A Kiryana store lives on fast-moving items. When flour, ghee or sugar runs out, the customer goes to the next shop and may not come back. Stock also leaks quietly through items sold but not billed, wrong weights and changing prices. A stock book that updates with every bill helps on both fronts. Here is how to use one well.
Key points
- Count each item in the unit you actually sell it in, fractions included
- Set a low-stock level so you are warned before a best seller runs out
- Use the movement ledger to see where stock went
- Weighted average cost shows your real margin when supplier rates change
Use the right unit for every item
Flour sells by the kilo, oil by the litre, biscuits by the pack and eggs by the dozen. eKhata stock and bills support kilo, litre, piece, pack, dozen, bag, maund and more, including fractions, so a sale of 1.5 kilos reduces stock by exactly 1.5 kilos.
When the unit matches how you sell, the stock figure matches what is on the shelf.
Enter your opening stock once
Begin with an honest count. Add each product with its opening quantity, buying price and selling price. After that, stock moves by itself: it falls with every sale bill and rises with every purchase bill, and the product screen shows the current quantity and the inventory value.
Set low-stock levels
For each product you can set a low-stock level. When the quantity falls to it, eKhata flags the product, so you reorder before the shelf is empty. Pick the level by how quickly the item sells and how long your supplier takes to deliver.
- Fast sellers: a higher level
- Slow sellers: a lower level
- Items with a long supply gap: add a margin
Use the movement ledger to find leaks
Every product has a movement ledger showing stock in, stock out and the balance, line by line. If a product's quantity is lower than you expect, read the ledger. You will see which bills reduced it and when.
Stock that left without a bill is the usual leak, and the ledger makes it visible.
Know your real cost and margin
Supplier rates change. If you cost an item at last month's price, your margin figure is wrong. eKhata uses weighted average costing, so each new purchase updates the item's average cost, and the unit profit you see reflects what the stock really cost.
Alongside it, the stock screen shows total products, inventory value and low-stock warnings at a glance.