Small businesses
Small business management software that runs the shop, not just the books
Sell across the counter, on chat and online from one catalogue. Small business management software where the selling itself updates the stock, the customer's balance and the books.
- 3 to 15 people
- One location
- Counter, chat and online in one place
One shop, one owner, and about nine things happening at the same time. The record has to keep up without being asked.
Takings this week
₦1.94M
Is this the right page for you?
- You run one shop, office, salon, clinic or site.
- You sell across the counter, on chat and sometimes online, and the records disagree.
- You have a few staff, and at least one of them handles money.
- You know your stock figure is wrong but not by how much.
- You are still the person who decides more or less everything.
- You are the only person in the business.
- You have more than one outlet to compare against each other.
- You have a finance team and a formal month-end close.
What one shop actually struggles with
Trading is usually the part that works. These six are the gaps between the trading and the record.
Sales happen in three places and agree in none
Across the counter, on chat, and sometimes through a delivery app. Each keeps its own record, so the day's total depends on who you ask.
One catalogue, one customer list and one sales record behind every channel. The day closes with a single figure rather than three that need arguing over.
ProductsStock is a guess
You reorder when a shelf looks empty, then find out the fast-moving item actually ran out on Thursday afternoon.
Stock moves as you sell, from whichever channel sold it. Low-stock alerts fire before the shelf empties, and count variance appears the same day rather than at year end.
InventoryCash does not tally at shift close
The drawer is short. Nobody knows whether it was a mis-keyed sale, a discount somebody gave, or something worse.
Every sale is logged with the staff member who made it and the method it was paid by. Shift close compares expected against counted, per shift and per person.
POS & TerminalsCustomers who owe you slip through
Credit is given by memory and goodwill. Somebody has owed you since March and nobody is certain how much.
Every customer carries a balance, their terms and their history. Reminders go out on their own, so the awkward conversation happens far less often.
CustomersPaying staff takes an evening
Salaries, days somebody did not show, and an advance taken in the middle of the month that only one person remembers.
Staff records, salaries and deductions in one place. Payroll runs, payslips issue, and the entry posts itself to the books.
PayrollYou do not know the shop's real margin
Rent, diesel for the generator, transport and wages sit outside the sales figure, so a good day and a profitable day are not the same thing.
Running costs land against the month as you pay them. Margin becomes sales minus the real cost of keeping the doors open, not just cost of goods.
BookkeepingA Saturday in one shop
The busiest day of the week, with nobody set aside to keep records. Each entry is the selling doing the recording.
Open
Yesterday's close is already reconciled, so you start on a clean count rather than last night's disagreement.
A chat order
A customer orders on WhatsApp. You send a payment link that draws from the same stock and the same prices as the counter.
Low stock
The fast-mover drops under its reorder point. The alert reaches you while the supplier's own shop is still open.
Credit given
A regular takes goods on terms. It goes onto their record with a due date instead of into your head.
Shift close
Expected against counted, by staff member and payment method. A short drawer becomes a question you can actually answer.
₦0
to open your account. No setup fee, and no minimum contract to sign.
1 day
is the usual time from signing up to taking a payment across the counter.
1 catalogue
behind the counter, the chat order and the online store. One price, one stock figure.
What one shop switches on
Selling first, then the stock and customers behind it, then the costs that decide whether a busy month was also a good one.
Sell and take payment
Every channel drawing on the same stock and the same prices.
Know what you have
Stock and customers, kept current by the selling itself.
Keep the place running
The money going out, and the people who make it work.
A shop that sells well and records badly is not a successful shop. It is a shop whose owner finds out late.
The trading is usually the part that works. What fails is the gap between the trading and the record: stock counted from memory, credit given on trust, a drawer short by an amount nobody can explain. Closing that gap does not need a finance department. It needs the sale itself to write the record, so the two can never disagree in the first place.
Starter
Fifty invoices a month, three logins, thirty staff records and up to three stores. One location with a few staff rarely needs more than this in the first year.
Compare all plans- 50 invoices a month
- 100 expenses a month
- 200 customer records
- 500 products
- 30 staff records
- Up to 3 stores
When you outgrow it: Usually the product catalogue or the customer list, whichever fills first. Growth takes products to five thousand and customers to two thousand.
Questions about small business management software
Asked most often by owners who already have a system, and are wondering whether changing it is worth the disruption.
What is the best small business management software?
For a single shop, office or site, the useful test is whether selling and record keeping are the same action. If taking a payment also updates stock, the customer's balance and the books, you have one system. If it does not, you have a shop plus homework, and the homework is what eventually gets skipped.
Do I need a POS terminal to use Niimbu?
No. You can run everything from a phone or a laptop and take payment through links or account numbers. A terminal is worth adding when card payments at the counter are frequent enough that typing amounts is slowing the queue down.
Can it handle sales I take on WhatsApp?
Yes, and that is the point of keeping one catalogue. An order that arrives on chat is sent a payment link priced from the same list as the counter, and when it settles it reduces the same stock figure.
How does it help with stock?
Stock moves as you sell rather than when somebody remembers to update a sheet. You set a reorder point per item and get told before it empties, and when you count the shelf, the variance against the recorded figure is visible immediately rather than at year end.
Can I stop staff from seeing everything?
Yes. Roles decide what each person can see and do, so a counter staff member can sell without seeing margins, payroll or supplier pricing. Every sale is still recorded against whoever made it.
What happens if the connection drops during a sale?
A payment is marked settled only when the money is confirmed against the account, never because a screen said so. A session that drops leaves the sale in a clear state, pending or settled, rather than a guess you have to resolve by asking the customer.
What does it cost for a small shop?
There is no setup fee and no minimum contract. Most single-location businesses start on Starter, which covers fifty invoices a month, three logins and thirty staff records. You can also start free and move up when volume forces it.
Not quite the right size?
Businesses move along this scale, sometimes within a year. The page either side of this one may describe you better today.
The simpler way to scale your business!
Start free and see it working today, or talk to us about pricing for teams and higher volumes.