How does the Munshi khata app work? A plain walkthrough for shop owners

Munshi is a free khata app from DIGIT. You add your customers, tap “You gave” when goods leave on credit and “You got” when a customer pays, and each person’s running balance updates at once. It also keeps a Cash Book, a Bank book and your expenses, works without internet, makes Urdu or English statements, and opens WhatsApp reminders that you press Send on. This page explains, in plain steps, how it works day to day, and is honest about what it does not do.

The idea in one minute

A khata is an account page for one person. Munshi gives every customer, and every supplier, their own page. Whenever money or goods pass between you, you write it down as one of two entries: You gave (you gave goods or money, so they owe you) or You got (they paid you). The difference is the balance. If you are new to the word, read what is a khata first.

Setting up

1. Install and sign in with your phone number and the code we text you. Later you can add a passkey or a 6-digit sign-in PIN so you do not wait for a message. See signing in without an SMS code.
2. Name your business and pick Urdu or English. You can switch any time in Settings.
3. Set the currency if it is not PKR. Type a code such as GBP or AED on the setup screen.
4. Add your customers, one by one with a name and phone, or in one go by importing an Excel or CSV file. See importing customers.

The full first-day walkthrough is in getting started with Munshi.

Recording a day’s credit and payments

Open the customer, tap You gave, type the amount, add a short note such as “sugar, flour” and save. That is the whole entry. When the customer pays, tap You got and type what they paid. The balance at the top changes immediately, and the total owed to you on the home screen changes with it. If you made a mistake, you can edit or delete an entry, and the guide to fixing a wrong entry shows how. If a balance ever looks off, the Correct button helps; see how Correct fixes a balance.

Cash book, bank book and expenses

A khata records money between you and people. Your drawer and bank are separate questions. Munshi’s Cash Book records cash in and cash out; the Bank book records money in your bank; and expenses records what you spent, with a category. They are not copied from the customer ledger automatically, because they answer different questions: who owes me? and what should be in the drawer? When a customer pays you in cash, you record You got on their page and Cash in on the Cash Book. See cash book vs khata vs bank book.

Offline first

Munshi saves each entry on your phone first, so a power cut or poor signal does not stop you. When the phone is online again, entries sync to your account and to your other phones. You can use one account on more than one phone, and one account can hold up to five businesses, each with its own customers and books.

Statements, reports and reminders

• Statements. Open a customer, choose a date range and share a PDF in Urdu or English. See how to create a customer statement.
• Reports. Reports for your accounts, cash and expenses export as PDF or Excel. This month’s and last month’s PDFs are free; a longer range or an Excel file shows a short ad first.
• Reminders. Tap the bell on a customer and WhatsApp opens with a message ready. You press Send. Nothing is sent automatically. See sending a WhatsApp udhaar reminder.

Backup and safety

Your records live on your phone and in your account. You can also back up to your own Google Drive, restore a backup as a new business, and lock the app with a PIN or fingerprint. See backing up on Google Drive and restoring a backup. Customer names, numbers and amounts are not given to advertisers.

Why it is free, and where the ads are

Munshi is supported by small ads marked “Ad”. They never appear while you add an entry, sign in, unlock the app or send a reminder. There is no subscription, and entries, balances, sync and backup are not behind a plan. Read why Munshi is free for the full explanation.

What Munshi does not do

Being clear about limits helps you choose well. Munshi has no invoicing, no stock or barcode tracking, no payroll or staff roles, no tax calculation, no credit limits that block an entry, and no connection to bank accounts or wallets. It does not move money or collect payments. If you need those, use accounting software beside it. See Munshi vs QuickBooks.

A day with Munshi: an example

At 9am a customer, Ali, takes Rs 1,200 of groceries on credit. The shopkeeper opens Ali’s page, taps You gave, types 1200, adds the note “groceries” and saves, which takes a few seconds. At noon Ali’s neighbour pays Rs 3,000 against an older balance: You got, 3000, saved. In the evening the shopkeeper counts the drawer and compares it with the Cash Book total, then opens Accounts to see the biggest balances and sends two reminders. At the end of the week a statement goes to a customer who asked for one. None of this needs a signal until the phone syncs later.

Is it right for you?

If your problem is knowing who owes you and what the drawer should hold, in your own language, without a monthly fee, Munshi fits. Try it with ten real customers for a week and see. Our honest review of Munshi for Pakistan lists what it does well and where it falls short.