From the credit notebook to digital tracking: selling on credit without losing track

Neighborhood credit, a matter of trust

In many neighborhoods, the grocer extends credit: the customer takes the month's groceries and pays on payday, the family next door is going through a hard time, the craftsman across the street is waiting to be paid for a job. This credit builds loyalty. It's also part of the relationship: you don't easily refuse it to someone you've known for years.

But this credit is also money that isn't in your till. Poorly tracked, it weighs on your cash flow, creates misunderstandings and sometimes ends up costing you a customer. The goal isn't to give less credit; it's to give it while always knowing who owes what, and since when.

What the notebook does well, and what it does badly

• It's simple, always at hand, and everyone understands it.
• It keeps track of purchases day by day, with the date.
• But it gets lost, wet or torn, and it exists in a single copy.
• It's hard to add up: how much are you owed, in total, tonight?
• Customers don't see what's written in their name until they come into the shop, which fuels disputes.
• Reminders happen out loud, in front of other customers, and nobody likes that.

Keeping a clear ledger, on paper or on your phone

Whether you stay on paper or move to a spreadsheet or a notes app, the same information has to appear for each customer:

• The customer's name and a way to reach them.
• For each purchase: the date, what was taken and the amount.
• For each repayment: the date, the amount and the method (cash, QR, payment link, bank transfer).
• The remaining balance, recalculated on every line.
• The agreed due date: end of the month, payday, a specific date.

One page per customer beats a chronological list where all the customers get mixed up. And an overall total, updated every week, tells you how much of your money is sitting with your customers: it's a figure every merchant should know.

Simple rules, announced in advance

Credit becomes awkward when its rules change from one customer to the next or from one day to the next. Set them once, and say them out loud:

• Who is eligible for credit: customers you know, after an initial period of trust.
• A limit per customer, which you set according to your cash flow and don't exceed without talking about it.
• A clear due date, usually payday or the end of the month.
• A statement sent before the due date, so the customer knows what they owe before they come in.

These rules also protect the relationship: when the rule does the talking, you're no longer the one saying no.

Getting repaid without awkwardness

The reminder is the most delicate moment. A written message softens it: the customer reads their statement calmly, at home, and can pay without coming in. Always include a way to pay right away:

• A payment link for the amount owed, created from the chari.ma app: the customer pays by card or from their chari.ma account (collect a payment).
• Your RIB, for customers who prefer a bank transfer from their bank.
• Your QR code, if they come into the shop: the repayment is recorded in your history, with no change to give back.

For customers who only repay in cash and don't have the app, there's a solution that keeps the money out of your shop: a single-use payment link created on ChariPay. ChariPay is a Moroccan payment platform, a PSP operated by Chari Money, a payment institution licensed by Bank Al-Maghrib. On the page of a single-use payment link, your customer chooses cash, receives a reference, pays it at an agency of the Chari network, and you are notified as soon as the network confirms the deposit: the link then turns "Paid". One reference per deposit, so one link per repayment. The principle is explained in this guide: paying cash with a reference.

Going digital, step by step

1. Take stock of the current notebook: one balance per customer, as of a given date.
2. Copy these balances into your new tool, and keep the old notebook stored away, just in case.
3. Let your customers know: "Starting this month, I'll send you your statement by message."
4. Write down every new credit purchase the same day, without exception.
5. Send statements before the due date, with a payment link for the amount owed.
6. Every week, update the total owed by all your customers.

The first few weeks take a bit of discipline. After that, digital tracking saves you time: no more flipping through pages, no more totals to redo by hand, and repayments that land directly in your account, where they count toward your merchant cash flow.

Your customers' data deserves care

A credit ledger contains names, phone numbers and buying habits. Your customers' data — name, email, phone, purchase history — is personal data under law 09-08, for which the CNDP is the supervisory authority. In practice: keep this ledger to yourself, protect your phone with a code, don't share the list and never display a customer's debts where others can see them. For any legal or tax question about selling on credit, only your advisor can give an opinion.

Frequently asked questions

Next step

Tonight, add up your notebook: you'll know how much of your money is sitting with your customers. Then download the chari.ma app to send your first repayment links, and discover the terms reserved for merchants. If your customers also order by message, our guide to selling on WhatsApp will help you avoid credit nobody decided on.

Sources

• CNDP — Moroccan data protection authority — read on October 2, 2026