Sales vs money in the till

The business problem

Monday you sell Ksh 15,000—but Ksh 4,000 is on credit. Tuesday a regular pays Ksh 2,500 of last week’s deni. If you count that payment as a “new sale,” you double-count. If you ignore Monday’s credit sale, you understate how well the shop moved stock.

Why it matters

Sales answer: how much did we sell today (goods left the shelf)? Collections answer: how much cash and M-Pesa actually came in today?

Credit sales belong in sales on the day of the sale. Debt payments belong in collections on the day they are paid— not as a second sale. Mix them and you cannot plan float, stock, or school fees with a straight face.

A simple example

• Mon: Credit sale Ksh 1,000 → Sales +1,000 · Collections +0 · Customer owes 1,000
• Wed: Customer pays 400 → Sales +0 · Collections +400 · Balance 600
• Fri: Pays 600 → Sales +0 · Collections +600 · Balance 0

Same sale once. Three honest money movements. That is staggered deni done right.

Common mistakes

• Adding debt payments into “today’s sales” and celebrating inflated revenue
• Excluding credit from sales so a strong deni day looks quiet
• Waiting for full settlement before recording any payment
• Closing the till without separating checkout cash from debt collected

Best practices

• Record credit (or split cash/M-Pesa/credit) at checkout with a named customer
• When they pay later—even a little—record that payment the same day
• At close, look at Sales today and Collected today as two different numbers
• Use Collected today = money at checkout + debt paid today

How F-Biz by Fayvad helps

Credit and split tenders still count toward Sales today. Partial debt payments reduce the customer balance and feed Collected today (with a checkout vs debt breakdown)—without creating a fake new sale. Customer detail lets you Record Payment for any amount, or Mark as Paid to clear the rest in one step.