You don’t need an email address to start BahiQo. The account is your mobile number. This is a first-session walkthrough: sign in, name the shop, add one person, record one line. After that, the rest is repetition.
BahiQo is on Android and iPhone. There is also a computer login at web.bahiqo.com if you prefer a larger screen after the phone is set up.
1. Sign in with OTP
Open the app, enter your mobile number, and type the OTP you receive on that phone. OTP means one-time password: a short code that proves you have the number. If the number is new to BahiQo, the account is created when you log in. There isn’t a separate “register” form.
Keep the phone you used nearby the first time. You’ll need it again if you add another device later.
2. Create the business
Give the shop the name you want on statements. You can switch businesses later if you run more than one. Don’t create a second business just to experiment. Use one, add a test customer if you want, then delete that test party when you’re done.
You can set Hindi or English in settings. Amounts use the currency you already work with. The app is a ledger, not a currency converter.
3. Add one customer (or one supplier)
Pick the list that matches the first person you care about. A customer is someone who may owe you. A supplier is someone you may owe. Name is required in practice even if you’re in a hurry. Add mobile if you have it.
If this person already has a pending amount in your paper book, put that in opening balance now. Then you won’t spend the first week wondering why the app shows zero.
A due date is optional. Add it only if you actually collect on a date.
4. Record the first entry
If they took goods today, use You Gave and type only today’s credit, not the full outstanding. If they paid today, use Payment Received and type only the money that moved. Save. Check the outstanding on that party. It should match what you expect from opening balance plus this one event.
If it doesn’t, the usual causes are: opening balance skipped, amount typed as the closing total, or You Gave used when it was a payment. Fix that entry. Don’t add a third line to “make it look right”.
Using the computer
On a computer, open web.bahiqo.com. The page shows a QR code. In the phone app, go to Settings and scan web login, then allow that computer. After that, the ledger is the same account, not a second khata.
Don’t scan a code from a machine you don’t trust. Allowing the computer gives that browser a session on your account.
What to do in the first week
Add parties as they appear, not all 200 names on Sunday night unless you enjoy data entry. Each time credit or a payment happens, record it before the next customer. That habit matters more than filling every field on day one.
When you need someone else at the counter to enter lines, add them as staff for that business. Don’t share your OTP. Staff is the way extra hands get access.
Easy mistakes
- Creating the account on a staff member’s number, then leaving when they leave. Use the owner’s number.
- Adding every old party with zero opening balance “to finish faster”.
- Recording both a customer and a supplier on the customer list because it was open.
You can delete your account later from Profile in the app if you decide to stop. That is separate from deleting one customer. Details are on the account deletion page.
Takeaway
First session is four moves: OTP, business name, one party with a true opening balance, one correct You Gave or Payment Received. After the outstanding on that one person looks right, you’re using the khata.
If the two entry types still blur, read You Gave and Payment Received. For what a digital khata is in the first place, start with what is a digital bahi khata.