Reference Guide

Real-World Business Scenarios

These scenarios show how different Nigerian business owners use SabiBooks in their daily operations.

Mama Chidi's Busy Saturday

Provision store owner in Surulere handles low stock, credit sales, supplier deliveries, and power outages.

Emeka's End-of-Month Stocktaking

Electronics shop owner does a full inventory reconciliation and generates monthly reports.

Alhaji Musa's Credit Collection Day

Wholesale distributor reviews aging reports, sends reminders, and records payments.

Chidinma's Split Payment Saturday

Restaurant owner handles a group split payment and shares a receipt via WhatsApp.

Scenario 1: Mama Chidi’s Busy Saturday

It is Saturday morning at Mama Chidi’s provision store in Surulere. This is her busiest day.

7:00 AM — Opening:

1. Mama Chidi opens SabiBooks and checks the Dashboard
2. She sees 3 Low Stock Alerts: Peak Milk (4 tins left), Indomie (6 packs), and Golden Penny Flour (2 bags)
3. She calls her supplier to order more: 2 cartons Peak Milk, 3 cartons Indomie, and 5 bags of flour

8:00 AM — First customer:

1. A regular customer, Mrs. Amaka, wants 5 tins of Peak Milk, 2 packs of Indomie, and 1 bag of sugar
2. Mama Chidi opens New Sale, searches for each item, and adds them to the cart
3. Total: ₦6,350
4. Mrs. Amaka pays ₦7,000 cash
5. Mama Chidi selects Cash, enters ₦7,000, and SabiBooks calculates ₦650 change
6. She shares the receipt via WhatsApp

10:30 AM — Credit customer:

1. Mama Ngozi comes to buy provisions but does not have cash until payday (next Friday)
2. Mama Chidi opens New Sale, adds the items (₦4,200 total)
3. She selects Mama Ngozi as the customer
4. She selects Credit as payment
5. The sale is recorded and Mama Ngozi’s credit balance updates to ₦4,200
6. SabiBooks reminds her that Mama Ngozi’s credit limit is ₦10,000 — still within limit

12:00 PM — Supplier delivery:

1. The supplier delivers 2 cartons of Peak Milk (48 tins)
2. Mama Chidi goes to Products > Peak Milk > Adjust Stock
3. She selects Add Stock, enters 48, reason: Purchase, notes: “Supplier delivery”
4. Stock updates from 2 to 50

2:00 PM — Power cut (offline):

1. NEPA takes light. Mama Chidi’s internet router goes off
2. SabiBooks shows a yellow “Offline” banner (see Offline Mode)
3. She continues recording 8 more sales during the afternoon — all saved on her phone
4. At 4:30 PM, power returns and SabiBooks automatically syncs all 8 sales

6:00 PM — Closing:

1. Mama Chidi checks the Dashboard: Today’s Sales: ₦45,250 from 32 transactions
2. She records 3 expenses: ₦500 for plastic bags, ₦200 for airtime, ₦2,000 for generator fuel
3. She checks the Credit page: Total outstanding is ₦32,000 across 8 customers
4. She sends WhatsApp reminders to 3 customers whose credit is over 30 days old
5. She locks the shop, satisfied that every transaction is recorded

Scenario 2: Emeka’s End-of-Month Stocktaking

Emeka runs his electronics shop in Computer Village. At the end of every month, he does a full inventory count.

Step 1: Print Stock Sheet

1. Emeka exports his product list to CSV
2. Opens it in Excel on his laptop
3. Prints a stock sheet with product names and a blank column for physical count

Step 2: Physical Count

1. He and his staff physically count every item on the shelves
2. They write the actual quantities on the printed sheet

Step 3: Reconcile in SabiBooks

1. For each product where the physical count differs from SabiBooks:
   • He opens the product in SabiBooks
   • Taps Adjust Stock
   • If SabiBooks shows 15 but he counted 13, he removes 2 with reason: Adjustment, notes: “Monthly stocktaking - 2 units unaccounted for”
   • If SabiBooks shows 8 but he counted 10, he adds 2 with reason: Adjustment, notes: “Monthly stocktaking - 2 extra units found”

Step 4: Review Discrepancies

1. He checks the Stock Movement History for products with large discrepancies
2. This helps him identify potential theft, miscounting, or recording errors

Step 5: Generate Reports

1. He generates the monthly Sales Report and P&L Report
2. He exports both as PDF for his records
3. He shares the reports with his accountant

Scenario 3: Alhaji Musa’s Credit Collection Day

Every Tuesday, Alhaji Musa reviews his credit and follows up with customers.

Step 1: Check the Credit Dashboard

1. Opens the Credit and Debtors page
2. Summary shows: Total Outstanding: ₦850,000 | Overdue (>30 days): ₦220,000 | Collected This Month: ₦180,000

Step 2: Review Aging Report

1. The aging chart shows:
   • 0-30 days: ₦450,000 (53%) — These are fine, not yet due
   • 31-60 days: ₦180,000 (21%) — Send reminders
   • 61-90 days: ₦120,000 (14%) — Call these customers
   • 90+ days: ₦100,000 (12%) — Visit in person

Step 3: Send Bulk Reminders

1. Taps Send Reminders (WhatsApp icon)
2. Selects all customers in the 31-60 day bracket
3. Reviews the message template
4. Sends reminders to 8 customers

Step 4: Call Overdue Customers

1. Taps on each customer in the 61-90 day bracket
2. Taps Call to call them directly
3. Discusses payment plans

Step 5: Record Payments

1. During the day, 3 customers come to pay
2. For each: Opens customer profile > Record Payment > enters amount and payment method
3. Credit balances update instantly

Step 6: Review Progress

1. At the end of the day, Collected This Month has increased from ₦180,000 to ₦195,000
2. Total Outstanding dropped from ₦850,000 to ₦835,000

Scenario 4: Chidinma’s Split Payment Saturday

Chidinma’s restaurant is packed on Saturday afternoon. A table of 4 office workers orders ₦12,500 of food.

Recording the Order:

1. Opens New Sale and adds all menu items to the cart
2. Total: ₦12,500

Handling the Split: The customers want to split the bill — 2 pay by transfer and 2 pay cash.

1. Chidinma taps the Split Payment button
2. Adds first entry: Bank Transfer — ₦6,250
3. Adds second entry: Cash — ₦6,250
4. Total matches ₦12,500
5. Taps Complete

Sharing the Receipt:

1. The sale is complete
2. One of the customers asks for a receipt
3. Chidinma taps Share Receipt > WhatsApp and sends it to the customer

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Quick Reference Card

Common Tasks at a Glance

I Want To…	Go To	Tap
Record a sale	New Sale (bottom nav)	Add products, choose payment, Charge
Add a product	Products > ”+” button	Fill form, Save Product
Check stock	Products > tap product	See Stock Level section
Adjust stock	Products > tap product > Adjust Stock	Add or Remove, enter quantity, Save
Add a customer	Customers > Add Customer	Fill form, Add Customer
See who owes me	Credit (bottom nav)	Browse debtors list
Record credit payment	Credit > tap debtor > Record Payment	Enter amount, Confirm
Send reminder	Credit > tap debtor > Send Reminder	Edit message in WhatsApp, Send
Check daily sales	Dashboard	Read Today’s Sales card
See reports	Dashboard > Reports (quick action)	Choose time period
Add staff	Settings > Staff Management > Add Staff	Enter name, phone, role
Change settings	Settings (bottom nav)	Browse sections

Keyboard Shortcuts (on Computer)

If you use SabiBooks on a computer or laptop:

Shortcut	Action
Type in search bar	Start typing to search products or customers
Enter	Confirm/submit forms
Escape	Close modals and pop-ups
Tab	Move between form fields

Daily Routine for Shop Owners

Following this routine takes about 10 minutes total and keeps your business running smoothly.

Morning (3 min)

1. Open SabiBooks and check the Dashboard
2. Review any Low Stock Alerts and call your suppliers if needed
3. Check overnight sync status in Settings (if you were offline)
4. Count your opening cash float and note it

During the Day

1. Record every sale using the POS — no exceptions
2. Add new products to the system as they arrive from suppliers
3. Adjust stock quantities when you receive deliveries (use “Purchase” reason)
4. Add new customers when they buy for the first time
5. For credit sales, always select the customer and confirm the amount

Evening (5 min)

1. Check Today’s Sales on the Dashboard
2. Review any credit sales made today — did you record them all?
3. Record any business expenses from the day (transport, airtime, supplies, etc.)
4. Count your cash and compare with the Dashboard total
5. Make sure SabiBooks syncs if you were offline during the day

Weekly (15 min)

1. Review the weekly Sales Report — are sales up or down?
2. Check the Debtors list and send WhatsApp reminders to overdue customers
3. Do a physical stock count of your top 20 products and reconcile with SabiBooks
4. Review the Credit Aging Report — any debts over 60 days need urgent attention
5. Check that all staff are using SabiBooks correctly

Monthly (First Monday of the Month — 30 minutes):

1. Review the monthly Sales Report and compare with last month
2. Check the Profit and Loss report — are you making more or less profit?
3. Review Expense Summary — any categories growing too fast?
4. Check Inventory Report — identify slow-moving stock and plan promotions
5. Export reports for your records or accountant
6. Review and clean up product categories
7. Update the Loan Readiness Pack if you plan to apply for credit

Business Growth Checklist

Use SabiBooks data to grow your business:

• Do you know your top 10 best-selling products? Check Sales Report > Top Products
• Do you know your busiest day of the week? Check Sales Report > Sales by Day
• Do you know your profit margin? Check Profit and Loss Report
• Are all your products priced correctly? Compare cost price vs selling price in Products
• Is your credit under control? Total credit should be less than 15% of monthly sales. Check Credit.
• Are expenses trending up or down? Check monthly Expense Summary
• Do you have enough cash to operate? Check Cash Flow Report
• Is your inventory optimised? Remove slow-moving stock, stock up on fast movers

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Appendices

Payment Comparison

Appendix A: Payment Method Comparison

Method	Speed	Cost to You	Customer Preference	Best For
Cash	Instant	No cost	Very popular	Small purchases, market traders
POS Terminal	10-30 seconds	Small fee from provider	Growing rapidly	Any amount, professional transactions
Bank Transfer	1-5 minutes	No cost	Very popular	Any amount, especially large purchases
Credit	Instant	Risk of non-payment	Some customers expect it	Regular trusted customers
Split Payment	Varies	Varies	Common in groups	Restaurants, large purchases

For details on using each payment method, see Payment Methods.

Phone Prefixes

Appendix B: Nigerian Network Phone Prefixes

When adding phone numbers in SabiBooks, these are valid Nigerian prefixes:

Network	Prefixes
MTN	0803, 0806, 0810, 0813, 0814, 0816, 0903, 0906, 0913, 0916
Glo	0805, 0807, 0811, 0815, 0905
Airtel	0802, 0808, 0812, 0701, 0708, 0902, 0907, 0912
9mobile	0809, 0817, 0818, 0908, 0909

SabiBooks accepts phone numbers in any of these formats:

• 08012345678 (local format)
• +2348012345678 (international format)
• 2348012345678 (without the +)
• 0801-234-5678 (with dashes)

All formats are automatically converted to the standard +234 format.

Product Units

Appendix C: Product Unit Types

When adding products, choose the unit type that matches how you count or measure the product:

Unit	When to Use	Example Products
pcs (pieces)	Individual items	Phones, chargers, tins of milk
carton	Items sold by the box	Cartons of Indomie, cartons of soap
kg	Items sold by weight	Rice, beans, flour
litre	Liquid items sold by volume	Cooking oil, palm oil
pack	Bundled items	Packs of batteries, packs of tissue
bag	Large sacks	Bags of rice, bags of cement
dozen	Groups of 12	Eggs, buns
roll	Rolled items	Toilet paper, cling wrap
bottle	Bottled items	Drinks, seasoning
sachet	Small packet items	Sachets of water, seasoning

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Currency and Phone Number Formats

SabiBooks uses Nigerian formats throughout:

Item	Format	Example
Currency	Nigerian Naira (₦) with 2 decimal places	₦5,250.00
Phone Numbers	Nigerian format, starting with 0 or +234	08012345678 or +2348012345678
Dates	Day/Month/Year or relative (e.g., “2 days ago”)	15/01/2026
Time	12-hour format with AM/PM	2:30 PM
Timezone	West Africa Time (WAT, UTC+1)	All times are in Lagos time

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Getting More Help

If this guide does not answer your question:

1. Check the in-app help centre — tap the help icon in SabiBooks
2. Read the FAQ section
3. Contact SabiBooks support via the in-app support channel

We are here to help you succeed. SabiBooks was built for Nigerian business owners like you, and we want to make sure you get the most out of it.