MunshiA Pakistani-run shop in the UAE can keep its whole udhaar khata on the phone with Munshi: customer credit in AED, in Urdu or English, working offline, free. Many grocery shops, cafeterias, mobile shops and small trading firms in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Abu Dhabi still run on monthly credit for regular customers: workers who are paid at the end of the month, families in the building, drivers and labour camps. That credit lives in a register under the counter. This guide shows how to move it to a phone, and is honest about what a khata app does not do.
Why a register stops working
A paper register works until one of these happens: two people serve customers and both write in it; a customer disputes a figure and you cannot find the page; the register gets wet or lost; or you want to send a reminder and have to add up a month of entries by hand. In a busy UAE shop with staff on shifts, all four happen every month. Customers also move away suddenly when a job ends, so knowing exactly who owes what, today, matters more than it does at home.
Setting up Munshi for a UAE shop
- Install Munshi from the App Store or Google Play and sign in with your mobile number. A UAE number works.
- Create the business: shop name, then pick the type (for example Kiryana / General store or Food / Hotel / Bakery) and set the currency to AED. Every amount is then shown in dirhams.
- Add your regular credit customers with what they already owe. You can type up to three on the first screen, pick names from your contacts, or import a whole list from Excel or CSV.
- Add entries as they happen. Tap the customer, then You gave when they take goods on credit and You got when they pay. Add a note such as “rice 5 kg” or “Oct salary payment”.
If you also keep a business or family account in Pakistan, add it as a second business with currency PKR. One account holds up to 5 businesses, and each keeps its own customers, cash book, bank and backups.
Urdu or English, for you and your staff
Munshi works fully in Urdu, with right-to-left layout, and in English. Switch with the globe button at any time. That helps when the owner reads Urdu and a manager prefers English. Customer statements can be shared in either language, so a customer from Pakistan gets an Urdu PDF and another customer gets English.
Collecting at month end
Most UAE credit settles when salaries are paid. On the last days of the month:
- Open Reminders, tick everyone with a balance, and tap Send reminders. Munshi opens WhatsApp for each customer in turn with the amount already written. You press Send, then move to the next name.
- If someone questions the amount, share their statement as a PDF from the customer’s page. It lists every entry with its date and note.
- Set a due date on a customer who promised to pay on a certain day; Home shows who is due today or late.
Messages go from your own WhatsApp, so there is no SMS cost. For wording, see our reminder templates.
Cash, bank and expenses
Beyond credit, the Cash Book records cash in and cash out, the Bank Book keeps each bank account’s balance, and Expenses records rent, DEWA, salaries and supplies by category. At closing time, Today’s closing shows the day on one screen: credit given and received, cash in hand, bank total and today’s expenses, and shares it as a WhatsApp text to a partner.
Working offline
Many shops have weak signal in the back room or basement. Munshi saves every entry on the phone first and syncs when the connection returns. Backups go to the phone and to your own Google Drive, so a lost phone does not mean a lost khata.
What Munshi does not do in the UAE
- No VAT. It does not issue tax invoices or prepare VAT returns for the Federal Tax Authority.
- No stock. It does not track inventory or scan barcodes.
- No payments. It records money; it does not move money.
Use it beside your accountant or POS: Munshi covers the informal credit and cash that tax software does not see, and its PDF and Excel reports can be handed over at month end.
Is it really free?
Yes. Munshi is free to download and use, with small ads that pay for the servers. Offline use, several businesses, Google Drive backup and reminders are all included. Exports of this month and last month are free. Read why Munshi is free.
A simple routine that works
Write each credit sale when it happens, not at night from memory. Check Today’s closing before you shut. On the 25th, look at who owes the most and remind them first. Keep one person responsible for corrections, and use the Recycle bin if something is deleted by mistake: it keeps deleted entries for 14 days. Shops abroad lose most money to customers who leave suddenly, so a short gap between giving credit and asking for it is the best protection.
Questions UAE shop owners ask us
Can my partner in Pakistan see the khata? Yes, if you sign in to the same account on their phone. Many owners abroad prefer to share only the daily closing text instead, which shows totals without opening the full khata.
What about customers who leave the UAE? Their statement PDF and phone number stay in Munshi. A clear statement sent on WhatsApp is often paid even after someone has moved, because there is nothing to argue about.
Munshi is made by DIGIT in Pakistan. For more on running a khata abroad, read khata for Pakistani shops abroad.