Sell it before it arrives
Take paid reservations on stock you don’t have yet. Collect a deposit, hold the customer, and walk into your supplier order knowing exactly how many units are already sold.
14 days free · no card needed · Included in every plan. Nothing to install.
This is the real screen, not a picture of one — search it, change a status, receive stock, record a deposit.Swipe the screen sideways to reach every column.
Reserve incoming products, collect deposits, and move orders from request to fulfillment.
Preorders & deposits
The order you place is a guess. It doesn’t have to be.
Every shop that waits on a shipment makes the same bet twice: order too few and you turn away customers who were ready to pay, order too many and your cash is sitting on a shelf months later. Meanwhile the reservations you did take live in a notebook, a WhatsApp thread, and someone’s memory — so when the boxes finally land, nobody is sure who paid what, or who was promised which colour.
How it goes today
- Order too few, and you turn away customers who were ready to pay.
- Order too many, and your cash sits on a shelf for months.
- Reservations live in a notebook, a WhatsApp thread and someone’s memory.
- The boxes land and nobody is sure who paid what, or who was promised which colour.
How it goes with Sahel
- Know the real demand before you commit to a supplier order.
- Every deposit recorded against a named customer, with the balance tracked.
- Every deposit, top-up and refund is logged on the order, so the balance at handover is never a guess.
How it works
Six steps, from an item that doesn’t exist yet to the customer walking out with it.
01List what’s coming
Build a catalog of items you expect to receive — model, colour, storage, price — before a single unit exists in your inventory. Type them in or import the list from CSV or Excel. Each one can carry your cost, the supplier you’re sourcing it from, and a minimum deposit as a fixed amount or a percentage.
02Take the reservation
Look the customer up by phone and Sahel pulls their history and warns you if they’ve already reserved the same thing. Build a basket of one item or several, collect the deposit — the minimum you set is enforced, not just suggested — and the balance is tracked from that moment.
03Give them proof
Print an A4 preorder slip, or send the details on WhatsApp or email in one tap. Every slip printed and every message sent is written into that preorder’s activity history, so there is never a question about what the customer was told.
04Promise a date honestly
Not every shipment has a confirmed date, so you can give a fixed date, an estimate, a range, or say plainly it isn’t confirmed yet. Your preorder list then surfaces what’s coming due inside the reminder window you choose, so you reach people before they start calling you.
05Stock arrived
When the shipment lands, press Stock arrived on the order and it moves to Ready — or receive a whole device at once from the buying list. If only some units came in, mark how many: the distribution list shows which customers have waited longest, across every branch, so they get theirs first.
06Hand it over
When the customer comes in, collect the balance and press Mark delivered. Part of an order can go now and the rest when it lands; the order is Fulfilled once every item has been handed over, with every payment on its record.
What you get
Deposits are a liability, not revenue
Money taken for goods you haven’t delivered isn’t income yet, and Sahel books it that way — against customer deposits, not sales. Your profit figures stay honest, and end-of-day cash counts never ask a cashier to account for money that arrived three weeks ago.
Minimums you can actually enforce
Set a minimum deposit per item — a fixed amount or a percentage of the price — and it holds at the counter, checked on the server rather than trusted to whoever is on shift.
Due-soon alerts
Your preorder list flags what’s coming due inside your reminder window, so nothing quietly ages past the date you promised.
One order, several items
A customer reserving three things gets one order, one deposit and one balance — not three separate tickets to reconcile.
Payment history on every order
Deposits, top-ups and refunds are each recorded with the method and the date, so there is never an argument about what was already paid.
Supplier reference & tracking
Keep the supplier’s order reference and a tracking link on the preorder, so answering “where is it?” takes a moment instead of a phone call.
Common questions
Do I have to add the product to my inventory first?
No — that’s the whole point. The preorder catalog is separate from your stock, so you can list and sell an item that does not exist in your inventory yet. Preorders never move your stock at all: they track what each customer ordered, paid and collected, and your inventory stays exactly as you count it.
Can I require a deposit?
Yes. Set a minimum per item, either a fixed amount or a percentage of the price. It is enforced when the order is created — on the server, not just in the screen — so it holds no matter who is at the counter.
What if I don’t know the arrival date yet?
Say so. A preorder can carry a fixed date, an estimate, a date range, or “not confirmed yet”. Your list then flags orders coming due inside the reminder window you set, so you can reach people before they chase you.
What happens when the customer collects?
Press Mark delivered on the order. You can hand over part of it and keep the rest waiting, and Sahel shows what those items are worth next to the deposit and the balance. A preorder tracks the order rather than ringing up a sale, so collect the balance the way you normally do.
Does the deposit count as income straight away?
No, and it shouldn’t. Money taken for goods you have not handed over is a liability until you deliver, and Sahel books it against customer deposits rather than sales. It also stays out of the cashier’s end-of-day count, so nobody is asked to find cash that came in weeks earlier.
Can a customer reserve more than one item?
Yes. One order can hold several items with one deposit and one running balance, and you can record further payments against it over time.
Do I need anything special to use it?
Preorders is included in your plan — switch it on in Settings and it appears in the sidebar. Start the 14-day free trial and it is on with everything else, or contact us and we will set it up with you.
Start taking deposits this week
Free for 14 days, no card needed. We’ll help you load your first list.