In this guide 6 sections
Give every stone sent on memo one line that names who holds it, the day it left, the return due date and the challan covering it. Update that line at each handover. When a stone sells, close the memo line and raise the invoice against the same stone number.
Step one: give each stone its own number before it leaves
Open the parcel paper at your desk, not at the buyer’s counter. Weigh the stone, photograph it and record carat weight, shape, colour, clarity and any laboratory report number.
Write the stone number on the packet and in the memo book. A packet holding five sapphires with one number becomes a dispute the moment one comes back chipped.
A photo taken before dispatch settles most arguments about what was sent.
- Stone number and parcel paper reference
- Carat weight on your own scale
- Shape, colour, clarity and treatment
- Laboratory report number if one exists
- Photograph from above and from the side
Step two: name the holder at every handover
Stones around Johari Bazaar rarely make one trip. A cutter sends to a dealer, the dealer sends to an exporter at Sitapura, and the exporter shows a buyer. By the third hand nobody remembers who signed.
Record the current holder with a phone number, not only the party you first dealt with. If the stone moves on, that handover gets its own challan and its own line.
Never accept a verbal passing on. It costs one minute to write down, and it saves a week of phone calls when a parcel goes missing between two shops.
Step three: set a return date and chase it weekly
Every memo line needs a return due date, agreed at dispatch. Seven days for a local dealer and longer for an exporter showing a foreign buyer are common, but fix the date with the person holding the stone.
Each Friday, print the overdue list sorted by holder. Call the largest value first. A stone that is two weeks late is usually not lost, only forgotten in a showcase.
- Due date agreed with the actual holder
- Overdue list printed every Friday
- A note of every call and the promised date
- Written extension, never a verbal one
Step four: convert memo to invoice without losing the trail
When a buyer keeps a stone, close the memo line with the date and raise the invoice using the same stone number. The price on the invoice should match the price agreed on the memo, or a note should say why it changed.
For stones coming back, weigh them again before signing the return. A swapped or chipped stone shows up as a weight difference. Record the new weight beside the old one.
Keep the delivery challan number against both the outgoing memo and the invoice, so your accountant can follow the paperwork from one end to the other.
Step five: read the memo book as a stock report
Stones on memo are your money sitting in other people’s drawers. Total them by holder each week and compare the sum with what you believe is out.
Start this Monday with last month’s open memos only. Enter each stone, holder and due date on one sheet, and phone the three largest holders to confirm.
Memo and approval stone tracker
A single page tracker, one row per stone. Columns: stone number, carat weight out and back, report number, current holder with phone, date sent, due date, challan number, outcome (returned, invoiced or extended) and invoice number. A bottom strip totals open stones by holder.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What is the difference between memo and approval?
In everyday dealing, a stone sent on approval is for a buyer to examine, while memo often covers longer holds between trade parties. Agree which you mean and write it on the challan.
Who is responsible if a stone is lost with a third party?
The party you handed it to is normally answerable unless you agreed otherwise in writing. This is why each handover needs a signed challan naming the new holder.
Can a spreadsheet do this?
For a few dozen stones, yes. Once stones change hands often or several staff update the sheet, software that locks the holder and due date per stone is safer.