Deposit and balance billing for photography shoots, done properly
Why the advance receipt + final invoice flow is the right pattern for studios in India, and how to keep your GST clean while you do it.
Almost every studio in India runs on deposits. A 25 to 50 per cent advance at booking, the balance at delivery. The pattern is simple. The paperwork around it is where most studios lose money — and sometimes lose the GST too.
Here is the right way to handle it.
An advance is not an invoice
The most common mistake is raising one tax invoice for the full amount on the day of booking, then another receipt for the balance. That breaks GST. Worse, it confuses the client, who now has two invoices for one shoot.
The correct flow has two documents:
- Advance receipt — issued when the deposit is received. It records the amount, the GST liability on the advance, and the session it is held against. It is not a tax invoice for the service.
- Final tax invoice — issued when the service is delivered. It shows the full value of the shoot, the GST in full, and the advance already received as a reduction. The balance is what the client owes.
This keeps your GSTR-1 clean and your client's accounts clean.
A real example
A Premium Wedding Photography package is ₹50,000 plus an ₹8,000 drone add-on. Total taxable value is ₹58,000. GST at 18 per cent on photography (SAC 998387) is ₹10,440. Final invoice is ₹68,440.
At booking the client pays a 50 per cent deposit, ₹34,220. You issue an advance receipt for ₹34,220 (₹29,000 taxable + ₹5,220 GST).
On delivery you issue the final tax invoice for ₹68,440, with the advance receipt of ₹34,220 referenced and deducted. Balance due: ₹34,220.
Two documents. Clean. Auditable. Refundable if anything goes wrong.
The right SAC and HSN per line
A wedding shoot is rarely just one service. A single delivery often includes:
- Photography services — SAC 998387 — 18 per cent
- Videography services — SAC 998386 — 18 per cent
- Printed photographs — HSN 4911 — 12 per cent
- Photo album — HSN 4820 — 12 per cent
- USB drive (if billed separately) — HSN 8523 — 18 per cent
Each line should carry its own SAC or HSN and its own GST rate. A flat 18 per cent on the entire invoice is a common mistake that overcharges your clients and misreports your liability.
CGST + SGST or IGST?
If your client is in the same state as your studio, the GST splits into CGST and SGST. If the client is in a different state, it becomes IGST. For B2B clients with a GSTIN, capture the GSTIN on the invoice — they will need it for input credit.
Track the balance, not just the invoice
The number that matters at the end of the month is not how much you billed. It is how much you collected. A good system tracks balance due per session and per client, with an aging view, so you know which delivery is overdue for follow-up before the client forgets.
What this looks like in SchedulRx
SchedulRx supports advance receipts and final tax invoices as first-class documents. Each invoice line carries its own SAC or HSN and GST rate, with CGST/SGST/IGST applied automatically based on the client's state. Balance per session and per client is visible on every dashboard. The monthly GST summary is one click.
Run your billing the way the GST law actually expects. Book a walkthrough.