Field sales app checklist

How to use this checklist

Give the app to one salesperson for a full day on their real beat. Sit with them for the first two hours. Mark each point as works, works with effort, or fails. An app that fails on order booking or rates is not worth considering, however good the reports look. The guide on sales force automation explains the wider idea behind these apps.

The salesperson's day

1. Does the app open on a clear list of today's visits or customers?
2. Can the salesperson see each customer's last order and outstanding before entering the shop?
3. Does check-in capture location quickly, without several screens?
4. Can a visit be recorded even when no order is taken, with a reason?
5. Are notes and photos easy to add?
6. Can the salesperson add a new customer met on the route, pending approval?
7. Does the app work in Hindi or the language your team prefers?

Order booking

1. Is the item list searchable by name, brand and code, with photos?
2. Do rates fill automatically for this customer's price list or dealer type?
3. Is GST calculated correctly by item and the customer's state?
4. Can the salesperson see stock before promising?
5. Can a ten-line order be booked in under three minutes?
6. Can the salesperson change a rate, and if so, does it need approval?
7. Can a past order be repeated with edits?

Collections and credit

1. Can cash, cheque and UPI collections be recorded against the customer?
2. Does the office see collections the same day?
3. Are orders from customers over their credit limit flagged or held?
4. Can the salesperson share a statement with the customer on WhatsApp?

Owner and manager controls

1. Can each salesperson see only their own customers, not the company's accounts?
2. Is there an approval step for orders, discounts or new customers?
3. Can the owner see visits, orders and collections per salesperson for any day?
4. Are route plans or beats easy to set and change?
5. Is leave recorded in the same app?
6. Can the owner see who used the app and when?

Connection to the books

1. Do approved orders reach your accounting software without retyping?
2. Is outstanding in the app the same as in the books, and how fresh is it?
3. Are items, parties and rates read from your books, or kept separately?
4. Can you export all visit, order and collection data?

Practical points and scoring

1. How does the app behave with weak mobile signal? Does a half-booked order survive?
2. Does it run smoothly on the cheapest phone your team uses, without draining the battery?

Point 29 deserves real testing. Many beats include markets with poor signal. If an order is lost when the connection drops, salespeople will go back to the diary.

Weight the sections by what hurts you most. For most distributors, order booking and connection to the books carry the most weight, followed by collections. If two apps score close, choose the one your salesperson preferred after the test day; adoption decides success more than features.

Write the scores down and share them with the salesperson who tested. If they disagree with a mark, find out why; they may have found a workaround or a problem you missed. Ask the vendor to answer every fail in writing, with a date if they promise a fix.

How Cashflow OS fits the list

For businesses on TallyPrime, Cashflow OS covers many of these points: a staff app with a "Today" screen, visit check-in with location, notes and photos, route plans and recommended visits, sales orders with lines and GST using price lists, collections, approval for frontline orders, and posting to Tally. Salespeople see items and their own customers only, and the app works in English and Hindi. Test it against this list during the 14-day trial. See the staff app.