🧾 Understanding GST for Restaurants — The Foundation

Before using the GST Reports module effectively, it helps to understand the GST framework that applies to restaurant services in India. Restaurant food services fall under the Goods and Services Tax Act, and the applicable rate depends on the nature of your restaurant.

For most standalone restaurants (not in hotels with room tariff above ₹7,500), the GST rate is 5% with no Input Tax Credit (ITC). This means you charge 5% GST on your food bills, but you cannot claim credit for the GST you paid on ingredients and supplies. For restaurants in qualifying hotels (room tariff ₹7,500+), the rate is 18% with ITC. The composition scheme allows small restaurants (turnover below ₹1.5 crore) to pay a flat 5% on turnover without maintaining detailed invoice-level records, but they cannot collect GST from customers.

Unavakam calculates and records GST on every order based on the rates you configure in Settings (default rate) and individually per menu item in Menu Items (per-item override). The GST Reports page aggregates all of this per-order tax data into the period summaries and invoice lists required for GSTR-1 filing.

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GST Reports — Period Summary
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GST Reports — Mobile View
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📊 The GST Summary Card — What Every Field Means

When you select a period on the GST Reports page, a summary card at the top shows the key totals for that period. Here is exactly what each field means and how it's calculated:

FieldMeaningExample
Taxable Value The total value of goods/services before GST. If tax-exclusive mode: the sum of all item prices before tax across all invoices. If tax-inclusive mode: the base amount after stripping out the GST component. ₹4,50,000
Total CGST Central GST — 50% of the applicable tax rate applied to the taxable value. For a 5% GST rate, CGST = 2.5% of taxable value. ₹11,250 (2.5% of ₹4,50,000)
Total SGST State GST — the other 50% of the applicable tax rate. SGST = CGST for intra-state transactions (selling within the same state). ₹11,250 (2.5% of ₹4,50,000)
Total GST CGST + SGST — the total tax collected from customers during the period. ₹22,500
Grand Total (Gross Receipts) Taxable Value + Total GST — the total amount actually received from customers, i.e., the sum of all invoice totals. ₹4,72,500

The Total GST figure (₹22,500 in the example) is the amount you are liable to deposit with the government for that tax period. This is the primary number your CA needs when preparing your GSTR-3B return.

📊 Tax Slab Breakdown

The Tax Slab table below the summary card breaks down the totals by GST rate. This is important because not all items in your menu may have the same GST rate. For example, packaged drinking water you sell separately may attract 18% GST, while regular food items are at 5%. If you have items at different rates, this table shows each slab separately:

GST RateTaxable ValueCGSTSGSTTotal Tax
5%₹4,40,000₹11,000₹11,000₹22,000
12%₹5,000₹300₹300₹600
18%₹5,000₹450₹450₹900
Total₹4,50,000₹11,750₹11,750₹23,500

If you see tax amounts under the 12% or 18% slabs unexpectedly, it means some of your menu items have a GST rate override that differs from your default 5% rate. Go to Menu Items and check the GST rate field on those items — it may have been set incorrectly during setup.

📋 Invoice-Level List

Below the summary and slab breakdown, the page shows a complete list of every invoice (every paid order) for the selected period. Each row shows the invoice number, date, customer-facing total, taxable value, CGST, SGST, and grand total. This invoice list is critical for two purposes:

Audit trail: If a customer disputes a tax charge, or if your CA needs to verify a specific transaction, you can scroll to or search for that invoice in this list and see the exact tax breakdown. Clicking on an invoice row opens the full order detail including every line item with its individual tax amount.

GSTR-1 B2C data: Most restaurant transactions are Business-to-Consumer (B2C) — sales to individual customers who don't have a GSTIN. The invoice list in Unavakam captures all B2C transactions. If you occasionally sell to other businesses (e.g. catering for a corporate event where the client provides their GSTIN for ITC claims), those should ideally be recorded as B2B invoices in your accounting system separately.

📤 Exporting for GSTR-1 Filing

GSTR-1 is the monthly or quarterly return where you report all outward supplies (sales). The export from Unavakam generates a CSV file formatted to align with the B2C summary required in GSTR-1. Here's what you do with it:

1

Select the filing period

Set the date range to the month (monthly filers) or quarter (quarterly filers) you're filing for. The summary and invoice list update to show only that period's data.

2

Verify the totals match your expectation

Check the Grand Total against your total revenue for the period (compare with the Reports page). If there's a discrepancy, it usually means some orders were completed without a GST rate being set, or there are cancelled orders that need to be excluded. Resolve any discrepancies before exporting.

3

Click "Export GSTR-1 CSV"

The CSV file downloads to your device. It contains the B2CS (Business-to-Consumer Small) summary rows with HSN-wise breakdowns, state codes, and tax amounts in the format expected by the GST portal or most accounting/compliance software.

4

Share with your CA or upload to the portal

Email the CSV to your Chartered Accountant along with the summary figures for the period. If you file directly, upload the CSV to your GST software (like Tally, ClearTax, or the offline GSTN tool) for final preparation and submission.

💡 Tips for GST Compliance

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GST accuracy depends on menu configuration. The GST Reports page is only as accurate as the GST rates you've configured on your menu items. If you set up 30 menu items all at 5% GST but one item that should be 18% was left at 0%, the GST Reports will show incorrect totals. Take the time to configure GST rates correctly in Menu Items from day one. Check the slab breakdown table — if everything falls in the 5% slab, that's expected for most restaurants.
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Run monthly reports even if you file quarterly. Filing deadlines are quarterly, but reviewing the GST Report monthly lets you catch configuration errors early. If the Month 1 report looks correct and Month 2's numbers are suddenly off, something changed in Month 2 — a new item was added with the wrong rate, or a setting was changed. Catching this at 30 days is far easier than untangling 90 days at quarter-end.
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Verify your GSTIN is correct in Settings before your first bill. Your GSTIN appears on every tax invoice. If it's wrong or missing, all invoices generated are technically non-compliant. Set it correctly in Settings before you take your first order.
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Unavakam does not file your returns for you. Unavakam generates accurate data and GSTR-1 compatible exports. The actual submission of returns to the GST portal is handled by you or your CA using the exported data. Think of Unavakam as the data source; the CA is the filer.