Start here: set up the free app, step by step
This guide assumes you have never used ERPNext, Frappe or any accounting software. Follow the steps in order. Each step says what you will see and what to click. If you get stuck, write to us with the step number.
What are ERPNext and Frappe Cloud?
ERPNext is free business software: invoices, stock, staff, payroll and accounts in one place. It is used by thousands of companies worldwide.
Frappe Cloud is a paid hosting service run by the makers of ERPNext. You pay a monthly fee and they run the servers, backups and updates. You log in from a browser.
kodmu's ERPNext Mauritius app is a free add-on. It teaches ERPNext the Mauritian rules: the VAT return boxes, TDS categories, PAYE bands, CSG, NSF, PRGF and the training levy, and it produces the MRA files.
Have these ready before you start
- Your Business Registration Number (BRN) and Tax Account Number (TAN).
- Your VAT registration number, if you are VAT registered.
- Your MRA e-services login.
- A list of your employees with their National ID or passport numbers and basic wages.
- Your bank account details and your accounting year end (30 June or 31 December for most companies).
- A credit card for Frappe Cloud. Plans start at a few dollars a month.
The steps
Create a Frappe Cloud account
Go to frappecloud.com and choose Sign up. Use your business email. Confirm the email they send you.
You will land on a dashboard with a button to create a new site.
Use a password manager. This login controls your whole business system.
Create your site and choose the apps
Click New Site. Give it a short name, for example your company name. Pick the region closest to Mauritius.
When it asks which apps to install, tick ERPNext. If you will run payroll, also tick HRMS. Then look in the marketplace list for ERPNext Mauritius and tick it too.
Pick a plan and confirm. Wait a few minutes while the site is built.
If ERPNext Mauritius is not in the marketplace list yet, write to us. We will send you the install link or install it for you.
First login and the setup wizard
Open your new site. Log in with the administrator details shown on the Frappe Cloud dashboard.
A setup wizard appears. Choose your language, then set the country to Mauritius, the currency to MUR and the time zone to Indian/Mauritius.
Enter your company name, its short abbreviation, and your accounting year dates. Choose the standard chart of accounts and finish.
Setting the country to Mauritius matters. The Mauritius app only switches itself on for a Mauritius company.
Let the app set up your taxes
When a Mauritius company is created, the app creates the VAT accounts, tax templates, TDS categories and, if HRMS is installed, the payroll components on its own.
Open the Mauritius workspace from the left menu. If anything was skipped, a message names the step. Click Setup Company Taxes to run it again.
Nothing is lost if setup stops half way. Fix what the message names and click the button again.
Record your company numbers
In the Mauritius workspace, open Mauritius Company Settings. Enter your BRN, TAN and VAT number.
Check the accounts listed there. On a new company they are already correct.
These numbers are printed on your MRA files. Type them carefully.
Add your customers and suppliers
Go to Selling, then Customer, then New. Enter the name and, if they have one, their BRN and VAT number. The app checks the format and stops you if a number is wrong.
Do the same for suppliers under Buying. For a supplier you will pay for services, pick the TDS category on the supplier record.
Start with the ten customers and suppliers you use most. Add the rest as you go.
Send your first invoice
Go to Selling, then Sales Invoice, then New. Pick the customer, add the items and the VAT template (Standard Rated, Zero-Rated or Exempt). Set the Mauritius Supply Type: Local, Export or To Exempt Body.
Save, then Submit. The invoice is now in your accounts and in your VAT return.
Submit means final. Use Save while you are still checking.
Add your employees and run payroll
Under HR, add each employee with their National ID, basic wage and date of joining. Fill in the Mauritius fields: pay code, contribution code, household worker, and whether they gave an Employee Declaration Form.
Create a Salary Structure with the components the app created (PAYE, CSG, NSF, PRGF, HRDC levy) and assign it to each employee together with the current Mauritius PAYE tax slab.
Run Payroll Entry for the month, check the slips against our calculators, then submit.
Before your first July payroll each year, click Assign Current Tax Slabs in Mauritius VAT Settings so every employee is on the new year's PAYE bands.
File with MRA every month
VAT: open the Mauritius VAT Return report for the period. The boxes match FORM VAT 3. Copy them into MRA e-services, or download the annex file and upload it.
Payroll: open the Mauritius Monthly PACO Return report and download the file for MRA e-services. It carries PAYE, CSG and NSF together.
TDS: open the TDS Statement report, pay MRA, and give each supplier their statement.
Due dates: PAYE, CSG, NSF and TDS by the end of the following month; VAT one month after the period. In May and November, pay two working days before 30 June and 31 December.
Year end
After 30 June, run the Return of Employees and Statement of Emoluments reports and file them by 15 August.
Check that the new income year's PAYE slab and payroll period exist. The app creates them on its own; you only assign them.
Rates change each year with the Finance Act. Update the app when we release a new edition.
If you get stuck
Write to [email protected] with the step number, what you clicked, and the exact words of any error. Do not send passwords, personal data or taxpayer data. We answer within two working days.
Prefer that we do it for you?
We can create the site, install the app, set up your company, and import your customers, suppliers and employees. Write to us and say how many staff you have.