Industry playbook
Paint dealers & hardware stores
How paint dealers automate pack-size stock, painter credit and GST with hisabkitab
Imagine a paint and hardware store in a growing suburb that sells decorative paints, primers, putty and tools to painters, contractors and homeowners. It runs a tinting machine, stocks several brands in pack sizes from 200 ml to 20 litres, and bills 30 to 50 small invoices on a busy day.
The challenges
Why paint stock never matches the books
One shade, six pack sizes
Every product exists in 1, 4, 10 and 20 litre packs plus small tins, across bases and finishes. Without clear grouping, stock reports become a long unreadable list, and the owner cannot see at a glance that the 20-litre base of a fast-moving emulsion is running low.
Tinted orders that leave no trace
The tinting machine turns base paint and colourants into a custom shade. If the bill only says 'Emulsion 10L', nobody can repeat the exact shade for a touch-up three months later, and colourant consumption never shows up in stock.
Painter credit and loyalty
Painters and contractors buy on credit for several sites and bring customers to the shop. Tracking what each painter owes, which site the material went to, and which bills are overdue gets messy fast in a notebook.
Frequent company price revisions
Paint companies revise prices several times a year. Updating MRP and dealer rates across hundreds of SKUs by hand means old rates linger on the counter and margins quietly shrink.
Many small bills, little time
Busy weekends mean dozens of small bills in short bursts. A slow billing screen or a hunt for the right item code creates a queue, and a queue at a paint counter sends painters to the next shop.
A day in the life
A day before vs after hisabkitab
Before
Counter staff search a long item list for the right base and pack size while customers wait.
Tinted shade codes are written on the tin lid, not on the bill.
Painter dues are kept in a separate notebook, matched against bills once a month.
Price revision circulars are applied item by item over several evenings.
With hisabkitab
Staff pick from a grouped list (Brand → Range → Base → Pack), or scan a barcode on Advanced, and thermal-print the bill in seconds.
Shade code and site are captured as transaction fields on the tinted invoice, so any shade can be repeated.
Painter ledgers update automatically and Auto-WhatsApp sends bills and reminders.
Company price revisions are applied through the Price List in bulk.
Solutions
How hisabkitab solves it
Long, confusing item list
4-level grouping + Print Barcode
Group items Brand → Range → Base/Finish → Pack size. Print barcode labels for each pack so that, on Advanced, the counter scans instead of searching, and stock reports roll up neatly by range or brand.
Unrepeatable tinted shades
Custom Field (Transaction level)
Add Shade Code and Site as invoice fields. Every tinted bill records the exact shade, so a touch-up order months later is a quick search of the customer's past bills.
Pack-size litres for reporting
Custom Field (Item Level) + Formula
Store litres-per-pack on each item. A formula computes total litres on the invoice, which helps when a contractor's job is estimated in litres rather than tins.
Painter and contractor credit
Customer Ageing + Auto-payment reminder
Each painter has a ledger; the ageing report shows who is overdue. Automatic reminders on WhatsApp and email do the chasing without straining the relationship.
Frequent price revisions
Price List with bulk update
Apply company price revisions to all affected SKUs in one go, with separate lists for retail and painter rates.
Weekend queues
Thermal print + Tally-style keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard-first billing with F8 for sales and Alt+C to create a new party on the fly, plus thermal printing, keeps the queue moving.
Inside the software
Built for your books
Custom formula example
Total litres = Packs × Litres-per-pack. Example: 6 packs × 20 L = 120 L of interior emulsion base for a contractor site.
4-level grouping
Items: Brand → Interior Emulsion → Base (Pastel/Deep) → 20 L. Customers: Area → Buyer type (Painter) → Salesman → Party.
Reports you’ll use
Stock Summary · Low Stock Report · Price List · Customer Ageing Report · Item-wise Profit Report · Top Selling Items Report
Compliance notes
Paints, varnishes and putty are generally taxed at 18% GST, but check the HSN for each product family, since tools, brushes and some accessories may differ. Most counter sales are small B2C bills, while contractor sales are B2B and need the buyer's GSTIN for their input credit. Bulk deliveries to sites above ₹50,000 need an e-way bill.
Recommended plan
The plan that fits
Boost
₹4,999/year, exclusive of 18% GST (or ₹9,999 for 3 years)
Barcode printing, price lists, item and transaction custom fields and up to 1,500 e-way bills and e-invoices a year cover a single paint store comfortably. Multi-store dealers, distributors and stores that want barcode-scanner billing at the counter should look at Advanced.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Can I record the tinted shade on the invoice?
Yes. Add Shade Code as a transaction-level custom field on Boost. It prints on the bill and is stored with the sale, so when the customer or painter returns for a touch-up you can search their past invoices and repeat the exact shade without relying on a marker on the tin lid.
How do I handle the same paint in many pack sizes?
Create each pack size as an item and group them four levels deep, for example Brand, Range, Base and Pack size. Billing stays quick because staff pick the exact pack, or scan it on Advanced, and reports roll up to range or brand when you want the bigger picture.
Can painters have a different rate from retail customers?
Yes. Keep a retail price list and a painter or contractor price list. When the party is selected, the matching rate applies. When a company revises prices, update the list in bulk instead of editing items one by one. Painters see consistent pricing every visit, which builds loyalty.
Does it work fast enough at a busy counter?
Billing is keyboard-first, with Tally-style shortcuts such as F8 for a sales voucher and Alt+C to create a new party mid-bill. With thermal printing, plus barcode scanning on Advanced, a typical small paint bill takes seconds, which is what keeps weekend queues short.
Can I see which products actually make money?
Yes. The Item-wise Profit Report shows margin per SKU and pack size, and Top Selling Items shows what moves fastest. Together they tell you whether the fast movers are also the ones that earn, which helps when deciding how much stock to hold before a price revision.
Faster counter, clearer stock, painters paid up
Book a demo and we will set up your brands and pack sizes in four-level groups, a painter price list and shade-code fields on your invoice.
