Quick Answer: If a client is not paying in India, do not immediately send a legal notice. Instead, follow these steps: 1. Stop all further work immediately. 2. Send documented follow-ups via email and WhatsApp. 3. Use the GST portal (“Communication Between Tax Payers”) to officially log the non-payment. 4. Email your MSME certificate, citing…
Last quarter, a retail client walked into my office with a stack of GST notices — three demand letters, two ITC disallowances, and a registration suspension warning. His business was doing well. Sales were growing. But his GST compliance was a mess, and it had been silently compounding for months. He’s not alone. Most small…
An accounting and invoicing system is a structured process that connects invoice creation, accounts receivable tracking, automated follow-ups, and financial reporting—so payments arrive predictably and cash flow stays visible. Last quarter, a service-business founder showed me his “system” for getting paid. It was a spreadsheet with client names, invoice dates, and a column labeled “Paid?”…
“Why is GST different on this invoice compared to last month?” I’ve watched small business owners freeze when they hear this question. The calculation is correct. The compliance is perfect. But the customer’s confused—and now there’s a 15-minute phone call explaining something that should’ve been clear from the start. Here’s what most businesses miss: GST…
Your pitch deck was flawless. The chemistry call went better than expected. They loved your case studies, nodded at your rates, and verbally committed to the retainer. Then you sent the invoice. Radio silence for 47 days. Here’s the uncomfortable truth I’ve seen play out dozens of times: high-ticket clients (the ones cutting $25K+ checks)…
I’ll never forget the day a frustrated client called me about a “quote” we’d sent him three months earlier. “Mohnish, you said it would cost ₹50,000,” he said, clearly annoyed. “Now you’re telling me it’s ₹65,000?” The problem? What we’d sent wasn’t actually a quote—it was an estimate. But we’d labeled it “Quotation” at the…
I remember sitting across from Rajesh, a first-time founder who’d just incorporated his design agency as a private limited company. He looked genuinely worried. “Mohnish, I got a letter from my bank asking for my GSTIN. Do I need to register immediately? My CA said I might face penalties if I don’t, but my revenue…
The Truth Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know Last month, a friend who runs a small design agency called me, frustrated. “Mohnish, I sent an invoice to a client, and they keep asking why I’m billing them twice. I’m so confused—aren’t they the same thing?” I’ve had this conversation dozens of times. The confusion…
I’ll never forget the panic in Rajesh’s voice when he called me last year. He’d just had a massive argument with his business partner over profit distribution. “Mohnish, we both put in different amounts at different times, and now neither of us can agree on who owns what percentage of the company.” This wasn’t a…
You know that sinking feeling when everything’s on the line? Tuesday morning, 9:15 AM. My phone buzzed with a WhatsApp message from Rajesh, a small textile shop owner in Mumbai: “Mohnish, I’m standing in front of a client who wants an immediate invoice for ₹2.3 lakhs. My laptop is at home, and I need this…