How to Create GST Bills Manually in India: Step‑By‑Step Guide for Sales and Rent Invoice

Creating a GST bill manually is still common for freelancers, consultants, landlords issuing a rent invoice, and small businesses that do not use billing software. Even if you normally use Excel or an invoice generator, understanding the manual format helps you stay compliant and avoid costly GST mistakes. This guide walks you through every field you must include in a GST invoice and shows how to prepare one by hand or in a simple spreadsheet.

1. Basics of a GST Invoice and When It Is Required

Under Indian GST law, a registered supplier must issue a tax invoice whenever taxable goods or services are supplied. The invoice acts as legal proof of supply, allows the buyer to claim input tax credit, and is important evidence during audits. Whether you are selling products, offering services, or issuing a rent invoice for commercial property, the structure of a GST bill remains broadly the same with a few tweaks for services.

A GST invoice can be created in three ways: handwritten on a pre‑printed book, typed in Word, or made in Excel/Google Sheets. As long as all mandatory fields are present and the calculation is correct, the law does not force you to use specialized software. However, you must keep the invoice number sequence unique and continuous for each financial year.

2. Mandatory Details to Include in a Manual GST Bill

When you create a GST bill manually, you must ensure every mandatory detail is present so the document qualifies as a valid tax invoice. At minimum, include the following items in your format:

Supplier details: Legal name, business address, and GSTIN printed at the top left or top center. You can also add phone, email, and logo, though these are optional.

Invoice heading: Mention clearly whether the document is a Tax Invoice or Bill of Supply. For taxable supplies, you normally use “Tax Invoice”.

Invoice number and date: A unique serial number (alphanumeric allowed) and the date of issue. Maintain a consistent pattern such as INV/24‑25/001, INV/24‑25/002, and so on.

Recipient details: Customer name, billing address, shipping address (for goods), and GSTIN if the buyer is registered. For high‑value B2C invoices, include state name and state code.

Place of supply: Specify the state and state code where goods are delivered or services are deemed supplied. This decides whether you charge CGST+SGST or IGST.

Item details: Description of each product or service, along with HSN code for goods or SAC code for services. For a rent invoice, you generally mention the relevant SAC code for renting of commercial property.

Quantity and unit: For goods, add quantity and unit of measurement (pieces, kg, meters, etc.). For services such as rent or consulting, you may skip quantity and show the billing period instead, for example “Rent for August 2025”.

Value and discounts: Show the unit price, total amount, and any discount applied for each line item. Then arrive at the taxable value on which GST is calculated.

Tax rates and amounts: Clearly break out the percentage and amount of CGST, SGST (for intra‑state) or IGST (for inter‑state). Separate columns for rate and amount make your manual GST bill easier to verify.

Total invoice value: Provide a summary with taxable value, total GST, and grand total. It is best practice to write the total amount in words as well.

Signature: Add the authorized signatory’s signature with name and designation. You may also use a rubber stamp containing your business name and GSTIN.

3. Step‑by‑Step: How to Create a GST Bill Manually

If you are preparing a paper invoice or a simple spreadsheet, you can follow these steps one by one. You do not need any special tool; correct structure and careful math are the key factors.

Step 1: Decide invoice type and series
Determine whether this is a regular tax invoice for goods, a service invoice, or a rent invoice for a commercial property. Choose a distinct series if you want to separate goods and services, for example G‑001 for goods and S‑001 for services.

Step 2: Draw or design the invoice table
On paper or in Excel, draw columns for serial number, description, HSN/SAC, quantity, unit, rate, amount, discount, taxable value, tax rate, CGST amount, SGST amount, IGST amount, and line total. For a basic rent invoice, quantity and HSN may be optional, but having a SAC column is recommended.

Step 3: Enter supplier and customer information
Fill in your business name, address, and GSTIN first. Below that, add the customer’s billing details, GSTIN (if registered), and state information. For goods, also write the shipping address and transport details if applicable.

Step 4: Fill in description and values
For each item or service, enter a clear description. For example, a rent invoice might say “Monthly rent for Shop No. 12, XYZ Complex – September 2025.” Next, add the applicable SAC code, period, and agreed rental amount. For goods, record quantity, unit rate, and total amount before discount.

Step 5: Compute taxable value
Subtract any discount from the gross amount to get the taxable value. If you charge additional components like packing or transport, decide whether they are included before or after tax, and be consistent across all invoices.

Step 6: Decide the applicable GST
Check the place of supply and your registration state. If both are the same, split the tax into CGST and SGST at half the rate each. If they differ, charge full IGST. For example, a 18% rate becomes 9% CGST + 9% SGST for intra‑state or 18% IGST for inter‑state.

Step 7: Calculate GST amounts manually
Multiply taxable value by the tax rate to get the tax amount. For instance, if taxable value is ₹50,000 and GST rate is 18%, total GST is ₹9,000. You would show CGST ₹4,500 and SGST ₹4,500 for an intra‑state rent invoice. Confirm your arithmetic carefully, as even small rounding errors may cause reconciliation issues for the recipient.

Step 8: Add totals and amount in words
At the bottom of the invoice, total the taxable values and tax amounts for all line items. Then add a line for “Invoice Total (in words)”. This reduces confusion if digits are unclear on a handwritten bill.

Step 9: Add terms and signature
Mention basic payment terms, due date, bank details, and any late‑payment interest you may charge. Finally, sign and stamp the invoice. For digitally shared PDFs, you can sign on paper, scan, and send, or use a simple digital signature tool.

4. Example: Manual GST Rent Invoice Format

To make things concrete, imagine you are a landlord renting out a commercial office to a GST‑registered company. You are registered under GST and need to issue a GST‑compliant rent invoice every month. A simple layout could look like this when drawn by hand or set up in Excel:

Header section:

– Your name or business name, address, GSTIN
– Title: “Tax Invoice – Rent” or simply “Tax Invoice”
– Invoice number and date
– Place of supply (State name and code)

Recipient section:

– Tenant’s legal name
– Billing address and GSTIN
– State name and code

Line‑item section (for rent invoice):

– Description: “Rent for Office No. 301, ABC Towers for the month of August 2025”
– SAC code for renting of commercial property
– Billing period (e.g., 01‑08‑2025 to 31‑08‑2025)
– Monthly rent amount
– Taxable value (after discount, if any)
– GST rate, for example 18%
– CGST 9% amount and SGST 9% amount if intra‑state
– Line total including GST

Summary section:

– Total taxable value
– Total CGST, total SGST or IGST
– Grand total payable
– Amount in words
– Bank details and payment terms
– Signature and stamp

By keeping this structure consistent, your manual rent invoice remains compliant and the tenant can comfortably claim input tax credit, if eligible.

5. Copies, Record‑Keeping, and Common Mistakes

For goods, GST rules expect you to keep multiple copies of each invoice: one for the recipient, one for the transporter, and one for yourself. For services such as consulting or a rent invoice, at least two copies are normally maintained: one for you and one for the client or tenant. In either case, organize them in chronological order based on invoice number.

Common errors when making GST bills manually include missing GSTIN, incorrect state code, wrong tax rate, or forgetting to specify the place of supply. Mistakes like these can lead to rejection of input tax credit for your customer and trigger notices during audits. When you fill each invoice by hand, double‑check every numerical field and keep a simple checklist of mandatory items to tick off before you sign.

If you find manual work too time‑consuming, you can still use this structure to build a reusable invoice template in Excel or a basic word processor. That way, you only update customer details, description, and figures each time, while the layout and tax logic remain stable.

Understanding how to create a GST bill manually gives you full control over your billing, whether you are issuing a one‑time sales invoice, monthly consulting bills, or a recurring rent invoice for commercial premises. Once the format is set and you know which details are compulsory, preparing compliant invoices becomes a straightforward routine task.