Why purchase entry gets skipped, and what it costs
Purchase entry software exists because typing a supplier bill line by line is the job every shop puts off. A distributor’s bill for a kirana store can run to 60 lines: item, quantity, free quantity, rate, discount, GST. After a long day at the counter, nobody wants to type that.
So the bills go into a drawer. Then the stock on the screen stops matching the shelf, the cost price is last year’s, the profit report is a guess, and at the end of the month the CA asks for the purchase register and it is not there. Billing software is only as good as the purchases that go into it.
Cartix Prime tries to make purchase entry short enough that it gets done the day the goods arrive.
What Cartix Prime does with a supplier bill
Purchase entry is on every paid plan, from Starter. There are three ways to get a bill in, depending on what the supplier gives you and which plan you are on.
A PDF bill: read exactly
Many distributors now send the bill as a PDF on WhatsApp or email. On every plan with purchase, Cartix Prime reads the text inside the PDF exactly as it is written. Items, quantities and rates come in without guessing, and you match them to your own items.
A photo of a paper bill: read on the device
For a printed or handwritten bill, take a photo. On every plan, the photo is read on the device itself, without AI. It works best on clear, printed bills taken flat and in good light. You check each line before saving.
Gold: AI reading of the bill photo
On Gold, a bill photo can be read with AI, and the items fill themselves into the purchase. This handles crowded and uneven bills better. It comes with a monthly allowance of readings. Gold can also read a pack label with AI to pick up the MRP, expiry and batch, which helps shops that track batches and expiry.
Purchase drafts: photo now, entry later
On Silver and up, there are purchase drafts. When the delivery van is at the door and the counter is busy, take a photo of the supplier bill and keep it as a draft. Finish the entry in the quiet hour after lunch. The bill does not get lost in a drawer, and you can see which purchases are still waiting.
After you save: stock, cost and selling prices
When a purchase is saved, stock goes up and the cost of each item is updated. If the new cost means your selling price should change, you can set the new selling prices in one place instead of opening each item. On Silver, price markup rules can suggest the selling price from the cost, so a 15% margin on biscuits stays 15% when the distributor raises the rate.
Then print shelf and barcode labels for exactly what came in. On Silver and up, labels can be printed in bulk from a purchase, with the quantities taken from it, or from the selling prices list after a price change. See barcode label printing for label sizes and printers.
How it works when a delivery arrives
- Open a new purchase and pick the supplier. Suppliers can be imported from Excel, including exports from Tally, Busy, Marg or Vasy.
- Load the supplier’s PDF, or take a photo of the paper bill (Gold reads the photo with AI).
- Check the lines. Match any new item names to your own items once, and add items you have never bought before.
- Save. Stock and cost update straight away.
- Review selling prices that should change, and print labels for the new stock.
If the counter is busy, stop after step 2 and keep it as a purchase draft (Silver and up).
What the purchase data gives you later
- Purchase reports by item, category, brand or supplier, so you see where the money goes.
- The sales and purchase register for your CA.
- Profit that is real, because the cost behind each sale is the latest cost.
- Stock that matches, which makes the next stock count much shorter.
- The ITC match of purchases against GSTR-2B, on Gold.
Expenses like rent, wages and electricity are entered separately on every plan, so margins are not guessed either.
Who it suits
Purchase entry matters for any shop that buys more often than once a month. It matters most where there are many lines per bill and prices move often:
- a kirana store or supermarket getting bills from eight or ten distributors a week
- a medical store whose bills carry batch and expiry for every line
- a hardware or stationery shop with hundreds of small items
- a bakery buying flour, sugar and packing material in bulk
If you buy from a few suppliers and place orders ahead, look at purchase orders and reorder too, which adds the order and the goods check before the bill.
Which plan has it
| What | Plan |
|---|---|
| Purchase entry, stock and cost update, PDF bills read exactly, photos read on the device | Every plan, from Starter |
| Purchase drafts, price markup rules, labels from a purchase | Silver and up |
| AI reading of bill photos and pack labels, ITC match with GSTR-2B | Gold and up |
| Purchase orders, goods received notes, goods check, supplier rates | Gold and up |
Starter is ₹2,499 a year, Silver ₹4,999 and Gold ₹8,999 for one computer and one phone, before 18% GST. Every new shop gets 7 days of Silver free with no card, so you can enter a week of real supplier bills before you decide. Start at the sign-up page, or read more about inventory management.
Questions people ask
Can billing software read a supplier bill from a photo?
Yes. In Cartix Prime, a photo of a supplier bill is read on the device on every plan with purchase entry, and you check the lines before saving. On the Gold plan, the photo is read with AI and the items fill themselves, within a monthly allowance.
Can I import a supplier’s PDF bill instead of typing it?
Yes. When the supplier sends a PDF bill with real text in it, Cartix Prime reads that text exactly. You match the supplier’s item names to your own items, check the figures and save. This works on every plan that has purchase entry.
Does purchase entry update stock and cost price?
Yes. Saving a purchase adds the quantities to stock and updates the cost of each item. You can then change selling prices in one place and, on Silver and up, print labels for the items that came in.
What is a purchase draft?
A purchase draft keeps a photo of the supplier bill so you can finish the entry later, for example when the delivery arrives during rush hour. Purchase drafts are on the Silver plan and above.
Is AI bill reading in Cartix Prime Offline?
No. AI reading of bill photos needs the internet and is not part of Cartix Prime Offline. Purchase entry itself works in the Offline edition.