Delivered, cash in hand

What does this tour show?

It shows the end of an order in the evening. Hiruni, a sample seller, sent a parcel of perfume to a buyer called Dinithi. It was cash on delivery: the money comes back with whoever made the drop, often a brother or a three-wheel rider. By seven in the evening the cash is in Hiruni's hand. The order still says Packed, and she wants her records to match her purse.

The tour has three steps on one order screen: the steps across the top, the Cash received tick with Mark delivered, and the buyer and the money below.

Why record cash on delivery at all?

Because cash that comes back by hand is the easiest money to lose track of. Several parcels go out in a day, some come back paid, one is refused, one buyer was out. A week later nobody remembers which. If each order is closed with the cash ticked as received, the list of delivered orders is also a list of money collected, and anything still marked Cash to collect is money you are owed.

Step by step

1. Open the order. At 19:00 Hiruni opens Dinithi's order from the To deliver row on Home. The header shows Dinithi's name, the order number SO-0148, "placed yesterday" and the total, Rs 3,950.

2. Read the steps across the top. Four short bars run under the header: New, Confirmed, Packed and Delivered. The first two carry a tick and Packed is in bold. That is where the order is now.

3. Check what was ordered. Further down, What they ordered lists 2 × Rose Musk 10ml at Rs 3,600, then Products Rs 3,600, Delivery Rs 350 and Total Rs 3,950. The payment line at the bottom says Cash to collect.

4. Count the cash against the total. The rider hands over the money. Hiruni counts Rs 3,950 before doing anything on screen. If it were short, she would call the buyer first, not tick the box.

5. Tick Cash received. In the shaded panel under the steps, a line reads "Cash received: Rs 3,950" with a tick box. She ticks it. The money is now recorded on the order itself, not in a notebook.

6. Tap Mark delivered. The large button under the tick says Mark delivered. She taps it, and the order moves to the last step. It will now count under Delivered on the Orders screen rather than To deliver on Home.

7. Contact the buyer if anything is odd. Below the steps is the buyer row, with Dinithi's name and area and two buttons, WhatsApp and Call. If the rider had said nobody was home, this is where Hiruni would ring before the parcel comes back.

8. Close the screen with nothing left to remember. Parcel, buyer and money are on one record. Tomorrow morning, this order will not appear in Waiting for you.

The order in one table

What if the delivery does not go to plan?

Not every drop ends with cash in hand. The buyer may be out, may ask to come back tomorrow, or may change her mind at the door. In each case, leave the order at Packed and leave Cash received unticked. The order then stays on Home under To deliver, which is exactly where it should be: a parcel that still needs a decision. Call the buyer from the order, agree a new time, and only close it when the parcel and the money have both changed hands.

Tips for cash-on-delivery sellers

• Count before you tick. The tick says the cash is in your hand; make sure it is.
• Close orders the same evening. Cash that sits in a bag overnight with no record is how mix-ups start.
• If someone else delivers for you, agree that they bring the cash back the same day, and tick it in front of them.
• Set a cash-on-delivery limit in your shop settings. Your shop settings let you say how large a cash-on-delivery order can be, which keeps very large unpaid parcels off the road.
• Keep your delivery money separate from your household money, even if it is just a different purse.

Common mistakes

Marking delivered without ticking cash. The order looks finished, but the payment still says Cash to collect. A month later, the list of delivered orders and the money you have will not agree.

Ticking cash that has not arrived. If the rider says "she will pay tomorrow", leave the tick. Mark it when the money comes.

Chasing by memory. If a buyer refused the parcel or was not home, call from the order screen and add a note to yourself. Do not rely on remembering who it was.

Treating supplier orders the same way. Orders marked Supplier ships are delivered by the supplier. You cannot mark them delivered yourself, and you should not try to collect their cash.

What should you do next?

Look at what reselling earned. The last tour in Hiruni's day shows the earnings from the supplier's bottles she sells: what is ready to pay, what is still holding after delivery and what has been paid out.

The cash flow guide explains why cash on delivery can leave a seller short of money even on a good sales day. The end-of-day cash-up guide has a simple routine for counting what came in, which works just as well for a home seller as for a shop.

How EasyTaskr helps

Each Share & Sell order shows its steps from New to Delivered. For cash on delivery you tick Cash received before Mark delivered, so the money is on the order, and the buyer is one tap away by WhatsApp or phone, with the items, delivery charge and total on the same screen.