Rajasthan shop first computer bill

January I was in Nawalgarh for a wedding. Shekhawati. Dust on the haveli windows, same as always.

My father still run a small mobile and repair counter near the bus stand. Carbon pad. Blue ink. Duplicate. He is proud of that pad. 15 rupee from the stationery wala.

A school teacher came. She bought a keypad phone for her mother. 2,150. She needed a typed bill for the school office. Some reimbursement for a project, I didn't ask too much.

Father wrote on carbon. She looked at it. She said, sir, they want computer bill. Print.

Father said, this is bill. What computer.

She was polite. She said they don't pass handwritten now. New clerk.

I was there with my laptop because I am the son who live in Jaipur and think he is smart.

Rajasthan shop first computer bill, what actually happened

I opened simple invoice on BillOnDesk.

I was nervous. First computer bill from this shop. Not from my Jaipur counter. This shop has a name painted on the shutter in two colours, one colour peeling.

I typed the painted name. I typed the address, Nawalgarh, Jhunjhunu district, pin. Father said pin is not needed. I put pin anyway. Office people like pin.

Seller phone. Father's number, not mine. If they call, he should pick.

Buyer. Teacher name. School name in the address line. She spelled the school twice because I typed it wrong first. English medium name, we both slow.

Item. Keypad phone, model I copied from the box. Qty 1. Rate 2150. Total 2150.

No GST column on this one. Father is small. I am not putting tax theatre on his first print. If later CA say something, that is later. This was a simple bill she asked. Draft. I kept DRAFT on it.

BillOnDesk is not GSTN. I told the teacher also. This is a shop paper we typed. Not a government invoice from portal.

She said clerk only need print with shop name and amount and signature. Ok.

Invoice number. Father never numbered carbon pages. I started NW-001. I wrote it in his notebook also. Big. Otherwise tomorrow we make 001 again.

Date. 9 January. Same day. She asked yesterday date because school month. I said no. Father also said no. Good. He is more strict than me on some things.

I downloaded PDF. His printer is a small one, used for photo sometimes. Paper came a bit light. We printed second time. Darker.

He signed with the same blue pen. That felt right. Computer paper, human sign.

She left happy. Father looked at the PDF on screen like it was a train ticket to Delhi.

He said, every customer will ask this now.

I said, not every. Only office people. Normal customer still take carbon. Carbon is fast.

He said, you make one more sample. For me. I will see.

I made a sample with dummy item, then I deleted the dummy from my head. I don't keep fake bills in folder. Sample I did not print. Preview is enough.

First computer bill taught me some Rajasthan shop things.

Power cut. We filled the form, light gone. I had not downloaded yet. Form gone. I typed again. Then I downloaded before I even looked at preview twice. Preview is on the page. Download is the life.

Hindi shop name. The shutter is in Hindi. The bill I typed in English because her office is English. Father asked, why English. I said clerk. He grunted.

If a farmer customer want Hindi, we still can write amount in words. There is rupees in words. For this teacher, English numbers were fine.

Signature scan. Father cannot scan. He sign on paper. I don't put a funny computer font as signature. Looks cheap.

Shop GSTIN. Father has one. I asked, put or not. He said ask CA. CA not available on wedding day. I left GSTIN off the first bill. Teacher didn't ask. Later in March father started putting it on drafts when CA said ok. I was not in town that day. He called me, I told him which field.

How I print the simple invoice

I still tell him, draft only. File on official portal with CA. This site is not your CA.

He said, I know, I am not a child. Then he asked me how to save PDF to WhatsApp. He is a child with PDF. I showed. He send every bill to himself now. Good habit. Better than me sometimes.

People think first computer bill mean you became a company.

You didn't. You only typed.

Stock still in cardboard boxes under the counter. Repair still with screwdriver. Notebook still for IMEI.

Computer bill is for the one customer who cannot take carbon.

In August I went again. Father had a small folder. NW-001 to NW-040 something. Teacher bill on top, little faded.

He said two more teachers came. They told others. Now he is the shop with computer bill in that gali.

He still use carbon for cash covers and screen guard.

Mix system. It works.

What I tell other small shops in Churu, Sikar, Fatehpur, same belt.

You don't need Tally on day one.

You don't need 18 tools on day one.

You need simple invoice. Shop name, buyer, item, qty, rate, total, print.

If they want quotation first, that is other page.

If they want GST columns, that is GST draft, still draft.

If they want challan because goods go on bus, that is challan.

First day, simple bill.

Do not copy a GST invoice photo from Google and paste in Word. Columns break. You will put Ashoka if you are not careful. Don't. Don't hunt hologram.

Do not write fake GSTIN. If you have GSTIN, write yours. If you don't, don't invent.

Do not backdate because the teacher is late for her office.

Do not add extra amount because she said school will pay more. She didn't say that. Some other customer will. Say no.

My father asked me, is this official.

I said, it is official for our shop folder. It is not official GSTN. Two different official in India. Confusing. I know.

He put a sticker on the laptop. Bill. So he open the right site. He still google sometimes and land on random invoice generators with ads. I bookmarked BillOnDesk on his browser. I wrote the address on the carbon pad cover also. Funny. Carbon pad showing the computer site.

First computer bill is a small pride. I will not lie. I felt it. Teacher felt it. Father felt it.

Then we closed the shutter and went to the wedding dinner. Dal, bajra, the usual.

Next morning a boy came for a charger. 250 rupee. Father did carbon. Boy didn't ask computer. Universe in balance.

If you are sitting in a Rajasthan town with a carbon pad, and one teacher or one office uncle ask typed bill, you can do it same day on the phone even.

Fill. Download. Print. Sign. Keep number in notebook.

That is the first computer bill. Not a movie. Just a cleaner paper for the clerk who don't like carbon smudge.