ERP Pricing, Cost Drivers and 2026 Rules
ERP and GST e-invoicing: IRP integration, e-way bills and GSTR-1 data
What an ERP must do for e-invoicing via the IRP (₹5 crore AATO, 30-day limit for ₹10 crore+), e-way bills and GSTR-1/3B, how connections are priced and what to test.
If your business's aggregate annual turnover (AATO) in any financial year since 2017-18 has exceeded ₹5 crore, your B2B invoices, credit notes and debit notes must be reported to an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) to obtain an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and signed QR code, unless your business falls in an exempt category. Since 1 April 2025, taxpayers with AATO of ₹10 crore or more cannot report a document older than 30 days on the IRP, so the ERP has to generate IRNs as part of billing, not as a month-end batch. The same invoice data should also produce e-way bills and flow into GSTR-1. This guide explains what to require from an ERP and how the connections are priced; amounts are illustrative.
This guide is part of the overview of ERP software pricing in India. It focuses on the software side; the GST law itself is on the CBIC GST site.
The e-invoicing rules an ERP must support
| Rule | Position as of October 2026 | What the ERP must do |
|---|---|---|
| Who must e-invoice | Registered persons whose AATO in any FY from 2017-18 exceeded ₹5 crore (from 1 August 2023, Notification 10/2023-Central Tax), other than exempt categories | Flag the GSTIN as e-invoice-liable; block printing a B2B invoice without an IRN |
| Documents covered | B2B invoices, credit notes, debit notes; exports | Generate IRN for each document type |
| Time limit | AATO ₹10 crore or more: IRP rejects documents older than 30 days (GSTN advisory, from 1 April 2025); no such limit below ₹10 crore for now | Generate IRN at the time of invoicing; alert on pending documents |
| Exempt categories | Notification 13/2020-Central Tax as amended lists SEZ units, insurers, banking companies and financial institutions (including NBFCs), goods transport agencies, passenger transport services, admission to films in multiplex screens, and (since Notification 23/2021-Central Tax) government departments and local authorities | Let you mark the entity as exempt where it applies |
| Cancellation | An IRN can be cancelled only within a short window on the IRP; after that, a credit note is needed | Handle cancellation and credit notes properly |
| Validity | When e-invoicing is mandatory, an invoice without an IRN is not treated as a valid tax invoice | Prevent issue of non-compliant invoices |
Check the current thresholds, exemptions and advisories on the e-invoice portal and CBIC, because they are changed by notification and advisory.
How an ERP connects to the IRP
There are three common routes:
| Route | How it works | Typical cost structure (illustrative) | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in connector | The ERP vendor provides a direct IRP and e-way bill connection | Included in the plan, or included up to a quota | Most cloud ERPs and accounting suites |
| Through a GSP or ASP | A GST Suvidha Provider or application service provider sits between your ERP and the IRP | Per IRN or per slab of documents, for example ₹0.50–₹2 a document, or an annual fee | Higher volumes, several ERPs, or ERPs without a native connector |
| Direct API | Your ERP calls the IRP API directly with your own credentials (offered to some larger taxpayers on conditions set by the IRP) | Development and maintenance cost | Large taxpayers with in-house IT |
| Manual or offline tool | Upload JSON files to the portal | Staff time | Very low volumes only; risky under the 30-day limit |
Worked example: connector cost (illustrative)
A distributor raises 3,000 B2B invoices and 200 credit notes a month. A GSP charges ₹1 per IRN above an included 1,000 a month.
Extra documents a month = 3,200 − 1,000 = 2,200. Yearly cost = 2,200 × 12 × ₹1 = ₹26,400. Over five years with 10% yearly volume growth, the cost rises each year, so ask for slab pricing that does not jump sharply at the next threshold. Include the figure in the ERP TCO estimator as a recurring cost.
E-way bills from the same data
An e-way bill is generally required for movement of goods where the consignment value exceeds ₹50,000, with some state-specific variations for movement within a state. A good ERP:
- generates the e-way bill directly from the invoice or delivery challan, or from the IRN (Part A is filled from the e-invoice);
- captures transporter ID, vehicle number and distance, and updates Part B when the vehicle changes;
- handles stock transfers between your own GSTINs, job work and delivery challans for non-sale movements;
- tracks validity and extensions, and cancels e-way bills when a dispatch is cancelled.
Check the current e-way bill rules, including any limits on document age and on extending validity, on the e-way bill portal.
GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and reconciliation
E-invoice data is auto-populated into the B2B section of GSTR-1, but the ERP still needs to produce:
- B2C sales, exports, nil-rated and exempt supplies, advances, HSN summary and document summary for GSTR-1;
- the data for GSTR-3B, including reverse-charge liability and input tax credit;
- reconciliation of purchase invoices with GSTR-2B and the Invoice Management System, so that you claim only eligible credit.
Since the July 2025 tax period, the auto-populated liability in GSTR-3B is locked once GSTR-1 is filed, so mistakes in sales data must be fixed in GSTR-1 or GSTR-1A before GSTR-3B. An ERP that keeps sales data accurate at source saves correction work later.
Tests to run before you sign
Ask the vendor to show, on your own sample data:
- A B2B invoice with IRN and QR code, and the same invoice converted to an e-way bill.
- A credit note against that invoice with its own IRN.
- An invoice to an SEZ unit and an export invoice.
- A stock transfer between two GSTINs with e-way bill.
- What happens when the IRP is down: does the ERP queue and retry, and alert you?
- A GSTR-1 export that matches the e-invoices, and a purchase reconciliation against GSTR-2B.
- An alert for invoices approaching the 30-day limit, if you are above ₹10 crore.
Tick these off in the ERP selection checklist. For the GST and TDS treatment of the software purchase itself, see GST, TDS and depreciation on ERP software; for pricing of transaction-based charges, see ERP pricing models.
FAQ
My turnover is below ₹5 crore. Do I need an e-invoicing ERP?
Not for compliance today, but if you are growing towards the threshold, choose software that can switch e-invoicing on without a new implementation. The test is AATO in any financial year since 2017-18, so once you cross it, the requirement applies from then on.
Can I generate IRNs on the portal myself instead?
Yes, for low volumes, but it is error-prone and slow. For taxpayers above ₹10 crore the 30-day limit makes a manual monthly batch risky.
Does an e-invoice replace the e-way bill?
No. E-invoicing can pre-fill the e-way bill, but an e-way bill is still needed when goods move above the threshold.
Sources
- CBIC GST — CGST Act, rules and e-invoicing notifications
- GST e-invoice portal (NIC IRP) — advisories, API documentation and the 30-day limit
- E-way bill portal — e-way bill rules and API
- GST Council — meeting recommendations and press releases
- GST portal — returns, IMS and taxpayer advisories
