The frustration that started it all
If you've ever run a small business in India, you know the drill. You start with Excel sheets. Then you outgrow them. Then you try the billing apps -- and they either charge you per invoice, lock your data behind a subscription, or shut down features the moment you stop paying.
We watched businesses lose access to their own invoices because they missed a renewal. We saw companies hesitate to switch tools because exporting data was impossible. We heard from shop owners who just wanted a clean GST invoice without a monthly fee eating into their margins.
That frustration is where Hisaabo was born. Not in a boardroom with growth metrics on a whiteboard, but from a simple question: what if billing software actually respected the people using it?
The mission
Every business in India -- from a one-person shop in a small town to a growing company in a metro -- deserves professional billing tools that are affordable, reliable, and respectful of their data.
Transparency
The source code is open. You can read every line, understand exactly what happens with your data, and verify our claims yourself.
Data ownership
Your data is yours. Export it anytime, self-host it, take it with you. We will never hold your business data hostage.
Accessibility
Professional tools shouldn't be priced for enterprises only. The core product is free, and the cloud service is priced for real Indian businesses.
Quality
Free does not mean half-baked. Hisaabo is built with the same care and engineering standards you'd expect from a premium product.
Open source, sustainable business
We believe open source and a sustainable business model aren't at odds -- they're complementary. Here's how Hisaabo works:
The core billing engine is open source. Invoicing, GST compliance, inventory, payments, expenses, PDF generation -- all of it. You can self-host it and run your business without paying us a single rupee.
The cloud service adds convenience features that require ongoing infrastructure: WhatsApp integration, bank feeds, AI-powered insights, automatic backups, and priority support. This is how we fund the continued development of the open-source core.
This model means we never have to compromise the free product to drive upgrades. The open-source version is genuinely complete. The cloud version just makes certain things easier.
Made in India, for India
Hisaabo isn't an afterthought localisation of a product built for another market. It's built from day one for the Indian business landscape.
GST isn't a plugin -- it's core to the architecture. Financial years start in April. Invoice numbering follows Indian conventions. UPI QR codes are a first-class feature. The interface speaks the language of Indian business, because that's the only audience we're building for.
Built by an Indian developer who understands the reality of running a business here -- the compliance requirements, the payment landscape, the need for tools that just work without an internet connection going out at the wrong time.
The journey so far
The idea takes shape
Research, architecture planning, and the first lines of code. Chose the tech stack: Hono, tRPC, Drizzle, React, Tauri, PostgreSQL.
Core billing engine complete
Invoicing, party management, item catalogue, payment tracking, and GST compliance. The foundation is solid.
Desktop app and open-source launch
Tauri-based desktop app ships alongside the open-source release. Self-hosting documentation published.
Cloud service launch
Managed hosting with WhatsApp integration, bank feeds, AI features, and priority support for businesses that want a hands-off experience.
Ready to try Hisaabo?
Start with the cloud version for the easiest setup, or self-host for complete control. Either way, your data stays yours.