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How to keep the accounts of a small shop — a daily routine that takes ten minutes
Most small shops in Pakistan know their sales but not their profit, because the money in the drawer, the udhaar in the register and the day's expenses are never put side by side. This routine does exactly that, once a day, in the order the day happens. In Urdu: دکان کا روزانہ حساب.
1. Morning: count the cash
Before the first customer, count what is in the drawer and write it down as the opening cash. If it is not the same as last night's closing figure, find out why before the day mixes things up.
2. Every sale gets a bill, cash or udhaar
Write every sale, even a Rs 50 one. A cash sale goes into the day's cash; an udhaar sale goes into that customer's khata with the date and the items. Sales you did not write are the main reason the evening count never matches.
3. Every expense, however small
Tea, a rickshaw, a bulb, the boy's daily wage, a supplier paid from the drawer: each one is a line with the amount and a word about what it was for. Money taken home for the house is also a line ("owner's drawing"), so it is not mistaken for a loss.
4. Evening: the count must match
Opening cash + cash sales + udhaar recovered − expenses − supplier payments − drawings = the cash that should be in the drawer. Count it. A small difference happens; a difference every day means a sale or an expense is being missed.
A day in a kiryana store
| Line | Amount (Rs) |
|---|---|
| Opening cash (morning count) | 5,000 |
| Cash sales, 41 bills | 18,100 |
| Udhaar recovered from two customers | 3,500 |
| Expenses: tea, rickshaw, bulb, wages | −2,400 |
| Paid to the milk supplier | −3,500 |
| Expected cash in the drawer | 20,700 |
Six udhaar bills worth Rs 6,200 were also written today; they are sales, but not cash, so they sit in the khatas, not in the drawer. The day's total sales are 18,100 + 6,200 = Rs 24,300.
5. The weekly check
- Sales against purchases: what you sold compared with what you bought and paid for. If purchases keep running ahead, stock is piling up or something is leaking.
- Udhaar list: who owes what, and who has not paid anything for two weeks. Send a WhatsApp reminder; see ادھار کا حساب.
- Low stock: the ten items that sell every day, and whether each has enough for the week.
- Expenses by kind: wages, rent, electricity, transport. One line each for the week.
The month: is the shop earning?
Sales for the month − cost of the goods sold − expenses = the profit before you pay yourself. The cost of goods is the hardest part on paper, which is why many shops never see their real profit. An app that knows the purchase price of each item works it out from the bills.
Register, Excel or app
A register works if you write everything and add it up every night. Excel is better for the weekly check but no better for the counter. An app writes the bill at the counter, keeps each customer's khata, counts the cash for you and shows the week and the month on their own. In the InvoiceMate app a counter sale takes a few seconds, udhaar goes to the customer's khata with a WhatsApp reminder, expenses are a line each, and the day's cash is counted for you; see the retail shop page or the bill book app.
Questions
How do I know the shop's daily profit?
The day's sales minus what those goods cost you minus the day's expenses. You need the purchase price of each item for that, which an app keeps for you.
Is udhaar part of today's sales?
Yes, it is a sale made today; it is just not cash yet. Keep it in the customer's khata and count it in sales, not in the drawer.
The evening cash does not match. What now?
Look for an unwritten sale or expense first, then a wrong bill total. A difference every day means something is being missed regularly.
Should money taken home be written?
Yes, as the owner's drawing. Otherwise it looks like a loss or a theft when the cash is counted.
Can I keep a shop's accounts on a phone?
Yes. The free InvoiceMate app makes the bill at the counter, keeps udhaar per customer, records expenses and shows the day, week and month.