How to manage credit for provision shop or general store

To manage credit for provision shop come down to six habits: decide who go get credit, give each customer limit and due date, write every entry di moment wey you sell with wetin dem carry, record every payment sharp sharp, look who don owe pass once every week, and remind with respect and on time. None of dem need special skill. Dem need routine and record wey everybody trust.

Credit na how shop for area dey keep im regular customers. Di same credit, if you no manage am, go quietly hold di money wey you need to buy new stock. Here na system wey go keep di first one and avoid di second one.

1. Decide who go get credit

No be everybody wey ask need credit account. Most shops dey give credit to:

• regular customers wey dem dey see every week,
• people wey dem know their house or work place,
• customers wey get regular income and pay day wey you know.

For new person, start with cash, or with small credit, and make am grow as trust dey grow. If you write am down as simple rule, even if na only for your head, e go stop you from giving credit because of mood or pressure when shop busy.

2. Give every customer limit

Limit na di highest amount wey customer fit owe at any one time. E dey protect your cash and e dey give you, and your staff, easy answer: "you don reach your limit, abeg pay something first."

Good place to start na about one pay cycle of di customer normal shopping. Family wey dey spend few thousand naira every week and dem dey pay dem salary every month fit carry one month of foodstuff; customer wey dey collect daily pay fit carry one week own. Raise di limit after dem pay on time and reduce am after dem pay late. We talk more for How to set credit limits for your shop customers.

3. Agree due date

Credit wey no get date dey always turn forever. Agree when di customer go clear am: salary day, di end of di month, or every Saturday for people wey dey collect weekly pay. Tell dem di date, and write am for their account, so "time don pass" go mean something to both of una.

4. Write every entry di moment wey you sell, with di items

"₦1,180" for page no dey tell anybody anything one month later. "Garri 10 kg, sugar 2 kg, ₦1,180" fit dey checked. Write:

• di date,
• each item and im quantity,
• di amount,

and write am while di customer still dey di counter, no be later from slip. Most quarrel about credit dey start with entry wey nobody fit explain.

5. Make di customer see their account

When customers fit see their own entries and balance, dem go dey check dem as dem dey go, and di month-end surprise go disappear. With paper register, dat one mean say you go show dem di page. With shared digital credit book, e mean say dem fit open their account for their phone anytime wey dem like, and dem fit confirm entry or point to di one wey no look correct.

6. Record every payment sharp sharp, even small ones

Part payments dey normal: ₦500 today, ₦1,000 on Friday. Write each one di moment wey dem pay am, and give receipt if di customer want one. Payment wey you no write down na di fastest way to lose customer trust.

Make paying easy too. Plenty customers go prefer to send money by JazzCash or Easypaisa pass to come di counter, so put your wallet number where dem fit see am.

7. Keep cash sales and credit separate

Cash sales from waka-in customers no suppose enter anybody account. If you mix dem, e go hard to see wetin people really owe. Record cash sales separate so di credit book go show only credit and payments.

8. Check old debts every week

Once every week, look who dey owe you and for how long. Group am roughly:

Di oldest money na im hard pass to collect, so na dis list your attention go pay pass.

9. Remind with respect and on time

Most customers wey don late, na just say nobody ask dem. Short, friendly message with di exact amount and di due date dey work pass hint for di counter for front of other people. No ever remind person for public or for group. Ready-made words, for Pidgin, dey for WhatsApp payment reminder templates for shops.

10. Set rules for your staff

If your son, your brother or salesboy dey work di counter, decide who fit give credit and who fit change or delete entry. Di simplest rule: staff fit sell for credit inside customer limit, but na only di owner fit pass am or delete anything.

Simple weekly routine

How Credit Khata fit dis routine

Credit Khata na shared credit ledger wey dem build around these habits:

• Sales dey book each credit sale with im items and quantities, and e dey warn before sale pass di customer limit. See Book credit sale for di counter.
• Each customer fit get credit limit and pay-by date, and customers wey their date don pass dey show for Time don pass list.
• Reports → Old debts dey group wetin people owe you into 0–30, 31–60, 61–90 and pass 90 days: Reports: cash book, old debts, sales and profit.
• Reminders dey open WhatsApp or SMS with di message don already write.
• Customers dey see their own account from link, and dem fit pay you by wallet and tap I don pay.
• For Pro, staff dey get their own cashier or manager logins.
• E dey work when internet cut, and e dey for Pidgin, Urdu and plenty other languages.

Every new shop dey get one month of Pro to try everything, e fit stay for di Free plan after dat, and customers no dey ever pay.

Mistakes wey you suppose avoid

• To write credit sales for loose paper "to copy am later".
• One limit for everybody, or no limit at all at all.
• To leave total make e grow for months without even one reminder.
• To remind customer for front of other customers.
• To allow anybody for di counter delete entries.

Credit go always be part of how to run provision shop. With limit, date, clear entry and weekly look at old debts, e go remain service to your customers instead of hole for your cash.