Choosing software for a mobile shop in Pakistan

A mobile phone shop is not a general store. One handset can be worth more than a week of accessory sales, the same model comes in new, used and PTA-approved versions, and a used phone bought from the wrong person can bring the police to your counter. Generic billing software doesn't cover that. Here's what to look for in mobile shop software.

1. Stock by IMEI, not by model

Every handset should be its own record with its IMEI (both IMEIs on dual-SIM sets), condition, cost price and selling price. Searching by IMEI should take seconds, and once a set is sold, its IMEI should show who bought it and when.

2. PTA status on every set

Customers ask about PTA before they ask about price. Your software should record whether a set is PTA approved or not, and show it in the stock list, so nobody at the counter has to guess.

3. Records for used phones you buy

Buying used phones from walk-in sellers is good business and a real risk. Keep the seller's name, CNIC and phone number, and give the seller a signed used-phone buyback affidavit to keep with your copy. If a set is ever reported stolen, that paper protects you.

4. A repair desk, not a notebook

• An intake slip with the fault, the advance taken and the pattern lock
• Clear stages: received, in repair, ready, delivered
• Which karigar did the job, and what commission they're owed
• A WhatsApp message or printed slip when the phone is ready

5. Khata that keeps itself

Udhaar is part of the trade. Credit sales and part payments should land in the customer's account automatically, with a statement you can send on WhatsApp. The same goes for suppliers you buy stock from on credit.

6. It must work offline

Load shedding and patchy internet are facts of life in most markets, from Hall Road in Lahore to Saddar in Karachi and Dubai Plaza in Rawalpindi. Software that stops when the internet does will stop on your busiest day. A Windows app with its own database on the PC keeps billing, printing and khata running no matter what, and daily backups to a USB drive keep the data safe.

7. One-time or yearly: which is cheaper?

A yearly licence costs less up front. A lifetime licence costs about two and a half years of the yearly price and then nothing more. Compare both options on our pricing page — if you plan to use the software for more than three years, lifetime is the better deal.

Quick checklist

1. Search any phone by IMEI in under five seconds
2. PTA status on stock and on the sale slip
3. Seller CNIC and affidavit for every used phone
4. Repair tickets with stages and karigar commission
5. Customer and supplier khata with WhatsApp statements
6. Works with no internet, with daily backups

Sabt Mobile was built around this list. You can download the free trial and run it on your own counter for 7 days or 50 sales.