Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for kirana and grocery stores.
A checklist built from how kirana and grocery stores work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Counter billing with barcode and tax
- Customer credit
- Stock and low-stock alerts
- Supplier purchases and dues
- Phone and WhatsApp orders
- Delivery rider app
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For counter staff
- For delivery riders
- For regular customers
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Sales by day, week and month, with the busiest hours at each counter
- Fast-moving and slow-moving items, with stock cover in days and the last purchase rate
- Credit outstanding by customer, with the date of the last payment and the age of each balance, so reminders go first to the oldest households
- Purchases by supplier
- Expenses and profit for the month
- Deliveries by rider, with payment status, cash in hand and the orders still out on the road at closing time
- Sales export for tax returns
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Accounting package export
- SMS
- Mobile wallets and payment gateways
- Barcode scanners and bill printers
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is it corner-shop billing software or a full grocery system?
- Can it keep my customers’ credit accounts?
- Can I take orders on WhatsApp and deliver them?
- Does it print tax bills and help with filing?
- How does it reach our accounts?
- Can our item list and barcodes be loaded?
- Does it work on a mobile phone?
- Who owns the sales and customer data?
- What does it cost?
- Would a small corner shop with one counter find it excessive?
- How soon can the counter bill on it?
- What should the store prepare beforehand?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- The credit page is the only copy
- WhatsApp orders are packed from memory
- Fast movers finish on a Sunday
- The rider’s bag never settles cleanly
Prefer to talk it through? See the kirana and grocery stores page.