Billing for your mobile and electronics shop in Uttar Pradesh
The phone, the cover, the screen guard and the repair, all on one bill.
A recharge, a screen guard and a phone left for repair: one counter, many small bills
Many small sales, and a few big ones that matter most
All day long the counter takes a recharge, a screen guard, a charger and a pair of earphones, each worth little. Once in a while someone buys a phone worth a month's earnings. Both go into the same notebook in a hurry, and the big sale gets the same few scribbled words as the cheap cover. At night you can add up the cash, but not tell which sale was which.
The phone left for repair and the customer who says he paid
A man leaves his phone to be fixed and says he will pay when he picks it up. Two days later his brother comes for it and says the first man paid. The slip in the drawer says only a name and a model. The screen, the battery and your time were all real, and the money is a matter of who remembers best.
Chargers and covers that run out in front of the customer
The things that sell most are small and come in many kinds: a cover for each model, a charger for each port, a cable of each length. You keep them in a glass case and in a drawer, and you cannot tell by looking which model's cover is gone. The customer asks for it, you say it is finished, and he walks to the shop that has it. The sale you lost was worth little, but the customer who walked out may have been about to buy a phone from you next month.
Where UP's phone buyers work: Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow and Moradabad
People in every district buy phones. A few of them, and the work they are known for:
- Ghaziabad is an important place for industry in Uttar Pradesh. In 2017-18 it had 1,987 registered industrial units employing 89,780 people.
- Kanpur has a long saddlery trade from colonial times. Today it is the only independent centre making leather saddlery for global markets.
- Lucknow is a hub for chikankari sarees, dupattas and kurtis, and its zari zardozi bridal wear is highly sought after.
- Moradabad is called Brass City, Peetal Nagri. It is famous for a huge export of brass handicrafts to North America and Europe.
From the Diwali phone rush to the cover that sells every day
Phone and accessories on one bill, whatever they cost
A phone, its cover and its screen guard go on one bill with the model written against the phone. The big sale is a proper bill, and the cheap cover has its line beside it. At night you can read the day and see which sale was which.
The cheaper phones left in January are read from the Diwali week
After the Diwali week, open the phones by price band: the dearer ones that went in the first days and the cheaper ones that sat. The cheaper phones still on the shelf in January are the number to carry into next year's order, so the shelf is lighter on them.
The month's bills show which student has stopped coming
A month of bills shows which students come every month for a recharge and a cable. The student who bought a cable every month and did not this month has gone to the cart at the crossing, and you offer him the regular's price before he is lost.
Covers, chargers and phones: what a UP mobile counter asks of a phone
Bills on your phone
On Dhanteras evening a customer takes a phone, a cover and a charger as a gift, and the bill lists all three at once on his WhatsApp.
Offers for regular customers
An offer for the college student and the shop next door who come every month for a recharge and a cable.
Your own online shop
A page of the phones you hold, by price band, that a family looks at in the days before Dhanteras gift buying, so it comes in knowing which to ask for.
Daily reports
Phones and accessories counted by the day, so the Dhanteras and wedding weeks can be set beside an ordinary one.
Orders to suppliers
Your orders to the distributor for the next lot of phones and covers, kept in one list.
What UP mobile shop owners ask about GST bills, covers and regular customers
Recharge and cables sell all day, but phones sell once in a while. Will the report show both?
Yes. Each item is counted by the day. The report lists the cheap fast-moving items and the rare big ones next to each other.
Many people buy phones for weddings. Can I see how many I sold in the wedding weeks?
Yes. Each phone model and each accessory is counted by the day. Open the wedding weeks and set them beside a plain week to see what the wedding gift buyer takes.
The company asks for a fresh copy of last month's bill. Where do I find it?
Open the company's page, and last month's bill is there with its day. Send it again to the number the company gives, and nothing is written out twice.
The Noida belt, where many of India's phones are made
In May 2020 the industry body ICEA said the Noida and Greater Noida belt had about 80 mobile factories employing around 50,000 people, including Samsung's Sector 81 plant.
In February 2019 the Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister claimed that 65 per cent of India's mobile phones, including accessories, are made in Noida.