Giving credit builds loyalty, but every unpaid balance is a loan from your own pocket. Shops rarely lose money to one big default. They lose it slowly, through many balances that nobody watched. You can prevent most of it with a few habits and a khata that shows the facts. This guide sets out those habits, and how eKhata supports each one.
Key points
- Look at a customer's balance before you add to it
- Set your own sensible limit for each customer and stick to it
- Take part payments and record them straight away
- Review your top outstanding accounts every week
Know the balance before you sell on credit
The simplest rule is the most useful one: before giving more credit, open the customer's khata and look at what they already owe and when they last paid. It takes a few seconds, and it turns a blind decision into an informed one.
A customer whose balance has not moved in months is a different risk from one who pays every week.
Decide your own limits
eKhata shows you the facts, but the limit is your decision. Decide, for each regular customer, how much credit you are comfortable with, based on how reliably they pay and how much they buy. Write it in the khata note if it helps you remember.
A limit is not a rejection. It is a clear, polite boundary that you apply the same way to everyone.
Encourage part payments
It is easier for a customer to pay something regularly than everything at once. Bills in eKhata accept part payment, and each payment reduces the balance. Record each one the moment it arrives so the khata always shows the true figure.
- Ask for something on account at each visit
- Record every part payment immediately
- Check that the balance is moving in the right direction
Send statements before balances get old
A balance that nobody mentions grows quietly. Send customers a PDF statement on WhatsApp on a regular schedule. It reminds them what is owed, shows exactly how it was built up and gives them a chance to question anything early, while memories are fresh.
Review your top outstanding accounts weekly
The parties screen shows the total you will get and lists your top outstanding accounts. Spend five minutes on it every week. A balance that keeps rising, a customer who has stopped paying or a single account that has become too large are all visible there before they become a loss.
New customers deserve a little extra care. Start them with small amounts and extend credit as they prove reliable.