How to Track Udhaar (Credit) in a Repair or Mobile Shop
Almost every shop gives some credit: the regular customer short by ₹300, the dealer who pays monthly. The money isn't lost when you give it. It's lost when nobody can say, in one look, who owes what and since when.
The Paper Khata
Where the notebook loses money
- No total per customer: Entries are written by date, so finding what one person owes means reading every page and adding by hand. Nobody does it until the customer asks — and then they dispute the figure.
- Payments get written in the wrong place: A customer pays ₹500 on a Saturday. It goes in the cash drawer, maybe in the daily book, but not against their name in the khata. Months later they say they paid; you can't show they didn't.
- Nobody knows how old the money is: ₹2,000 owed for two weeks and ₹2,000 owed since Diwali look the same on the page. The old one is the one that never comes back.
- Asking is awkward: Calling a regular customer to say 'aapka udhaar baaki hai' feels rude, so it gets put off. A written list of their bills, sent politely, is easier for both sides.
What to Record
Six things to write for every credit sale
Whether it is a notebook or software, each udhaar entry needs the same details:
- Customer name and mobile number — the number is how you will remind them
- Date, and the bill or job card number the credit is against
- What it was for: 'Vivo Y20 display change', not just '₹1,800'
- Total bill, amount paid now, and the balance left
- Why it was left on credit (regular customer, dealer, will pay on salary day)
- Every later payment as its own entry, with date and mode (cash, UPI and reference)
Reminding on WhatsApp Without the Awkwardness
A reminder works best when it is specific and polite: the shop's name, the total, and the bills that make it up, oldest first. "₹1,800 for the Vivo display on 4 September and ₹450 for the charging port on 21 September" gets paid. "Aapka paisa baaki hai" gets an argument.
- Send the first reminder around 30 days, not on day two.
- Send from the shop's number, not a staff member's personal phone.
- Anything over 90 days needs a call or a visit, not another message.
The Mistake: Credit With No Bill Behind It
"Ramesh bhai — ₹1,200" on a loose page is a memory, not a record. Every rupee of udhaar should point to a bill or job card, so when the customer asks "for what?", you can show exactly what was done and on which date.
How Udhaar Works in Kiwikit
There is no separate khata to keep. Credit comes from the bills themselves:
- On the bill: an advance taken at intake (it can be split, say cash plus UPI) is a receipt. At delivery, if the customer pays less than the bill, you can accept the balance as outstanding and pick a reason. The job card then shows total paid and what is still due.
- Finance → Receivables: one row per customer with billed, paid and outstanding across their job cards, counter sales, used phones sold on credit and any opening balance. Dues are split by age (0–30, 30–60, 60–90 and 90+ days) and you can filter by each. Open a customer to see every bill behind the total, or export the list.
- WhatsApp reminder: one button per customer sends a polite message from your shop with the total and the pending bills, oldest first, and any credit you hold for them taken off. You press it; it is not sent on a schedule. Your shop's WhatsApp has to be connected first.
- Collecting: when the customer pays one lump sum, Collect settles the oldest dues first and shows you the split before saving. If you have turned on the payment-received WhatsApp message, the customer gets it automatically.
- Party Ledger and Receipts: the Party Ledger shows one customer's bills and payments in date order with the running balance, and exports to CSV. Receipts & Payments lists every receipt. A wrong one is voided, not deleted.
- Old khata balances: enter each customer's balance as their opening balance. It shows as "Previous balance" in reminders, and every change to it is logged with who made it and why.
Need GST invoices on the same bills? See Kiwikit GST billing software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should a repair shop give udhaar at all?
Most do, to regular customers and to dealers who send work. The rule that keeps it safe is simple: credit only against a written bill, only to someone whose mobile number you have, and never more than you are willing to wait 60 days for.
How do I bring my old khata balances into software?
Add each customer, then enter what they owed on the day you started as their opening balance. In Kiwikit the opening balance is set on the customer and shows as 'Previous balance' in their dues; every change to it is recorded with who changed it and when.
Does Kiwikit send payment reminders automatically?
No. A reminder goes when you press 'WhatsApp reminder' for that customer on the Receivables screen. That is deliberate: you decide who gets reminded and when. It needs your shop's WhatsApp connected in Settings → WhatsApp.
A customer paid one amount for three old bills. How do I enter it?
Enter it once. Kiwikit's Collect option on Receivables takes one amount and settles the oldest dues first — the opening balance, then the oldest bills — and shows you the split before you save.
What if a receipt was entered by mistake?
Void it instead of deleting it. A voided receipt stays in the list marked as voided, and the bill's balance goes back up. The record of what happened stays.
Read next
Udhaar starts with the customer record — see mobile repair shop customer management. Billing with tax? Read GST billing for repair shops. Your khata is in Excel today? Here is how to move it to Kiwikit.
Try Kiwikit Free for 3 Days
Every customer's dues by age, a one-tap WhatsApp reminder listing their bills, and payments settled oldest first.