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Travel agencies

GST billing software for travel agencies and tour operators

Raise the invoice for a pilgrimage package, a hotel booking fee or a cab reservation in under a minute, with the SAC code, the right GST split and the customer's advance already knocked off.

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In short

SimpleERP is billing software for travel agencies in India. Each tour package, booking fee or reservation charge is a saved service with its SAC code and rate, and the invoice picks CGST and SGST or IGST from the customer's state.

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 GST billing day at Vaigai Holidays

Vaigai Holidays in Madurai bills three kinds of work: full tour packages it sells as a tour operator, fees for hotel bookings made on a customer's behalf, and service charges on bus, train and cab reservations. Each sits under a different SAC code inside heading 9985, and the old Word template had one line for all of them.

On a Monday after the Karthigai season the counter has eleven invoices to raise: a Rameswaram pilgrimage for a temple committee in Theni, a Kodaikanal trip for a college in Dindigul with a ₹1,20,000 advance already paid, and a tempo traveller hire for a wedding party from Bengaluru, which needs IGST instead of CGST and SGST.

SAC codes

Which SAC code and rate goes on each line?

Save each service once with its SAC code and rate, and the line fills itself from then on. A tour operator chooses one of two package rates as notified, so record which one you follow on the service and keep it consistent.

  • Package and booking fee on one invoice, each line with its own SAC code.
  • Description you can edit per line, such as 3 nights Kodaikanal, 2 rooms, breakfast.
  • HSN and SAC summary printed under the lines for your CA's GSTR-1 work.
Line on the invoiceSACRate (as notified; check)
Rameswaram and Kanyakumari tour package, 4 days9985555% without input tax credit, or 18% with it
Hotel booking fee, Munnar resort, 2 rooms99855218%
Train and bus reservation service charge99855118%
Tempo traveller hire with driver, per day996601Check: depends on fuel and the transporter's option
Lines Vaigai Holidays bills most often. Rates as notified; check them. Rates change, so confirm the rate for your goods with your CA or the GST portal before you rely on it.

Advances

How does the advance come off the final invoice?

The college paid ₹1,20,000 by bank transfer three weeks before travel. That payment waited on the customer's account; when the ₹2,94,000 package invoice is posted, applying it leaves ₹1,74,000 due, and the invoice shows partly paid on its own. GST is due when an advance for services is received; SimpleERP does not post it on the receipt, so your CA accounts for it.

  • Invoice status from payments: posted, partly paid or paid, never typed.
  • UPI QR on the print for the balance on the day of departure.
  • Customer statement listing the advance, the invoice and what is left.

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

Receivables ageing by customer after advances are applied.

Changes

What happens when a family drops a night or cancels?

A posted invoice is never edited. Issue a credit note for the dropped night or the cancelled tour, and the GST, the receivable and the customer's balance all reverse; refund it in cash or to the bank, or keep it on account for their next booking.

  • Credit note linked to the original invoice number.
  • Cancellation charges billed as their own line with the right SAC code.
  • Audit history on every document, so nobody quietly changes a past bill.

One system

Where the invoice goes next

Each posted bill writes the receivable and the output GST at once, so the books and the GST registers match without re-entry.

Honest limits

What GST billing for travel agencies leaves out

  • E-invoice IRN and QR code, and e-way bills, are not generated through the government APIs
  • Cess is not calculated; GST return filing stays with you or your accountant
  • No price lists: every line is priced as you bill it
  • No foreign currency invoices and no TCS on overseas packages: billing is domestic and in rupees
  • No pure agent split that keeps the hotel's cost out of your taxable value; set the lines as your CA advises

Getting started

Start with GST billing

  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

    Save your tour packages, hotel booking fees and reservation charges as services with their SAC codes and the rate you follow. No stock is needed.

  4. Post your first GST invoice

    Pick the customer, add lines and save. The place of supply picks CGST and SGST or IGST for you.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Can one invoice carry a package line and a hotel booking fee?

Yes. Every line has its own service, SAC code and rate, and the print sums the tax by rate and by SAC code at the foot.

Our customer is in Karnataka and we are in Tamil Nadu. Which tax applies?

SimpleERP compares the customer's state with yours and applies IGST when they differ, CGST and SGST when they match. Place of supply for travel services has its own rules, so confirm unusual cases with your CA. Rates change, so confirm the rate for your goods with your CA or the GST portal before you rely on it.

Can our invoice numbers start with VH instead of INV?

Yes. Each document type has a prefix you can change in settings, with a yearly reset for the financial year and a live preview of the next number, kept within the 16 character GST limit.

Do I need a separate invoice for the cab hire?

No. Add the tempo traveller or cab hire as another line on the same invoice with its own SAC code and rate, or bill it alone if the customer only hired the vehicle.

Related

See how GST billing works in SimpleERP for travel agencies

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