About the product details. They describe the AawazAI app as built today, and screens can change between releases. Every name, GSTIN and amount in the examples is made up. For tax questions, ask your CA.
The short version
- Start with identity: your name and your GSTIN. The registered name and address are fetched, you confirm they look right, and nothing is typed twice.
- Bring old books across before you create new ones, from Tally, Vyapar, Bahi-Khata, Khatabook, a GSTR-1 Excel or any Excel or CSV. You see a preview and nothing is saved until you confirm.
- Decide bill numbering and your lock date early. They are the two settings that are painful to change mid-year.
- Give your accountant and your CA their own logins. They work on one set of books with different permissions.
- Money in the first week: scan bills, record sales by chat or voice, then read the P&L once.
1. Who you are
Sign in with your phone number and a one-time code, and pick your language (English, Hinglish, Hindi, Kannada or Telugu; you can speak or type). The first questions are your name and your GSTIN, and the GSTIN can be skipped if you are not registered yet.
When you give a GSTIN, the registered name and address are looked up in our own stored registry first and fetched from the GST portal only when it is not there, then saved for next time. You confirm that it looks right. That confirmation matters because the registered name is what appears on every invoice and in what your CA files from. If you are still deciding whether you need one, see the registration threshold and documents required.
2. What kind of business
Pick the kind of business you run. You can choose more than one, for example a trader who also manufactures. The type shapes your menus and bill rules, such as the Rule 65 fields for a pharmacy, and it authorises nothing by itself: it is not a licence and it does not pick a GST scheme for you. It is editable later under Settings, My business. A wholesale example of what the type brings is in the distributor's books.
3. Bring the old books
If you already keep records, bring them across before you enter anything new. The app asks "Do you already keep business records?" and offers Bahi-Khata, Tally, Vyapar, Khatabook, a GSTR-1 Excel from the portal, or any Excel or CSV. From Tally, send the Masters and the Day Book as XML (Data Interchange). It then shows a preview with your customers and suppliers, the money to collect and to pay, and your products with stock, plus a list of anything worth a look:
- an older year's data, when you sent the wrong year;
- products whose stock could not be worked out because more went out than came in (they arrive without a stock figure; we do not write 0 when we do not know);
- entries that could not be read, and balances that differ from the source software's own figure.
Nothing is saved until you confirm, and you choose what to bring: names and GST numbers, balances, products and stock. If you never chose either way, importing Tally or Bahi-Khata books also switches on Tally-style keyboard keys, because bringing those books across says the habit is real. If you are mid-year, read switching software in the middle of a year first.
4. Branches and godowns
A business can hold several GSTIN registrations under one PAN. In AawazAI each registration is a branch, added under Settings, and the app labels every figure with the branch it belongs to. Within one registration you can keep several godowns for stock; that control stays out of the way until a second location exists. The GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B documents are prepared per GSTIN, so adding a branch before you start billing from it saves a re-sort later.
5. Bills, numbering and the lock date
Under Settings, Bills, choose a bill design, add your logo, signature and bank details, and set the numbering series for each document type: a prefix, an optional suffix and how many digits. Do this before the first invoice. A number series that changes mid-year is the sort of thing a CA queries (see GST invoice format for the fields a valid invoice carries, including the 16-character limit on the number).
Later, when a month is closed, set "Books locked up to" to its last day. Every entry, edit and reversal dated on or before that date is refused after that. It is unset by default, and it is yours to set, not the software's.
6. Bank accounts
A default bank account exists from the start. If you bank with more than one, say so in chat ("HDFC se SBI me bheja" works), and each named bank is its own account in your books, so a balance sheet and a statement reconciliation can tell them apart. Once that is done, a monthly bank statement import has somewhere to land every row.
7. Your accountant and your CA
Under Settings, Team, invite people by phone number; each signs in with their own code. The roles you can give are accountant, CA, branch manager, billing staff and viewer. The accountant works on the whole book. The CA reads the books, the reports, the GST documents and the audit, can raise queries, and can propose a journal entry that posts only after you approve it. A branch manager or counter staff can be limited to particular branches. Every entry carries the person who made it. The practical split between you and the CA is in what your CA needs every month.
8. The first week
- Scan every supplier bill that arrives (how a photo becomes an entry).
- Record sales, receipts and payments by chat or voice, or by hand on the bill form. Each shows a card and nothing is saved until you confirm.
- On Friday, read the P&L and the list of who owes you, once, and ask the assistant one question about each.
- Ask your CA what they want in the monthly pack, then set the schedule you will actually keep.
Keeping the books is free; AI work such as chat, voice and scans uses credits, and you start with 50 (terms apply). See pricing.
The order, in one table
| Step | Why it goes here |
|---|---|
| GSTIN and name | Everything else hangs off the registered identity |
| Business type | Sets menus and bill fields before you build any |
| Old books | Opening balances must exist before new entries |
| Branches | Each GSTIN reports separately |
| Bill series | Hard to change after the first invoice |
| Bank accounts | Receipts and statement rows need a home |
| Team | Entries should carry the right person from day one |
Set up your books in one sitting
Start with your GSTIN, bring your old books, and see the preview before anything is saved.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a GSTIN to start?
No. The GSTIN step can be skipped and added later. If you have one, the registered name and address are fetched, saved and shown for you to confirm.
Can I bring my old books from Tally or Vyapar?
Yes. The app accepts Bahi-Khata, Tally XML, Vyapar, Khatabook, a GSTR-1 Excel, and any Excel or CSV. You see a preview of customers, suppliers, balances and stock, and nothing is saved until you confirm.
Can I run several GSTINs under one business?
Yes. Each registration is a branch under one PAN, and figures and documents are labelled by branch. Branch managers and counter staff can be limited to particular branches.
What can my CA see and do?
The CA reads the books, reports, GST documents and audit checks, can raise queries, and can propose a journal entry that posts only when you approve it. The CA cannot write to the books directly.
What should I set before the first invoice?
The numbering series for each document type, your bill design and bank details. A series that changes mid-year invites questions from your CA.