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Selling on Credit: How to Manage Customer Dues Without Losing Money

By Quantum Solutions · 2 min read

Short answer: lend only to customers you know, agree a limit and a due date, record every credit sale and every payment as it happens, and review who owes what every week. Credit builds loyalty when it is controlled and drains cash when it is not.

Key takeaways

  • Every credit sale needs a named customer, an amount and a date.
  • Record payments the moment they arrive, and say what they were for.
  • Age your dues: 0 to 30, 31 to 60 and 61 days or more.
  • Never mix credit with cash in one notebook or one pocket.

Why credit goes wrong

Credit usually fails quietly. A sale is written in a notebook, a part payment is forgotten, a regular customer's balance keeps creeping up, and nobody notices until the total is large and the customer is awkward to ask. The fix is not to stop offering credit. It is to make each step visible.

A simple credit policy

  1. Choose who gets credit. Known, regular customers first.
  2. Set a limit for each customer, not one limit for everyone.
  3. Agree a due date when you make the sale: weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
  4. Record the sale on the customer's account, not as cash.
  5. Record every payment with the method used (cash, card, mobile, bank).
  6. Pause credit for anyone who is over their limit or past their date.

Age your dues

Group balances by how old they are. Money owed for 10 days is normal. Money owed for 90 days is a problem. A weekly look at three groups (up to 30 days, 31 to 60, over 60) tells you where to spend your effort.

Reminders that work

A friendly, specific message works better than silence or pressure: the amount, the date it was due and how to pay. Send it from the shop's number, keep a record that you sent it, and follow up once.

Write-offs

Sometimes a balance will not be paid. Write it off deliberately: record the amount and the reason, and let a manager approve it. A visible write-off is far better than a balance that sits on the books for years.

How DukaanAI helps

In DukaanAI a sale on credit needs a named customer and adds to their balance. You record payments by cash, card, mobile pay or bank transfer, see each customer's history, export all dues, and managers can write off a balance with a required reason. Cashiers cannot write off a balance. See customers and dues.

Frequently asked questions

How much credit should I give a customer?

A common approach is to set a limit based on what the customer normally spends in a month, and raise it only after they have paid on time. Start low with new customers.

Should I write off an unpaid balance?

Only after you have tried to collect it. When you do, record it as a write-off with a reason, so the loss is visible in your numbers and the customer's balance is cleared.

How often should I follow up on dues?

Review dues once a week. Contact anyone past the agreed date, and treat balances over 30, 60 and 90 days old as separate groups.

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