Cashflow OS · Industries
Cashflow OS by industry
How different trades run their buying, stock, selling and credit — and how their Tally books on the phone help.
40 industriesFree to readUpdated 2026-11
Electronics and appliance dealers: schemes, finance and serviceAn appliance showroom earns on the sale, but its money is decided by brand schemes, finance payouts and after-sales service. Here is how the trade worMobile phone shops: IMEI stock, EMI sales and accessory marginsA mobile shop turns stock fast but on very thin handset margins, so the accessories counter, scheme payouts and tight control of every IMEI decide wheHardware and sanitaryware: thousands of SKUs and plumber creditA hardware and sanitaryware shop sells thousands of small items to plumbers, contractors and homeowners, often on running credit. The difficulty is noTiles and marble showrooms: boxes, sq ft, shades and site ordersTiles are sold by the square foot but stocked by the box, marble by the slab and the square foot, and every lot has its own shade. Getting units, lotsPaint dealers: tinting, pack sizes and painter creditA paint shop sells colour, not just tins. Tinting machines, dozens of pack sizes, painters who influence every purchase and a demand curve tied to fesPlywood and laminate dealers: sheets, designs and carpenter creditPlywood and laminate dealers sell sheets, but customers buy designs and grades. The carpenter or interior designer decides, the homeowner pays, and thCement and building material dealers: truckloads and contractor duesCement and building material dealers work on heavy volumes and thin margins, with most sales on credit to contractors and site deliveries every day. CSteel and iron traders: weight, daily rates and large creditSteel trading runs on weight, rates that change daily and large credit. A few rupees per kilogram decides the margin, so the trader needs exact weightElectrical goods distributors: wires, switches, schemes and beatsWires, cables, switches, MCBs and accessories move through distributors to retailers and electricians. It is a high-SKU, scheme-heavy trade where fielLighting and fan dealers: decorative showrooms and LED volumeLighting and fan dealers sell two very different things from the same shop: everyday LED bulbs and fans that move fast, and decorative fixtures that cPipes and fittings: sizes, classes and project suppliesPipes and fittings look simple until you count the sizes. A distributor may carry thousands of combinations of material, diameter, pressure class and Furniture and furnishing stores: custom orders and advancesFurniture and furnishing stores sell large, visual products on long decisions, often made to order and delivered weeks later. Advances, delivery schedKitchenware and home needs: sets, weight and festival peaksSteel utensils, cookware, crockery, plastics and small home products: thousands of low-value items, sold in sets and singles, with huge peaks in weddiFMCG distributors: beats, scheme claims and kirana creditAn FMCG distributor serves hundreds of retailers on fixed beats, with tight company terms on one side and kirana credit on the other. Margins are smalGrocery wholesale: staples by the bag and the udhaar bookA grocery wholesaler in a mandi or market lane moves staples by the bag and packaged goods by the case, mostly on udhaar to kirana shops, with prices Pharma distribution: batches, expiry returns and chemist creditA pharma distributor supplies hundreds of chemists, hospitals and nursing homes from thousands of products, each with batches and expiry dates, under Medical equipment dealers: quotations, AMCs and hospital paymentsMedical equipment dealers sell expensive devices on quotations and tenders, then earn steadily from consumables and service. Long payment cycles from Cosmetics and personal care: shades, expiry and salon accountsCosmetics and personal care is a trade of many small, fast-changing products: shades, sizes, launches and offers, with shelf life on everything and teGarment businesses: sizes, colours, seasons and agent creditEvery design in a garment business multiplies into sizes and colours, every season has a deadline, and most wholesale sales run on long credit throughTextile wholesale: metres, bales, agents and long creditFabric wholesale runs through mills, processors, agents and retailers, measured in metres and bales, and settled on some of the longest credit periodsFootwear businesses: size runs, cartons and broken setsFootwear is bought in cartons of mixed sizes and sold one pair at a time. Broken size runs, seasonal styles and retailer returns decide how much of thJewellery shops: daily rates, old gold and karigar balancesA jewellery shop prices every piece afresh from the day's metal rate, weight and making charge, takes old gold in exchange, and sends metal out to karOptical stores: frames, lab lens orders and advancesAn optical store sells a product that is half retail and half made to order: frames from the shelf, lenses ground to a prescription, and a delivery daStationery and book businesses: the school season and returnsFor a stationery and book business, the year is decided in a few weeks around school reopening. The rest of the year is office supplies, small retail Toys and gifts: festival peaks, new designs and corporate ordersToys and gifts are bought for occasions: festivals, birthdays, weddings and corporate events. That makes demand peaky, designs short-lived and the catSports goods: sizes, seasons and school and academy ordersSports goods sell through two very different doors: the retail counter, where customers want the right size and brand today, and institutional orders Auto parts dealers: part numbers, fitment and garage creditAn auto parts business sells thousands of part numbers, each fitting only certain vehicles, mostly to garages and mechanics who buy on credit and retuTyre and battery dealers: sizes, warranty claims and fleetsTyre and battery dealers sell high-value items by size and rating, take back old batteries, handle a steady flow of warranty claims and serve fleet owTwo-wheeler dealers: bookings, finance payouts and the workshopA two-wheeler dealership is several businesses at once: vehicle sales, finance and insurance, accessories, the workshop and spare parts. Each has its Lubricant distributors: packs to barrels, garages and factoriesLubricant distributors sell engine oils, gear oils, greases and industrial lubricants in packs from half a litre to barrels, to mechanics who influencAgri input dealers: crop seasons and credit until harvestAgri input dealers sell seeds, fertilisers and crop protection products to farmers in short, intense seasons, mostly on credit that is repaid only aftDairy and food distributors: dawn routes, crates and returnsDairy and fresh food distribution runs on a clock that starts before dawn. Products last days, not months, crates must come back, and every route mixeBeverage distributors: summer peaks, empties and coolersBeverage distribution is a volume game with a sharp summer peak. Cases, empties, coolers and schemes all have to be tracked across hundreds of outletsPackaging suppliers: custom prints, mixed units and factory creditPackaging suppliers sell to businesses that sell to everyone else. Orders are repeat, often custom-printed, priced by size and weight, and paid on theChemical and dye traders: drums, batches and industrial creditChemical and dye traders sell by the kilogram and the drum to factories that need consistent quality, documented batches and on-time delivery, and thaIT hardware dealers: falling prices, RMA and office AMCsIT hardware dealers sell fast-depreciating products on thin margins, then earn on configuration, service, AMCs and repeat orders from offices. Price dCCTV and security installers: surveys, cable and AMCsA CCTV business is a project business in miniature: survey, quote, install, hand over, then service for years. The hardware is a small margin; installSolar and inverter dealers: rooftop projects, milestones and serviceSolar and inverter businesses combine product sales with small construction projects. A rooftop system means a survey, a design, paperwork with the elBakery suppliers: ingredients, shelf life and cake-shop creditBakery supply businesses sell flour improvers, chocolate, creams, fillings, colours, packaging and tools to bakeries, cake shops, hotels and a fast-grPrinting and signage businesses: job quotes, proofs and advancesPrinting and signage are job businesses. Every order is custom, priced from size, material and quantity, approved by proof, and cannot be resold if th
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