---
title: "Running two shops: one account or two, and what each costs you"
source: https://www.lskhata.com/blog/one-shop-account-or-two
category: "Getting started"
language: en
published: 2026-08-13
reading_time: 6 min
---

# Running two shops: one account or two, and what each costs you

_Khata has no branch feature. Here is what that actually means if you run more than one shop, and how people handle it today._

## In short
- There is no branch feature and no combined view. One account is one shop.
- Two accounts keeps each shop's stock, khata and staff correct — which is the part that matters most.
- What it costs you is comparison: totals across shops are something you add up yourself.
- Running two shops in one account keeps the totals together but makes the stock figures meaningless. That trade is almost never worth it.

This article exists because the honest answer is not the one you were hoping for, and finding it out after you have entered three months of data is much worse than finding it out now.

**The plain version.** Khata does not have a branch feature. There is no branch switcher, no per-branch stock, and no combined view across shops. If you run two locations, you will run two accounts.

_[Figure: Each account is complete and correct on its own. The line between them is the part that does not exist.]_

### Why two accounts is usually still the right answer

The instinct is to put both shops in one account so the totals stay together. It is worth thinking through what that actually produces, because the totals are the least important thing a shop system holds.

Stock is the problem. In one account, the quantity against "Rice 5 kg" is a single number covering both shops. It matches neither shelf. A low-stock alert fires when the combined figure drops, which tells you nothing about whether either shop has run out — and one shop can be empty while the alert stays quiet because the other is full. A stock count then cannot be reconciled at all, because the count you did at one shop is being compared against a number that includes the other.

Customer khata has the same shape of problem in a milder form. A customer who buys at both shops has one balance, which is arguably right, but staff at one shop can then see and settle credit taken at the other. Whether that suits you depends on how the two shops are run.

|  | Two accounts | One account, both shops |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stock accuracy | Correct per shop. Alerts and counts work. | A single pooled figure that matches neither shop. |
| Staff separation | Complete. Nothing to leak. | Everyone sees everything unless permissions are used carefully. |
| Day's closing | Per shop, which is what you actually reconcile. | One combined figure, hard to check against either till. |
| Combined totals | Export both and add them up. | Immediate. |
| Cost | The mobile app is free, so two accounts cost nothing. | Free. |

The only column where one account wins is the last thing you need and the easiest to work around. The columns where two accounts win are the ones you rely on every day.

### How people actually handle the combined view

1. **Run each shop as its own account** — Its own products, its own stock, its own staff logins. Each shop's manager sees only their own shop, which is usually what you wanted anyway.
2. **Export the report you care about from each** — Usually the sales summary and the outstanding dues. The grid exports to CSV, so it lands in a spreadsheet rather than being retyped.
3. **Add them up in a spreadsheet, once a month** — A single sheet with one column per shop. Ten minutes, and you get the comparison the app does not give you — including the interesting part, which is where the two shops differ.

**If the combined view is central to how you run the business.** Say so before you install rather than after. A combined owner view across locations is a real thing to build, and knowing that somebody needs it is what moves it up the list. It does not exist today, and no amount of configuration will produce it.

> Correct in two places beats combined and wrong in one.

## Common questions

**Does Khata support multiple branches?**

No. There is no branch switcher and no combined owner view across shops. If you run two locations, you run two accounts. Each one is complete and correct on its own, but comparing them is a manual job.

**Can I just run both shops from one account?**

You can, and some people do, but understand what it costs. Stock becomes a single pool that matches neither shop's shelves, so low-stock alerts stop meaning anything and a stock count can never be reconciled. If your two shops carry different goods, this is worse than it sounds.

**Can staff at one shop see the other shop's data?**

With two accounts, no — the accounts are separate, so there is nothing to see. That is one of the genuine advantages of the two-account approach over trying to force both shops into one.

**How do I get a combined figure across both shops?**

Export each shop's report and add them up, usually in a spreadsheet. The grid exports to CSV, so this is a copy-paste rather than retyping. It is a real cost and worth knowing about before you commit.