We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 1020 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city
Money, pricing & unit economics

Accounting & bookkeeping

Books that tell you if you're actually making money.

Level All Beginner Intermediate
Market All India Global
Who's asking Everyone Aspiring Brand Builder Maker / Artisan Just-Launched Founder Marketplace Seller Scaling Brand Omnichannel Operator Bootstrapped Side-Hustler

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I'm not a finance person, what books/records do I actually need to keep from day one? At minimum: a sales register (every order, with GST split if applicable), a purchase/expense register (raw materials, ads, shipping, software), a b... Beginner 3 resources → What accounting software should a small D2C brand in India actually use, Zoho, Tally, Vyapar, or just Excel? Zoho Books is the easiest starting point, GST-compliant invoicing built in, free under Rs 25 lakh turnover, and a clean interface if you've never d... Beginner 4 resources → How do I actually read my P&L and know if I'm making money, not just growing revenue? Work top to bottom: revenue minus cost of goods sold (COGS) gives gross profit, minus operating expenses (ads, salaries, rent, software) gives oper... Intermediate 3 resources → What is 'Profit First' and should I actually run my business that way? Profit First flips the usual formula, instead of Sales minus Expenses equals Profit, you take your profit percentage off the top the moment money c... Intermediate 3 resources → Should I hire a bookkeeper/accountant now or keep doing my own books for as long as possible? Do your own basic bookkeeping (sales/expense entry) as long as it's genuinely a once-a-week, 30-minute task, the muscle memory of knowing your own ... Beginner 3 resources →

Related in Starting Up

Every founder hits these, so they sit in the wider founder hub.

Founder pay, personal finance and mixing personal and business money
Startup finance & accounting → Founder mindset & resilience →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →