Category: Certificate Courses

Many first-time founders learn startup legal basics the hard way — after a problem has already occurred. Here’s why proactive legal literacy on this specifically matters, and what Lexfolio’s Startup Legal Basics course covers.

Common problems that stem from skipped legal basics

Founders who skip a proper founders’ agreement often face disputes over equity and roles later that could have been avoided with clear terms from the start. Startups that delay DPIIT recognition miss tax and compliance benefits available to them. Poorly structured ESOP terms create confusion and disputes with early employees down the line.

What the course covers

DPIIT startup recognition and its actual benefits, founders’ and shareholders’ agreements (what terms genuinely matter and why), ESOP structuring basics, convertible notes and term sheets (understanding what you’re actually agreeing to when raising funds), and a realistic walkthrough of the legal steps involved if a startup needs to shut down.

Who this is actually for

Non-law founders and early team members who need working literacy to ask the right questions of their lawyers and investors — this is not a substitute for proper legal counsel on an actual funding round or dispute, but it builds the literacy to engage with that counsel more effectively and to spot issues early rather than after they’ve become expensive problems.

More: Lexfolio’s certificate courses · is an LLM worth it

Many law students assume drafting skills are best learned purely through internships and on-the-job exposure, without a structured course. Here’s an honest comparison of what each approach actually builds.

What on-the-job learning builds well

Real-world judgment about what a specific senior or client actually wants in a specific document, exposure to the particular drafting conventions of a specific firm or chamber, and the pressure-tested experience of producing usable work under real deadlines — these are hard to replicate in any course.

What a structured course adds that pure on-the-job learning often misses

A systematic understanding of why specific clauses exist and what risk each one addresses (rather than just copying a senior’s template without fully understanding it), exposure to a wider range of document types than any single internship would expose you to, and explicit feedback on common mistakes that a busy workplace mentor may not have time to walk through in detail.

A practical way to combine both

A structured course builds the conceptual foundation (why clauses exist, what to check for) before an internship, making the on-the-job learning that follows faster and more effective, since you’re not learning the basics and the firm-specific conventions simultaneously under time pressure. Neither replaces the other — they serve different purposes at different stages.

More: Lexfolio’s certificate courses · legal notice drafting guide

AI tools are increasingly part of legal practice, from research assistance to first-pass document review. Here’s what Lexfolio’s AI for Lawyers course actually covers and why this skill set matters for practitioners now.

What the course covers

Using AI tools responsibly for legal research assistance (and understanding their current limitations — AI legal research tools can and do fabricate citations, a risk that has led to real court sanctions globally), first-pass contract and document review, drafting assistance with mandatory human verification, and the ethical and professional-responsibility considerations specific to using AI in legal practice.

Why this matters for practitioners now, honestly

Courts in India and elsewhere have increasingly flagged submissions containing AI-fabricated case citations, making it clear that verification discipline (checking every AI-suggested citation against the actual source) isn’t optional — it’s now a professional-responsibility requirement. Understanding both the genuine productivity gains and the specific failure modes of AI tools is becoming a practical necessity, not an optional add-on skill.

What the course is careful not to claim

This is not a course that teaches AI tools as a replacement for legal judgment or verification — it specifically teaches where AI assistance is useful (speed on routine, well-defined tasks) and where it is not reliable enough to use without independent verification (citation accuracy, nuanced legal interpretation).

More: Lexfolio’s certificate courses · how Lexfolio’s certificates work

With dozens of self-paced legal certificate courses available online now (Lexfolio’s own included), here’s an honest checklist for evaluating any of them before paying — not specific to one platform.

Check what “certificate” actually means for that course

Does the certificate require passing an actual assessment, or is it issued simply for completing video modules without any test of understanding? A certificate tied to a genuine pass mark carries more credibility than one issued automatically on completion alone.

Check if the certificate is independently verifiable

Can a third party (an employer, an internship coordinator) verify the certificate is genuine through a public verification page, or does it rely purely on trusting a PDF that could be edited? Independent verifiability matters more than how polished the certificate design looks.

Check how current the content actually is

For law-related courses specifically, ask whether the material has been updated for recent legal changes (BNS/BNSS/BSA, recent amendments relevant to the topic) — a course built years ago and never revised risks teaching outdated law, regardless of how professionally it was originally produced.

Check what you can actually do with the fee amount’s worth of content

Compare the course’s actual content depth (number of modules, assessment rigor, practical examples) against the fee, rather than judging by marketing copy alone — a shorter, well-structured course with a genuine assessment can be better value than a long course padded with repetitive content.

More: Lexfolio’s certificate courses · how Lexfolio’s certificates work

Several Lexfolio certificates — from certificate courses, the free internship, and guest-article publication — share a common verification system. Here’s how it actually works and what it’s good for.

How verification works

Every Lexfolio certificate carries a unique certificate ID (format LX-YYYY-XXXXX) that can be checked at lexfolio.in/verify-certificate/, which confirms the holder’s name, what the certificate is for, and the issue date — useful for an employer, internship coordinator, or academic reviewer who wants to confirm a certificate is genuine rather than fabricated.

What a certificate actually represents, honestly

A course certificate confirms you completed the course material and passed its assessment (typically a 60% pass mark on a final test) — it’s a record of completion and basic competence in that specific course’s content, not a professional licence or a guarantee of expertise beyond what the course covers. An internship certificate confirms you completed the stated internship work (writing and publishing at least one approved piece, for Lexfolio’s free internship) — again a factual record of what was done, not an endorsement of overall ability.

Where certificates are genuinely useful

As a verifiable addition to a resume or LinkedIn profile showing concrete, checkable engagement with a specific subject or activity — useful supporting evidence alongside your actual coursework, internships and other credentials, not a replacement for them.

More: verify a certificate · certificate courses · free internship

Here’s a straightforward breakdown of what Lexfolio’s Contract Management certificate course actually teaches, so you can decide if it fits what you need before buying.

Who it’s built for

Primarily professionals and students who need to read, negotiate or manage contracts as part of their work — not necessarily practising lawyers, but anyone whose role involves reviewing vendor agreements, employment contracts, or service agreements and needs to understand what they’re actually signing or negotiating.

What the course covers

Reading and interpreting contract clauses in practical terms, understanding limitation-of-liability clauses and why they matter, the MSME 45-day payment rule and its practical compliance implications, the difference between indemnity and warranty clauses (a frequently confused distinction), properly structured termination clauses, and a module on using AI tools responsibly for a first-pass contract review (with clear limits on what AI review can and can’t substitute for).

What it doesn’t replace

This is a practical-literacy course, not a substitute for qualified legal counsel on a high-value or high-risk contract. It builds the ability to read and flag issues in routine contracts confidently — for genuinely complex or high-stakes agreements, professional legal review remains necessary regardless of how much contract literacy you’ve built.

More: all certificate courses · choosing between Lexfolio’s courses

With a wide range of certificate courses now live on Lexfolio, picking the right one depends on what you actually need it for — here’s an honest way to decide.

If you’re a law student building a CV

Courses like Legal Research and Paper Writing, Legal Drafting, AI for Lawyers, and Contract Management build skills directly relevant to internships and early practice, and are worth prioritising over broader citizen-focused courses if your goal is employability.

If you’re an MBA or BBA student

Business Law for Managers, Marketing Law, Labour Codes for HR, Investor Rights and Excel and AI for Office Work are built specifically around what a non-law business student needs to know and can credibly list on a CV or LinkedIn profile — these differ in depth and framing from the law-student-focused courses.

If you’re a working professional or citizen (not studying law)

The citizen-focused courses — Tenant and Landlord Rights, Cyber Fraud Safety, Home Buyer’s Legal, Senior Citizens and Estate Planning, Women’s Legal Rights, NRI Legal Matters — are written for practical, everyday use rather than exam-style depth, and are a better fit than the law-student courses if your goal is personal legal literacy rather than a CV credential.

A simple rule of thumb

Pick based on what you’ll actually use the knowledge for, not which course looks most impressive — a citizen course used to actually resolve a real problem (a tenancy dispute, a cyber fraud concern) delivers more value than an unused “impressive-sounding” course bought and left half-finished.

More: all certificate courses · certificate courses buyer’s guide

“Best certificate course for law students” returns dozens of competing claims. Here’s how to actually evaluate one before paying, regardless of which platform you’re considering.

What makes a certificate course worth the money

• A real assessment, not a participation certificate — a course with a graded test (ideally a meaningful pass mark, not a rubber-stamp) produces a credential that means something to an employer.
• A verifiable certificate — a unique ID or link an employer can check, not just a downloadable PDF anyone could edit.
• Content that’s current — for law courses specifically, check the material reflects the BNS/BNSS/BSA transition and any recent relevant judgments, not pre-2024 material left unupdated.
• A clear, honest syllabus before you pay — if a course won’t show you the module list upfront, that’s a signal to look elsewhere.

Red flags to watch for

• Courses that guarantee placement or “100% selection” — no legitimate course can guarantee employment outcomes.
• Pricing that changes dramatically with “limited time” urgency tactics repeated indefinitely.
• No sample lesson or module preview available before purchase.

How to pick between free and paid

If you want practical experience for your CV, a free structured option (like a content-writing or research internship) can be as valuable as a paid course, depending on what you’re trying to show an employer. If you want a specific, verifiable subject credential — say, POSH compliance, cyber law basics, or contract drafting — a well-built paid course in the Rs 300-600 range is usually fair value, more than that deserves scrutiny of what exactly you’re getting for it.

More: Lexfolio’s certificate courses · free legal content internship

Searching for a “free certificate course for law students”? Here’s what’s genuinely free in Indian legal education right now, and where the word “free” is doing less work than it sounds.

What’s actually free

• Lexfolio’s Virtual Legal Content Internship — a free, self-paced internship where you write legal content, get it edited, and receive a verifiable certificate on completion of one approved piece. No fee at any stage. See the internship page.
• MOOC platforms (SWAYAM, NPTEL) — genuinely free government-backed courses on legal subjects; certification requires a proctored exam, usually for a small fee (around Rs 1,000), but the course itself and an unverified completion status are free.
• University and NGO webinar certificates — frequently free but carry limited weight on a CV compared to a structured, assessed course.

Where “free” usually means “free to start, paid to certify”

Most self-paced certificate courses — including Lexfolio’s own certificate courses — follow a model where study material and quizzes can be free or low-cost, but the verifiable certificate itself carries a fee once you pass, because a certificate is a credential a third party can rely on, and that process (hosting, verification pages, assessment) has a real cost even when kept minimal.

How to choose between free and paid options

• If you need something for your CV that an employer can verify, a low-cost verified certificate (Rs 300-600 range) usually carries more weight than an unverifiable free one.
• If you’re exploring a subject out of interest, free MOOC content or Lexfolio’s free guides are the right starting point before paying for anything.
• Always check whether the certificate includes a unique verification ID or link — an unverifiable PDF is of limited use to an employer.

Our recommendation for most students

Start with the free internship if you want practical experience and a free certificate, and consider a paid certificate course only for a specific subject you want to formally show on your resume.

More: free legal content internship · all certificate courses

XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP: XLOOKUP is the newer, safer lookup. It matches exactly by default, can return a column to the left, does not break when columns are inserted and lets you set a “not found” message. VLOOKUP works in every Excel version but defaults to approximate match, looks only to the right and depends on a fixed column number. Use XLOOKUP if everyone who opens the file has Microsoft 365, Excel 2021, Excel 2024, Excel for the web or Google Sheets; otherwise use VLOOKUP with FALSE, or INDEX with MATCH.

XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP: the difference with one example

A product master on a sheet named Products: codes in column A, product names in B, units in C and rates in D, from row 2 to row 200. On your order sheet the code is in A2 and you want the rate.

VLOOKUP: =VLOOKUP(A2,Products!$A$2:$D$200,4,FALSE)

• The code must be in the first column of the table.
• 4 means “fourth column of the table” (Rate).
• FALSE means exact match. Leave it out and VLOOKUP assumes a sorted list and approximate match, and can quietly return the wrong rate.

XLOOKUP: =XLOOKUP(A2,Products!$A$2:$A$200,Products!$D$2:$D$200,"Not found")

• You point to the column to search and the column to return separately. No column number to count or break.
• Exact match is the default.
• “Not found” replaces the #N/A error for missing codes.

Where XLOOKUP clearly wins

1. Looking left. Find a name in column B and return the code from column A: =XLOOKUP(G2,Products!$B$2:$B$200,Products!$A$2:$A$200). VLOOKUP cannot do this.
2. Several columns at once. =XLOOKUP(A2,Products!$A$2:$A$200,Products!$B$2:$D$200) returns product, unit and rate side by side, spilling into three cells.
3. Latest entry. Set search_mode to -1 to search from the bottom: useful for an employee’s most recent salary revision in a history list.
4. Safer slab lookups. For commission slabs (sales from 0, 50,000, 1,00,000 and 2,00,000 in H2:H5, rates in I2:I5), =XLOOKUP(D2,$H$2:$H$5,$I$2:$I$5,,-1) returns the rate of the band the sale falls into. match_mode -1 means “exact or next smaller”. For sales of ₹1,35,000 it returns the 1,00,000 band’s rate.
5. Survives edits. If someone inserts a column in the master, XLOOKUP still returns the right column; VLOOKUP’s fixed 4 may now point to the wrong one.

When to use VLOOKUP (or INDEX and MATCH) instead

Version is the deciding factor. If your file goes to a client, a branch office or a government department still on Excel 2016 or 2019, an XLOOKUP formula shows #NAME? there. Check your own version under File, then Account. In those cases:

• Use VLOOKUP with FALSE for simple right-side lookups: =IFNA(VLOOKUP(A2,Products!$A$2:$D$200,4,FALSE),"Not found").
• Use INDEX with MATCH when you need to look left or want a formula that survives inserted columns, in every version: =INDEX(Products!$D$2:$D$200,MATCH(A2,Products!$A$2:$A$200,0)). The 0 in MATCH means exact match; leave it out and MATCH assumes a sorted list.
• For slab tables in older versions, =VLOOKUP(D2,$H$2:$I$5,2,TRUE) works if the first column is sorted smallest to largest.

Why lookups return #N/A or wrong values

• Hidden spaces: “P003 ” is not “P003”. Clean the column with TRIM.
• Number versus text: 101 in one list and “101” in the other do not match. Convert both to the same type.
• Unlocked ranges: without $ signs, the table range shifts as you copy down. Press F4, or use an Excel table with column names.
• Missing FALSE or 0: gives plausible but wrong answers, the most dangerous kind.

Example: a furniture dealer in Jaipur used =VLOOKUP(A2,Rates!A2:D200,4) without FALSE on an unsorted list. Almirahs were billed at the chair rate until a customer noticed. Adding FALSE, locking the range and testing five known codes fixed it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP?

XLOOKUP uses separate search and return columns, matches exactly by default, can look left, can show a custom not-found message and is not broken by inserted columns. VLOOKUP needs the key in the first column, uses a column number, looks only right and defaults to approximate match.

Is XLOOKUP available in Excel 2019?

No. XLOOKUP is available in Microsoft 365, Excel 2021, Excel 2024, Excel for the web and Google Sheets. In Excel 2019 or earlier it shows #NAME?, so use VLOOKUP with FALSE or INDEX with MATCH.

Should I replace all my VLOOKUPs with XLOOKUP?

Only if every person who opens the file has a version that supports XLOOKUP. Existing VLOOKUPs with FALSE and locked ranges work correctly; the bigger win is fixing any VLOOKUP that lacks FALSE.

Is INDEX MATCH better than VLOOKUP?

For flexibility, yes: INDEX with MATCH can look left and survives inserted columns, and it works in every version. It is slightly longer to write, so many offices use XLOOKUP where available and INDEX with MATCH elsewhere.

Quick quiz

Sources

• Microsoft Support: XLOOKUP function (syntax, match_mode, search_mode, availability)
• Microsoft Support: VLOOKUP, INDEX and MATCH functions
• Google Docs Editors Help: XLOOKUP function in Google Sheets

Master lookups with ready templates: Excel and AI for Office Work certificate course.

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.

A standard salary sheet in Excel India offices use needs one row per employee with fixed pay, paid days, earned basic, HRA and allowances, gross pay, PF, ESI, professional tax, TDS, other deductions and net pay. Prorate each component as fixed pay × paid days ÷ days in month and round to whole rupees. For PF, use 12% of PF wages, and note the EPF wage ceiling rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month from 17 September 2026; ESI still applies to employees with gross wages up to ₹21,000, at 0.75% (employee) and 3.25% (employer). Keep every rate in a settings cell that HR confirms.

Salary sheet in Excel India: the columns and formulas

Keep three sheets: PaySettings (month start date, PF rate, PF ceiling, ESI rates and ceiling, each a named cell), Employees (a table named Emp with Emp ID, Name, Department, Basic, HRA, Other Allowance, monthly PT amount) and Salary (a table named Pay). In Pay, type these in the first row; the table copies them down:

• Name: =XLOOKUP([@[Emp ID]],Emp[Emp ID],Emp[Name],"Check ID")
• Days in Month: =DAY(EOMONTH(PayMonth,0))
• Paid Days: from your attendance sheet with XLOOKUP, or typed
• Earned Basic: =ROUND(XLOOKUP([@[Emp ID]],Emp[Emp ID],Emp[Basic])*[@[Paid Days]]/[@[Days in Month]],0) (same pattern for HRA and Other)
• Gross: =[@[Earned Basic]]+[@[Earned HRA]]+[@[Earned Other]]
• PF Wages: =IF(ApplyCeiling="Yes",MIN([@[Earned Basic]],PFCeiling),[@[Earned Basic]])
• PF: =ROUND([@[PF Wages]]*PFRate,0)
• ESI (employee): =IF([@Gross]<=ESICeiling,[@Gross]*ESIRate,0), rounded as HR advises under ESIC’s rules
• Total Deductions: PF + ESI + PT + advance recovery + TDS
• Net Pay: =[@Gross]-[@[Total Deductions]]

On Excel 2019 or earlier, replace XLOOKUP with INDEX and MATCH, for example =INDEX(Emp[Basic],MATCH([@[Emp ID]],Emp[Emp ID],0)).

PF at the new ₹25,000 ceiling and ESI: what changes in the sheet

The Ministry of Labour and Employment raised the EPF wage ceiling to ₹25,000 per month by Notification S.O. 5109(E) dated 17 September 2026, effective from that date. For employees whose PF wages lie between ₹15,000 and ₹25,000, mandatory contributions now run on the higher wage, so their take-home pay falls slightly while retirement savings rise. In the sheet, you only change one cell: PFCeiling from 15000 to 25000. Whether a particular employee’s contribution is restricted to the ceiling, or paid on full PF wages, is a policy and legal question for HR.

ESI is separate. The ESI wage ceiling was not changed by the EPF notification and remains ₹21,000 per month gross. Contributions are 0.75% from the employee and 3.25% from the employer. A rise in the ESI ceiling has been discussed but, as on 29 October 2026, not notified, so keep it as an input cell.

Also add a check for the 50% wage rule under the four Labour Codes, in force from 21 November 2025. If excluded components (such as HRA and certain allowances) exceed half of total remuneration, the excess counts as wages for social security. A flag column: =IF(([@[Earned HRA]]+[@[Earned Other]])>[@Gross]/2,"Review wage base",""), if HRA and Other are your excluded components. HR decides which components are excluded.

Worked examples

Employee A, partial month. Basic ₹20,000, HRA ₹8,000, Other ₹4,000; October 2026 has 31 days; paid days 29.

• Earned Basic 20,000 × 29 ÷ 31 = 18,709.68, rounded 18,710; HRA 7,484; Other 3,742; Gross 29,936.
• PF wages 18,710 (below ₹25,000); PF 12% = 2,245.
• Gross above ₹21,000, so no ESI. Advance recovery 1,000. Net pay 26,691.

Employee B, ESI applies. Basic ₹10,000, HRA ₹4,000, Other ₹4,000, full month: Gross ₹18,000. PF 12% of 10,000 = 1,200. ESI employee 0.75% of 18,000 = 135; employer ESI 3.25% = 585 (shown in a separate employer-cost column, not deducted). Net pay 16,665.

Work one employee out on paper each month you change anything. If the paper and the sheet agree, trust the template.

Checks before you pay

1. No row shows “Check ID”.
2. Paid Days never exceed Days in Month (highlight with a conditional formatting rule).
3. Head count matches: =ROWS(Pay[Emp ID])=ROWS(Emp[Emp ID]).
4. Total Net Pay equals the bank transfer file total.
5. A pivot of Gross and Net by department matches last month, except for known changes.

Keep the Employees sheet, with bank details, restricted. Generate payslips with XLOOKUP from a dropdown of Emp IDs, save each as PDF and send each employee only their own. Never paste the salary sheet into an AI tool to “check” it; describe the columns instead.

On exit, the Code on Wages, 2019 requires wages to be paid within two working days of removal, dismissal, retrenchment or resignation (s.17(2)), so keep a separate full and final settlement row ready.

Frequently asked questions

What is the format of a salary sheet in Excel India offices use?

One row per employee with Emp ID, name, paid days, earned basic, HRA and allowances, gross, PF, ESI, professional tax, TDS, other deductions and net pay. Keep rates in a settings sheet and fixed pay in an employee master, and use formulas so nothing is typed by hand.

How do I calculate PF in Excel after the ₹25,000 ceiling?

Set PF wages as the lower of earned basic (or your PF wage base) and ₹25,000 where the ceiling applies: =MIN(Basic,25000). Then PF is =ROUND(PFWages*12%,0). The new ceiling applies from 17 September 2026.

Has the ESI limit also increased to ₹25,000?

No. The September 2026 notification changed only the EPF wage ceiling. The ESI ceiling remains ₹21,000 gross per month as on 29 October 2026, with 0.75% employee and 3.25% employer contributions.

How do I calculate salary for absent days in Excel?

Multiply each fixed component by paid days and divide by days in the month, then round: =ROUND(Basic*PaidDays/DaysInMonth,0). If your policy uses a fixed 26 or 30-day month, use that number instead.

Quick quiz

Sources

• Ministry of Labour and Employment, Notification S.O. 5109(E) dated 17 September 2026 (EPF wage ceiling ₹25,000)
• Code on Social Security, 2020 (definition of wages; EPF and ESI chapters), in force from 21 November 2025
• Code on Wages, 2019, s.17(2) (payment on removal, dismissal, retrenchment or resignation)
• Employees’ State Insurance contribution rates: 0.75% employee, 3.25% employer; wage ceiling ₹21,000

Build the full salary sheet and payslip in the Excel and AI for Office Work certificate course.

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.

A GST invoice register in Excel is a table with one row per invoice: invoice number, date, customer, GSTIN, supply type, taxable value, GST rate, CGST, SGST, IGST, invoice total and payment status. Build it as an Excel table, fetch each customer’s GSTIN with XLOOKUP, compare the first two digits of the GSTIN (the state code) with yours to choose CGST plus SGST or IGST, and round each tax with ROUND to 2 decimals. Since 22 September 2025 most items fall in the 5% or 18% slab, but your accountant decides each item’s rate.

How to build a GST invoice register in Excel, step by step

Step 1: a Settings sheet. In B1 type your GSTIN (format the cell as Text first). In B2 type =LEFT(B1,2) to get your state code and name that cell OurState (Formulas, Define Name). List rates 0%, 5%, 18% and 40% in A6:A9 and name the range RateList. List Unpaid, Part paid and Paid and name it StatusList. Add any other rate your accountant confirms.

Step 2: a Customers table. Headers: Name, GSTIN, State Code, City, Phone. Press Ctrl+T and name the table Customers. Format State Code as Text so 09 does not become 9. For registered customers, State Code can be =LEFT([@GSTIN],2); for unregistered ones, type their state’s code.

Step 3: the Register table. Headers: Invoice No, Date, Customer, GSTIN, Supply Type, Taxable Value, GST Rate, CGST, SGST, IGST, Invoice Total, Status, Paid Date, Days Outstanding. Convert to a table named Register. Type these formulas in the first data row; the table copies them down:

• GSTIN: =XLOOKUP([@Customer],Customers[Name],Customers[GSTIN],"Not in list")
• Supply Type: =IF(XLOOKUP([@Customer],Customers[Name],Customers[State Code],"")=OurState,"Intra-state","Inter-state")
• CGST and SGST (same formula): =IF([@[Supply Type]]="Intra-state",ROUND([@[Taxable Value]]*[@[GST Rate]]/2,2),0)
• IGST: =IF([@[Supply Type]]="Inter-state",ROUND([@[Taxable Value]]*[@[GST Rate]],2),0)
• Invoice Total: =[@[Taxable Value]]+[@CGST]+[@SGST]+[@IGST]
• Days Outstanding: =IF([@Status]="Paid","",TODAY()-[@Date]), formatted as Number

On Excel 2019 or earlier, XLOOKUP is not available. Use =IFNA(INDEX(Customers[GSTIN],MATCH([@Customer],Customers[Name],0)),"Not in list") instead.

Build the total from taxable value plus each rounded tax. Rounding CGST and SGST separately can differ by a paisa from a separately rounded GST figure, so do not compute the total from a different number.

GSTIN check: validation formulas that stop typing errors

A GSTIN has 15 characters: a two-digit state code, the holder’s 10-character PAN, then three more characters including a check character. Use Data, then Data Validation, Custom:

• Blank or exactly 15 characters (in the Customers table, GSTIN in column B): =OR(B2="",LEN(B2)=15)
• No duplicate invoice numbers (column A): =COUNTIF($A:$A,A2)=1
• Customer, GST Rate and Status: List, with sources =CustomerList, =RateList and =StatusList (define CustomerList as =Customers[Name]).
• Date: between the first and last day of the financial year, such as 01-04-2026 and 31-03-2027.

A length check catches typing slips, not wrong numbers. To confirm that a GSTIN is genuine and active, use the “Search Taxpayer” facility on the official GST portal. Pasted data skips validation, so use Data Validation, then Circle Invalid Data after any paste.

Test it with two invoices before real use

Suppose your GSTIN starts with 09 (Uttar Pradesh).

1. INV-201, customer in Kanpur (state code 09), taxable value ₹10,000 at 18%. Expected: Intra-state, CGST 900.00, SGST 900.00, IGST 0, total 11,800.00.
2. INV-202, customer in Delhi (state code 07), taxable value ₹20,000 at 5%. Expected: Inter-state, IGST 1,000.00, total 21,000.00.

Then enter a customer not in the list: the GSTIN column should show “Not in list”. If all three behave, the logic works.

The state-code comparison is a practical first check. Legal place of supply depends on the transaction and can differ, for example for some services or goods shipped to a third party, so let your accountant decide unusual cases.

Monthly summary, overdue alerts and protection

• Pivot table: Insert, PivotTable from Register; Date in Rows (grouped by month), GST Rate in Columns, and Taxable Value, CGST, SGST and IGST in Values.
• One month by formula (first day of month in P1): =SUMIFS(Register[Taxable Value],Register[Date],">="&P1,Register[Date],"<="&EOMONTH(P1,0))
• Outstanding by customer (name in R2): =SUMIFS(Register[Invoice Total],Register[Customer],R2,Register[Status],"<>Paid")
• Overdue highlight: conditional formatting rule =AND($L2<>"Paid",$B2<TODAY()-30), with Status in L and Date in B.
• Protect: unlock input columns, protect the sheet allowing sorting and filtering, and save a blank copy as an Excel template for each financial year.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a GST invoice register in Excel?

Create Settings, Customers and Register sheets, convert lists to Excel tables, fetch GSTIN with XLOOKUP, decide CGST plus SGST or IGST by comparing state codes, and round each tax to 2 decimals. Test with invoices whose answers you know before using it.

How do I check if a GSTIN is valid in Excel?

Excel can check the format: 15 characters, using =LEN(B2)=15 in data validation, and that the first two digits are a state code. Whether the GSTIN is genuine and active can only be confirmed on the GST portal’s Search Taxpayer facility.

What is the formula for CGST and SGST in Excel?

With taxable value in D2 and rate in C2, each of CGST and SGST is =ROUND(D2*C2/2,2) for a supply within the same state. For an inter-state supply, IGST is =ROUND(D2*C2,2).

What are the GST rates after September 2025?

From 22 September 2025, most goods and services fall under the 5% and 18% slabs, with a 40% rate for a narrow list and some items exempt or at special rates. Confirm each item’s rate with your accountant and keep rates as inputs in your sheet.

Quick quiz

Sources

• Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (intra-state and inter-state supply)
• GST rate notifications effective 22 September 2025, following the 56th GST Council meeting
• GST portal (gst.gov.in): Search Taxpayer by GSTIN
• Microsoft Support: XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, ROUND and data validation documentation

Build this register and two more templates in the Excel and AI for Office Work certificate course.

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.