Hardware Store Software: Billing, Stock and Supplier Purchases in One Place

A hardware store carries more fiddly stock than almost any other shop. Screws sell by the box and by the piece, pipe elbows come in several sizes, one emulsion paint comes in a dozen shades and three tin sizes, and the cement price moves with every delivery. Knowing "roughly" what is on the shelves is how a plumber gets told you have 3/4-inch elbows when the last one went yesterday.

The buying side is just as busy: a paint distributor, a plumbing wholesaler, an electrical dealer and a cement agent, each on different terms, with their bills collecting in a drawer. Here is what software a hardware store needs, how Saauzi handles it, and where it falls short.

What software a hardware store actually needs

• Billing without barcodes. Sealed paint tins carry barcodes; loose hinges and washers don't, so staff need to find items by name in seconds.
• Sizes and shades under one product, not forty separate entries for one paint.
• A strong purchase side. Every delivery should raise stock, and you should see what you have paid each supplier.
• VAT bills with your PAN, which contractors and companies ask for.
• Billing through power cuts, and a daily cash check across cash, wallets and bank.

How Saauzi covers a hardware store

Saauzi is an all-in-one ERP: a suite of business apps on one platform. Pick hardware store as your industry at sign-up and it switches on POS Shop, Online Store and Cashbook. They share one Products catalog, one stock and one book, so a sale anywhere reduces stock everywhere and posts to Cashbook automatically. You can add other apps later from the hub.

POS Shop: the counter and your supplier purchases

Staff search by item name or scan a barcode (the scanner is optional). You can discount a contractor's bulk order, split a payment across cash and a wallet, and print VAT/PAN-ready bills with your business name, address and PAN/VAT on a thermal printer, or send a digital receipt. If the internet drops, billing continues offline and syncs later.

Variants make an elbow one product in 1/2, 3/4 and 1 inch, and a paint one product by shade and tin size. When goods arrive, you record a purchase entry against the supplier and stock rises, with supplier records, purchase payments and each product's stock history alongside. Our guide to inventory and purchasing in one system walks through the routine.

A low-stock list drives reordering, stock adjustments record the cracked tiles and the cement bag that set hard in the damp, and slow-mover reports show which lines don't earn their shelf space.

Online Store: a catalog contractors can check

Contractors on site would often rather check your range on a phone than ring the shop. The Online Store is a branded, mobile-first storefront you style without code, on the same catalog and stock as the counter, accepting eSewa, Khalti, cards and cash on delivery.

Cashbook: drawer, bank and wallet

Sales post automatically. Add expenses such as loading labour and transport, record a transfer when you bank the day's cash, and count the drawer against the book so a difference shows the same day. Clean exports go to your accountant.

A hypothetical week at the counter

1. Monday: the paint distributor delivers 24 tins of 4-litre emulsion at NPR 2,100 each, an NPR 50,400 bill. You record the purchase entry and an NPR 30,000 bank payment, leaving NPR 20,400 due.
2. Tuesday: a contractor buys 10 tins and 40 elbows, pays partly in cash and partly by Khalti, and leaves with a VAT bill.
3. Wednesday: a two-hour power cut. Billing carries on offline.
4. Thursday: a box of floor tiles is dropped while unloading. An adjustment of minus one box records why.
5. Friday: the low-stock list shows 3/4-inch elbows running out, so they go on the next wholesaler call.
6. Saturday: the drawer matches Cashbook, and slow movers show a brass tap range that hasn't sold in months. You don't reorder it.

A checklist for choosing hardware store software

• Can staff find an item with no barcode in a few seconds?
• Can sizes and shades sit under one product as variants?
• Does a supplier purchase raise stock and show what you have paid?
• Does billing work offline and print VAT/PAN bills?
• Is the online store on the same stock?
• How is it priced: per user, per app or a cut of sales?

Where Saauzi fits and where it doesn't

Saauzi fits a hardware shop that wants the counter, supplier purchases, an online catalog and daily cash in one place. With several outlets, each keeps its own stock and sales, rolling up into one view. Our plain-English guide to what an ERP is for a small business explains why that shared record matters. The limits:

• No estimates or quotations. Quotes for a contractor's job are prepared outside Saauzi; there are no BOQs or material take-offs.
• No stock transfers between branches. Record an adjustment at each end.
• No purchase orders with approvals. Purchase entries record goods you have received.
• No delivery or logistics for sending cement and rod to sites.
• No serial numbers or batch tracking, so generator warranties and paint batch numbers need their own register.
• Cashbook is not full accounting software and doesn't file VAT returns.

What it costs

Your first app is free forever, so you can start with POS Shop. One flat subscription unlocks every Saauzi app: NPR 1,500 per user per month or NPR 12,000 per user per year (US$20 or US$200 internationally), with no commission on sales. An owner plus one counter hand on annual billing comes to NPR 24,000 (US$400) a year. The Saauzi pricing page has the details.

FAQ

Can I bill items that don't have a barcode?

Yes. Staff search by name; a barcode scanner is optional.

Can I see what I owe each supplier?

Yes. Saauzi records each purchase entry and each payment to the supplier, so you can compare the two.

Does Saauzi replace my accountant's software?

No. Cashbook is a digital ledger for daily income, expenses and reconciliation, with clean exports for your accountant.

If your shelves and your stock notebook haven't agreed since last Dashain, start with the counter and record each delivery as it arrives. See the Saauzi hardware store page, or start with one Saauzi app free.