# Busy review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> GST accounting and inventory software for Indian small businesses

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Busy is desktop accounting software from India that combines billing, GST invoicing, e-way bills and stock tracking in one program. It is sold as a free Express edition plus 360-day subscription plans, with an optional cloud-access service and a mobile app. Prices are listed in Indian rupees, excluding GST.

- **Category:** Inventory Management
- **Made by:** BUSY Infotech Pvt. Ltd. (since 1993)
- **Website:** https://busy.in
- **Runs on:** Web, iOS, Android
- **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you sell outside India, as it is built around GST.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, Busy has a free plan, and paid plans start at ₹5,000 per 360 days, single user, excluding GST.

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Express edition: free billing and accounting with multiple companies and financial years; no mobile app.
- **Free trial:** 15-day free trial.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Express | ₹0 | Free billing and accounting: vouchers, invoices, ledgers, P&L and balance sheet. No mobile app. |
| Start | ₹5,000 per 360 days, single user, excluding GST | Billing, accounting and inventory for non-GST businesses, with Mobile App Lite free for the first 360 days. |
| Smart | ₹8,000 per 360 days, single user, excluding GST | Adds GST returns tools, e-way bills and e-invoices up to 10,000, POS, barcode scanning, batch and serial tracking. |
| Power | ₹12,000 per 360 days, single user, excluding GST | Adds multiple GSTINs in one company, e-way bills and e-invoices up to 20,000, SQL support and premium voice support. |
| Power+ | ₹50,000 per 360 days, 10 users, excluding GST | For larger firms: 10 users, 150 companies, e-way bills and e-invoices up to 50,000, email, WhatsApp and voice support. |

Read from https://busy.in/pricing/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Busy before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Mobile App Lite free for 360 days** (Other savings): Every BUSY Magic subscription plan includes Mobile App Lite with 250 credits for the first 360 days. Source: https://busy.in/pricing/

## Key features

- **Accounting and billing:** Vouchers, invoices, ledgers, receivables and payables, a balance sheet and P&L, with multiple companies and financial years.
- **GST compliance tools:** The Smart plan and above add GSTR-1 tools, return downloads, GSTIN and HSN validation, e-way bills and e-invoices up to plan limits.
- **Stock management:** Multiple godowns, MRP-wise stock, batch and serial numbers, reorder levels and item parameters such as brand, size and colour on Smart and above.
- **POS and barcodes:** Smart and higher plans list point-of-sale billing and barcode and QR code scanning for fast invoicing.
- **Mobile app:** A mobile app for iOS and Android shows reports, creates orders, quotations and invoices, and checks stock.
- **Access controls:** User-definable access rights, an audit trail and user login scheduling are listed on the higher plans.

## Good for

- Indian small businesses that need GST invoicing with inventory
- Traders and shops that bill and track stock on a desktop
- Firms that want a free edition before paying

## Worth knowing

- Prices are in rupees, exclude GST, and are shown for India; the page also has South Asia and Global views in dollars.
- Subscription plans switch to Demo Mode when the subscription expires.
- Cloud access is separate: BUSY Online costs ₹10,800 per 360 days for Access or ₹16,800 for SQL, excluding GST.
- The pricing page also sells older perpetual plans (BUSY 21) with a yearly renewal fee for updates and support.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Busy combines billing, GST invoices, e-way bills and stock in one program, with a free Express edition and paid plans from ₹5,000 for 360 days. Prices are in rupees without GST, paid plans fall back to Demo Mode when they lapse, and cloud access costs extra.

- **Value for money: A.** Express is free, and the cheapest paid plan is ₹5,000 for 360 days, which is far under this category's $49 monthly cheaper-quarter start. Cloud access is ₹10,800 or ₹16,800 extra.
- **Free plan and trial: B.** Express gives free billing and accounting with multiple companies and years, though it has no mobile app. There is also a 15-day trial.
- **Features: C.** Accounting, billing, GST tools, stock, POS and barcodes, and a mobile app on paid plans. It is built around Indian GST.
- **Ease of use: C.** Accounting software has a learning curve, and no store rating is on record.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Desktop software with a mobile app and optional cloud access. The only named integration is WhatsApp.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Busy's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among inventory management tools

- Busy's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 69 of the 72 other inventory management tools we grade, and level with 1.
- It stands best on value for money (A, above 68 of 72) and worst on ease of use (C, above 3).
- Its paid plans start at about $4.39 a month, against a middle price of $91 for the category: 0 of the 42 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/inventory

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Busy you would be making live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 69 of the 72 other inventory management tools we grade. It costs $52.66 a year.

- You could make: Inventory, invoicing and reports: an app builder makes these well.
- You could not: Live feeds from your bank, which take an agreement with each bank or a service that has them.
- You could not: Scanning barcodes with a phone camera or a scanner.
- You could not: A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

WhatsApp

**Tags:** Inventory, Bookkeeping, Invoicing, Barcode scanning, Reports

## Alternatives

- [Marg ERP](https://toolgpa.com/tools/marg-erp): GST billing, batch-wise stock and accounting for Indian traders. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/busy-accounting-vs-marg-erp)
- [Zoho Inventory](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zoho-inventory): Online inventory and order management from Zoho, with a free plan. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/busy-accounting-vs-zoho-inventory)
- [Megaventory](https://toolgpa.com/tools/megaventory): Cloud inventory, order and light manufacturing management. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/busy-accounting-vs-megaventory)
- [HandiFox](https://toolgpa.com/tools/handifox): Barcode inventory and mobile warehouse app that syncs with QuickBooks. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/busy-accounting-vs-handifox)
- [Acctivate](https://toolgpa.com/tools/acctivate): Inventory and order software that extends QuickBooks. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/acctivate-vs-busy-accounting)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026:

- https://busy.in/pricing/
- https://busy.in/
- https://busy.in/about-us/
- https://busy.in/accounting-software/inventory-management/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/busy-accounting
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).