Merchant cash flow: managing your shop's money day to day
Cash drawer, digital payments, suppliers, household spending: a simple method to know every evening where your shop's money stands.
Cash flow and revenue: two different things
A day can be excellent in sales and still leave the till almost empty: part was sold on credit, another part went to pay a supplier, and yet another went into household spending. Conversely, a full till on a Friday evening tells you nothing about the rent due the following week.
Cash flow answers a single question: "How much can I use, right now, without putting the shop in difficulty?" To answer it, you need to know three things: what is available (till and account), what is due to come in (customer credit), and what has to go out (suppliers, rent, bills, wages).
Separating the shop's money from the household's
This is the rule that changes everything, and the hardest one to stick to in a family business. When you dip into the till for household shopping, you no longer know whether the shop is making money. The solution is simple on paper: the shop pays you a fixed amount, on a fixed date, like a salary, and the rest belongs to the shop.
- An account for the shop, where payments by QR, payment link, card or bank transfer arrive.
- A fixed amount you pay yourself, for example every week, rather than taking money out as you go.
- Household purchases paid with your personal money, never straight from the till.
- Transfers to a loved one go through your personal account: on chari.ma, a Chari → Chari transfer to another chari.ma account costs 0 DH (money transfers).
The end-of-day routine
You don't need accounting software to get started. A notebook or a note on your phone is enough, as long as you keep it up every evening, at the same time:
- Count the cash in the drawer and write down the amount.
- Go through the day's digital payments in your app's history: QR, payment links, bank transfers received.
- Write down the day's credit sales and the repayments received, customer by customer.
- Write down the day's expenses: suppliers, deliveries, small shop expenses.
- Set aside the share planned for suppliers and the week's due dates.
After a few weeks, this daily check becomes a dashboard: you see the busy days, the slow days, the suppliers that weigh the most and the customers whose credit keeps growing.
Less cash in the till, less risk
Cash has a hidden cost: finding change, mistakes when giving change, the risk of theft, the trips back and forth to deposit it. Every payment that lands directly in your account is a payment you don't have to count, carry or keep safe.
- At the counter, display your QR code: the customer scans and pays, and the money lands in your chari.ma account.
- Remotely, send a payment link or share your RIB.
- For your suppliers, pay from your account with "Pay a merchant", by scanning their QR or by RIB (collect and pay from the app).
- Whatever cash is left, deposit it at a cash agency to top up your account rather than keeping it in the shop.
Planning for the big due dates
Rent, the stock order before a holiday, the shop's electricity, a helper's wages: these outgoings aren't surprises, but they feel like it when you don't prepare for them. Note them on a simple calendar, month by month, and set aside a small share every week rather than hunting for the whole amount on the day itself.
Holiday periods deserve special attention: you buy more stock, earlier, and the sales come afterward. That's when cash flow gets tightest. Prepare for it a few weeks ahead, by limiting new customer credit and following up on the credit already outstanding.
Services that bring in money every day
Your customers already ask you to top up their phone or pay a bill. With the chari.ma app, you handle these services from your counter: mobile top-ups, bill payments and gift cards. Each one generates cashback or a commission based on your volume, on terms set with you (see the Merchants page). It's a regular income that also brings people into the shop.
If you also collect online: a payment account for your business
When part of your sales goes through a website, through payment links tracked from a portal or through customers who pay in cash at an agency, those payments are better off landing in a payment account opened in your company's name. That's what the ChariPay platform offers: a Moroccan payment platform, a PSP operated by Chari Money, a payment institution licensed by Bank Al-Maghrib.
The ChariPay payment account is a real payment account, held by Chari Money, opened in your company's name, with a RIB in that name and a PDF certificate to download. As soon as a payment succeeds, the amount is available in this account and usable right away: transfers, bills, top-ups. "Available instantly in the account" does not mean "instant bank transfer": the payout to your bank remains a separate operation, automatic every night or on demand.
From the portal, you send transfers to any Moroccan RIB: the fixed transfer fee is shown before you confirm, and the beneficiary receives it within 24 business hours. ChariPay is not a bank: your payment account is held by Chari Money. It complements your bank; it does not replace it. To go further, see how a payment account in Morocco for your business works.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the till and cash flow?
The till is the money on hand at a given moment, in cash and in your account. Cash flow adds what is due to come in, like customer credit, and what has to go out, like suppliers and rent. A full till can hide tight cash flow if a big due date arrives the following week.
How much time should I spend on tracking every day?
Enough to count the drawer, go through the digital payments in the app's history and write down the day's credit and expenses. What matters isn't how long it takes but how regularly you do it: a check every evening, at the same time, beats a big tidy-up once a month.
Should I keep my personal money separate from the shop's?
Yes, it's the most useful rule. Pay yourself a fixed amount on a fixed date and pay household expenses with your personal money. Without that separation, you can't know whether the shop is making money, or how much you can really spend without putting it in difficulty.
How can I reduce the cash in my shop?
Offer QR code payment at the counter, the payment link for remote orders and bank transfer for business customers. Pay your suppliers from your account. The cash that's left can be deposited at a cash agency to top up your chari.ma account, instead of sitting idle in the drawer.
Are the chari.ma account and the ChariPay payment account the same thing?
No. The chari.ma account is the app's e-wallet, with its Moroccan IBAN. The ChariPay payment account is opened in your company's name on the ChariPay platform, to receive online payments, with a RIB in that name. They are two separate products from the same ecosystem.
How do I prepare my cash flow before a holiday?
Write down the planned stock purchases in advance and set aside a small share every week. Limit new customer credit in the weeks leading up to it and follow up on credit already outstanding. Sales often come after purchases: that's the gap you need to fund with your reserves.
Next step
Start tonight: a notebook, five lines, and your app's history. Download chari.ma to run your payments through your account, and read our guide to moving from the credit notebook to digital tracking: that's often where the missing cash is hiding.