How to reconcile GSTR-2B with the purchase register in Google Sheets

1. Download the GSTR-2B Excel

   Log in at gst.gov.in and open Services → Returns → Returns Dashboard. Choose the financial year, quarter and period, click Search, then View on the GSTR-2B tile. On the summary page, click Download GSTR-2B Summary (Excel).

   Despite the name, the file has every document: a Read me tab, the summary tabs, then B2B, B2BA, B2B-CDNR, B2B-CDNRA and the rest, one tab per table.

   If the month has more than 1,000 documents, the portal disables that button and makes the file through Download → Generate Excel file to download instead. The add-on is built and tested on the standard file; if the larger one gives you trouble, write to support@creet.in.

2. Export the purchase register from Tally, Busy or Zoho

   Export the client's purchases for the same month to Excel or CSV, one row per supplier invoice rather than monthly totals. Tally Prime, Busy and Zoho Books all have a purchase register that does this, and a sheet you keep yourself works too. What matters is the columns:

   Column	Why it matters
   Supplier GSTIN	Matched first. GSTINs are checksum-verified, so a mistyped one is reported rather than quietly missed.
   Supplier invoice number	The supplier's number as printed on the bill (Supplier Invoice No. in a Tally voucher), not the client's own voucher number.
   Invoice date	Matched within 3 days by default.
   Taxable value	Matched within ₹1 by default.
   IGST, CGST, SGST/UTGST, cess	In separate columns, so tax under the wrong head is caught.
   Supplier name, document type	Optional. The name is used in the messages to suppliers.

   Leave total rows and unregistered purchases in if they are there: rows without a GSTIN or an invoice number are skipped and listed at the end of the Summary.

3. Import both into one Google Sheet

   • Create a Google Sheet for the client. One spreadsheet per client works best: the add-on saves the column mapping in it.
   • Set File → Settings → Locale to India, so dd-mm-yyyy dates are read the Indian way.
   • Import the 2B with File → Import → Upload, choose the Excel file and set Import location to Insert new sheet(s). Each table arrives as its own tab.
   • If the dialog offers Convert text to numbers, dates, and formulas (it does for CSV files), untick it, so invoice numbers like 00123 keep their zeros. The add-on reads the text itself.
   • Import the purchase register the same way, as another tab in the same spreadsheet.

   Keep the 2B's Read me tab: the add-on fills in the client name and return period from it.

4. Run Reconcile GSTR-2B

   Install GSTR-2B Reconciler from the Google Workspace Marketplace, then open Extensions → GSTR-2B Reconciler → Reconcile GSTR-2B. The sidebar has three steps:

   • GSTR-2B data: tick every 2B tab to reconcile, normally B2B, B2BA, B2B-CDNR and B2B-CDNRA. The portal's two- and three-row headers are found automatically.
   • Purchase register: choose its tab and check the column mapping the add-on suggests from the header text.
   • Reconcile: enter the client and return period, keep the tolerances at ±3 days and ±₹1 or change them, and click Reconcile.

   The sidebar then shows GSTR-2B against the books at a glance, with the ITC you can claim now and the ITC on hold, and the full result is written into new tabs of the same spreadsheet. Your 2B and register tabs are never changed.

   The first time, Google asks you to allow three permissions; the add-on can read and write only the spreadsheet it is opened in. To try it first, click Try with sample data in the sidebar: it adds two tabs of made-up invoices, and runs on them are not counted against the free plan.

Summary

Start here. Counts and head-wise totals (IGST, CGST, SGST/UTGST, cess) for every category, ITC as per 2B against ITC as per books, and the ITC claimable now: matched invoices that the 2B marks as available.

Below that is ITC by supplier GSTIN, largest difference first: claimable, to review, in 2B but not in the books, and at risk because it is not in the 2B. Rows the add-on skipped are listed at the end; glance at them to make sure nothing real was left out.

Matched

Pairs matched exactly, or within tolerance, with a note on any small difference, such as an invoice number written differently or a date two days apart.

What to do: claim the ITC, unless the 2B marks it as not available. Nothing to chase.

Mismatched

The same document on both sides, but something differs beyond tolerance. The Reasons column says what, for example:

Taxable value differs by ₹1000.00
Date differs by 18 days
Tax head differs: 2B has IGST, books have CGST + SGST
GSTIN differs (books 27AAHCR6668F1Z0)

What to do: pull out the invoice. If the books are wrong (a GSTIN typo, the wrong date, a local purchase booked as interstate), correct the voucher. If the supplier reported it wrong, ask them to amend it in their next GSTR-1; the corrected invoice then comes through in B2BA. Until it is sorted out, claim no more than the 2B shows.

Missing in 2B

In the books, not in the 2B. Usually the supplier has not filed GSTR-1 or IFF yet, filed after the cut-off, reported the invoice under another GSTIN, or reported it as a B2C sale. The Next step column reads:

Not in 2B: hold this ITC and ask the supplier to report it in GSTR-1/IFF

What to do: hold the ITC this month and send the supplier the message from Follow-ups. When the invoice appears in a later month's 2B, claim it then; the last date is 30 November after the end of the financial year, or the date you file the annual return if that is earlier (section 16(4)). An entry noted as a possible duplicate is the client's error, not the supplier's: delete the extra voucher.

Missing in books

In the 2B, not in the books. The client has not booked it yet, booked it in another month or without the GSTIN, or never received the goods or services. The Next step column reads:

In 2B but not in books: confirm receipt, then record it or flag it to the supplier

What to do: confirm receipt with the client, then record the invoice. If the client never received it, reject it in IMS before filing GSTR-3B, or take it up with the supplier. The tab also carries the 2B's ITC availability, reason and reverse charge columns: do not claim what the 2B marks as not available.

Follow-ups

One row per supplier with invoices missing in 2B: the invoice numbers, the ITC on hold, and a message ready to paste into an email or WhatsApp. Possible duplicates are left out.

Message to supplier, from the add-on's sample dataDear Sharma Steel Traders, the following invoice issued to Demo Client Pvt Ltd (supplier GSTIN 27AAACS1111A1ZA) is not in our GSTR-2B for September 2026: SST/2026/131 dated 30-09-2026, tax ₹2,160.00. Please report it in your GSTR-1 or IFF so we can claim the input tax credit. Thank you.

Recon history

One row per run: client, period, counts, ITC as per 2B and as per books, claimable ITC and ITC on hold. It stays in the spreadsheet as the record of what was reconciled and when.

Each run replaces the add-on's own result tabs and adds a row to Recon history. The result is a working paper: check the Mismatched and Missing tabs before you claim ITC or file a return.

This guide is general information for practitioners, not legal advice; check the current law and the portal for each client's case. GSTR-2B Reconciler is an independent tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Goods and Services Tax Network, CBIC, the Government of India or Google.