The Clients section (accessible from the left sidebar) is your customer relationship hub. It stores information about every person or business you have sold to, and tracks the financial relationship between you and each of them.

Every time you create an invoice for a named customer, EzDukkan automatically creates or updates their client record. You can also add clients manually before making any sales — useful for pre-loading your existing customer list when setting up EzDukkan for the first time.

Each client record contains:

• Their personal/business details (name, phone, email, address, GSTIN)
• Their complete invoice history
• Their current credit/outstanding balance
• Their total lifetime purchase value

Method 1 — Automatic (via Invoice): When you create an invoice and type a customer's name, phone, or GSTIN, EzDukkan creates their client record automatically. No separate setup needed.

Method 2 — Manual (Direct Add): Go to Clients → Add Client (or the "+" button). Fill in:

• Name (Required) — Full name or business name
• Phone — Mobile number. Used for WhatsApp invoice sharing. Format: 10-digit Indian mobile without country code.
• Email — For email delivery (if configured)
• Address — Billing and/or delivery address. This appears on printed invoices.
• GSTIN — Customer's 15-character GST Identification Number. Required for B2B tax invoices. EzDukkan validates the format on entry.
• Business Name — If the customer is a business entity different from the contact person's name
• Old Balance (Opening Balance) — If a customer already owes you money before you started using EzDukkan, enter that previous pending amount here. It immediately reflects in their total outstanding balance.
• Notes / Tags — Internal notes for your team (e.g., "VIP customer," "prefers delivery on Saturdays," "seasonal buyer")

The most powerful feature of the Clients section is credit tracking.

What is Credit? When a customer doesn't pay you at the time of purchase, you are extending them credit — you have delivered goods but not yet received payment. This is also called "outstanding balance," "accounts receivable," or simply "udhaar" in common parlance.

How Credit is Recorded: When creating an invoice, set the payment status to "Credit" or "Partial" (for a partial payment). EzDukkan automatically calculates the outstanding amount and records it against that client's khata.

Viewing a Client's Outstanding Balance: Go to Clients, find the client, and click their name. Their profile shows:

• Total Outstanding — The total amount they owe you across all unpaid/partial invoices
• Credit Khata — A transaction-by-transaction list showing every invoice and every payment, with running balance
• Oldest Outstanding Invoice — How long the oldest unpaid amount has been pending

Collecting Payment: When the client pays (in cash, UPI, or bank transfer), record it against their account. Go to their client profile and click "Record Payment." Enter the amount received and the payment method. EzDukkan:

1. Marks the oldest outstanding invoice(s) as paid (FIFO payment application)
2. Reduces the outstanding balance
3. Adds the payment record to their khata

Clearing Old Credit (Old Khata): If a customer has an unpaid opening balance (old credit), a dedicated "Pay Khata" button will appear in their row inside the Customers list.

1. Click the "Pay Khata" button next to the customer.
2. Enter the payment amount.
3. Click "Record Payment" to apply it. This reduces their Old Credit Due, keeping it entirely separate from their new sales and invoice records.

Every client has a full transaction history — every invoice ever created for them, in chronological order.

To view: Go to Clients, click on a client's name, and look at the Transaction History section.

For each invoice you can see:

• Invoice number and date
• Total amount
• Items purchased
• Payment status (paid/unpaid/partial)
• Outstanding balance at that point

Why This Matters:

• When a client calls to ask about a past order, you have the full history instantly
• You can identify your best customers by total lifetime spend
• You can see purchasing patterns — what they buy, how often, in what quantities
• You can spot seasonal behaviour and proactively reach out during their buying periods

On the main Clients page, you can:

Search by name, phone number, or GSTIN. The search is instant — results appear as you type.

Filter by:

• Clients with outstanding balances (debtors only)
• Clients with no outstanding balance (fully paid)
• New clients (added in the last 30 days)
• Top clients by total spend

Sort by:

• Name (A–Z or Z–A)
• Total outstanding (highest first — for collection prioritisation)
• Last invoice date (most recent first)
• Total lifetime spend (highest first)

When a client has an outstanding balance, you can send them a payment reminder directly from EzDukkan.

WhatsApp Reminder: Click the WhatsApp icon next to any client with an outstanding balance. EzDukkan generates a polite, professional reminder message pre-filled with the client's name, the outstanding amount, and a link to view their invoice. Opens WhatsApp with the client's number pre-filled. One tap sends the reminder.

The reminder message template can be customised in Settings. You can make it formal or informal depending on your relationship with the customer.

Best practice: Send reminders on a regular schedule — weekly for balances over 30 days, fortnightly for newer balances. Consistent, friendly reminders dramatically improve collection rates without damaging relationships.

For business-to-business (B2B) transactions, your customer's GSTIN is required on the invoice for them to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) on their GST filing.

Entering a GSTIN: In the client record or on the invoice itself, enter the customer's 15-character GSTIN. EzDukkan validates the format automatically. If you have internet connectivity, it can also perform a live lookup to verify the GSTIN is active and fetch the registered business name.

B2B Invoice Requirements: A valid GST tax invoice for B2B transactions must contain:

• Your GSTIN (set in Business Settings)
• Customer's GSTIN
• Supplier (your) address
• HSN codes for each product
• GST amount broken down by rate (CGST + SGST, or IGST for inter-state)

EzDukkan handles all of this automatically when both GSTINs are present and the invoice has GST enabled.

Can a single customer have multiple phone numbers or addresses? Currently, each client record has one primary phone and one address. For businesses with multiple branches or contacts, you can add notes in the client's Notes field to capture additional contact information.

What happens to a client's record if I delete an invoice? The invoice is removed from their transaction history and their outstanding balance adjusts accordingly. Their client record itself remains.

Can I export my client list? Yes. From the Clients page, look for an Export button. Client data can be exported to Excel/CSV for use in other tools (email campaigns, accounting software, etc.).

How do I merge two duplicate client records? If the same customer was added twice (e.g., once as "Rahul" and once as "Rahul Sharma"), contact support to merge the records. Keep the record with the most complete information as the primary.

Can I set a credit limit per client? Credit limit enforcement (blocking new invoices if a client exceeds a set credit ceiling) is available in advanced settings. This is useful for wholesale businesses that extend significant credit to buyers.

Is there a way to see all clients who owe me money? Yes. On the Clients page, filter by "Has Outstanding Balance" to see a list of all debtors sorted by amount owed. This is your daily collection follow-up list.