Custom software · Dairy businesses

Build a dairy system around your collection centres and your delivery routes.

A dairy runs twice a day, every day. Milk is poured at the centre before six in the morning, tested, weighed and recorded, and the cycle repeats in the evening.

At the other end, pouches leave the plant in crates on routes that finish before the shops open. Empty crates, unsold stock and retailer claims of short delivery come back.

Dairy software holds both ends and the middle. It carries the farmer’s pouring record and ten-day payment, the tanker from the chilling centre, the packed batch, the route it went out on, and the retailer’s ledger.

Share your requirements

Who this is for

Dairy businesses we can build for.

A village collection network counts litres at a counter. A packaged milk brand with two hundred routes counts crates at a gate. The build is scoped to the part of the chain you run.

Milk collection centres
Village milk producer societies
Milk chilling centres
Private dairies
Dairy plants and processing units
Packaged milk brands
Curd and paneer manufacturers
Ghee and butter manufacturers
Flavoured milk and beverage units
Ice cream manufacturers
Milk distributors and agents
Home delivery milk businesses
Milk parlours and retail outlets
Farmer producer companies in dairy
Cattle feed suppliers working with dairies
Organic and A2 milk brands
Buffalo milk collection networks
Dairy cooperatives
Multi-district procurement networks

What can be built

The modules, and what each one covers.

Nothing here is a fixed package. Each module is built, left out or changed to match how your organisation already works.

Farmers and producers

Farmer code and name
Village and collection centre
Cattle held, cow and buffalo
Bank account for payment
National ID and other identity details where you record them
Member or non-member status
Average daily pouring
Quality history
Advances outstanding
Feed and services taken
Date pouring stopped, and why

Collection centres

Centre code and village
In-charge and contact
Farmers attached to the centre
Equipment: analyser, weighing scale, cooler
Morning and evening shift timings
Daily collection in litres
Average fat and SNF at the centre
Commission payable to the centre
Centre-wise rejections
Centre performance over the season

Milk pouring

Farmer arrives
Weighing
Sample
Fat and SNF test
Rate applied
Slip printed
Entry recorded
Milk into the can or cooler

Shift: morning or evening
Quantity in litres or kilograms
Cow, buffalo or mixed
Fat percentage
SNF percentage
CLR reading
Rate as per the chart
Amount for that pouring
Entry made in under a minute, because there is a queue

Quality testing

Fat and SNF by sample
Temperature at receipt
Acidity and clot on boiling test
Adulteration tests carried out
Sample rejected and the reason
Farmer told at the counter
Repeat rejections against a farmer
Quality trend by centre
Test records kept for the shift

Testing is done by an analyser and a technician. The software records what the instrument and the test say, and it cannot detect adulteration by itself.

Rate chart

The rate chart sets what a farmer earns for each litre by fat and SNF, and is the table most often questioned.

Rate by fat and SNF combination
Separate charts for cow and buffalo milk
Rate effective from a date
Seasonal revision
Centre-specific rates
Incentive for consistent quality
Transport deduction where it applies
Old charts kept for reference
Rate applied shown on the farmer’s slip

The farmer’s slip

A printed slip at the counter shows the farmer the same figures that were recorded, which settles most disputes.

Date and shift
Quantity
Fat and SNF
Rate
Amount
Running total for the cycle
Advances and deductions so far
Slip printed or sent as a message
Duplicate slip on request

Payment cycles

Cycle of ten days, a fortnight or a month, as you run it
Total quantity and average quality for the cycle
Gross amount payable
Feed advances recovered
Loan instalments recovered
Veterinary and service charges deducted
Incentives added
Net payable per farmer
Bank transfer file
Cash payment register where it is still used
Payment statement for the farmer

Advances and recoveries

Cattle feed on credit
Cash advance
Loan for a cattle purchase
Recovery rate agreed with the farmer
Recovery from each payment cycle
Balance outstanding
Farmers who stopped pouring with a balance due
Write-off decisions recorded with who approved them

Cattle feed and inputs

Feed stock at each centre
Bags issued to a farmer
Rate and amount
Cash or credit against the milk bill
Mineral mixture and supplements
Purchase from the feed supplier
Stock movement to centres
Feed sales by centre
Margin on feed

Veterinary and breeding services

Service request from a farmer
Visit by the veterinary officer
Treatment given
Medicines issued
Artificial insemination record
Bull or semen straw used
Follow-up and pregnancy check
Calving record
Charges deducted from the milk payment

This is a service register, not a clinical system. What treatment is given is the veterinary officer’s decision and stays with him.

Chilling and storage

Milk received at the chilling centre
Centre-wise quantity received
Temperature at receipt and after chilling
Cooler capacity and load
Holding time
Milk held back or rejected
Power and diesel use at the centre
Cleaning records
Stock in the tank at shift end

Temperature logging from a cooler or a tanker depends on a device being fitted and on what it can send. Without one, the reading is whatever the operator writes down.

Tanker dispatch

Chilling centre
Tanker loading
Seal
Dispatch
Transit
Dock arrival
Dock testing
Unloading

Tanker and driver
Quantity loaded
Seal numbers
Dispatch time
Route and centres covered
Arrival time at the dock
Transport charges
Delays and breakdowns

Where the litres went

Centres record one figure and the dock weighs another. The two are shown side by side, so the gap can be traced to measurement or to loss.

Quantity collected at centres
Quantity loaded into the tanker
Quantity received at the dock
Fat and SNF at the centre against the dock
Shortage by tanker and by route
Shortage by centre over a month
Recovery from the transporter, where your terms allow
Repeat gaps flagged

Processing

Raw milk received for the day
Standardisation and the fat balance
Pasteurisation batches
Product-wise production plan
Curd, paneer, ghee, butter and buttermilk
Cream and skimmed milk powder movement
Yield against input
Process losses
Production recorded per shift

Batches and shelf life

Batch number
Production date and time
Best before date
Quantity produced by pack size
Quality release before dispatch
Batch held
Batch-wise dispatch record
Traceability from a pouch back to a shift
Recall list if a batch has to be pulled back

Packing and crates

Pack sizes and SKUs
Pouches per crate
Packing material stock
Crates issued to a route
Crates returned
Crates lying with distributors
Crates lost or damaged
Crate deposit held
Crate reconciliation by route

Indents from the market

The evening indent decides the morning packing. An under-indent on a festival day affects the next morning’s supply.

Indent by distributor and route
Product and quantity
Cut-off time for the indent
Standing indent for regular quantities
Change against the standing quantity
Indent against last week’s sale
Indent total feeding the production plan
Late indents and how they were handled

Routes and dispatch

Route master with sequence of stops
Vehicle and driver
Loading sheet by crate and product
Dispatch time from the dock
Delivery at each stop
Quantity delivered against loaded
Return to the dock
Route timings against the schedule
Fuel and vehicle cost per route

Distributors and agents

Distributor record and territory
Routes handled
Product rates and margin
Credit limit and days
Security deposit held
Daily supply record
Ledger and outstanding
Returns claimed
Performance by month

Delivery staff

Delivery person and route
Attendance before the round starts
Crates and products taken
Deliveries completed
Cash collected on the round
Undelivered items and reasons
Empty crates brought back
Day-end handover
Incentive on the round

Home delivery subscriptions

For dairies selling direct, customers want a fixed quantity each morning and a pause when they travel.

Customer and address with landmark
Products and daily quantity
Alternate day and custom patterns
Vacation pause and resume
Additions for a day
Monthly bill from actual deliveries
Advance wallet and balance
Payment online or in cash
Delivery confirmation
Complaints and missed deliveries

Returns and unsold stock

Unsold pouches returned
Leaked and damaged pouches
Return reason and route
Credit note to the distributor
Returns as a share of supply, by route
Product disposed of
Return trend by day of the week
Over-indenting shown up by returns

Whether a return is accepted depends on your own terms with the distributor. The software records the claim and applies whatever rule you set.

Retailer and customer ledgers

Daily supply posted to the ledger
Returns adjusted
Payments received
Outstanding by distributor and retailer
Ageing
Credit limit and hold
Cheque bounces
Statement sent to the distributor
Collection list for the day

Parlours and outlets

Outlet stock received
Counter sales by product
Cash, card and wallet collection
Day-end reconciliation
Stock transfer between outlets
Expiry and shortage
Outlet-wise sales
Franchise settlement, where outlets are run by others

Role-based access

Owner or director
Procurement head
Centre in-charge
Field officer
Veterinary officer
Plant manager
Quality officer
Dispatch in-charge
Distributor
Delivery staff
Accounts
Farmer

Management dashboard

Litres collected today by centre
Average fat and SNF
Farmers pouring against farmers registered
Procurement cost per litre
Shortage between centre and dock
Production by product
Yield against input
Sales by route and distributor
Returns by route
Outstanding from the market
Advances outstanding with farmers
Procurement against sales, day by day

What it connects to

Milk analysers at the collection counter
Electronic weighing scales
Automatic milk collection units
Bank transfer file formats
SMS and messaging providers
Payment gateways
Your accounting software
Vehicle tracking devices

Reading an analyser or a weighing scale depends on the make, the port it offers and what the supplier allows. Each device is checked before it is promised.

The journey

One connected workflow, end to end.

Every stage below can sit in one system, so nobody re-enters what the last stage already captured.

Milk pouring
Quality test
Collection record
Farmer payment
Chilling
Tanker dispatch
Dock receipt
Processing and packing
Distributor indent
Route dispatch
Delivery
Returns
Collection

Built in phases

You do not have to replace everything at once.

Each phase is usable on its own, so the system earns its place before the next part is built.

1
Collection
Farmers, centres, pouring entry with fat and SNF, the rate chart and the printed slip. The counter screen is built for speed.
2
Payments and inputs
Payment cycles, advances and recoveries, cattle feed, veterinary services and the bank transfer file that pays a few hundred farmers at once.
3
Chilling and plant
Chilling centres, tanker dispatch, dock receipt, the shortage report, processing, batches and packing.
4
Market
Indents, routes, distributors, delivery staff, home delivery subscriptions, returns, ledgers and the dashboards that compare procurement with sales.

How we work

How a build actually runs.

01
Understand
We stand at a collection counter during a morning shift to see how much time an entry has.
02
Map
Centres, routes, rate charts, payment cycles, plant shifts, distributors and every point where quantity is measured again.
03
Design
Screens for a centre operator with wet hands and a queue, and for an office working out a ten-day payment.
04
Build
Collection and farmer payment first. The farmer’s slip has to be right before anything else.
05
Test
Your centres run real shifts through it in parallel, and one full payment cycle is checked farmer by farmer.
06
Deploy
Centre by centre and not all at once, with operators trained on the counter screen they will use twice a day.
07
Improve
Plant, routes, distributor ledgers and analytics, once procurement and payment are steady.

What you bring

What you bring, and when.

The build moves at the speed of the answers. These are the things we ask for, in the order we ask.

01
Pouring sheets, rate charts and payment slips
Send the farmer register, a centre’s pouring sheet, the fat and SNF rate chart and a recent payment slip. The distribution route list helps too. Handwritten copies are fine.
02
A centre lead, a lab hand and an accountant
Someone from a collection centre, the plant laboratory and accounts must be around for questions. Centres do things their own way. The dairy head decides when a centre departs from the plant’s rate rule.
03
Rate formula, deductions and payment dates
The rate formula, advance recovery rules, payment cycle dates and shelf life per product need your answers as each part comes up. Payment day depends on these. The staff who use a screen try it before work moves on.
04
Farmer ledgers and instrument links
Farmer balances, member lists, distributor dues and product masters are moved over. Milk analysers and scales that export data are connected. The dairy head approves the move.

What we can build

Systems we can put together for you.

Milk procurement systems
Collection centre software
Farmer payment and advance systems
Rate chart and quality management
Chilling centre and tanker tracking
Dairy plant production systems
Batch and shelf life tracking
Route and dispatch management
Distributor and agent portals
Home delivery subscription applications
Crate and returns tracking
Retailer ledger and collection systems
Management dashboards
Multi-centre dairy platforms

Common questions

Questions owners ask before starting.

What does custom dairy software cover?

Procurement at the collection centre, quality and rate charts, farmer payments, chilling and dispatch, plant production, routes, distributors and delivery. Most dairies start with the first three.

Can it record fat and SNF at the collection counter?

Yes, entered by the operator or read from an analyser where the device allows it. The rate is applied from your chart and the slip prints before the farmer leaves the counter.

Can our milk analysers and weighing scales be connected?

Sometimes. It depends on the make, the port and what the supplier permits, and it varies device by device. We check each one rather than assume.

Does it handle our own payment cycle?

Yes. Ten days, a fortnight or a month, with feed advances, loans and service charges recovered, and a bank file prepared for the net amounts.

Can farmers see their own pouring record?

Yes, on a printed slip, in a message after each shift, or in an application where the farmer has a suitable phone.

Can we see the gap between centre collection and dock receipt?

Yes, by tanker, route and centre. It is usually the first report an owner asks for.

How are distributor indents and routes handled?

Through evening indents, standing quantities, loading sheets, route dispatch, delivery confirmation and the returns that come back the next morning.

Are home delivery subscriptions supported?

Yes, with daily or alternate day patterns, vacation pauses, additions for a day and a monthly bill built from what was actually delivered.

Can crates be tracked?

Yes, issued to a route and reconciled on return, with deposits and losses per distributor. Crates are a real cost and are often not counted.

Will milk-collection and farmer-payment entries reach our books?

Usually, yes. Sales, purchases and farmer payments can be handed to your accounting software, like Xero or QuickBooks, so your accountant carries on as before. We try it on your own installation before agreeing to it.

Does it work at centres with poor internet?

Yes. The counter screen can work without a connection and send the shift’s entries when the network returns.

Should we begin with only collection and farmer payments?

Yes. Start with the pouring entry, the rate chart and the payment cycle. The plant and the routes can follow.

Build a dairy system that works at five in the morning.

A dairy is three businesses: procurement, manufacturing and distribution. All three run on the same litres counted at different points.

Show us one shift at a collection counter and one full payment cycle. If the slip in the farmer’s hand already matches your payment sheet, the plant and the routes are the better place to spend.

Tell us how you work

Tell us how your dairy businesses runs today.

We will tell you what can be digitised, what can be connected, what is worth automating, and what you should leave alone.

What happens after you share your requirements

A senior engineer reads your answers. Nobody phones first.
Within one business day you get a written note: what we understood, what we would start with, and the questions we still have.
If it fits, a proposal follows with the order of work, what we need from you and what you receive at each step.
No call is booked and nothing is paid until you have read the note. Your details stay with us.

Start with your requirements

Seven short steps that tell us what you need. A senior engineer reads them before anyone gets in touch.