The mandi and dairy screens are for a commission agent (arhtiya) or grain trader who receives farmers' lots at the gate, weighs them and sells them to buyers, and for a milk collection centre or dairy society that buys milk from members twice a day. They keep the day's register: lots, weighments, sale entries, farmer pattis and milk collections. They are records. Nothing on these screens posts to your books or pays anyone.
Where to find it
Open Inventory and tap Mandi and dairy. The screen has five tabs: Arrivals, Sales, Pattis, Dairy collections and Cold storage.
Where your farmers, buyers and bills live
Under the tabs, a Your parties: row links the trade's own words to the lists that hold them. On the mandi tabs it reads Farmers (sellers), which opens your Suppliers list, Buyers, which opens Clients, and Sale bills, which opens Invoices. On the dairy tab the first link reads Members (milk sellers). The farmer, buyer and member pickers on these screens list your parties by name, so add a farmer or buyer as a party first.
On the Arrivals, Sales and Pattis tabs, Words used here opens a short glossary of words from BUSY, Marg or a paper khata and what they mean here: bikri (a buyer sale bill), nakal (a copy of a bill or ledger statement), rokad (cash book), patti (farmer settlement statement) and katchi parchi (auction slip for a lot).
Arrivals: lots, weighing and returns
Add a lot at the gate
Pick the Farmer, type the Commodity and Bags, and if you have them the Variety, Grade, Vehicle and Gate entry no., then tap Add lot. The Arrivals register lists the lots that arrived today.Weigh it
On the lot's row, type Gross kg and Tare kg and tap Save. Net kg shows the latest weighment; a lot with none reads Not weighed, never zero. A corrected weighment is a new row, and the latest one counts.Watch its status
Each lot reads Arrived, Sold or Returned. A lot becomes Sold when its whole net weight has been sold. Only an arrived, weighed lot can be picked for a sale.Mark a lot returned
If the farmer takes a lot back, tap Mark returned on its row and confirm Mark this lot returned to the farmer? It can no longer be sold. Only a lot with no sale entry can be returned.
Sales: recording a sale entry
On Sales, choose the day in Lots that arrived on (today by default), then the Lot, the Buyer and the Sale mode (Commission or Own account). Type Sold (kg) and the auction rate in Rate (Rs), and set Rate per to Quintal (100 kg) (the default) or Kg. Tap Add sale. A rate per kg is converted exactly and stored per quintal, so the list always shows Rate per quintal. A lot can only be sold after it is weighed, and never beyond its net weight. A sale entry does not post to your books.
Checking a buyer's credit before the sale
As soon as you pick a buyer, the Buyer credit box under the form shows two totals, each split into the screen's ageing buckets:
- Receivables (invoices). What the buyer owes on your open invoices.
- Mandi sales on record. The buyer's sale entries. These are not in receivables yet and no payment is recorded against them, so this is what was sold, not what is still owed.
Then Credit limit shows the buyer's limit, if one is set on the party. Once weight and rate are typed, it says how much is left within the limit including this sale, or warns This sale takes ... over their ... credit limit. followed by You can still save it. It warns; it never stops the sale.
Printing the katchi parchi
Tap Slip on a sale row. A small window opens with the Katchi parchi (auction slip): date, lot, commodity, buyer, weight, rate per quintal and amount, and the print dialog. If your browser blocks pop-ups you see Allow pop-ups for this site to print the slip.
Sharing a slip or settlement
Sale rows, patti rows and a member bill offer WhatsApp. It opens the party's saved phone number, or asks you to choose a chat when none is saved. You check the text and send it yourself. Where supported,Share opens your device's share sheet. Neither button sends an automatic notice or confirms delivery.
Correcting a sale: Reverse
A mistyped sale is never edited or deleted. Tap Reverse and confirm Reverse this sale? The original row then reads Reversed and a Reversal row is added. The lot's weight is freed (a sold lot goes back to Arrived), and the sale drops out of the patti, the levy and the buyer bill. A reversal cannot be undone. It is refused when a patti already covers that sale's day for the farmer: a finalised or paid one (this sale is in a finalised or paid patti and cannot be reversed) or even a draft one, because the draft's total would be wrong.
Mandi fee rates
Mandi fee rates holds the market fee, RDF and cess rates of your state. For each, give the State (two letters, for example UP), the Commodity, the Kind (Market fee, RDF or Cess), who it is Paid by (Buyer or Farmer), the Rate (%) and Valid from, then tap Add rate. No rate is preset: type them from your own state's schedule. A rate does not change any sale, bill or patti by itself.
Levy due and buyer bill uses those rates. Type the state code to see the levy due on your sale entries by kind and payer. Pick a buyer and a Bill date to see that buyer's bill: each commodity's sales, the Produce value, the buyer-paid levies in their own lines and the Bill total, with Print. A commodity with no rate in force is named, not shown as no levy. The bill is a record to print: it is not a GST tax invoice, commission and hamali are not on it, and nothing is posted to your books.
Pattis: settling with a farmer
Draft the patti
On Pattis, pick the Farmer, the Period start and Period end. The patti covers every sale entry of that farmer in the period, and two pattis for one farmer cannot share a day. Type any deductions in rupees: Commission, Hamali, Tulai, Market fee, RDF and Advance recovery. Tap Draft patti.Let the levies work themselves out
Type a state in State for levies (e.g. UP) and the farmer-paid market fee, RDF and cess rates you set for that state are worked out on each sale and deducted as a separate Levies (outside GST) block. Each line says from the rate you set, or typed when you typed a market fee or RDF amount yourself, which replaces the worked-out one. With no state, or no rate set, nothing is worked out.Finalise it
The list shows Gross, Deductions (each one named under the total) and Net payable. A patti stays a draft until a person taps Finalise. Finalising records who and when. It does not post to your books or pay the farmer.Record that the farmer was paid
On a finalised patti, open Mark paid. Choose the Paid on date (not a future one), the Payment mode (Bank transfer, UPI, Cash or Cheque) and, if you like, a Reference (UTR or cheque no.), then tap Save as paid. The row then reads Paid on the date, with the mode. This records a payment you made. Finocket does not send any money.
Paying a farmer in cash
When you choose Cash, a second choice asks The farmer is a cultivator, a producer, a trader or not sure. If the cash already recorded paid to that farmer on that day, plus this patti, exceeds the cash warning threshold, a note appears. For a cultivator or producer it reminds you to keep the patti as Rule 6DD evidence. For a trader it warns that cash above that threshold is not covered by Rule 6DD and suggests a bank or UPI payment. For not sure it asks you to mark the payee if Rule 6DD applies. It only warns: the record still saves.
Payment list and farmer statement
- Download payment list (CSV). Lists the finalised pattis still payable, by farmer, for you to take to the bank. Draft and paid pattis are left out. It pays no one and holds no account numbers.
- Farmer statement. Pick a farmer and a period and tap Show statement: each lot with its net and sold weight and sale value, the total sold and what finalised pattis make payable, with Print.
Farmer advances
On Pattis, open Farmer advances. Choose the Farmer,Date given, Amount (Rs) and an optional Note, then tap Record advance. The list separates Given,Recovered on pattis, On draft pattis and Outstanding. Leave advance recovery blank on a new patti to propose what it can recover after other deductions; type your own amount to override it. Review the draft before finalising. This records an advance you already gave; it lends, pays and posts nothing, and adds no interest.
Dairy collections
Add a rate chart first
Open Rate charts, give a Chart name, the Shift, the Milk type, the Mode (Fat and SNF or Fat only), the Rate per kg fat (Rs), the Rate per kg SNF (Rs) and Valid from, then Save chart. A collection is priced from the chart in force on its date, so add a chart before recording.Record each pour
Pick the Member, the Date, Shift (Morning or Evening) and Milk type, type Quantity (kg), Fat % and SNF %, and tap Record collection. The amount is worked out from the rate chart. A low reading is flagged Low fat or SNF reading, never refused.Give the member a statement
Member statement lists one member's collections over the dates you pick, with totals and Print.
A member's bill and 194Q
Member bill (settlement period) works out one member's bill for a settlement period. Pick the Member, Any day in the period and the Period using the available cycle lengths, then tap Show bill. The screen groups dates into the selected settlement cycle. The bill lists each day's amount and shows Milk value, Deductions and Net payable. No deductions are taken off here yet, so net payable equals the milk value. Nothing is paid or saved.
For a plant or society that buys milk, the bill also carries a Section 194Q (TDS on buying goods) line. It stays a reminder until you tick Our CA has confirmed 194Q applies to us as a buyer. Tick This member has given a PAN if they have. It then shows what you bought from this member earlier in the financial year, the rate, the part of this bill above the yearly limit and the TDS to consider, or that the bill stays within the limit. It always carries a note to confirm with your CA before deducting. If the member's collections for the whole year could not all be read, it says so instead of showing a smaller total. It is a suggestion: nothing is deducted or posted.
A bill for a period from 1 April 2026 names the same line under the new law: Section 393(1) [Table Sl. 8(ii)], Income-tax Act 2025 (formerly section 194Q), and the tick box reads Our CA has confirmed section 393(1) (formerly 194Q) applies to us as a buyer. The limit and rates are the same. A bill for an earlier period still says 194Q.
Changing a rate and taking a payment list
On a rate chart, choose New rate from a date andSave new rate. Earlier collections keep their original price. A closed cycle offers a Payment list of each member's gross milk value before deductions, for you to take to the bank. It sends no money.
Cycle sheet and closing a cycle
Cycle sheet totals every member's collections for the dates you pick: entries, kg and gross collected, with Download CSV and Print. It is the gross value: feed sales, advances and levies are not netted off, and nothing is paid from here. Under it, Close cycle asks Close the cycle from ... to ...? A closed cycle cannot be changed. and records that period's totals for every member as settled (Cycle closed for N members.). Close each period once. A second close, a period with nothing collected, or a role that cannot write is refused with the reason. Closing pays no one.
Cold storage
The Cold storage tab lists bags in each chamber, by depositor, and the rent run up on what is still held. Rent is charged per bag for every period begun, from gate-in until the bag leaves, including bags already gated out. Nothing there bills the depositor or posts to the books.
Registering a chamber and recording bags
Open Chambers, enter Chamber name,Capacity (bags) and Temperature note, then tapRegister chamber. Compare Bags held withRoom left. Use Gate in to record bags received, the depositor, chamber, rent and period. Use Gate out when bags leave; the gate-out record remains. Rent is a record, not an invoice or a payment.
Your licences and their expiry
On the Arrivals and Dairy collections tabs, Licences keeps your own licences: APMC trader / commission-agent licence, Fertiliser dealer (FCO), Seed dealer, Insecticide dealer and FSSAI. Give the Licence number, the Issuing authority, Valid from and Valid until, and tap Add licence. Each row reads Valid, the approaching-expiry status, Expired or No expiry date. To record a renewal, add the licence again with its new dates. For a mistyped licence, tap Remove and confirmRemove this licence?. Nothing is checked with any authority.
Crop seasons and harvest credit
For an input dealer who sells seed, fertiliser or pesticide on credit until harvest, Crop seasons and harvest credit on the Arrivals tab holds your seasons. Tap Add season with a Season name, the Crop, the Season (Kharif, Rabi, Zaid or Other), Opens on, Closes on and Credit due on, the date the credit falls due after harvest.
Then Tag credit bill: pick the season and one of your open credit bills (it shows the bill number, the farmer and what is owed), and if you want a different date, Due on (blank: the season's date). Credit bills tagged to a season lists each one with its due date and either Still owed or Settled. The bill itself stays as it is; the season decides when you collect it.
FPO member meetings
Member meetings, also on the Arrivals tab, is for a farmer producer organisation. Tap Schedule meeting with the Meeting type (AGM, EGM or Board meeting), Title, Date and time, Venue, the date in Notice issued on and the Agenda. Each meeting reads Scheduled until you tap Mark held or Cancel meeting. Nothing is sent to members from here: issue the notice yourself and record the date.
What prints on your sale and milk bills
With the pack installed, your invoices use the distributor and trader layout and carry the mandi fields. Fill them on the invoice form, on each line, or on the item:
- APMC licence no. and Gate entry no. print in the bill's header.
- Variety and Grade are set on the item and print under the line.
- Lot no., Bags, Gross weight (kg), Net weight (kg) and Moisture on a sale line, and Fat and SNF on a milk line, print as columns. A column is left out of any bill whose lines carry none.
Milk type and Shift can be filled on a line too, but they do not print. These fields record a fact; nothing is weighed or priced from them.
Fixing a wrong entry
Each mistake has one fix, and the screen only offers it where it is safe. Anyone who can only view the workspace sees none of these buttons. A screen that says it is not set up in your workspace yet needs the owner to finish setup first.
- A lot. Correct lot on the arrivals list changes the farmer, commodity, variety, grade, bags, gate entry number or vehicle number. It shows only on a lot that is still Arrived and has no live sale entry. Once something is sold from a lot, reverse that sale first. A wrong weighing is weighed again; the earlier reading stays.
- A chamber. Edit on a cold-storage chamber changes its capacity and temperature note. Its name changes only while no booking names it, because a booking keeps the chamber's name as typed.
- A crop season. Edit changes its name, crop, dates and credit due date. A bill already tagged to it keeps the due date it was tagged with; to change that, use Remove tag on the bill and tag it again. Removing a tag does not touch the bill itself.
- A milk collection. Remove deletes a mistyped collection when the member, date or shift is wrong, then record it again. UseCorrect to change quantity, fat or SNF andSave correction; the amount is recalculated at the rate in force on that date. A collection on a day a closed settlement cycle covers can be neither corrected nor removed, because that cycle's member bill was already worked out from it.
Sales are reversed, not deleted. On a draft patti, tap Discard draftand confirm before drawing it again. This removes the draft and its deductions, freeing its sales for reversal. Finalised and paid pattis cannot be discarded. An advance, a gate-out, a closed cycle and a rate-chart version cannot be changed or removed once written.
Trying it with sample data
In a new mandi workspace with empty books, the owner may see Try with sample mandi trading data on the dashboard's Get started card. It adds sample buyers, farmers, dairy members and sale invoices. With the pack on it also adds one mandi day (three lots weighed and sold, and a draft patti for one farmer with no deductions), a sample dairy cycle from two sample rate charts, and one cold-storage booking. No commission, hamali, market fee or advance is set: those rates are for your CA to confirm.
Clear sample data removes almost all of it, but not everything. The sample lots and their weighments, the farmers those lots belong to, and the sample milk rate charts stay, because weighments and dated rate-chart prices cannot be deleted once written. See Try Finocket with sample data for the details.
Related: Run a grain-mandi aadhat and input counter on Finocket, Run a milk collection centre or dairy on Finocket.