Western Province, Sri Lanka
Custom ERP and billing, AI agents, web applications and SaaS for logistics and textile businesses in Colombo. Built by Flip Retail in Jaipur, India, and delivered remotely, with working software every two weeks.
01 — Local economy
Ceylon tea is sold at the weekly Colombo tea auction, and the brokers, blenders and exporters around it remain a signature trade. The port is a transshipment stop for cargo to and from South Asia, apparel groups MAS Holdings and Brandix run export plants in the Katunayake and Biyagama zones, and finance-and-accounting outsourcing firms draw on the city's large pool of management accountants.
Sinhala, English and Tamil
02 — Industries
What we would build first for the industries Colombo is known for.
03 — Compliance
What an ERP, billing system or AI agent has to respect here.
| Indirect tax | VAT, standard rate 18%VAT has been 18% since 1 January 2024, with registration above LKR 60 million annual turnover. The VAT (Amendment) Act No. 14 of 2026 brought non-resident digital services into VAT from 1 July 2026, and a standardised tax-invoice format became mandatory on 1 April 2026. |
|---|---|
| E-invoicing | Phasing in · IRD RAMIS invoice data integration (Web API)Under an IRD notice dated 4 May 2026, VAT-registered persons will transmit invoice data in real time from their ERP to RAMIS via Web API. Export-oriented sectors (garments, tea) are onboarding first in a pilot before expansion to all VAT registrants, with full integration targeted by end-2026. |
| Data protection | Personal Data Protection Act, No. 9 of 2022 (amended by Act No. 22 of 2025)Enacted, but most operative provisions take effect only on dates the Minister appoints by gazette, so obligations enforced by the Data Protection Authority are still being phased in. |
| AI rules | No AI-specific statute in force. |
| Systems we migrate from or connect to | QuickBooks, Xero, SAP Business One, Tally, Odoo, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business CentralMasters, ledgers, stock and open balances move across and are reconciled before cutover. |
| Payment rails for web apps and SaaS | LankaQR, PayHere, LankaPay JustPay, Genie, WEBXPAY |
| Also worth knowing | The new invoice format prescribes a standard serial-number structure, supplier TIN, LKR amounts and payment method, so billing software needs template and numbering changes ahead of RAMIS API integration. |
General information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026. Rules change, so we confirm current requirements during discovery; your tax adviser should confirm anything that affects filings.
Sources consulted:
04 — Working together
Colombo lies 2,260 km south of our Jaipur studio and shares Indian Standard Time, so calls, demos and support happen in normal working hours. GST invoicing, e-invoicing and e-way bills are what our own SteelERP handles every day.
It has been an amazing experience — the skills and knowledge he brings is a game changer.
50+ projects for 30+ clients in 11 countries over six-plus years.
05 — FAQ
Yes, remotely. Flip Retail is a software studio in Jaipur, India, with no office in Colombo; discovery happens on video calls and you get working software every two weeks.
Yes. Invoicing is built for Sri Lanka's VAT (standard rate 18%). On e-invoicing: Under an IRD notice dated 4 May 2026, VAT-registered persons will transmit invoice data in real time from their ERP to RAMIS via Web API. Export-oriented sectors (garments, tea) are onboarding first in a pilot before expansion to all VAT registrants, with full integration targeted by end-2026. A custom ERP connects to RAMIS through its official API or an accredited provider, and we confirm the current requirements in discovery.
You choose: your own cloud account in a region that suits you, or your own servers. Access inside the system is role-based, and during development we work on test or masked data wherever possible. Enacted, but most operative provisions take effect only on dates the Minister appoints by gazette, so obligations enforced by the Data Protection Authority are still being phased in.
Yes. Masters, ledgers, stock and opening balances move across and are reconciled with your accountant before cutover, ideally at a year-end or quarter-end.
For English and Tamil, yes: current language models handle them well, including mixed-language messages. Support for Sinhala is more limited, so we test with real customer messages before committing to it, and route anything the agent is unsure about to your team.
Usually one module that fixes the most expensive problem first. For logistics & ports that is often job & shipment costing and warehouse management (bins, put-away, picking). It goes live early, and the rest of the system follows in two-week increments while your team is already using it.
Contact
Tell us about the process you want fixed. We reply within one working day.