Stock and udhaar in a small shop: simple ways to keep track

Sales look good, yet there is never enough cash to pay the supplier. In most small shops the money has not gone anywhere. It is sitting on the shelves as stock that doesn’t move, and in the credit notebook as udhaar that hasn’t come back. Inventory management for a small shop is mostly about finding that money.

This guide gives simple ways to keep track of both: a stock register you can keep on paper or a computer, a rule for when to reorder, a monthly count that takes an hour, and a fair system for giving and collecting credit. None of it needs costly software, though software makes it faster.

How to manage stock in a small shop

Inventory management for a small shop means three things: knowing what you have, knowing what is running out, and not buying what doesn’t sell.

Start with the items that matter. In most shops, a small number of items make most of the sales: rice, oil, sugar, dal, milk, a few brands of soap and biscuits. Track these closely. The slow items can be checked once a month.

You don’t need to track every hair clip by the hour. You need to never run out of the twenty things your customers come for.

How to maintain a stock register

A stock register is one page (or one row) per item. Write it in a long notebook, an Excel sheet, or let billing software keep it for you.

Date	Item	Opening	Received	Sold	Closing
1 Oct	Sunflower oil 1 L	24	0	9	15
4 Oct	Sunflower oil 1 L	15	36 (bill SB/1182)	11	40
8 Oct	Sunflower oil 1 L	40	0	14	26

Closing = opening + received − sold. The closing of one day is the opening of the next. Write the supplier’s bill number against every “received”, so you can match it with the purchase bill later.

On paper, update the register at closing time from the day’s bills. In Excel, keep one sheet for items and one for movements, and let a formula work out the closing. In billing software, every sale and every purchase bill changes the stock by itself.

The register is only as good as the purchase entries. If goods come in and nobody writes them down, the register is wrong from that day.

When to reorder: a simple rule

For each fast item, set a reorder level: the stock at which you place the next order.

Reorder level = daily sales × days the supplier takes + a few days’ cushion

For example, if a shop sells about 4 bottles of oil a day, the supplier delivers in 3 days, and it keeps 2 days’ cushion, the reorder level is 4 × (3 + 2) = 20 bottles. When the register shows 20 or fewer, order. Write the reorder level on the register page, or set it in your software so it shows a low-stock list.

For goods with an expiry date, put new stock behind the old, so the oldest is sold first, and check the expiry shelf once a week.

Count the shelves every month

Once a month, count the fast items and compare with the register. A small difference is normal (breakage, a free sample, a mistake). A big or growing difference means bills are being missed or stock is going out without a bill.

Udhaar: giving credit without losing money

Credit keeps regular customers coming back. It also quietly takes the cash you need for the next purchase. A few rules keep it under control.

1. Write every entry the same day: date, customer, what was bought, amount. Note every part payment too.
2. Set a limit for each customer, for example a month’s normal purchases. Don’t add to an account that has crossed it.
3. Fix a settle day: salary day, the 5th of the month, or the weekly market day.
4. Remind early and politely: a short message with the amount and your UPI QR works better than a hard word at the counter.
5. Look at the old dues every week, not only the total.

Take Kannan, who runs a provision store in Madurai with about forty customers on monthly credit (an example, with made-up numbers). He sorts his notebook by how old each due is:

Due for	Customers	Amount
Up to 30 days	31	₹38,500
31–60 days	6	₹14,200
More than 60 days	3	₹9,300
Total	40	₹62,000

The ₹38,500 is normal monthly credit. The ₹23,500 older than a month is where he spends his effort: a reminder this week, and no new credit for the three oldest accounts until they pay something.

Udhar khata apps and billing software

A notebook works, but it doesn’t send reminders, add up totals or survive a spilled glass of tea. Two kinds of apps help:

• Udhar khata apps keep only the credit ledger on your phone. OkCredit, for example, says on its own page that it is free forever, sends automatic payment reminders and works in 11 Indian languages.
• Billing software with credit and stock puts a bill on credit with one switch, so the ledger, the bill and the stock stay in step. Zoho Inventory has a free plan for 50 orders with one user and one location; Vyapar offers a free mobile plan with basic features.

Our Elathi SmartPOS keeps credit (khata) on every customer with their balance always on top, lists low stock and expiry, and sends due reminders on WhatsApp. For choosing between options, see our guide to billing software for a small shop, and for scanning items into stock, the barcode billing guide.

Questions

How do I manage stock in a small shop?

Keep one stock register with opening, received, sold and closing for each item, set a reorder level for your fast items, and count the shelves once a month. Billing software can do the register for you as you bill.

How do I maintain a stock register manually?

Give each item a page in a long notebook with columns for date, opening, received (with the supplier’s bill number), sold and closing. Update it every evening from the day’s bills; closing is opening plus received minus sold.

Is there a free udhar khata app?

Yes. Some udhar khata apps are free; OkCredit, for example, says on its page that it is free forever and sends payment reminders. Many billing apps also include credit tracking in their free or paid plans.

Is there free inventory software for a small business?

Some makers offer free plans with limits. Zoho Inventory’s free plan allows 50 orders with one user and one location, and Vyapar has a free mobile plan with basic features. Check the limits against your number of bills.

How do I recover udhaar politely?

Remind before the due is a month old, with a short message giving the amount and a UPI QR or number to pay. Agree a settle day, take part payments, and pause new credit for accounts that are long overdue.

Can I keep shop stock in Excel?

Yes. Use one sheet for items and one for each day’s movements, and a formula for the closing stock. It works well for a few hundred items; with daily billing, software that updates stock as you bill saves time.

How often should I check my stock?

Check the fast items every week against their reorder levels, the expiry shelf every week, and do a full count of your main items once a month.