--- title: "Khata FAQ" source: https://www.lskhata.com/faq --- # Khata FAQ ## General & Getting Started **What is Khata?** Khata is an all-in-one business management app for billing, inventory, and accounting (Khata). It is designed for small and medium businesses to digitise and automate their operations, and it bills in the local currency of whichever country you register in. **Who is Khata for?** Retailers, wholesalers, distributors, service providers and restaurant owners — most often shops still keeping accounts on paper, or on a desktop package that never leaves the shop. If your books live in a register or on one computer, this is built for you. **Is Khata really free to get started?** Yes. Khata is one free business plan — not a trial, not a freemium tier. Every feature is included at no cost, with no credit card required and no checkout anywhere in the product. **Is there a catch? Any time limit?** No catch and no time limit. Khata does not expire, does not convert to a paid plan, and has no locked features. You are never asked for payment details. **On which devices can I use Khata?** Khata runs as an Android app, an iPhone and iPad app, a web dashboard and a staff portal. There is no separate Windows or Mac program to install — the web surfaces open in any current browser on a computer. Everything shares one account, so a bill raised on the counter is on the dashboard without exporting anything. **Do I need an internet connection to use Khata?** No, Khata works perfectly offline. You can continue billing and managing your business without internet. It will automatically sync all your data to the cloud once you're back online. ## Devices & Access **Where can I use Khata?** Four places, all sharing one account: the Android app, the iPhone and iPad app, the business dashboard on a computer, and a staff portal for your employees. Most shops only ever use the app — it is the complete product on its own. **Is the iPhone app the same as the Android one?** Yes. Same features, same data and the same free access. Both apps work offline, scan barcodes with the camera and print to Bluetooth thermal printers. **How do I get the web dashboard?** Ask us. Dashboard access is granted on request for larger businesses that want to work on a computer, and we approve it individually — there is no public sign-up page for it. It exists for the jobs a phone is genuinely bad at: editing hundreds of rows at once, month-end reports and handing a file to your accountant. **How do my staff sign in?** You create each staff member inside the app and give them a Staff ID and a PIN. They use those on the staff portal. Your team never registers themselves, and each person only sees what you allow — so a cashier can raise bills without seeing your profit. **What do I need to run it?** Android 7.0 or newer, or an iPhone or iPad on iOS 16.4 or newer. The dashboard and staff portal need only a current browser. The store will tell you at install time if a device is below the line. ## Billing & Invoicing **Can I create GST and non-GST invoices?** Yes, Khata supports both GST and non-GST invoicing. You can easily set up your tax information and the app will handle all the calculations for you. **Can I customize my invoices?** Definitely. You can add your business logo, choose from multiple professional templates, add a digital signature, and customize the color scheme to match your brand. **How can I share invoices with customers?** You can share invoices instantly via WhatsApp, SMS, or email as a professional PDF. You can also print them using a thermal printer (Bluetooth/USB) or a regular printer. **Does it support barcode scanning?** Yes, Khata has full support for barcode billing. You can use your device's camera or an external barcode scanner for rapid billing. **Can I create estimates or quotations?** Not yet. There is no estimate, quotation or proforma document type — a bill is a bill. If quoting before you sell is a large part of your trade, that gap is worth knowing about before you switch. ## Inventory & Stock **How does stock management work?** Khata automatically updates your stock levels in real-time with every sale and purchase. This eliminates the need for manual counting and prevents stockouts. **Will I get alerts for low stock?** Yes, you can set low-stock thresholds for each item. The app will send you automatic alerts so you know exactly when to reorder. **Can I manage products with batch numbers and expiry dates?** Not yet. Products carry a name, price, cost, unit, stock level, barcode and reorder threshold, but there is no batch or expiry field. If your trade depends on tracking expiry — pharmacy is the clearest case — Khata is not the right tool for that part of your stock today. **Can I import my existing product list?** There is no bulk file import yet. Most shops add products as they sell them, which spreads the work across days that were happening anyway rather than requiring one long sitting. If you have a large catalogue you want moved, contact the team. ## Security & Data **Is my business data safe with Khata?** Your data is sent over an encrypted connection and stored on managed cloud infrastructure, scoped so that one business cannot read another's records. We publish what we actually do, and who processes data on our behalf, in the Security and Sub-processors documents in the Legal Centre. We do not hold SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification and do not claim to. **What happens if I lose my phone?** Your data is completely safe. Simply log into your Khata account on a new device, and all your information—bills, stock, and reports—will be there, synced from the cloud. **Can my staff use the app? Can I restrict their access?** Yes, you can create multiple staff accounts and set specific role-based permissions. For example, you can allow a salesperson to only make bills but not see business reports. ## Cost **What does Khata cost?** Nothing. Khata is free to download and free to use, with every feature included. There are no tiers, no add-ons and no in-app purchases. Web dashboard access for larger businesses is granted on request — ask our team. **Will you start charging later?** Khata is free and stays free — that is a commitment, not a launch offer. There is no checkout in the product, and nothing is ever agreed without you agreeing to it in writing first. **Why is it free?** Khata is built by Lacspace to get small businesses onto digital books. Charging a shopkeeper to keep their own records defeats that purpose. ## Features & Settings **How does the Digital Khata (Udhar) feature work?** It is a digital ledger for the credit you give customers (len-den). Record credit sales, see every customer's full payment history, and sort by how long a balance has been outstanding — which is the list that tells you who to chase. Reminders go out over WhatsApp or SMS to the number on file; you choose who gets one and when, so nothing is sent on your behalf. **What kind of reports can I generate?** Sales and purchase reports, profit and loss, stock reports and party ledgers, exportable as PDF. Khata also tracks filing deadlines so one does not pass unnoticed — but it does not generate GSTR returns or file anything on your behalf. That is your accountant's work, and we are careful not to blur the two. **Can I manage multiple business locations?** Not as one connected group — there is no branch switcher, and no combined view across shops. What people do today is run a separate account per shop, which keeps each shop's stock, khata and staff correct on their own but means comparing two shops is a manual job. If you need several locations under one owner view, tell us, because that is the version of this we would build next.