MunshiThe best free khata app for an Indian shop depends on what you need beyond a ledger: UPI collection, GST bills, stock, and your own language. Compare what each “free” plan locks, whether entries work offline, how you back up and export, and who sees your customers’ data. Munshi is a free khata built for Pakistan. You can set its currency to INR, but it has no UPI, GST or Indian-language screens, so it fits only shops that need a simple credit record. We make Munshi, so we will be plain about where it does not fit.
What a khata app should do for a small shop
- Record credit and payments per customer, with a running balance.
- Work offline. A weak signal should not stop entries at the counter.
- Back up and restore if you lose or change your phone.
- Share a statement so a customer can see what they owe.
- Remind customers without awkwardness.
- Protect your data with a lock and a clear privacy policy.
Extra features that matter in India
- UPI collection. Some Indian apps show a QR and settle the ledger when a payment arrives. Munshi does not process payments.
- GST bills and stock. Shops that issue GST invoices or track stock usually need billing software, such as Vyapar or a paid tier of a ledger app. Munshi has no invoices, GST or stock.
- Indian languages. Many Indian apps support Hindi and regional languages. Munshi’s languages are Urdu and English.
- Multiple devices. Check whether staff can use the same account. Munshi syncs one account across phones.
Where “free” stops
Many Indian khata apps have a free tier with ads, and paid plans for more devices, bills, stock or ad-free use. That is fair, but read it before you build your records inside. OkCredit’s own pages, for example, list a free Basic plan with ads and paid plans from ₹30 to ₹99 for 30 days. Vyapar’s pages describe a free trial and paid plans. Prices change, so verify on the official site. For the general method, see what “free” really means.
A checklist you can run in ten minutes
- Install the app and add three real customers.
- Record a credit and a payment. Time yourself; it should take seconds.
- Switch on airplane mode and add another entry.
- Look for backup and export. Make a statement and share it.
- Search the store listing for “premium”, “trial” and “ads”.
- Read the privacy section for how customer data is used.
Where Munshi fits
Munshi is built for Pakistani shops: Urdu and English, offline entry, a Cash Book and Bank book beside the customer khata, expenses, reports in PDF and Excel, and WhatsApp reminders that you press Send on. It is free with small ads that never appear while you add an entry, sign in, unlock the app or send a reminder. It backs up to your own Google Drive. For an Indian shop, you can type INR as the currency code on the shop setup screen, and amounts will show that code. Munshi does not convert currencies.
What you do not get: UPI inside the app, GST or non-GST bills, stock, barcodes, staff roles, or Hindi and regional-language screens. If your daily need is a clean record of who owes you, that may be fine. If it is GST bills, choose an app built for them.
Paper to digital, whichever app you choose
Whatever you pick, the move from a notebook is the same: choose a cut-off date, list every balance, enter or import them, and check the total before you stop using paper. Our guide how to digitize your khata book in five steps walks through it. If you keep several shops, see managing multiple businesses in one app, since Munshi holds up to five businesses in one account.
Questions to ask any khata app
- How do you make money, and what is locked behind it?
- Can I export my customers and balances, and restore them on a new phone?
- Does it work offline, and does it sync without losing entries?
- Does it share my customers’ names, numbers or amounts with anyone?
- Can my staff use it in the language they read best?
Munshi’s answers, in short: free with small ads, yes to export and restore, yes to offline, no to sharing customer details with advertisers, and Urdu or English. If those answers do not match what your shop needs, look elsewhere, and use the comparison in Munshi vs OkCredit vs Vyapar.
A short example: a general store with two kinds of customers
Picture a general store with walk-in buyers who pay at once and about thirty regular families who take goods on credit through the month. The walk-in sales need nothing beyond the till. The thirty families need a clear page each: what was taken, what was paid, what is left. A free khata app handles that, and the owner reviews the biggest balances on a fixed weekday and sends polite reminders. If the same store starts issuing GST invoices to businesses, the owner adds billing software for those, and keeps the khata for the informal credit. The point is that the two jobs are different, and one app does not have to do both.
Whichever app you test, keep your own exports. At the end of each month, save a PDF report. Then, if an app changes its prices or terms, your records are not trapped, and moving is a matter of importing a sheet rather than starting from nothing.