Industry playbook
Agro, seeds, pesticide & fertilizer dealers
How agro-input dealers automate seasonal stock, farmer credit and GST with hisabkitab
Picture an agri-input dealer in a taluka town selling seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and small farm tools to farmers and village retailers. Business swings with the kharif and rabi sowing seasons, a large share of sales are on credit until harvest, and each product category carries its own licence and tax treatment.
The challenges
Why agro-input accounts follow the crop calendar
Three tax treatments on one counter
Seeds, fertilizers, chemical pesticides, bio-products and tools do not share one GST rate, and some are exempt. A farmer's single bill can mix them, and a wrong rate on even one line throws off the GST return and the dealer's input credit.
Lot numbers and expiry dates
Seeds carry lot numbers and test dates, and pesticides have batch numbers and expiry. When these are not recorded, recalls, complaints and returns to the company become impossible to handle cleanly, and expired stock is discovered too late.
Credit until harvest
Farmers buy at sowing and pay after harvest, sometimes across seasons. Dues build up across hundreds of small accounts, and without village-wise ageing the dealer cannot tell who is reliably repaying and who is not.
Seasonal peaks and stock-outs
Demand for specific seeds and inputs spikes for a few weeks. Ordering too little loses the season; ordering too much leaves stock that may expire. Decisions are usually based on last year's memory.
Licences and company schemes
Dealers need seed, fertilizer and pesticide licences, and companies run seasonal schemes and rebates. Licence numbers are expected on bills, and scheme credits arrive late and are easy to lose track of.
A day in the life
A day before vs after hisabkitab
Before
Bills are written by hand in the rush season and entered into the computer later.
Lot and expiry numbers are not recorded on bills.
Farmer dues live in a thick credit register sorted by village.
Re-orders for the season are decided from last year's memory.
With hisabkitab
Items carry their own HSN and rate, so mixed bills are taxed correctly line by line.
Lot, batch and expiry are captured as item and transaction fields on every sale.
Farmer ledgers are grouped by village, with ageing and WhatsApp reminders after harvest.
Stock and sales reports from last season guide this season's orders.
Solutions
How hisabkitab solves it
Mixed tax rates
Item-level HSN and GST rate + GST Report
Set the correct HSN and rate on each item once. Mixed bills tax each line correctly, and the GST Report shows rate-wise sales ready for the return.
Lot, batch and expiry
Custom Field (Item Level and Transaction level)
Record lot number, batch and expiry on purchase and sale. Search bills by lot when a company recall or farmer complaint comes in.
Farmer credit
4-level customer grouping + Customer Ageing
Group farmers Taluka → Village → Crop → Farmer. Ageing by village shows where credit is stretched, and Auto-payment reminders go out on WhatsApp after harvest.
Seasonal stock planning
Stock Summary + Low Stock Report + Item-wise Profit Report
Compare last season's sales and margins by product, set reorder levels before sowing starts, and let the Low Stock Report flag gaps early.
Licence numbers on bills
Custom Field (Transaction level)
Print your seed, fertilizer and pesticide licence numbers on invoices via invoice fields or terms.
Company scheme credits
Credit Notes + Bill-wise Profit Report
Post rebates against the company ledger so margins reflect the real cost.
Company purchase bills in the rush
OCR Purchase Bill Import (Advanced) + Auto-fill from GSTIN
Supplier details fill in from the GSTIN, and on Advanced AI-OCR reads company invoices so stock is updated before the counter rush instead of after it.
Inside the software
Built for your books
Custom formula example
Total kg = Bags × kg-per-bag. Example: 20 bags × 50 kg = 1,000 kg of fertilizer for a village retailer.
4-level grouping
Items: Pesticides → Insecticide → Company A → 250 ml. Customers: Taluka → Village → Crop (Cotton) → Farmer.
Reports you’ll use
Customer Ageing Report · Stock Summary · Low Stock Report · Item-wise Profit Report · GST Report · Party-wise Sales Report
Compliance notes
Most seeds are exempt, fertilizers and many farm inputs sit in the lower slab, and chemical pesticides generally attract a higher rate, while the September 2025 changes moved several bio-pesticides and agricultural machinery to 5%; confirm each HSN before the season. Subsidised fertilizer sales also follow government point-of-sale procedures outside your accounting software. Dealer licence details should appear on bills as required by state rules.
Recommended plan
The plan that fits
Boost
₹4,999/year, exclusive of 18% GST (or ₹9,999 for 3 years)
Item and transaction custom fields for lot and expiry, four-level farmer grouping, price lists and Auto-WhatsApp reminders on Boost suit a small-to-mid dealer. Agro distributors supplying retailers should choose Advanced.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Can one bill have exempt seeds and taxable pesticides?
Yes. Each item carries its own HSN code and GST rate, so a farmer's bill with seeds, fertilizer and a pesticide applies the right treatment line by line. The GST Report then shows rate-wise and exempt sales separately, which is what your return needs.
How do I track lot numbers and expiry dates?
Add Lot No, Batch and Expiry as custom fields on items and on the invoice line. They print on the bill and are searchable, so when a company announces a recall or a farmer complains about germination, you can find every bill that carried that lot.
Can I manage farmer credit by village?
Yes. Group customers four levels deep, for example Taluka, Village, Crop and Farmer. Ageing and outstanding reports roll up by village, so you can plan collection visits after harvest and decide where to tighten credit next season. Farmer ledgers also show each family's history across seasons.
Will it work during the rush season when the internet is weak?
hisabkitab is cloud-based and needs internet to bill. The mobile app works over a mobile data connection and caches recent data for viewing. Many dealers keep a phone hotspot as backup for the counter during the sowing rush. Bills sync as soon as the connection returns to normal.
Can I send payment reminders to farmers on WhatsApp?
Yes. Auto-WhatsApp and Auto-payment reminders send the bill and due reminders on schedule. Time them for after harvest, when farmers are able to pay, and keep a polite, consistent follow-up without the dealer making dozens of calls. Reminders carry the bill, so farmers know exactly what is due.
Plan the season, collect after harvest
Book a demo and we will set up your seed, fertilizer and pesticide items with correct tax rates and lot fields, and group your farmers by village.
