Hardware store software in Pakistan
A hardware store sells thousands of small things in feet, kilos and pieces, often to plumbers and contractors on credit. Taajir keeps track of the items and the people who owe you for them.
What makes this trade hard to run.
Thousands of small SKUs
Screws, sockets, elbows, tees and valves in every size from half inch to two inch. Nobody can remember the stock of each one.
Different units for different items
Pipe goes by the foot, nails by the kilo, fittings by the piece and paint by the tin. Paper records mix them up.
Plumbers and contractors on credit
Fundis and thekedars take material for a site and promise to pay when the client pays them. Some accounts drag on for months.
Prices that keep moving
Pipe, wire and paint prices change often. Selling old stock at an old rate, or forgetting a new rate, cuts the margin.
Built around the way you work.
An item list as long as your shelves
Add every size of every fitting as its own item, so stock and price are tracked separately for the half-inch and the three-quarter-inch.
Each item in the unit you sell it
Set each item's unit, such as foot, kg, piece or tin. Multi-unit conversion handles items bought by the carton or dozen and sold by the piece, or bought by kg and sold in grams.
Ledgers for plumbers and contractors
Each fundi or thekedar is a party. Every invoice and payment is dated, and the balance is always up to date.
Estimates and delivery challans
Give a contractor an estimate for the whole job and turn it into an invoice in one click when he confirms. Material sent to site goes with a delivery challan.
Godown stock on the Business plan
Keep bulky pipe and tanks in the godown and small items at the shop, each with its own stock.
WhatsApp bills for site work
Send the invoice to the contractor's WhatsApp as material leaves, so the site owner can see what was taken.
From opening to closing.
Opening
Plumbers come early for the day's material before going to site. Each sale is billed to their account or for cash.
Counter sales
Walk-in customers buy taps, bulbs and fittings. Stock drops item by item.
Supplier delivery
Pipe and fittings arrive from the wholesaler. The purchase is entered with current rates.
Contractor payments
A thekedar pays part of his balance. The payment goes in and his ledger updates.
Closing
The owner checks cash, credit given today and items running low for tomorrow's order.
Why hardware stores are hard to keep track of
Walk into a hardware and sanitary store in Gujranwala or Hyderabad and count the drawers. A single elbow comes in PVC, PPR and GI, in four or five sizes each. Add tees, sockets, unions, valves, screws, rawl plugs, wire, switches and paint, and a mid-sized store easily has a few thousand items. Most of them cost a few rupees. A few, like water tanks and motors, cost thousands.
Then add the units. PPR pipe is sold by the foot, nails by the kilo, fittings by the piece, cement-based fillers by the bag, paint by the tin. And a large part of the sales go to plumbers, electricians and contractors who take material on credit.
A worked example: a plumber's account
Imran is a plumber working on a house in your area. Over a week, his account in Taajir looks like this:
| Day | Entry | Amount (Rs) | Balance (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | PPR pipe 1/2 inch, 120 ft at Rs 210 per ft | 25,200 | 25,200 |
| Monday | Elbows, 40 pieces at Rs 45 | 1,800 | 27,000 |
| Monday | Solution, 2 tins at Rs 650 | 1,300 | 28,300 |
| Thursday | Cash payment | - 15,000 | 13,300 |
| Saturday | Tank fittings and valves | 6,700 | 20,000 |
On Saturday, the house owner asks Imran why the plumbing material cost so much. Imran asks you. You send the ledger on WhatsApp, and every item, quantity and rate is there. Monday's invoice was Rs 28,300, he paid Rs 15,000, and Saturday added Rs 6,700, leaving Rs 20,000. Plumbers who get clear bills come back to the shop that gives them, which is one of the quieter benefits of a proper khata app.
Estimates for contractors and site deliveries
Contractors often ask for a rate list before they take a job. In Taajir you make an estimate with every item, quantity and rate, and send it as a PDF on WhatsApp. If he gets the job, the estimate becomes an invoice in one click, with nothing typed twice. When material goes to site in parts, a delivery challan goes with each load so the site owner signs for what arrived. See quotation and delivery challan software for more.
Setting up thousands of items
The biggest job is the first one: putting your items into the system. The AiroxLab team helps with this remotely. Most stores start with their fast-moving items and add the rest as they sell. Each size gets its own item, because the half-inch elbow and the one-inch elbow have different prices and different stock. Each item is set up in the unit you sell it in, and multi-unit conversion covers items you buy in one unit and sell in another, such as screws bought by the carton and sold by the dozen. Our glossary entry on SKUs explains why one item per size and type matters.
Knowing what you earn on each item
Because every purchase records the rate you paid, Taajir's reports show what each item earns. In hardware this often surprises owners. The big tanks and motors bring in sales, but the steady margin is in fittings, screws and small electricals sold by the hundred. When a supplier raises the rate on pipe, you see it on the next purchase and can update your selling price before you lose money on the next 500 feet. The guide to FIFO vs average cost explains how stock value is worked out.
Shop, godown and staff
Pipe lengths, tanks and bags take space, so many stores keep a godown. On the Business plan at Rs 5,000 a month (Rs 50,000 a year), each location has its own stock, with transfers between them. A single shop runs on Standard at Rs 4,000 a month (Rs 36,000 a year). Counter boys can be given billing rights without seeing purchase rates, and the audit log records changes. Taajir works on the web, as a Windows desktop app and as a mobile app, and keeps billing when the internet drops.
Start with the 7-day free trial at taajir.pk, or see how Taajir handles inventory management in more detail.
Questions people ask
Can I sell pipe by the foot and fittings by the piece?
Yes. Each item is set up in the unit you sell it in, so pipe can be in feet, nails in kilos and fittings in pieces. Multi-unit conversion covers items bought by the carton or dozen and sold by the piece.
I have thousands of items. Do I need to enter them all at once?
No. Start with your fast movers and add others as they sell. The AiroxLab team helps you set up remotely.
Can I keep separate accounts for each plumber and contractor?
Yes. Each is a party with their own ledger, and you can send it to them on WhatsApp.
Can I see which items make the most profit?
Yes. Purchases record your cost, and reports show sales and profit by item.
Is there a plan for a shop with a godown?
Yes. The Business plan at Rs 5,000 a month (Rs 50,000 a year) keeps stock separately for each location, with transfers between them.
Can I give a contractor a quotation first?
Yes. Make an estimate, send it as a PDF on WhatsApp, and convert it to an invoice in one click when he confirms.
Similar businesses
Building materials suppliers
Cement, steel and bricks go out by the truckload to sites, usually on credit and at rates that change every week. Taajir records each delivery, each payment and what every customer owes.
Auto parts shops
An auto parts shop sells thousands of parts for dozens of car and motorcycle models, much of it to workshops on weekly credit. Taajir keeps the parts and the accounts in order.
Wholesale businesses
Taajir keeps a wholesaler's invoices, godown stock and every retailer's udhaar in one place, so the seth, the munshi and the godown keeper all work from the same numbers.
Tell us about your business.
We reply with a price, a demo time and the setup that fits your branches, counters and users.