TRNs and returns under one login. That is the usual structure and keeping them in one account is what makes group reporting possible without exports.
Does tBiz help with corporate tax?
It keeps the books corporate tax is computed from, on the accrual basis, with income and expenses attributable in a way that supports a qualifying-income analysis. It does not produce the corporate tax return — that is a separate filing and we do not claim otherwise.
How is stock inside a designated zone treated?
As its own warehouse location, so what is in the zone and what has cleared into the mainland are different numbers in the stock ledger and can be reconciled separately.
Can I hold stock in a free zone and in the mainland separately?
Yes, as distinct warehouse locations. That separation is not cosmetic — goods inside a designated zone and goods cleared into the mainland have different VAT treatment, so holding them as one total makes the return impossible to compute correctly.
Does tBiz compute landed cost?
Yes — purchase price in the original currency plus freight, duty and clearing charges, converted and carried as a real cost per unit in AED, which is the only figure worth valuing stock or quoting margin from.
How are goods in transit handled?
As their own location, so stock that has left a supplier but not arrived is visible rather than missing from the ledger for three weeks.
Can I track serial numbers for equipment?
Yes, scanned in at goods inward and out at dispatch, so a warranty claim or a service job resolves to the individual unit and the invoice it left on.
Does tBiz produce a WPS file?
The salary run produces the figures and employee details the submission requires, so preparing the bank’s WPS file is a step rather than re-entering a payroll. Exact file formats vary by bank, so confirm yours during onboarding.
How is end-of-service gratuity handled?
Accrued monthly as it is earned and posted to a provision account, so the liability is on the balance sheet throughout rather than appearing as a shock when somebody leaves after four years.
Can I be warned before a visa or Emirates ID expires?
Yes. Employee documents carry expiry dates and raise reminders ahead of time — which in the UAE matters more than almost any other payroll feature, because the consequence is somebody being unable to work.
Does the payroll post to the accounts?
Yes, as one balanced journal: gross to salary expense, gratuity to provision, each deduction to its own account and the net to salary payable. Nobody types it.
Is tBiz ZATCA compliant for e-invoicing?
No. tBiz does not implement ZATCA e-invoicing, does not produce the cryptographic stamp or QR the standard requires, and is not integrated with the Fatoora platform. If you are within the scope of the e-invoicing obligation — and most VAT-registered businesses in Saudi Arabia are — you need a compliant solution for invoicing, and tBiz is not one today.
Can I use tBiz in Saudi Arabia at all?
For bookkeeping, inventory, manufacturing, payroll and management reporting, yes, with VAT at 15% and SAR as the base currency. Several Gulf groups use it for operations across their entities. What it cannot be is your compliant invoicing system for KSA.
Does tBiz support Arabic?
No. There is no Arabic in the product and no right-to-left document rendering, which is a separate limitation from the e-invoicing one and matters for Saudi invoicing requirements.
Where is tBiz strongest in the GCC?
The UAE, where VAT, TRN handling, emirate-wise reporting and the full VAT 201 are built and shipped, and where English invoicing is workable for many businesses.
Guides
When must a tax invoice be issued?
For goods, on or before removal or delivery; for services, within thirty days of supply, with a longer period for certain financial-sector suppliers. The date of issue matters because it usually fixes the tax point.
Can I restart my invoice numbering each year?
Yes — the series must be consecutive and unique within a financial year, so starting again at the beginning of the year is normal and correct. What you cannot do is duplicate or skip a number within a series.
How many HSN digits do I need on my invoice?
It depends on your turnover band, and the requirement has been tightened more than once. Check the current notification for your band rather than relying on what was true when your software was set up.
Is this page tax advice?
No. It is a plain-language summary written to be useful, and the rules change. Confirm anything that matters with your tax adviser or against the current notification before acting on it.
Does e-invoicing mean the government generates my invoice?
No. You generate the invoice in your own system exactly as before; e-invoicing means reporting it to the Invoice Registration Portal and receiving an IRN and signed QR back, which then have to appear on the document you give the customer.
What happens if the IRP is down?
The invoice is still a valid document; it simply has not been reported yet. Practically you queue it and retry, and the thing that matters is having a register of what is unreported so nothing is discovered at filing time.
Can an e-invoice be cancelled?
Within the cancellation window the IRP allows, which is short. After that the correct instrument is a credit note against the original invoice, linked to its IRN.
Is this page tax advice?
No — it is a plain-language explanation, and the thresholds and time limits have changed repeatedly. Confirm the current position with your tax adviser or the notification before relying on it.
Do I need an e-way bill for a branch transfer?
Yes, if the consignment value is above the threshold — the rule is about movement of goods, not about a sale taking place. The correct document to raise it from is a delivery challan rather than an invoice.
What happens if the bill expires in transit?
The consignment is travelling without a valid bill, which exposes it to detention and penalty. Validity can be extended in limited circumstances near expiry, which is why watching the expiry rather than the issue date matters on long routes.
Who is responsible if the supplier does not generate it?
The obligation can fall on the recipient or the transporter depending on the circumstances. In practice, whoever is moving the goods bears the consequence of their not being covered.
Is this page tax advice?
No. Thresholds for intra-state movement differ by state and the rules change. Confirm the current position for your state with your tax adviser before relying on this.
What is the most common cause of a GSTR-1 rejection?
A B2B invoice with no customer GSTIN, followed by missing HSN codes. Both are fixable in seconds on the invoice and impossible to fix in the return, which is why the check belongs before filing rather than during.
How do I correct an invoice from a previous period?
Through the amendment tables, against the original document, rather than by raising a new invoice in the current period. An amendment keeps the link; a fresh document breaks it and makes reconciliation harder for both sides.
Does GSTR-1 have to match my books exactly?
The return should reconcile to your sales register for the period. If it does not, the discrepancy is almost always a classification difference — a document in the wrong table — rather than a missing sale.
Is this page tax advice?
No. It is a practical summary; table numbers and thresholds change. Confirm with your tax adviser before relying on it.
Should GSTR-3B match GSTR-1 exactly?
The outward supply figures should agree. Where they do not, the difference is normally a timing or classification issue rather than a missing sale, and it is worth identifying rather than leaving — the portal compares them and raises the difference.
Can I claim credit that does not appear in my 2B?
The rules have tightened substantially and credit is now largely restricted to what appears in the 2B. Claiming beyond it is where most input-credit notices come from, which is why the reconciliation matters every month rather than annually.
How is reverse charge shown in 3B?
As a liability in the inward supplies table and, where the credit is eligible, as credit in the ITC table. Both entries belong; declaring the liability and forgetting the credit is a common and costly oversight.
Is this page tax advice?
No. Table numbering and the ITC rules have changed repeatedly. Confirm the current position with your tax adviser.
What is the difference between GSTR-2A and GSTR-2B?
2A is dynamic and keeps changing as suppliers file, while 2B is generated once for a period and stays fixed. Because it is static, 2B is the document a credit claim can be based on and defended against.
What if a supplier has not reported my invoice?
The credit is at risk. Chase them while there is still time before the cut-off — once the deadline for claiming that year’s credit passes, the credit is generally lost regardless of whether you hold a valid tax invoice.
Do I have to reconcile every month?
Practically, yes. Doing it annually means finding out about missing credit when it is too late for the supplier to fix it, which converts a chase into a write-off.
Is this page tax advice?
No. The ITC rules and time limits have changed repeatedly and are strict. Confirm the current position with your tax adviser.
How many HSN digits do I need on my invoice?
It depends on your aggregate turnover, and the requirement has been progressively tightened. Check the current notification for your band — this is one of the few places where using a figure you learned two years ago is actively risky.
What happens if I use the wrong HSN code?
The rate usually follows the classification, so a wrong code frequently means the wrong rate, with exposure running back across every invoice raised under it. It is worth getting advice on anything ambiguous rather than choosing quickly.
Where do I find the official list?
In the Customs Tariff and the GST rate notifications. Our HSN finder covers chapters and common headings to point you in the right direction, but it is deliberately not a substitute for the tariff.
Is this page tax advice?
No. Classification is genuinely technical and disputes are common. Take professional advice on anything material.
Who pays the tax under reverse charge?
The recipient, directly to the government, instead of paying it to the supplier as part of the invoice. The supplier’s invoice carries no tax and usually states that reverse charge applies.
Can I claim credit for tax paid under reverse charge?
Normally yes, subject to the usual eligibility rules — so the net cost is often nil. But both the liability and the credit have to be recorded; booking only the credit is a notice waiting to happen.
Do I need to issue an invoice to myself?
Where the supply is from an unregistered person, generally yes — a self-invoice and a payment voucher. Where the supplier is registered, their invoice is the document.
Is this page tax advice?
No. The notified list and the scope for unregistered suppliers have both changed materially since 2017. Confirm with your tax adviser.
What is the difference between TDS and TCS?
TCS is collected by the seller and added to the invoice; TDS is deducted by the buyer and reduces what they pay you. Both are advance income tax credited to the counterparty, but they move in opposite directions.
Do both apply to the same sale?
Generally not. Where the buyer is obliged to deduct TDS on a purchase of goods, the seller is usually relieved of collecting TCS on it. Applying both means one party has paid twice, and it happens more often than it should.
How do I track TDS my customers deduct?
Record the receipt at the amount actually banked; the shortfall books as TDS receivable and the invoice settles in full. That receivable balance is what you reconcile against Form 26AS.
Is this page tax advice?
No. Thresholds, rates and the interaction between the provisions change with each Finance Act. Confirm with your tax adviser.
What is the difference between zero-rated and exempt?
A zero-rated supply is taxable at 0% and you can still recover the input VAT on costs relating to it. An exempt supply is outside the tax and you cannot. That single difference is the most consequential thing in UAE VAT, because exempt supplies force you to apportion input tax.
When must I register for VAT in the UAE?
Mandatorily once taxable supplies exceed the mandatory threshold over the relevant rolling period, and voluntarily above a lower threshold. The measurement is rolling rather than by financial year, which catches businesses that grow mid-year.
How is imported software or advertising treated?
Generally under reverse charge: you account for the output tax and recover it as input tax in the same return where the credit is eligible. Both entries belong, and omitting the liability is a common error.
Is this page tax advice?
No. This is a plain-language summary of a system with real complexity in its edges. Confirm anything material with a UAE tax adviser.
What is a TRN?
A Tax Registration Number — a fifteen-digit identifier issued by the UAE Federal Tax Authority to a registered taxable person. It is distinct from a trade licence number, which is issued by a different authority for a different purpose.
Why does my customer’s TRN matter to me?
Because their entitlement to input credit depends on holding a valid tax invoice with the right details. If the TRN on your invoice is wrong, their credit can be challenged, and the resulting conversation is yours to have.
Can I check whether a TRN is genuine?
The FTA provides a verification facility. tBiz validates the format when you save a party, which catches transcription errors; confirming the registration itself is a separate check worth doing for new counterparties.
Is this page tax advice?
No. Registration thresholds and requirements change. Confirm with a UAE tax adviser.
Does tBiz compute my UAE corporate tax return?
No. It keeps the books the return is computed from — accrual basis, financial statements, cost centres and an audit trail — and does not produce the corporate tax return itself. We would rather be clear about that boundary than imply a filing capability we do not have.
Do free zone companies pay corporate tax?
A free zone person may benefit from a qualifying rate on qualifying income, subject to conditions, with non-qualifying income taxed normally. That makes keeping the two distinguishable in the records a practical requirement rather than an accounting nicety.
Can I keep my books on a cash basis?
Generally not for this purpose. Taxable income starts from accounting profit prepared on an accepted basis, which means accruals. Businesses that kept a cash-basis record for their own use have had to convert.
Is this page tax advice?
No. Corporate tax is new, the guidance continues to develop, and the free zone rules in particular are detailed. Take advice from a UAE tax professional.
Do I need double-entry bookkeeping for a small business?
If anyone outside the business reads your accounts — a bank, an investor, the tax authority, a buyer — then yes, and starting sooner is far cheaper than converting later. If nobody does, a simple record may be enough for now, but the transition tends to arrive without warning.
What does it mean when the trial balance does not tie?
That there is an error, which is exactly what the system is for. A single-sided entry, a transposed figure or a missing tax line are the usual causes, and the system tells you to look rather than letting the mistake pass silently.
Is a spreadsheet double-entry bookkeeping?
Almost never. A spreadsheet usually records one side of each transaction — a list of sales, a list of payments — with no mechanism forcing them to agree, which is why stock and cash drift apart in spreadsheet-run businesses.
Do I have to understand debits and credits to use accounting software?
Not for day-to-day work — raising an invoice or entering a payment posts the entry for you. Understanding them helps enormously when something looks wrong, which is the moment it matters.
Which valuation method should I use?
For interchangeable bulk goods, weighted average is simpler and smooths price swings. For batch or serial-tracked goods, FIFO usually reflects physical reality better. Either is acceptable; what matters more is applying one consistently.
Can I change from FIFO to weighted average?
It is possible but it is a change in accounting policy, it changes your reported profit in the year of change, and it generally needs to be disclosed. It is not a setting to flip because one method gives a nicer number.
Should freight be included in stock value?
Yes — the cost of bringing stock to its present location and condition forms part of its cost, which includes inward freight and duties. Leaving them out understates closing stock and therefore understates profit.
What about stock that will not sell?
It should be written down to net realisable value. Obsolete stock carried at cost is one of the most common misstatements in small-business balance sheets, and it flatters the profit at the same time.
Glossary
Is the IRN the same as the invoice number?
No. The invoice number is yours and you choose it; the IRN is a 64-character hash the portal computes and returns. Your invoice number is one of the inputs to it.
Can an IRN be cancelled?
Within the short cancellation window the portal allows, yes. After that the correct instrument is a credit note linked to the original invoice and its IRN.
What if the same invoice is reported twice?
It cannot be. Because the IRN is derived from the GSTIN, document type, number and year, a second attempt for the same document is rejected as a duplicate.
Can one business have more than one GSTIN?
Yes. Registration is state-wise, so an entity operating in four states holds four GSTINs, all sharing the same PAN in characters three to twelve.
How can I tell if a GSTIN is valid?
The format and the check character can be verified offline, which catches almost all typing errors. Whether the registration is currently active is a separate question only the GST portal can answer.
Is the GSTIN the same as a PAN?
No, but it contains one. Characters three to twelve of a GSTIN are the holder’s PAN.
How many HSN digits do I need on my invoice?
It depends on your aggregate turnover band, and the requirement has been tightened more than once since 2017. Check the current notification rather than relying on how your software was set up.
What happens if I use the wrong HSN code?
The rate generally follows the classification, so a wrong code frequently means the wrong tax charged — and the exposure covers every invoice issued under it, not just the next one.
Is there an official list?
Yes, in the Customs Tariff and the GST rate notifications. Search tools are useful for orientation but the tariff is the authority.
Do I need a SAC code on every service invoice?
Where an HSN or SAC code is required for your turnover band, yes — services carry a SAC. The digit requirements follow the same turnover-based rules as HSN.
Can a single invoice carry both HSN and SAC codes?
Yes, on different lines. A supply of goods with an installation service is common, and each line carries the code appropriate to what it is.
Do all SAC codes start with 99?
Yes — the 99 prefix is what distinguishes a services code from a goods classification at a glance.
Is place of supply the same as the customer’s billing address?
Not necessarily. For goods it generally follows delivery, and in a bill-to ship-to transaction it follows the party who gave the instruction rather than the party who received the goods.
What happens if I charge CGST and SGST when IGST applied?
The tax has gone to the wrong government. Correcting it typically means claiming a refund on one side and paying on the other, which is far more work than getting it right at the invoice.
Do services follow the same rules as goods?
No. Services have their own set of rules with a default of the recipient’s location and numerous specific overrides — immovable property, events, transport and others.
Can I claim credit if my supplier has not filed their return?
Generally not. Credit is largely restricted to what appears in your GSTR-2B, so an unreported invoice is credit at risk even though you hold a valid tax invoice and have paid the supplier in full.
Is there a deadline for claiming credit?
Yes — credit for a financial year cannot be claimed indefinitely; there is a cut-off tied to a later return or the annual return. Credit found after it is generally lost.
What is blocked credit?
Categories on which credit is denied by law regardless of documentation — certain motor vehicles, some construction, and goods or services for personal consumption among them.
Can a bill of supply be used to claim input credit?
No. It carries no tax, so there is nothing to claim. That is the single most important practical difference between it and a tax invoice.
Can one document cover both taxable and exempt supplies?
Where a supplier issues a document covering both, an invoice-cum-bill-of-supply may be used. Keeping them separate is usually simpler to administer.
Do composition dealers issue tax invoices?
No. They cannot collect tax from their customers, so they issue bills of supply, generally stating that they are not eligible to collect tax on supplies.
Is a debit note the same as an invoice?
No. It adjusts an existing invoice upwards rather than recording a new supply, and it must reference the document it adjusts.
Who raises a debit note under GST?
The supplier. Commercial practice where a buyer "raises a debit note" on a supplier does not change who issues the GST document that adjusts the supply.
Which period does it go in?
The period in which it is issued, not the period of the original invoice — so the current return absorbs the adjustment.
Is there a deadline for issuing a credit note under GST?
For reducing your tax liability, yes — it must be declared within the prescribed period, broadly tied to a return for the following financial year. You can still issue a commercial credit afterwards, but the tax is no longer recoverable.
Does a credit note reverse the stock as well?
It should, where goods have come back. A credit note that adjusts only the money leaves the stock ledger overstating what you sold and understating what you hold.
What must the recipient do?
Reverse the input credit they claimed on the original invoice to the extent of the credit note. The adjustment only nets to zero across the system if both parties act.
How many digits is a TRN?
Fifteen. A simple format check when you save a party catches most transcription errors immediately.
Is a TRN the same as a trade licence number?
No. Different authorities, different purposes. The TRN comes from the Federal Tax Authority and relates to VAT registration.
Can several companies share a TRN?
Yes, where they are registered as a tax group under common control. Supplies between members of the group are then outside the scope of VAT.
Do I need a bill of materials for every product?
No, and starting with all of them is how the exercise stalls. Write them for the highest-volume products first — they usually account for most of the cost and most of the variance.
Can a BOM include labour and overhead?
Yes, and it should if you want a cost per unit rather than a materials cost. Material alone answers only part of the question.
Is a recipe a bill of materials?
Functionally yes — a one-level BOM where inputs become a different output. That is how restaurant food costing works.
What is the difference between a voucher and an invoice?
An invoice is a commercial document you give a customer; the voucher is the accounting entry it produces. One invoice creates one voucher, which typically debits the customer and credits sales and the tax accounts.
Why must a voucher balance?
Because double entry records every transaction twice in opposite directions. If the two sides do not agree, something has been left out — and the system telling you that immediately is the whole point.
What is a contra voucher for?
Movements between your own cash and bank accounts — a cash deposit, a withdrawal, a transfer between two bank accounts. It affects neither income nor expense, which is why it has its own type.
Integrations
Will my old invoices come across as invoices?
No — historical vouchers arrive as balanced journals with exact totals rather than as itemised GST invoices with lines, HSN codes and tax splits. The period figures and the party ledgers are correct; the line detail stays in Tally, which is why most businesses keep the old file as an archive.
Will my opening balances tie exactly?
They should, and the import is reconciled against your Tally trial balance before anything else is brought in. If they do not tie at that point, nothing further is imported until they do.
Can I run Tally and tBiz in parallel?
Yes, and for a month it is a sensible thing to do. Enter in both, compare the trial balance at month end, and switch when you are satisfied rather than on a date somebody picked.
When is the best time to migrate?
A financial year boundary, almost always. It makes the opening balances clean, the comparatives meaningful and the numbering straightforward.
Does the stock come across godown-wise?
Yes, with opening quantities per godown rather than as a single company total, which matters because that is how a Busy user is already holding their stock and a flattened import would have to be unpicked.
Will my invoice numbering continue?
Yes. You set the series and the starting number when the company is created, so numbering carries on unbroken — which under GST is a compliance point, not just a tidiness one.
What does not come across?
Itemised transaction history, custom report layouts and any Busy-specific customisation. Vouchers arrive as balanced journals with exact totals, and the Busy data stays as your archive.
How long does a Busy migration take?
Typically a few days for the import and reconciliation, plus a parallel month if you want one. The slow part is agreeing the chart of accounts, not moving the data.
Is there a direct Marg importer?
No. tBiz has built importers for Tally and Busy and not for Marg, and we would rather say that here than have you find out in week two of an onboarding. The CSV route is well travelled and our team runs it with you, but it is not a one-click import.
How long does a Marg migration take?
Usually under a week for the data, done alongside your existing system, plus a parallel month if you want one. Batch stock is the part that takes the care.
Will my batch and expiry data come across?
Yes, by CSV — batch number, expiry and quantity per godown. For a pharma distributor this is the part that must be right before anything else is worth doing, so it is reconciled explicitly.
What about Marg’s scheme and rate structures?
Standard discounts and party-wise rates map across. Marg’s specialised pharmaceutical scheme handling does not have a direct equivalent, and it is the thing to test carefully before committing to the move.
Does my spreadsheet have to be in a particular format?
No. You map your columns to the fields they mean, so the sheet you already keep is the sheet you import. One header row and one record per row is all the structure required.
What happens to rows with errors?
They are listed in the preview with the reason, and nothing is committed until you accept the import. Fix them in your sheet and re-run — the mapping is saved, so the second attempt takes seconds.
Can I import opening stock as well as balances?
Yes, per item and per warehouse with quantities and rates, so the stock ledger and the balance sheet start in agreement rather than being reconciled a month later.
Will it catch bad GSTINs?
Format and check-digit errors, yes, on import. It is a common and useful side effect — most spreadsheet-kept party lists contain a few.
Is this a real WhatsApp integration or a click-to-chat link?
A real one, through the Meta Business API. Messages go from your registered business number and delivery status comes back, which a click-to-chat link cannot do.
Do I need a WhatsApp Business account?
Yes, and a number registered for the Business API with the verification Meta requires. That is a genuine setup step and we walk you through it during onboarding.
Can I send payment reminders automatically?
Yes, on a rule — overdue by a number of days, on a schedule you set. Chasing on a rule rather than on memory is what actually moves the receivables ageing.
Are the messages recorded?
Yes, against the party’s activity history with delivery status, so the record belongs to the business rather than to an individual’s phone.
Does tBiz connect directly to my bank?
No, and deliberately so. You import a statement you downloaded yourself, which means no third party holds credentials to your bank account. Direct connections are convenient and they are also a standing access grant to your money.
Which statement formats work?
CSV and Excel downloads, with a column mapping you set up once per bank and account. Bank formats differ and change, so mapping is more robust than assuming a fixed layout.
What about entries on the statement I have never seen?
They are listed separately, and they are the important list — bank charges, direct debits, a customer payment nobody told accounts about. They can be posted straight from the reconciliation screen.
Will it be slow on a busy account?
No. Matching is performed as a database join rather than by comparing every book entry against every statement line, which is the difference between seconds and a screen that never finishes.
Does the money go through tBiz?
No. Your payment provider account is yours and settlement goes to your bank. tBiz raises the link and records the receipt when payment is confirmed.
What happens with a part payment?
It settles what it covers against that invoice and leaves the balance open, rather than sitting as an unallocated credit somebody has to apply later.
Can I include a payment link in an overdue reminder?
Yes, and it makes a measurable difference — a reminder that requires the customer to go and find their banking app converts far less well than one they can act on immediately.
Do I still need bank reconciliation?
Yes. Payment links cover collections from customers; bank charges, direct debits and everything else still have to be reconciled against the statement.
Which barcode scanners work with tBiz?
Effectively all of them. A USB or Bluetooth scanner presents itself to the computer as a keyboard, so there is nothing to install and no compatibility list to check.
Can I scan with a phone instead?
Not with the phone’s camera — tBiz has no camera scanning today, and we would rather say so than have you discover it during a stocktake. A pocket Bluetooth scanner paired to the phone or tablet works exactly as it does on a desktop, because either way the scanner is just a keyboard.
Can I print barcode labels for my own items?
Yes, with your own code, description and price, for items that have no manufacturer barcode — repacked goods, loose material and anything you code yourself.
Does scanning help with stock counts?
It is the main reason to have it. A count of a few thousand SKUs done by reading and typing tends not to finish; the same count scanned does, which is why most businesses buy their first scanner after a bad stocktake.
Tools
What must a GST invoice contain?
The supplier’s name, address and GSTIN; a consecutive serial number unique for the financial year; the date; the recipient’s details including their GSTIN where registered; a description with HSN or SAC; quantity and taxable value; the rate and amount of each tax shown separately; the place of supply for inter-state supplies; and a signature.
Can I design my own invoice layout?
Yes. The rules prescribe the particulars, not the design, so your letterhead, your terms and your layout are all yours as long as every required field is present.
Do I need to show CGST and SGST separately?
Yes — each tax has to be shown separately with its rate and amount. A single combined "GST" figure does not meet the requirement.
Is there a downloadable Excel file?
Not on this page. What is here is the format itself, which you can print to PDF, and the option to raise real numbered invoices free in tBiz — which is more useful than a spreadsheet template that will not keep your numbering consecutive.
Is a proforma invoice a legal document?
It is a binding offer on the terms stated, for the validity period stated, but it is not a tax document. No GST liability arises from it and no input credit can be claimed against it.
Can a customer claim input credit on a proforma invoice?
No. Only a valid tax invoice supports an input credit claim, which is why a proforma should say plainly on its face that it is not one.
What is the difference between a proforma invoice and a quotation?
In practice very little, and the two are often used interchangeably. A proforma is typically more formal and more specific — used where the buyer needs a document for an advance payment or a letter of credit.
Do I need to number proforma invoices?
Not under the GST rules, since they are not tax documents, but you should — you will want to trace which proforma became which order and which invoice.
How long should a quotation be valid?
Long enough for the customer to decide and short enough that you are not held to a price after your costs have moved — commonly seven to thirty days. In volatile markets, shorter.
Should a quotation show tax?
Yes, shown separately, so the customer knows the full cost. Quoting a figure that turns out to exclude 18% is the fastest way to lose the order at the invoice stage.
Is a quotation legally binding?
Generally it is an offer that becomes binding when accepted within its validity period on the terms stated — which is exactly why the validity period and the exclusions matter.
What is the difference between a quotation and a proforma invoice?
Little in practice. A proforma is usually more formal and is often used where the buyer needs a document to arrange an advance payment or a letter of credit.
When should I issue a delivery challan instead of an invoice?
Whenever goods move without a supply taking place — job work, branch transfers, goods on approval, goods sent for testing or demonstration. An invoice records a sale; a challan records a movement.
Do I need an e-way bill for a delivery challan?
For movements above the notified consignment value, yes. The e-way bill rules concern the movement of goods rather than the sale of them, and a challan-backed movement is exactly the case people forget.
Does a challan show tax?
It states the value and, where applicable, the tax rate and amount for transport purposes — but no tax is charged to the recipient, because nothing has been supplied.
How long can material stay with a job worker?
There are prescribed periods after which unreturned goods may be treated as a supply, with different periods for inputs and capital goods. Keeping the challan open and reconciled is how you know you are within them.
Is a purchase order legally binding?
Generally it becomes binding once the supplier accepts it, which is why the terms on it — delivery date, part deliveries, place of delivery, freight — matter as much as the price.
What is a three-way match?
Comparing the purchase order, the goods received note and the supplier’s bill. Where the three agree the bill can be passed; where they do not, the difference is visible before payment rather than after.
Should a PO show GST?
Yes, shown separately, so the committed value is unambiguous and the supplier’s bill can be checked against it without arithmetic.
What happens if the supplier delivers less than ordered?
The goods received note records what actually arrived, the order stays open for the balance, and if the supplier has billed the full quantity the mismatch is flagged when the bill is entered.
What must a salary slip show?
The employer and employee identity, the pay period, days paid and any loss of pay, each earning and each deduction separately, gross, total deductions and net pay, and the mode of payment. Statutory identifiers where PF or ESI apply.
Is an employer required to give payslips?
Obligations vary with which labour legislation applies to your establishment, but issuing them is standard practice and you will be asked for them — by employees, by banks and in any dispute.
How should overtime be shown?
As its own earning line with the hours stated, not folded into basic pay. Overtime that cannot be checked against hours is the most frequent cause of a payroll argument.
Should the employer’s PF contribution appear?
It is not an employee deduction so it does not reduce net pay, but many employers show it separately as part of cost to company. It must be accounted for in the books either way.
How do I remove GST from an inclusive amount?
Divide by one plus the rate. At 18%, divide the inclusive figure by 1.18 to get the taxable value; the difference is the tax. Subtracting 18% from the inclusive figure gives a different and incorrect answer.
How is GST split between CGST and SGST?
Equally. An 18% intra-state supply carries 9% CGST and 9% SGST. An inter-state supply carries the full 18% as IGST instead.
Which rate applies to my product?
It follows the HSN classification, and the notified rates change. Our HSN finder can point you at the chapter, but confirm against the current rate notification for anything material.
Does this calculator send my figures anywhere?
No. It computes in your browser and nothing is transmitted. There is no tracking script on this page.
How do I remove 5% VAT from a total?
Divide the inclusive amount by 1.05. Subtracting 5% gives a different and incorrect figure — on AED 10,500 the correct taxable amount is AED 10,000, not AED 9,975.
What is the difference between zero-rated and exempt?
A zero-rated supply is taxable at 0% and input VAT on related costs is recoverable. An exempt supply is outside the tax and input VAT is not recoverable, which also forces you to apportion your input tax.
Is VAT in the UAE always 5%?
The standard rate is 5%. Certain supplies are zero-rated, certain supplies are exempt, and some are outside the scope entirely — so the rate is 5% but it does not apply to everything.
Does this calculator send my figures anywhere?
No. It computes in your browser and nothing is transmitted. No tracking script is loaded on this page.
Why search by material rather than product name?
Because that is how the classification is organised. Chapters are largely defined by what goods are made of, so "steel" finds chapter 72 and 73 immediately where "bracket" finds nothing useful.
Does this tool give me the GST rate?
No. Rates are notified against classifications and change; quoting one here would age badly. Use this to find the classification family, then check the current rate notification.
Is this the complete HSN list?
No, and deliberately so. It covers chapters and common headings for the trades this site serves. A partial eight-digit list would look authoritative at exactly the moment it was wrong, which is worse than an honest four-digit one.
How many digits do I need on my invoice?
It depends on your turnover band and the requirement has been tightened more than once. Check the current notification rather than what was true when you set your software up.
Does this check whether the GSTIN is registered and active?
No. It verifies the structure and the check digit offline, which catches typing errors. Whether a registration is currently active is a question only the GST portal can answer, and a cancelled registration will still pass a structural check.
Is my GSTIN sent anywhere?
No. The calculation happens in your browser using the same algorithm the product uses internally. Nothing is transmitted, logged or stored, and there is no tracking script on this page.
What does the check digit catch?
Almost all single-character errors and transpositions — which is to say, almost all the ways a fifteen-character number gets copied wrong off a certificate.
Can I tell whose GSTIN it is?
Not from the number alone. You can read off the state and the PAN it contains, which is often enough to confirm that a GSTIN belongs to the entity you think it does.
Still not answered?
Ask us directly — Contact us, or send a quote request and we will answer it in writing.