Selling on credit is part of how Sri Lankan shops have always worked. Regular customers are given goods now and pay at month-end, after the harvest, or when the salary arrives. It builds loyalty, but it also ties up your cash, and a notebook of names and amounts only works until it gets crowded. This guide shows how to keep the goodwill and control the risk.
Why Credit Goes Wrong
The same few problems show up in almost every shop:
- No limit. One customer’s balance quietly grows far beyond what they can repay.
- Written in different places. Some entries are in the notebook, some on bills, some only in your head.
- No reminders. Customers forget, and you hesitate to ask in person.
- No picture of the total. You cannot say how much money is currently owed to you.
Fix those four and most credit trouble disappears.
Step 1: Give Every Credit Customer a Record
Each credit customer should have a named account with their contact number. Every credit sale is added to that account automatically from the bill, with no separate entry, so nothing is missed. A customer who has no record gets no credit.
Step 2: Set a Credit Limit per Customer
Decide a limit for each person based on how long you have known them, how regularly they pay and how much they typically buy. The system should stop or warn you when a sale would take them over the limit. Limits are not about distrust. They protect the relationship, because a small balance is easier to settle than a large one.
Step 3: Accept Partial Payments
Customers rarely pay the full balance at once. Make sure partial payments are recorded against the account, so the outstanding amount is always accurate. A customer who pays something each month stays in good standing and keeps buying.
Step 4: Send Reminders Without the Awkward Conversation
A polite SMS does what a face-to-face reminder cannot, and it takes no effort once set up. Invenova can send payment reminders by SMS in Sinhala or English, so the message reads naturally to your customer. Plans include a monthly SMS allowance: 100 on Starter, 500 on Professional and unlimited on Business.
Step 5: Review Balances Every Week
Once a week, look at the list of outstanding balances, sorted by how overdue they are:
- Who is close to their limit?
- Who has not paid anything for a while?
- Who owes the most in total?
A 10-minute weekly review prevents a month-end surprise. This is where a customer ageing report earns its place: it shows how long each balance has been outstanding.
Step 6: Separate Cash and Credit in Your Reports
Cash sales and credit sales are not the same as money in the till. At the end of the day, you should be able to see how much was sold, how much was paid and how much was added to credit. That gives you an honest picture of cash flow.
Step 7: Know When to Pause Credit
Some customers will stop paying. Decide in advance what you will do: pause new credit once a balance passes a certain age, agree a repayment plan, or move to cash only. Having the rule ready makes it easier to apply fairly.
A Simple Weekly Routine
| Day | Task | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Review outstanding balances and who is near their limit | 10 min |
| Wednesday | Send reminders to overdue accounts | 5 min |
| Friday | Check what was collected this week | 5 min |
Credit Beyond Groceries
The same discipline applies to farm shops with seasonal farmer credit, paint shops with contractor accounts, bookshops serving schools and pharmacies supplying hospitals. See how the software handles these in Grocery POS, Farm Shop POS and Pharmacy POS, and read the guides for agri shops, paint shops, bookshops and FMCG distributors.
Bringing It Together
Invenova’s credit management lets you set credit limits, track outstanding balances, accept partial payments and send SMS reminders from one screen. It is included from the Professional plan; see pricing for details. Want to see how it would work with your regular customers? Book a free demo, or read our 13-point checklist to compare systems.