How to set credit limits for your shop customers
Base each customer limit on one pay cycle of wetin dem dey normally buy, start new customers small, join every limit with due date, tell di customer, and check di limits every month.
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Set each customer credit limit at about one pay cycle of wetin dem dey normally buy from you: one week shopping for person wey dem dey pay every week, one month own for person wey dem dey pay every month. Start new customers small, raise di limit after dem pay on time, and reduce am if dem no pay on time. Join every limit with due date, tell di customer wetin both of dem be, and check dem again once every month.
Limit no mean say you no trust person. Na promise wey dey work both ways: di shop know how much e don give out, and di customer know how much dem fit carry without any shame-shame conversation.
Why limits matter
- Your cash na your stock. Every naira of credit na naira wey you no fit use buy new stock.
- Balances dey grow quietly. Without ceiling, customer wey dey pay small less than wetin dem dey carry go dey drift back every week, and e hard to notice until e don big.
- Staff need rule. "I fit give Oga Emeka credit?" dey easy to answer when di answer don dey written down.
- E dey protect di customer too. Balance wey remain small na one wey dem fit really clear.
Simple way to set di number
Look one customer at a time and ask two questions:
- How much dem dey usually buy from you? Check few weeks of their entries.
- How often dem dey collect pay? Every week, every month, or by harvest or season.
Di limit na roughly wetin dem dey buy between two pay days. If family dey normally take one month foodstuff for credit and clear am for salary day, dat one month na di natural limit. For customer wey dey collect daily pay and dey pay every Saturday, e be like one week.
Den adjust am for trust:
| Customer | Where to start |
|---|---|
| New, or you no too know dem | About one week of buying, or only cash first |
| Regular, dey pay on time | One full pay cycle |
| Old customer, dey always pay | One pay cycle plus small extra for bad weeks |
| Dey late for recent payments | Lower, or zero until una agree plan |
These na where to start, no be law. Wetin you yourself know about di customer pass any table.
Join every limit with due date
Limit dey talk how much; due date dey talk until when. If one dey without di other, gap go dey:
- Limit wey no get date go make balance sit for di ceiling forever.
- Date wey no get limit go make di balance grow anyhow until dat date.
Agree di date when you agree di limit: salary day, di end of di month or every Saturday. See How to manage credit for provision shop or general store for di rest of di routine.
Tell di customer
Limit wey di customer know about dey feel fair. Limit wey dem discover for di counter, for front of other people, dey feel like insult. When you set am, talk am plain: "Your credit fit reach ₦10,000, and we go settle on di 1st."
If di customer fit see their own account, e even better. For Credit Khata, di customer account dey show di credit limit, how much remain and di due date, so dem fit plan their shopping before dem reach di counter.
Check limits again regularly
Once every month, go through your list:
- Dem pay on time? Think about to raise di limit small.
- Dem pay late once? Leave am and remind dem early next time.
- Dem dey pay late again and again? Reduce am, or stop credit until una agree plan.
- Dem no dey come again? Check whether na di balance cause am, and reach dem privately.
To check again na wetin dey turn limit from number wey you set once into tool wey you dey really use.
Special cases and emergencies
Times go dey when good customer go need more: family emergency, medicine for pharmacy, wedding for house. Decide these one by one, and make one person decide, normally di owner. Write di special case down so e no go quietly turn di new limit.
Di mistake to avoid na to allow anybody wey dey di counter make these decisions under pressure. Na so limits dey stop to mean anything.
How to set limits for Credit Khata
For Credit Khata, open customer page, tap Limit, put di Credit limit, choose Pay by date and save. From dat time:
- Di counter go warn before credit sale carry di customer pass their limit.
- Owner or manager fit choose to book am anyway; cashier no fit, so staff no go ever need to argue for di counter.
- When owner or manager pass limit, di system go log am.
- Customers wey their due date don pass go get mark Time don pass and dem go dey listed for one-tap reminder.
Na only di owner and managers fit set or change limits. Di step-by-step dey for Set credit limit and due date for customer, and we explain di roles for Give your staff their own login: manager or cashier.
Common mistakes
- One limit for everybody. E too tight for your best regular customers and too loose for new people.
- You no dey ever check am again. Limit wey you set two years ago no talk anything about today.
- Secret limits. Customers suppose know their own.
- Limits wey no get dates, or dates wey no get limits.
- To allow anybody override am. Special cases suppose dey rare and na one person go decide.
If you set credit limits well and dey check dem often, dem go make you fit continue to talk yes to your regular customers, without to talk yes to balance wey you no fit carry.
Questions wey people dey ask
Wetin be good credit limit for new customer?
Start small, around one week of their normal shopping, and raise am after dem don pay on time like two times.
Every customer suppose get di same limit?
No. Limits suppose follow wetin each customer dey normally buy and when dem dey collect pay. One limit for everybody go either too tight for good regular customers or too loose for new ones.
I suppose tell customers their limit?
Yes. Limit wey di customer know about dey feel fair; limit wey you hide dey feel like refusal. For Credit Khata, di customer dey see their limit and how much remain for their own account.
Wetin if regular customer need pass di limit because of emergency?
Make di owner or manager decide each case one by one. For Credit Khata, na only those roles fit book pass limit, and di system dey log am when dem do am.
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