Sell on account at the till
In Wave POS, selling on credit is a payment method, like cash or M-Pesa. The cashier attaches the customer to the sale, presses pay and puts all or part of the total on the customer’s account.
Because it is a payment like any other, one sale can mix methods. A contractor buying KSh 18,000 of cement and iron sheets at a hardware store can pay KSh 6,000 by M-Pesa and put the other KSh 12,000 on account. The receipt shows both, and the KSh 12,000 goes straight onto his balance.
That replaces the credit book under the counter. There is no page to lose, no handwriting to argue over, and the balance is right the moment the sale is done.
Credit limits keep each account in check
Every customer account has a credit limit: the most that customer may owe you at one time. The till checks it on every sale on account.
Say a customer has a KSh 50,000 limit and already owes KSh 38,000. When the cashier chooses their account, the till says they can take up to KSh 12,000 on account, and no more. The rest of the sale is paid another way, or the customer pays something off first.
Your cashiers do not have to remember who is good for how much, or make an awkward call at the counter. The limit you set in the back office decides for them.
Customers pay their balance at the till
A customer who comes in to pay does it at any till, in cash, by M-Pesa or with another payment method you take. Their balance drops at once. The payment belongs to that till’s shift, so cash paid towards an account is part of the drawer count at close.
A ledger for every customer
Each customer has a ledger: every sale on account, every return and every payment, with the date. When a customer says “I paid you last week”, you open their account and see the payment, or see that it is not there. It settles the question there and then.
Debtors ageing: who owes what, and for how long
The debtors report lists every customer who owes you money, split by how old the debt is: 0–30 days, 31–60, 61–90 and over 90 days. It also counts the customers who are over their limit.
Old debts are the hardest to collect, so read it every week and call the oldest balances first. Like every report in Wave POS, it exports to Excel, CSV or PDF, and the other reports are described under sales reports. For a step-by-step approach to giving credit and getting paid, read our guide to managing customer credit.
Mistaken payments are reversed, never deleted
A payment recorded by mistake is corrected with a reversal, not deleted. If a cashier puts a KSh 5,000 payment on the wrong customer, someone with permission reverses it and gives a reason. The amount goes back on that customer’s balance, and the original payment stays on the ledger next to the reversal.
Nothing disappears, so the account always adds up and you can see what happened and who corrected it.
Different prices for different customers
Some customers pay a different price from everyone else. Give a customer a percentage markup on their account, such as 10% more, and every price at the till changes for them as soon as the cashier attaches them to the sale. A negative markup, such as 5% less, lowers their prices instead.
A markup applies on top of the item’s retail or wholesale price, so it works alongside retail and wholesale pricing.
Who can change limits and markups
You decide, through roles and permissions. One permission covers setting credit limits and price markups, adjusting balances and reversing payments, so you can keep it to the owner and managers.
Selling on account and receiving account payments are separate permissions. A cashier without permission to sell on account can still do it with a manager’s approval at the till. Changes to a customer’s credit limit or markup are recorded in the audit log, with who made them and when.