MunshiYou can track who owes you money in a notebook, a spreadsheet, a khata app, invoicing software or a payment app. For a shop that sells on udhaar to regular customers, a khata app is usually the best fit: one page per customer, a running balance, offline use and a statement you can send. Choose the tool you will actually update every evening. We make Munshi, a free khata app, so we will tell you where other options win.
What a good “who owes me” tool must do
- Show a running balance for each person, so you never add things up from memory.
- Make entering a sale or payment fast, a few taps while the customer is still at the counter.
- Show the total owed to you, and who is the biggest and oldest.
- Produce something you can show, such as a dated statement, to settle disputes.
- Survive bad days, a lost phone, no signal, a spilled cup of chai.
Option 1: the paper notebook (bahi khata)
It is familiar, free and works in a power cut. The weaknesses are that a page can be lost, torn or contested, adding balances is slow and error-prone, and nothing reminds you. It is a fine starting point and a poor long-term record. See Munshi vs a paper bahi khata.
Option 2: a spreadsheet
Excel or Google Sheets gives you formulas and a printable table. It suits a short list and someone who is comfortable with sheets. It becomes awkward when you have dozens of customers, many small entries, or several people editing, because one wrong cell changes a balance and there is no history of what changed. See when a spreadsheet stops being enough.
Option 3: a khata app
A khata app keeps a page per customer, with “you gave” and “you got” entries and a running balance. It was designed for exactly this job. Good ones work offline, back up your data, and make a statement you can send on WhatsApp. Munshi adds Urdu and English, a cash book and bank book, expense records and reports, all free with small ads. The limits: it is not accounting software, so there are no invoices, stock or tax.
Option 4: invoicing or accounting software
If you bill other businesses on invoices with due dates and taxes, invoicing software tracks who has not paid each one, and can send automatic chasers. It is heavier to set up and usually a paid subscription. It is the right tool for a business-to-business firm and overkill for the corner shop. See Munshi vs QuickBooks.
Option 5: payment apps and wallets
Easypaisa, JazzCash and bank apps move money; they do not record who owes you for goods on credit. They are useful for receiving payment, and the payment should then be written in your khata so the balance falls. See how to record Easypaisa, JazzCash and bank payments.
Comparison at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Notebook | Very small, simple credit | Lost pages, slow totals, no reminders |
| Spreadsheet | Short lists, comfortable users | Errors, no history, hard statements |
| Khata app | Udhaar to regular customers | No invoices, stock or tax |
| Invoicing software | Billing other businesses | Heavier, usually paid |
| Payment apps | Receiving money | Not a ledger of credit |
How to choose in ten minutes
- Count your credit customers. Under ten: almost anything works. Over thirty: use an app.
- Ask whether you invoice businesses. If yes, you may need invoicing software as well.
- Check the signal where you work. If it is weak, insist on offline entry.
- Decide the language you and your staff read fastest.
- Try the app for a week with real entries before you move everything.
The routine matters more than the tool
A tool does not collect money; a habit does. Whatever you choose, do three things: write every credit sale and every payment the same day, look at your balances on a fixed weekday, and send a short reminder to the oldest balances first. In Munshi, open Accounts, sort by who owes most, and tap the bell on a customer to open a WhatsApp reminder with the message ready. You press Send. For wording, see WhatsApp payment reminder templates.
Moving from what you have now
You do not have to start from zero. If your customers are in a spreadsheet, Munshi can import an Excel or CSV file with a name column and a balance column; it shows a preview and lets you undo the import. If they are in a notebook, enter the balances once as an opening figure per customer and keep the notebook as an archive. Read how to import customers into Munshi and how to keep a record of who owes you money.
What a good statement looks like
Whichever tool you choose, the thing that settles an argument is a statement: a list of dates, what was taken, what was paid, and the balance after each line. A customer who sees their own history on one page rarely disputes it, because the dates jog memory and the arithmetic is visible. Munshi makes a customer statement as a PDF, in Urdu or English, which you share on WhatsApp. This month’s and last month’s PDFs are free; a longer range or an Excel file shows a short ad first. See how to create a customer statement in Urdu.
Mistakes that make any tool fail
- Entering credit but not payments. The balance only grows, and customers stop trusting it. Record every payment as soon as it arrives.
- Waiting until the end of the week. Entries written from memory are wrong in small ways that add up. Write at the counter.
- Mixing your own money with the shop’s. Use a separate personal khata for what friends and family owe you.
- Never looking at the total. The number at the top of the screen is the money outside your shop. Check it weekly.
- No credit limit. Decide in advance how much one person can take. See a simple credit limit policy.
When balances turn into bad debt
Some money will not come back, however good the tool is. The difference a record makes is that you know early. Look at the oldest balances first. If someone has not paid anything for months, stop further credit, send a clear statement and ask for a date. If a balance is small and old, decide whether to forgive it deliberately rather than leaving it to haunt the total. A record that is honest about what is unlikely to be paid gives you a truer picture of your profit.
A weekly ten-minute review
Pick one weekday evening and spend ten minutes on the money outside your shop. Open the list of customers sorted by balance. Look at the top five and ask three questions of each: when did they last pay, how long has the balance been growing, and what did we agree? Send a reminder to the oldest, note the date they promise, and put a tick next to the ones who kept their word last week. After a month you will know, without any report, which customers are reliable and which need a lower limit. This small routine, more than any particular app, is what brings the money home.