AI and automation for wholesale distributors in India

The problem

Retailers send orders as WhatsApp text, voice notes or shelf photos. The biller reads each message, guesses the pack size, and types it into Tally. Lines get missed and the retailer calls back.

What we build

One WhatsApp Business number receives every order. AI reads it against your price list and that retailer's past purchases, checks credit, confirms back to the retailer, and creates the sales order in Tally Prime for the biller's queue.

Expected outcome

Typically removes order re-typing and order-line errors for the WhatsApp channel, and lets the biller handle more routes a day; in our audits we count the orders per day that come in by WhatsApp today.

How it works

1. The retailer sends an order to the distributor's WhatsApp Business number in any form: text, voice note in Malayalam or Tamil, or a photo of a handwritten list.
2. An AI step in n8n matches each line to the Tally stock-item master and the retailer's usual pack sizes; unknown items are flagged for a human.
3. The system checks the retailer's outstanding and credit limit in Tally Prime; over-limit orders are held and the salesman is told.
4. The retailer receives a confirmation with items, quantities, scheme discounts and the delivery day, and replies to approve.
5. The approved order is created as a sales order in Tally Prime and appears on the biller's screen in route order.
6. The owner gets a 10 am WhatsApp summary: orders received by route, value, and held orders.

Systems: WhatsApp Business API · Tally Prime · n8n · Google Sheets

The problem

Salesmen take orders in a notebook and phone them in. They do not know live stock or the current scheme, so they promise what is not there and discounts that do not apply.

What we build

A mobile app for salesmen with beat plan, retailer outstanding, live stock, current schemes and one-tap order entry that syncs to Tally Prime before they reach the next shop.

Expected outcome

Expected: orders reach the godown before the salesman finishes the route, and wrong-scheme discounts stop; typically visit coverage per beat becomes a number the owner can manage.

How it works

1. The sales manager sets each salesman's beat plan by day in the app, with the retailers on that route and their outstanding.
2. At the shop, the salesman picks items from the live stock list; the app shows the scheme and the net price automatically.
3. The order syncs to Tally Prime as a sales order within minutes, and the retailer gets a WhatsApp confirmation.
4. The app records a visit even with no order, with a reason, so the owner sees shop coverage not just sales.
5. The biller prints invoices in route order from the morning's synced orders.
6. Each evening the owner sees orders by salesman, shops visited versus planned, and schemes given.

Systems: Custom mobile app · Tally Prime · WhatsApp Business API · Google Sheets

The problem

Outstanding is in Tally but nobody checks before billing. Reminders depend on the salesman's mood. Money older than 60 days is only found at year end.

What we build

Retailer-wise credit limits and days are enforced at order time, outstanding is pulled from Tally daily, and polite WhatsApp reminders with a UPI payment link go out on a schedule the owner sets.

Expected outcome

Typically reduces the amount over 60 days within one or two cycles, because reminders go out every time and over-limit retailers stop getting stock by accident.

How it works

1. The owner and accountant set a credit limit and credit days for each retailer in a Google Sheet that syncs to the order flow.
2. Each night n8n pulls receivables ageing from Tally Prime and updates every retailer's available credit.
3. Orders that would breach the limit are held in the WhatsApp or salesman flow until the salesman or owner releases them.
4. On the due date, and again at 7 and 14 days overdue, the retailer receives a WhatsApp reminder with the invoice list and a UPI payment link.
5. Collections recorded by the salesman or by UPI are posted as receipts in Tally Prime by the accountant from a daily list.
6. The owner's Monday message shows total outstanding, amount over 60 days, and the ten largest overdue retailers.

Systems: Tally Prime · WhatsApp Business API · n8n · UPI payment links (e.g. Razorpay) · Google Sheets

The problem

Brand schemes change every month. They are applied by memory at billing, and the monthly claim statement to the company is built in Excel, filed late and partly rejected.

What we build

A scheme master that is applied automatically at billing, a running record of scheme cost per invoice, and a claim statement generated for each brand in the format the brand wants, reconciled against credit notes received.

Expected outcome

Expected: claims filed on time every month with full invoice support, and a clear number for scheme money still owed by each brand; in our audits we look at last year's unclaimed or rejected scheme amounts.

How it works

1. The sales manager loads each brand's monthly scheme (item, slab, discount or free goods, dates) into the scheme master.
2. The order flow and the biller's Tally Prime screen apply the scheme automatically; manual overrides need a reason.
3. Every invoice line carries the scheme reference so the scheme cost per brand per month is known on day one.
4. On the first of the month the system generates the claim statement per brand with supporting invoice lists in the brand's template.
5. The accountant reviews, files the claim and logs it; credit notes received are matched to claims in Tally.
6. The owner sees claims filed, received, pending and rejected by brand, and chases only what is short.

Systems: Tally Prime · Google Sheets · Custom app · n8n

The problem

Pickers wait for invoices, loaders wait for pickers, and larger loads need an e-way bill generated separately. Vehicles leave late and returns come back untracked.

What we build

Orders are grouped by route, pick lists go to the godown with barcode checks, invoices and e-invoices are generated in Tally, e-way bills are created for consignments that need them, and the driver's delivery confirmation closes each invoice.

Expected outcome

Typically gets vehicles out earlier with fewer picking errors and no missing e-way bills, and gives the owner a same-day picture of returns per route.

How it works

1. By cut-off time, the day's approved orders are grouped by delivery route and a pick list is printed or shown on a godown tablet.
2. The picker scans each item with a barcode scanner; mismatches against the order are flagged before the vehicle is loaded.
3. Invoices are generated in Tally Prime, with the e-invoice IRN where your turnover requires it.
4. For consignments over the e-way bill threshold, the e-way bill is generated from the invoice data and attached to the route sheet.
5. The driver gets the route and invoice list on WhatsApp and marks each delivery done, with a photo for any shortage or return.
6. Returns and short deliveries are posted as credit notes in Tally by the biller from the driver's confirmations.

Systems: Tally Prime · Barcode scanners · GST e-invoice and e-way bill portals · WhatsApp Business API · n8n

The problem

Batch-wise stock sits in Tally but no one reviews it. Short-dated stock is discovered when a retailer refuses it, and the company's return window has passed.

What we build

A nightly check of batch expiry and stock age in Tally that sends the owner and sales manager a ranked list of what to push, what to return and what to stop ordering.

Expected outcome

Expected: short-dated stock is pushed or returned inside the brand's window instead of written off; typically the first month's list alone surfaces stock the owner did not know was ageing.

How it works

1. Batch and expiry details are kept current in Tally Prime at goods receipt by the godown in-charge.
2. Each night n8n reads batch stock and flags items at 90, 60 and 30 days to expiry, and items with no sale in 60 days.
3. The sales manager receives a WhatsApp list of near-expiry stock with suggested retailers who buy that item.
4. The accountant receives the list of stock eligible for return to the company within the brand's window and raises the return.
5. Purchase stops or reduces orders for slow items automatically flagged in the reorder sheet.
6. The owner sees a monthly summary of expiry losses, returns credited and dead-stock value.

Systems: Tally Prime · n8n · WhatsApp Business API · Google Sheets

The problem

Every brand wants daily secondary sales in its own DMS or Excel format. Someone re-keys Tally invoices into each portal, and the numbers never quite match, which delays claims.

What we build

A nightly export of Tally invoices, mapped to each brand's SKU codes and template, delivered as an upload file or pushed through the brand's API where one exists.

Expected outcome

Typically ends daily re-keying into brand portals and removes the mismatch arguments at claim time.

How it works

1. Each brand's SKU codes are mapped once to your Tally stock items in a mapping sheet maintained by the sales manager.
2. Each night n8n exports the day's invoices from Tally Prime and splits them by brand.
3. For each brand, the data is converted into its DMS upload template or sent through its API.
4. The accountant gets one WhatsApp message per brand confirming the upload or listing rows that failed mapping.
5. A monthly reconciliation compares Tally sales per brand to what the DMS shows, so claims are not held up by mismatches.
6. New SKUs are added to the mapping sheet when the brand launches them, with a reminder if an unmapped item is sold.

Systems: Tally Prime · n8n · Google Sheets · Brand DMS portals or APIs · WhatsApp Business API