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Building materials

ERP software for building material and hardware shops

GST invoices that mix cement, steel, sand and fittings on one bill, stock by godown and shop, credit to contractors with ageing, and purchase orders to your dealers.

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In short

SimpleERP is ERP software for building material and hardware shops in India. Invoices carry HSN and the right GST rate on every line, stock is tracked by godown and shop, contractor credit shows in an ageing report, and purchase, cash and staff sit alongside.

Illustration of GST tax invoice INV-2026-27-0213 to Ravi Stores with CGST 9% and SGST 9%, round off, a UPI QR code and the amount in words.

A day in a building materials business

A hardware and building materials shop sells in bags, kilos, lengths and pieces, mostly on credit, to people who come back every week.

At eight the first contractor sends a list on the phone: 60 bags of cement, half a tonne of 12 mm TMT, two loads of sand and a box of CPVC elbows. The cement is in the godown, the fittings are on the shop shelves, and it all goes on one bill against his account.

By evening the owner asks: how much does Sri Murugan Constructions owe, and since when? Is the 53 grade cement running low before the weekend rush? Did the paint distributor's bill get entered, or is it still in the drawer? The answers sit in a billing app, a credit notebook and the godown keeper's memory.

SimpleERP puts them in one system. The invoice applies each line's HSN and GST rate, issues stock from the godown or shop it left, and adds to the contractor's balance. The receivables ageing report then shows who owes what and how long it has been outstanding.

GST billing

One invoice for cement, steel, sand and fittings

Every line on a SimpleERP invoice carries its own HSN code and GST rate, so a bill that mixes cement, steel bars, sand and plumbing fittings totals correctly and prints an HSN-wise summary. A sale inside your state splits into CGST and SGST; a sale to another state goes as IGST, decided by the place of supply.

  • Units per product: bags for cement, kg for steel, a custom unit for sand loads, pieces for fittings.
  • Discount per line in percent or rupees, for the contractor who always asks.
  • Returns become a credit note that puts the bags back in stock.
Line (HSN)QuantityTaxable valueGST
OPC cement 53 grade (2523)100 bags @ ₹330₹33,00018%: ₹5,940
TMT bar 12 mm (7214)500 kg @ ₹62₹31,00018%: ₹5,580
River sand (2505)3 t @ ₹1,800₹5,4005%: ₹270
Total₹69,400₹11,790
Grand total (CGST ₹5,895 + SGST ₹5,895)₹81,190
One intra-state invoice to a contractor. Rates are examples only; confirm yours with your CA.

Illustration of the keyboard-first invoice editor with a focused line, live tax totals and shortcut hints.

The keyboard-first invoice editor.

Inventory

Know what is in the godown and what is on the shelf

Set up the godown and the shop as two warehouses, and SimpleERP keeps stock on hand for each one, valued at weighted-average cost. A reorder level on each product puts it on the low-stock list before the last bag goes.

  • Transfers move cement or pipes from the godown to the shop with a document for every move.
  • Low-stock list per warehouse, built from your reorder levels.
  • Physical count fixes breakage or a short bag count with a reason, posted to the books.
  • Product import from a CSV file with HSN, GST rate, unit, reorder level and opening stock.

Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.

Stock on hand per warehouse, with low-stock rows flagged.

Receivables

Contractor credit you can see, not just remember

Every unpaid invoice ages in the receivables report, bucketed as current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days. A credit limit on the customer warns when a new invoice would take them past it.

  • Payment terms such as Net 30 set the due date on every invoice.
  • Part payments are allocated against the oldest invoices or the ones you pick.
  • Party statement with dated rows and a running balance, ready to print for the builder's accountant.

Illustration of receivables ageing: ₹2,14,800 to collect across 5 buckets, with customer totals.

Receivables by age bucket, per customer.

Purchase

Purchase orders to dealers, bills that update stock

A purchase order to the cement dealer or the tile brand becomes a bill when the goods arrive, and posting the bill adds the stock and the amount you owe in one step.

  • Part deliveries bill against the same order until it is complete.
  • Duplicate guard on the supplier's invoice number stops the same bill going in twice.
  • Debit notes for short supply or broken tiles, applied to the bill or taken as a refund.
  • Purchase register with GST to check input credit against GSTR-2B.

Accounting and people

Close the day with cash, bank and staff in order

Each receipt lands in the cash or bank account it was paid into, so the cash and bank registers show a running balance without a separate cash book. Staff attendance flows into payroll.

  • Day book lists every entry for the day in posting order.
  • Expenses such as tempo hire, loading charges or tea, recorded with the receipt photo.
  • Mark all present, then change the exceptions.
  • Salary advances recovered from the next payslip.

Illustration of the daily attendance sheet on a phone with a Mark all present button.

The daily attendance sheet on a phone.

Ready on day one

What you don't have to set up

A new shop can bill minutes after sign-up, because the plumbing is seeded.

  • A chart of accounts with cash, bank, sales, purchase and stock accounts already linked.
  • GST rates split into CGST, SGST and IGST.
  • Units such as pcs, kg, m, box and set; add bags, tonnes or sq ft in settings.
  • Invoice numbering such as INV-2026-27-0412 on the April to March year.
  • Seven system roles, including Sales, Purchase and Inventory, and Accountant.

One system

The modules that do this work

An invoice issues stock from the godown, posts the sale and GST, and adds to the contractor's balance until the payment lands in cash or bank.

Honest limits

What SimpleERP does not do for building material and hardware shops yet

Weigh these before you move a busy counter over.

  • Weighbridge integration. Type the weight from the slip on the invoice line.
  • Delivery challans as a stock document. The invoice moves the stock, so raise it at dispatch.
  • Price lists per customer type. Set a default selling price and change the rate or discount on the line.
  • POS hardware such as receipt printers, cash drawers or barcode scanners. Invoices print on A4.
  • Batch or shade tracking for tiles. Make each shade a separate product.
  • E-way bill or e-invoice generation through the government APIs. Use the GST portal for those.

Getting started

Start with your first invoice

  1. Sign up with your phone

    Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.

  2. Tell us about the business

    Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.

  3. Add what you sell

    Import your products from a CSV file with HSN, GST rate, unit and opening stock per godown, then add your regular contractors with their credit terms.

  4. Post your first GST invoice

    Pick the customer, add lines and save. Your first GST invoice can be out within 10 minutes of signing up.

FAQ

Questions, answered

What GST rates apply to cement, steel, tiles and sand?

It depends on the HSN code of each item, which is why one bill often carries two or three rates. As examples, cement (HSN 2523), steel bars (7214) and ceramic tiles (6907) are commonly billed at 18%, and natural sand (2505) at 5%. SimpleERP stores the HSN and rate on each product and applies them line by line. Rates change, so confirm the rate for your goods with your CA or the GST portal before you rely on it.

Can I give different prices to contractors and walk-in buyers?

Not through price lists; SimpleERP has none yet. Each product has one default selling price, and you change the rate or add a discount on the invoice line.

How many staff can use it?

Add the counter staff, godown keeper and accountant as members, each with a role. There are seven system roles, so a salesperson can bill without seeing the books.

I keep credit in a notebook and billing in Tally. How do I move?

Import products from a CSV file with opening stock, add each contractor with an opening balance, and start billing from the first day of a month. Customers are added by hand; only products have CSV import.

Can I bill a customer in another state?

Yes. Enter the customer's GSTIN and state, and when the place of supply is outside your state the invoice charges IGST instead of CGST and SGST. The sales register lists it for your GSTR-1 check.

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