Today, most MSMEs identify errors only when they begin preparing GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B, often leading to a last-minute scramble through invoices, spreadsheets and records. Brijesh Agarwal, CEO, Busy Infotech, exclusively informs Bhavya Bagga, Business Reporter – Corporate & Leadership, CXO Media, that AI can flag incomplete, unusual or inconsistent transactions when they are entered. Fixing these issues during the month is far easier than correcting them just before filing. The opportunity is to shift GST from a periodic compliance exercise to a continuous, intelligent workflow.
You co-founded IndiaMART and are now leading BUSY Infotech’s AI transformation. How has your entrepreneurial journey shaped your vision for building technology solutions for India’s MSMEs?
My journey has reinforced one simple belief: MSMEs may be called “small businesses,” but the problems they solve every day are anything but small. They operate with limited time, lean teams and evolving processes, yet they have the same ambition to grow, serve customers better and run more efficiently.
That is why technology for MSMEs cannot be designed around feature lists. It has to begin with a deep understanding of the workflow: how billing happens, how inventory is managed, how collections are followed up and where compliance creates friction. The real question is not, “What can the software do?” but, “What business problem does it remove?”
Trust is equally critical. When a business uses technology for accounting, payments or compliance, it must remain in control. The product needs to be simple, transparent and supported by strong handholding. AI should make the user more confident, not make the process feel like a black box.
At BUSY, our goal is to build technology that works in the real world of Indian businesses: shared computers, varying comfort with digital tools, regional-language needs, imperfect data and multiple stakeholders that span from owners and accountants to CAs and employees. The best solution is one that delivers visible value quickly, simplifies today’s operations and helps the business become more organised and growth-ready over time
BUSY has been serving Indian businesses for decades. How would AI-powered products such as BUSY Magic change the way small businesses manage accounting and compliance?
BUSY Magic is designed to take AI beyond a standalone feature and embed it into the everyday workflow of a business – whether it’s recording transactions and reconciling bank entries or managing GST compliance and acting on business insights.
A good example is AI Voucher Scan. Instead of manually entering every detail from an invoice, receipt or expense document, users can simply scan or upload it. BUSY Magic can extract relevant information, prepare the voucher and allow the user to review and post it. This can significantly reduce repetitive entry work and avoid common errors.
The same principle applies to bank reconciliation and GST. AI can identify matched and unmatched bank transactions, flag incomplete or inconsistent entries, and guide users towards the items that need attention before returns are filed. Rather than discovering problems at the last minute, businesses can resolve them continuously through the month.
The larger vision is to make accounting data more actionable. BUSY Magic would not only record what has happened. It would help the business understand what needs to happen next, whether that is preparing for seasonal demand, following up on collections, addressing excess stock or resolving a compliance issue
With GST regulations, e-invoicing, and digital compliance becoming more complex, what role do you see AI playing in helping MSMEs reduce errors and save time?
AI can make GST compliance more proactive rather than deadline-driven. Today, many businesses identify errors only when they begin preparing GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B, often leading to a last-minute scramble through invoices, spreadsheets and records.
AI can flag incomplete, unusual or inconsistent transactions when they are entered. For instance, it can highlight a missing GSTIN, an incorrect tax rate, a mismatch in taxable value or an inconsistency between books and return data. Fixing these issues during the month is far easier than correcting them just before filing.
It can also simplify reconciliation by directing accountants to exceptions rather than requiring them to verify every transaction manually. In input tax credit reconciliation, AI can help identify missing, incorrectly reported or mismatched purchase invoices against GSTR-2B, enabling businesses to act earlier.
The opportunity is to shift GST from a periodic compliance exercise to a continuous, intelligent workflow. With BUSY Magic, we are working towards making AI an assistant that reduces manual effort, improves accuracy and helps users focus on the entries that genuinely need attention
Many small business owners still rely on manual bookkeeping or basic accounting methods. What are the biggest barriers to AI adoption among MSMEs, and how is BUSY helping bridge that gap?
The biggest barriers are trust, perceived complexity, inconsistent data and uncertainty around return on investment. Many MSMEs have used the same accounting processes for years, whether through registers, spreadsheets or basic software. Moving to AI can feel like a major change, particularly when financial data and compliance are involved.
Business owners often ask valid questions: Will the system make errors? Will my staff be able to use it? Will I lose control over my data or processes? The answer lies in introducing AI in a practical, review-led manner. We can’t expect businesses to hand over everything to automation on day one.
That is the approach we are taking with BUSY Magic. For example, AI Voucher Scan can prepare an entry from a scanned document, but the user reviews it before posting. Similarly, AI-led reconciliation and GST assistance can highlight mismatches and recommend the next step, while the final decision remains with the owner or accountant.
AI adoption will grow when businesses see clear outcomes such as less data entry, faster reconciliation, fewer compliance errors and more time for higher-value work. Our focus is to make AI feel like a natural extension of the accounting system that businesses already understand, not another complex technology layer
India’s SMB software market is becoming increasingly competitive with cloud-first and AI-driven platforms. What differentiates BUSY Infotech, and what is your long-term vision for the company in this evolving landscape?
BUSY’s differentiation comes from our deep understanding of how Indian MSMEs actually operate. For decades, we have worked with traders, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and service businesses whose needs go well beyond basic bookkeeping.
These businesses require accounting, billing, inventory, GST, receivables, payments and reporting to work together. They may also need batch and expiry tracking, multiple godowns, complex pricing, credit controls and industry-specific invoicing workflows. That operational depth has been built over time through close engagement with real businesses.
We also do not view cloud or AI as an end in themselves. MSMEs have different levels of digital maturity and different ways of working. Some value desktop reliability, while others need cloud access, mobility and collaboration. Our aim is to offer flexibility across desktop, cloud and mobile, without compromising on workflow depth.
Looking ahead, BUSY will evolve from an accounting software company into an intelligent business management platform for MSMEs. Through BUSY Magic, we want to help businesses to understand what has already happened, while also helping them identify what needs attention next, whether it is a compliance issue, delayed collection, inventory opportunity or demand trend. The combination of domain expertise, integrated workflows and practical AI will remain central to our position in the market.
Looking ahead, how do you see AI reshaping accounting software over the next five years? Will these platforms evolve from bookkeeping tools into intelligent business decision-making assistants for MSMEs?
Absolutely. Over the next five years, accounting software will move from being a system of record to becoming an intelligent operating layer for MSMEs.
The first shift will be automation. Activities such as voucher entry, invoice processing, bank reconciliation and GST preparation will involve far less manual effort. AI will capture information, identify exceptions and direct users to the transactions that need review.
The next shift will be interpretation. Traditional software can show sales, expenses, receivables or stock levels. AI-enabled platforms will increasingly explain what has changed and why it matters. For example, they could identify weakening collections, unusual expenses, recurring GST mismatches, slow-moving stock or a growing concentration of overdue payments.
The real transformation, however, will come when platforms begin to support action. A system could recommend purchasing stock ahead of seasonal demand, prompt a follow-up with overdue customers, suggest a promotion for excess inventory or guide the user through a compliance correction, and then help initiate that workflow.
For MSMEs, this means accounting software will become more than a compliance or bookkeeping tool. It will become a practical decision-making assistant. But the winning platforms will not be defined by AI alone; they will be defined by how well they combine AI with Indian business context, transparency, accuracy and the ability to fit into everyday workflows.
