Questions & answers

One app for running a small business: a till that records each sale, a stock sheet that does the sums for you, a list of what to buy, and money books that balance themselves. It works for shops, bars and restaurants, butcheries, salons, car washes and couriers.

A phone, tablet or computer with a web browser and internet. Nothing to install — open the website and sign in. On a phone you can add it to your home screen so it opens like an app.

Create your account, say what kind of business you run, and add your products. The Setup guide inside the app walks you through the rest, one step at a time.

1. 1Tap Start free on the home page and create your login.
2. 2Choose your type of business and name your branch.
3. 3Add products one by one, or import your list from Excel or CSV.

Yes. On Products, use Import and pick your Excel or CSV file. Download the template first if you are not sure which columns to use — names, prices and opening stock are the main ones.

No — it needs a connection to save sales and stock, because everyone in the business sees the same figures. It is built to work on slow (2G/3G) connections. If the network drops, wait for it to come back before ringing up the next sale.

Your first month is free, with no card needed. After that you pay a monthly subscription by mobile money or bank transfer. Call us and we will tell you the price for your business and walk you through paying.

Yes, there is no contract. Tell us through Suggestions & reports and we will stop your subscription. Export anything you want to keep first (Excel or PDF from the reports and the Stock Statement).

Open the Till and tap the items (or search, or scan a barcode). Choose how they paid, then tap Complete sale.

Yes. Tap Split under the payment buttons and enter how much came by each method. Each part lands in its own money account, so your cash-up stays right.

Find the sale and choose Refund, or Exchange for a swap. An exchange works out the difference in one go — the customer pays more, gets money back, or nothing changes hands.

An owner can let staff give a discount up to a limit, and can create promotion codes (for example K20 off over K200). The till works out the discount itself, so the receipt always matches the screen.

Your stock sheet, worked out for you: what you opened with, what came in, what sold, what should be left and what you counted. You can print it or download it to Excel.

Tap Count stock, go along the shelf and type how many of each item you see. Each number saves as you go. The count is blind on purpose — it does not show what the books expect, so the count is honest.

The count was lower than what should be on the shelf. It can mean a sale nobody rang up, breakage, a miscount — or theft. It is a sign to look into, not proof of anything.

Yes. Mark the item as bought by the pack and say how many are in a box. You buy and count in boxes plus loose units; the till sells singles.

Yes. Give an item a reorder level (or let StockPilot set one from how fast it sells) and it shows up as low stock on the Dashboard and Purchases.

Yes. Add variations to a product (size 39, 40, 41… or Orange, Cola). Each one has its own stock, price, barcode and reorder level.

On Purchases, use Quick purchase or tick items off a purchase list as you buy them. Type what you paid — that becomes the item's cost price.

Buying is about money; receiving is about stock. Recording them apart lets StockPilot compare what you paid for with what actually arrived, so a short delivery shows up.

1. 1Record the purchase on Purchases. You get a six-letter receive code.
2. 2When the goods arrive, open Goods Received and type the code.
3. 3Count what came. Anything short or extra is flagged for a manager.

Yes. Staff fill in Make a budget, a list of items with a suggested amount already worked out. A manager approves it and it becomes the shopping list.

No. Sales, purchases and expenses write their own entries in the books. The Ledger is there when you or your accountant want to see the detail.

Not directly — you reverse it and say why. The wrong entry is kept and marked as an error, and the correction sits beside it, so nothing quietly disappears.

Log the day's income on the till, count stock, then open Incomes & stock. It compares what the stock says should have come in with what was logged and tells you if you are short or over.

Record it as an expense in the Ledger, saying what it was for and which account paid. Transport on a purchase can go on its own line when you record the purchase.

Its reports help, but they do not replace an accountant or your ZRA filing. Have your figures checked before you submit anything official.

You decide. Each person is an Owner, Manager or Cashier, and you tick the screens they may open. Cashiers never see cost prices or profit — that is blocked in the database, not just hidden.

Open Staff, tap Add, and give them a login and password. Read the password out carefully — it is saved exactly as typed, capitals and spaces included.

After 15 minutes without use, StockPilot signs you out so the next person cannot use your login. Tick “Remember me” on your own phone to stay signed in for up to 12 hours.

Your own: account menu → Change password. A staff member's: the owner opens Staff, taps ⋮ beside their name and sets a new one.

Yes. Each branch has its own stock, till and books, and you switch between them at the top of the screen. Owners can also see all branches together.

Yes — send it as a transfer and the other branch counts it in when it arrives. Businesses with a shop also get a warehouse for goods not yet given out.

Only people you add to your business, and only what their role allows. Other businesses on StockPilot never see your sales, prices or stock. The StockPilot team looks only when needed to help you or fix a problem.

Pictures can be found and reused by other shops through the picture library — but only the picture and the product's name, never your prices, stock or shop name. Don't upload a photo you wouldn't want other shops to use.

A few. Some keep you signed in and remember your settings — the app cannot work without them. One is optional: short, masked screen recordings that help us fix problems. You choose when you first visit.

Yes. Most screens have an Export button for Excel or PDF, and the Stock Statement prints. To get everything, or to have your account deleted, ask us through Suggestions & reports.

Tap the small “i” next to a screen's name for a short explanation. Guide & updates in the menu has the setup steps and a list of everything new.

Open your account menu and tap Suggestions & reports. Say what you were doing and what went wrong — a screenshot helps.