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Questions every shop owner asks

Plain answers before you start, whatever you sell and wherever your shop is.

A man in a denim shirt sitting outdoors and looking down at the phone in his hands
A man in a denim shirt sitting outdoors and looking down at the phone in his hands Photo: Bhullargraphic, CC BY-SA 4.0

Start in three steps, on WhatsApp

  1. Send us a message on WhatsApp

    Tap the WhatsApp button on this page and tell us what you sell and where your shop is. We reply on WhatsApp, in your own language, and ask a few questions about your counter: how you sell, who buys on credit, and who else makes bills.

  2. Add the things you sell

    Start with what sells every day, set up the way you sell it: by the kilo, the litre, the piece, the bunch or the box, each with its rate. We help you on WhatsApp. Everything else can be added slowly, as it sells.

  3. Make your first bill

    Make a bill for your next customer and send it on WhatsApp or print it. From that bill on, every sale, every credit bill and every UPI payment is counted on your phone, and the stock goes down by itself.

The common questions, answered once

Does it cost anything to start?

No. Starting is free. Send us a message on WhatsApp and we will tell you the next steps there.

Do I need a computer?

No. The phone you already use for WhatsApp is enough. Everything runs on it, at the counter or at home.

Do I need a printer?

No. Bills go to the customer on WhatsApp. If you want paper bills, a small printer can be added later and bills print from the phone.

Will it work when the network is weak?

Yes. You can keep making bills when the internet drops, and everything is saved to your account once the network is back. Nothing you billed is lost while the signal is away.

I am not good with phones. Is it hard?

If you use WhatsApp, you can use this. We help you set it up on WhatsApp, in your own words, one step at a time.

Can my son, my daughter or my staff make bills too?

Yes. Anyone at the counter can make bills on the shop's phone, and you see every sale on yours, wherever you are. Staff shifts, which show who worked when, are coming soon.

Can I see today's sales when I am not at the shop?

Yes. The day's sales, the cash, the UPI and the credit open on your own phone, while the counter keeps billing.

How does the udhaar khata work?

Choose the customer when you make the bill and put it on their khata. When they pay, mark the payment. Each customer has their own page.

My old udhaar is in a notebook. What do I do with it?

Put in each customer's balance as it stands today, once. From then on, every new credit bill and every payment is written on the phone, and the notebook can rest.

Does my customer need the app?

No. Only you do. Customers get their bill, and their balance if you send it, on WhatsApp, with nothing new to install.

Will my customers see what I write about them?

Only what you send them: a bill, or their own balance on WhatsApp. One customer never sees another's page, and nothing else leaves your account.

Can customers pay by UPI?

Yes. Show your QR code and the customer pays by UPI. At closing time the UPI is already counted, and only the cash in the drawer is left to check.

Does it work for my kind of shop?

Yes. Bills, stock, credit and UPI are needed in every shop. Kirana, clothes, medicines, sweets, mobiles, hardware, vegetables or dairy: put in the things you sell and start billing.

My shop is very small. Is it worth it?

Yes. A one-room shop with one phone is enough. The smaller the shop, the more each lost credit bill or forgotten rate costs, and the phone remembers them for you.

Can I use it in my own language?

We talk with you on WhatsApp in your language and help you start. Names, items and amounts can be written the way you say them.

What does "coming soon" mean next to a feature?

It is being built and is not ready yet. We label it on every page so you know before you start, and the rest of the features work today.

Can I run two shops or two counters?

Yes. Every shop or counter you add sits in your one account.

Can I order from my supplier on the phone?

Yes. Look at what is running low, send the order to your supplier from the phone, and see what you ordered last time while you write it.

Can I give regular customers an offer?

Yes. Offers and discounts can be set for regular customers, so the family that buys every week gets what you promised without you having to remember it.

Can I take orders from customers at home?

Yes. Your own online shop page takes orders that arrive on your phone. Send us a message on WhatsApp and we will tell you the next step.

Do I have to put in every item before the first bill?

No. Start with what sells every day and add the rest as it sells. A bill can be made as soon as one item is in, and nothing you add later changes the bills already made.

A bill went wrong. Can I correct it?

Yes. Cancel the wrong bill and make a new one. The cancelled bill stays in your record, marked cancelled, so the day's count stays honest and the stock comes back.

Does the bill carry my shop's name?

Yes. Every bill carries your shop's name, so the customer knows where it came from when they open it on WhatsApp weeks later.

What if I change my phone?

Your bills are saved to your account, not only to the phone. Start Bharatrath on the new phone and your items, customers and bills are there.