Choose one cutoff, confirm each customer’s unpaid balance at that point, and carry that amount into digital khata once. Keep the notebook for the older detail. Re-entering the same old bills after carrying their outstanding total would count the dues twice.
Purani bahi ka poora len-den dobara nayi bikri mat banaiye. Ek tay samay tak jo asli udhaar baaki hai, wahi ek baar opening due mein laayein. Uske baad ki bikri aur vasooli alag record karein.
Make a cutoff everyone at the counter understands
Pick a quiet closing time or a clearly recorded handover time. Write it on a dated migration checklist. Up to that point, the notebook explains the balance; after it, the digital record explains new sales and collections.
If a customer pays while you are copying the notebook, decide whether that payment happened before or after the cutoff. A payment already deducted from the opening figure must not be deducted again as a new collection. Tell anyone serving customers which record now holds the live balance.
Turn many notebook entries into one checked balance
For each person, list the name, a useful identifier such as a verified mobile number or locality, the notebook page reference and the amount still unpaid. Distinguish the current balance from an older carried-forward subtotal. A carried-forward figure is not another purchase to add again.
Search the software by name and mobile before creating a customer. Confirm spelling variations with the person who knows the account. Two customers called Ramesh need separate identities; one customer written as Ramesh and Ramesh ji does not automatically need two accounts.
Keep disputed or unreadable amounts on a review list. Do not guess a balance, and do not treat an unresolved amount as a confirmed zero. Preserve the original pages so the reason for the opening figure can be checked later.
Enter opening dues through the intended workflow
In Apna Galla, a new customer’s Advanced details section includes Opening Due. Use it for the confirmed amount the customer already owes. Customer and supplier Khata are included in Starter, Smart and Pro; check Pricing for other plan differences.
The opening field is for new-customer setup. If the customer already exists with transactions, review that history before adding anything. Do not create a duplicate customer or a fictional sale to change the balance. Pause that row until the correct supported correction or import workflow has been checked.
Opening customer dues do not establish item stock, purchase cost or today’s sales. Set up genuine stock and costs separately. Missing quantities and costs remain unknown until supported by a count or real records.
Reconcile a small example before moving the rest
These names and amounts are illustrative, not customer records. Suppose the confirmed notebook balances at the cutoff are:
| Customer | Opening amount to collect |
|---|---|
| Ramesh | ₹850 |
| Seema | ₹1,200 |
| Imran | ₹150 |
| Total | ₹2,200 |
Compare all three saved customer balances with the checklist. The digital opening total should also be ₹2,200. Matching only the total is insufficient: ₹100 accidentally assigned to the wrong person could leave that total unchanged.
After the cutoff, Ramesh pays ₹250 and buys another ₹180 on credit. His due becomes ₹850 − ₹250 + ₹180 = ₹780. The combined customer due becomes ₹2,200 − ₹250 + ₹180 = ₹2,130.
The new sale is ₹180, not ₹1,030. The ₹250 is a collection against existing dues, not another sale. Record its actual payment method; verify a UPI receipt in your own bank or payment app. See the partial-payment guide for the ongoing routine.
Finish with a handover check
- Match each customer, amount and notebook reference.
- Confirm the customer count and combined opening total.
- Mark copied notebook balances as transferred, preserving the pages.
- Keep unresolved rows separate and visible for follow-up.
- Review the first new bill and collection against the correct customer.
Once the checked opening amounts are in place, stop keeping two competing live balances. Use the notebook as historical evidence and the digital khata for the transactions that follow the cutoff.