GST and payment tracking are the two jobs that keep a banquet hall owner at the desk long after the last guest has left. Get GST wrong and you face questions from your CA or the department. Lose track of payments and money you have already earned stays with the client. This guide covers both in practical terms: which rate applies to what, what to do when an advance comes in, and a simple routine for following every rupee.
GST rules depend on exactly what you sell and where. Treat the rates below as a general guide and confirm your own case with your CA.
Which GST rate applies to a banquet hall
The rate depends on what is in the bill:
- Hall and food sold as one package at an ordinary venue: treated as a composite supply at 5% (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST), without input tax credit
- Pure hall rental, where the venue supplies no food: 18% with input tax credit, usually under SAC 997212
- Outdoor or event catering: 5% (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST), without input tax credit
- Decor, DJ and other extras billed as separate services: 18%
- Food at "specified premises": a hotel that charged more than Rs 7,500 per unit per day for accommodation in the previous financial year, or that opted in, charges 18% with input tax credit on food
The most common mistake we see is charging 18% on a hall-plus-food package at an ordinary venue, or 5% on a hall rented without food. Both are easy to avoid once you decide, booking by booking, what you are actually selling.
A worked example
Here is an example with made-up numbers. A family books a hall with a food package for Rs 3,00,000 and separately hires decor from the venue for Rs 50,000.
- Hall and food package: Rs 3,00,000 at 5% = Rs 15,000 GST (Rs 7,500 CGST + Rs 7,500 SGST)
- Decor billed separately: Rs 50,000 at 18% = Rs 9,000 GST (Rs 4,500 CGST + Rs 4,500 SGST)
- Total GST: Rs 24,000, and the invoice total is Rs 3,74,000
Showing each line with its own rate makes the invoice easy for the client and your accountant to check.
What to do when an advance comes in
For services, GST is due when you receive an advance, not only when the event happens. When a family pays a token, issue a receipt voucher for it, as required under Section 31(3)(d) of the CGST Act, and account for the tax in that period. The final invoice then adjusts the advances already received.
Our free advance payment receipt format shows what a receipt voucher should include.
Setting up GST billing in Venura
Invoices in Venura show CGST and SGST, and invoice management lets you generate, view, edit, print and download them. Because the invoice is created from the booking, the amounts, dates and client details come from what you already entered, not from memory. Add your GSTIN, address and terms once through custom branding, and every receipt and invoice carries them.
Tracking payments without a separate notebook
Payment tracking goes wrong when payments live in different places: a diary for advances, a WhatsApp chat for UPI screenshots, a spreadsheet for the final bill. In Venura, every booking carries its own payment details: total amount, advance, remaining balance, payment method and remarks. Each later payment is added to the same booking.
Payment management then gives you three views:
- Received payments: what came in, when and how
- Pending balances: what each booking still owes
- Payment history: the full record for any booking
When a family calls to ask how much is left, you can answer in seconds while they are on the line.
Following up dues before the event
Venura sends due-date and overdue alerts so a balance does not slip past the event date unnoticed. We suggest a fixed weekly habit:
- Every Monday, open the pending balances
- Call or message families whose events are in the next 14 days
- Record any payment the same day it is received
- Before each event, check that the balance agreed in your terms has been paid
It sounds simple because it is. What makes it work is doing it every week, including in the busy season.
Invoices for corporate clients
Corporate bookings add a few extra details. The client will usually ask for their GSTIN on the invoice so they can account for the tax, a purchase order number, and sometimes a separate invoice for each department. Collect these at booking time, not after the event, and put them in the booking remarks so the invoice can carry them. Corporate clients may also deduct TDS from your payment; ask the client which section and rate they apply and record the net amount received against the booking, with the deduction noted in the remarks. Your CA can then reconcile it against the TDS certificate.
A month-end routine for GST and payments
At month-end, a short routine keeps your books clean:
- Check that every event held this month has an invoice
- Confirm that every advance received has a receipt
- Review pending balances and note which are overdue
- Look at the revenue report for the month
- Export your financial and invoice data to Tally for your accountant
The Tally export saves your accountant from retyping each bill, which cuts transcription errors.
Start with this month's bookings
Venura Pro costs Rs 999 per hall per month, or Rs 750 per month billed yearly, and Enterprise pricing is available for groups. Enter this month's bookings and payments and see how quickly the pending list and invoices come together.
Start your 30-day free trial at venura.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
What GST rate applies to a banquet hall with food?
At an ordinary venue, a hall and food package sold together is generally a composite supply taxed at 5% (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST) without input tax credit. Hotels that count as specified premises charge 18% with credit. Confirm your case with your CA.
What GST rate applies to renting a hall without food?
Pure hall rental with no food supplied by the venue is generally taxed at 18% with input tax credit. Services like decor or a DJ billed separately are also 18%.
Do I pay GST when I receive an advance for a booking?
For services, GST is due when the advance is received. Issue a receipt voucher for the advance under Section 31(3)(d), then adjust the advance on the final invoice.
How does Venura track advances and balances?
Each booking holds the total, advance, remaining balance, payment method and remarks. Payment management shows received payments, pending balances and payment history, and Venura sends due-date and overdue alerts.
Can my accountant get this data in Tally?
Yes. Venura exports financial and invoice data to Tally so your accountant can import it instead of retyping bills.
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