Parties (Customers & Vendors)
"Parties" is simply MGH Books' word for the people and businesses you deal with — your customers and your suppliers. Add each one once, with their GST and contact details, and the app remembers everything: it auto-fills their info on invoices, applies the right tax, tracks what they owe (or what you owe them), and keeps a running ledger. This guide makes adding and managing them effortless.
Read this first — what a "party" is and why it saves you time
- A party is a saved contact you bill or buy from. Each has a type: Customer, Supplier, or both.
- Enter details once, reuse forever. On an invoice you just pick the customer — their GSTIN, address, state and terms fill themselves in.
- It drives correct GST. The GST Treatment you choose for a party tells the app how to tax their documents.
- It keeps score. Every invoice, bill and payment with a party rolls into their ledger and their outstanding balance.
- Pick the right GST Treatment. It decides how GST applies (registered, unregistered, consumer, overseas/SEZ…). The wrong one means the wrong tax.
- Opening Balance is for migration only. If a customer already owed you when you joined MGH Books, enter it once here so dues and ledger are correct from day one — don't re-enter it as an invoice.
- GSTIN auto-fills the state from its first two digits — but glance at it to be sure.
- Credit Limit & MSME are tracking aids — helpful flags, but they don't block billing on their own.
Add a party — step by step
Open Parties
Go to 👥 Parties. You'll see your list with a search box and a Customer / Supplier filter.
Tap "Add Party"
Enter the Name and choose the type (Customer / Supplier). Add Phone and Email — these are also used to share invoices and reminders.
GST & address
Enter the GSTIN (optional) — the State and place of supply auto-fill. Pick the GST Treatment, then the billing address, city and pincode.
Terms & balances
Choose Payment Terms (e.g. Net 30), an optional Credit Limit, and any Opening Balance.
Optional extras & save
Add multiple contacts, extra shipping addresses, the MSME flag, PAN and notes — then Save.
help-shots/pt-01-list.png
help-shots/pt-02-add.pngEvery field, explained
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Name & Type | Who they are; Customer, Supplier or both |
| GSTIN / PAN | Tax identifiers; GSTIN auto-detects the state |
| Phone / Email | Contact + used to share invoices & send reminders |
| GST Treatment | How GST applies to them (full list below) |
| Address / Shipping | Billing address + optional extra delivery addresses |
| Payment Terms | When payment is due (sets due dates & overdue) |
| Credit Limit | Optional cap to watch exposure to a customer |
| Opening Balance | Amount owed at the time you start using MGH Books |
| Contacts | Multiple people at the same business |
| MSME | Flag MSME suppliers (for payment-timeline tracking) |
GST Treatments — which one to pick
| Treatment | Use it when the party is… |
|---|---|
| Registered – Regular | A normal GST-registered business (most B2B customers/vendors) |
| Registered – Composition | Registered under the Composition Scheme |
| Unregistered Business | A business with no GST registration |
| Consumer | An end customer (walk-in / retail buyer) |
| Overseas | An import/export party outside India |
| SEZ Unit / SEZ Developer | In a Special Economic Zone |
| Deemed Export | An export-oriented unit |
| Tax Deductor | Government/local authority that deducts tax |
| Input Service Distributor | An ISD office |
Payment Terms available
Due on Receipt · Net 7 / 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 / 90 Days · Advance Payment · Cash on Delivery · End of Month.
The party ledger & bulk import
Open any party to see their ledger — every invoice, bill and payment with a running balance, so you always know exactly where you stand with them. Setting up for the first time? Use Import to bring in many parties at once from a spreadsheet instead of adding them one by one.
help-shots/pt-03-ledger.pngReal situations
📖 A new B2B customer
Vikram adds "Sharma Traders", type Customer, pastes their GSTIN (state auto-fills), sets GST Treatment to Registered – Regular and terms to Net 30. Now every invoice to them is pre-filled and taxed correctly, and dues appear automatically.
📖 A walk-in retail buyer
For a cash customer with no GST, Vikram sets type Customer and GST Treatment Consumer, skips GSTIN, and bills in seconds.
📖 Migrating with old balances
When Vikram joined MGH Books, three customers already owed him money. He entered each one's dues as their Opening Balance, so his receivables were accurate from the very first day — no fake invoices needed.
Words you'll see, in plain language
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Party | Any customer or supplier you trade with. |
| GST Treatment | The category that tells the app how to apply GST to that party. |
| Opening Balance | What a party already owed (or you owed) before you started using MGH Books. |
| Ledger | The running account of all transactions and the balance with one party. |
| MSME | Micro/Small/Medium Enterprise — flagged to track statutory payment timelines. |
| Credit limit | A ceiling you set to monitor how much a customer owes. |
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| GSTIN rejected | It isn't a valid 15-character format | Re-check it, or leave blank and set treatment to Unregistered/Consumer |
| Wrong state filled in | The GSTIN's first two digits point elsewhere | Verify the GSTIN; correct the state if needed |
| Tax looks wrong on invoices to this party | GST Treatment or state is off | Edit the party's GST Treatment / state |
| A balance seems doubled | Opening Balance entered AND an invoice for the same old due | Keep old dues only as Opening Balance, not as new invoices |
Best practices
- Set the correct GST Treatment when you create the party — it prevents tax errors later.
- Add phone/email so you can share invoices and send reminders in one tap.
- Use Opening Balance (not invoices) to bring in pre-existing dues.
- For big customers, set a credit limit so you can watch your exposure.
FAQ
Can one party be both a customer and a supplier?
Yes — set the type accordingly; the same record then works on both invoices and bills.
Do I have to enter a GSTIN?
No. Leave it blank for unregistered customers/consumers — just set the matching GST Treatment.
A customer already owed me money — where does that go?
Enter it as their Opening Balance so receivables and ledger are right from the start.
Can I add several phone numbers/people for one business?
Yes — add multiple contacts (and multiple shipping addresses) on the party record.
- Sales & Invoicing → pick a customer; details + tax auto-fill.
- Purchases & Expenses → pick a supplier on bills and POs.
- Payments & Collections → dues, reminders and the ledger.
- Reports → Party-wise Sales, Outstanding, Confirmation letters — see CA Reports.
📸 Screenshot capture checklist
Drop each PNG into help-shots/ with the exact filename and it appears automatically.
| # | Screen to capture | Save as |
|---|---|---|
| PT-01 | Parties list (search + filter + Add Party) | help-shots/pt-01-list.png |
| PT-02 | Add/edit party form | help-shots/pt-02-add.png |
| PT-03 | A party's ledger with running balance | help-shots/pt-03-ledger.png |
Tip: blur real GSTINs / phone numbers in screenshots.