Guides
Guides for running a small business on one system
Straight answers in clusters: switching from spreadsheets, stock and costing, and invoicing and getting paid. Each uses worked examples from one fictional business, with the arithmetic shown.
In short
SimpleERP's guides explain switching from spreadsheets, tax invoices, stock valuation and costing, receivables and credit control for small businesses anywhere, with worked examples and the exact document each answer lives in.
Switching from spreadsheets
When the spreadsheet and the single-user licence stop keeping up: how to know, what to move, and how to do it without losing a number.
13 min read
Switch from spreadsheets
The whole move from spreadsheets and desktop accounting to a cloud ERP in one page: what moves, what stays, the cut-over date, a dry run and what your accountant needs.
Read the guide9 min read
Outgrown spreadsheets
Eight signs a growing business has outgrown spreadsheets and single-PC accounting, what each one costs in a month, and the fix for each.
Read the guide9 min read
Opening balances
What opening balances are, why Opening Balance Equity must end at zero, and a worked cut-over from a trial balance with parties, stock and fixed assets.
Read the guide9 min read
Multi-user accounting
Why one licence on one PC stops working as a team grows, the three ways to get more users, and what multi-user should mean for a 10 person firm.
Read the guide8 min read
Excel stock register
The five reasons an Excel stock register drifts from the shelf, a tiny example of each, and the four principles that keep stock right.
Read the guide10 min read
Choosing the cut-over date
Whether to move to new accounting software at the start of your financial year or mid-year, with a decision table, a worked trial balance and what your accountant needs.
Read the guide6 min read
ERP implementation in 30 days
A 30-day plan to move a small business onto an ERP: switch date, masters, opening balances, a parallel run and the lock date.
Read the guide7 min read
How to choose an ERP
A step-by-step method and a checklist for choosing ERP software for a small business, with a trial script you can run in an hour.
Read the guide6 min read
ERP vs accounting software
What accounting software does, what an ERP adds on top, and a checklist for deciding which one your business needs now.
Read the guide7 min read
What is ERP software?
A plain explanation of ERP software for small businesses: the modules, how one invoice flows through them and when you need one.
Read the guide
Stock, costing and production
How stock, cost and production numbers are supposed to work in a small factory or trading firm, with the arithmetic shown.
12 min read
Inventory management guide
The whole picture of stock for a small business: what to track, the movement ledger, average cost, reorder levels, counts, transfers and the month-end check.
Read the guide9 min read
Cost of production with a BOM
How to work out the cost of production from a bill of materials, with scrap, labour and overhead, a worked steel chair example and pricing from cost.
Read the guide9 min read
Negative stock
Why stock goes below zero, how it bends average cost and cost of goods sold, and the order in which to fix it.
Read the guide8 min read
Reorder levels
How to set a reorder level for each product from daily usage, lead time and safety stock, with a worked table and a quarterly review checklist.
Read the guide9 min read
Stock audit and count
How to plan a physical stock count, run it in a day, post the differences at average cost and lock the period once the auditor signs.
Read the guide9 min read
Work orders
What a work order is in a small factory, its lifecycle, how materials and scrap are issued, and how finished goods enter stock at actual cost.
Read the guide9 min read
Stock transfers
How to record a stock transfer between warehouses, shops and branches: when to transfer versus adjust, the cost, the tax position and the in-transit gap.
Read the guide6 min read
Weighted average cost
How weighted average cost values stock and cost of goods sold, with the formula, a worked example and how it compares with FIFO.
Read the guide
Invoicing and getting paid
What a tax invoice must carry, how to know exactly who owes what, who gets credit, and how to collect faster.
12 min read
Accounts receivable management
The whole receivables system for a small business: terms, ageing, credit limits, payments, statements, late-payment rules, bad debts and DSO.
Read the guide6 min read
Tax invoice format
The fields a VAT, GST or sales tax invoice usually carries, how the tax lines are worked out, numbering rules, and a worked invoice to check yours against.
Read the guide9 min read
Debtors ageing report
How to read a debtors ageing report, what each bucket means for action, and a monthly routine built around the share of money over 60 days.
Read the guide9 min read
Credit limits and credit days
How to decide credit days and a credit limit for each customer, with two simple formulas, a five-customer worked table and rules for new and slow payers.
Read the guide9 min read
Payment allocation
How to record partial payments, advances and on-account receipts against the right invoices, with a worked $5,000 allocation and the statuses that follow.
Read the guide9 min read
Statement of account
What a customer statement of account should contain, how often to send it, how to word it and how to settle a dispute over the balance.
Read the guide10 min read
Collect payments faster
Seven practices that shorten the time between invoice and payment, with the mechanism behind each and a worked example.
Read the guide6 min read
Multi-branch accounting
How a small business keeps one set of books across branches: branch tagging, tax registration, stock transfers, branch profit and shared costs.
Read the guide
For businesses in India
These pages cover rules and tools that exist only in India.
12 min readIndia
Switch from Tally and Excel
The whole move from Tally and Excel to a cloud ERP in one page: what moves, what stays, the cut-over date, a dry run and what your accountant needs.
Read the guide9 min readIndia
Outgrown Tally and Excel
Eight signs a growing business has outgrown Tally and Excel, what each one costs in a month, and the fix for each.
Read the guide9 min readIndia
Tally migration checklist
A 22 item checklist in five phases for moving from Tally to cloud ERP: what to export, what to import, what to check and who does each step.
Read the guide12 min readIndia
GST billing guide
Everything a small business needs for GST billing, in order: registration, invoices, numbering, notes, registers, returns and a month-end checklist.
Read the guide9 min readIndia
GST rate changes 2025
What the 2025 GST rate changes mean for your products, draft invoices, credit notes and stock, with a checklist to update your billing.
Read the guide8 min readIndia
HSN codes and table 12
How many HSN digits your invoices need, what changed in GSTR-1 table 12, and how the HSN summary is built from invoice lines.
Read the guide9 min readIndia
Place of supply
How place of supply under GST decides CGST and SGST or IGST, with the rules for goods and services and six worked invoices.
Read the guide9 min readIndia
Credit and debit notes
When to issue a credit note or a debit note under GST, what each one changes in your books and returns, with a worked 10-chair return.
Read the guide9 min readIndia
E-invoicing threshold
Who must issue e-invoices under GST, how the ₹5 crore AATO test works, and what a small business should prepare before it crosses the line.
Read the guide9 min readIndia
GSTR-2B reconciliation
How to match GSTR-2B against your purchase register each month, what to do with each mismatch, and a six-bill worked reconciliation.
Read the guide7 min readIndia
GST invoice format
The fields a GST tax invoice must carry, how place of supply picks CGST and SGST or IGST, HSN and SAC codes, and a worked invoice.
Read the guide8 min readIndia
MSME 45-day rule
What the MSME 45 day payment rule asks of buyers and suppliers, who it covers, what late payment costs and a checklist for each side.
Read the guide7 min readIndia
Salary structure in India
Basic, HRA, allowances, PF, professional tax and TDS explained as concepts, with a worked payslip and a loss-of-pay example.
Read the guide
How to choose
Start with the problem you have today
Each cluster opens with a complete guide and then goes one question at a time. These are the usual starting points.
- Still on spreadsheets? Start with how to switch to cloud ERP, then opening balances and the cut-over date.
- Invoice questions? The tax invoice format covers the fields, tax by rate, numbering and credit notes.
- Stock never matches? Read the inventory management guide, then negative stock, reorder levels and the stock audit.
- Chasing payments? Begin with accounts receivable management, then the ageing report, credit limits and statements.
- In India, the GST, Tally and payroll guides sit in their own group at the end, starting with the GST billing guide (India).
FAQ
Questions, answered
Who are these guides for?
Owners, bookkeepers and managers of small businesses, usually five to fifty people, who want plain answers on ERP, invoicing, stock, receivables and switching from spreadsheets, wherever they trade.
Are the tax guides legal or tax advice?
No. They explain widely shared rules in plain words. Each country sets its own tax rules and they change, so confirm anything that affects your filings with your accountant or your tax authority's guidance.
Why are the amounts in US dollars?
One currency keeps the arithmetic easy to follow from guide to guide. The methods work the same in pounds, dirhams, euros or any other currency; read the amounts in your own.
Why do all the examples use the same business?
Every example uses Harbour Steel Furniture, a fictional maker of steel racks and furniture, so the setting stays familiar from guide to guide. Each guide's own arithmetic is shown in full; figures are illustrative and are not meant to tie across guides.
Where can I look up a single term?
The glossary defines ERP, accounting, stock and payroll terms in a few lines each, with a worked example and a link to the guide or feature page that goes deeper.
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