Most billing software demos look identical: a clean screen, a fast invoice, a dashboard with charts. The differences that matter only show up after three months of real use — at GST filing time, when a customer disputes a bill, or when your stock count doesn't match the shelf. Here is a checklist built around those moments.
1. Billing speed at the counter
For a kirana store, pharmacy or any walk-in counter, seconds per bill matter more than features.
Test in the demo:
- Can the operator bill with keyboard only (no mouse)?
- Does barcode scanning work with your existing scanner?
- Can you bill by item shortcode or local-language name?
- What happens when the internet drops mid-bill? (Offline billing with later sync is a real differentiator.)
2. GST compliance built in, not bolted on
The software should produce compliant documents and filing-ready data without manual rework:
- Correct tax invoice / bill of supply formats, including composition scheme wording if that applies to you
- Item-wise HSN/SAC and tax-rate masters, so tax is computed per line, not typed by the operator
- GSTR-1-ready sales data export and a way to reconcile purchases against GSTR-2B
- GSTIN validation when you add a B2B customer
Ask the vendor directly: "Show me how I file GSTR-1 from this software for a month with 2,000 invoices." The answer tells you a lot.
3. Inventory that matches reality
- Batch and expiry tracking if you sell medicines or food
- Multiple units (strip vs box, kg vs packet) with automatic conversion
- Low-stock alerts and reorder reports tuned to your actual sales pace
- A clean stock adjustment flow for damage, shrinkage and counting differences — with an audit trail
4. Accounting depth behind the billing screen
Plenty of "billing apps" stop at the invoice. You also need books:
- Ledgers, day book, and receivables/payables with party-wise outstanding and ageing
- Bank statement import and reconciliation
- Profit and loss and balance sheet your accountant can actually work from, or a clean export to whatever your CA uses
If your accountant has to re-enter data into another system every month, you are paying twice for the same work.
5. Data ownership and exit
This is the question most buyers skip and most regret skipping:
- Can you export all your data (items, parties, ledgers, invoices) in a usable format at any time?
- What happens to your data if you stop paying?
- Where is the data stored, and is there a local backup option?
A vendor confident in their product makes leaving easy.
6. Total cost, honestly calculated
Compare on a full-year basis: licence or subscription, per-user or per-device charges, the cost of the hardware it forces you to buy, training time, and paid support. A "cheaper" product that needs an extra hour of manual work daily is the most expensive option on your list.
A short scorecard
| Question | Why it matters | |---|---| | Keyboard-only billing? | Counter speed | | Offline mode? | Power/network reality in India | | GSTR-1 export shown live in demo? | Filing without rework | | Batch/expiry support? | Pharmacy and food retail | | Bank reconciliation in-product? | Books that match the bank | | Full data export anytime? | You own your business records |
We build Katixo against this same checklist, so we are obviously not neutral — but the checklist works regardless of whose demo you are sitting in. Take it with you, and make every vendor answer it on a live screen, not a slide.