01 / Billing speed
The counter must be quicker than a handwritten workaround.
For retail billing, look for immediate barcode focus, simple quantity changes, a walk-in customer, keyboard shortcuts, digital and cash payments, held carts, and a receipt layout that matches the printer.
- Known barcode adds the right item
- Unknown barcode has a recovery path
- Digital payment works without cash open
- Repeat checkout cannot duplicate a sale
02 / Customer records
A consumer and a B2B customer are not the same form.
A consumer sale may need no saved identity. A registered-business invoice may need legal company name, contact person, phone, email, GSTIN, PAN, billing and shipping addresses, state, and place of supply. Good software reveals that depth only when selected.
03 / Items and stock
A price list is not an inventory system.
For dependable stock, an item needs a stable SKU or barcode, unit, sale price, purchase price, tax classification, opening quantity, reorder level, and an immutable history of receipts, sales, returns, adjustments, and cost.
04 / Purchases and cash
Sales alone cannot explain where the money went.
Supplier orders, purchase invoices, payments made, purchase returns, expenses, cash movement, and closing variance need their own records. Combining everything into a generic “party entry” makes daily use look simple but month-end answers unreliable.
05 / Reports you can act on
A report is useful only if the transactions underneath agree.
At minimum, check receivables, payables, sales, purchases, payment history, inventory movement, tax summary, cash flow, and profit. Growing shops also benefit from trial balance, balance sheet, general ledger, stock valuation, and aging reports.