A Khatabook alternative with real accounting
Beyond a digital khata — LekhaPro is a Khatabook alternative that adds GST billing, inventory and full double-entry books, so your credit register and your accounts are one system.
Live product UI — sample data.
Khata, done properly
Track customer and supplier credit with running balances, settlements and reminders.
Billing + books too
GST invoices, inventory and a posted double-entry ledger — not just a ledger of dues.
Offline desktop
A fast desktop app that runs offline with encrypted local backups.
What this actually means in practice
A khata is really a receivables system in disguise. What the shopkeeper wants is a running balance per customer that both sides trust, an entry that takes seconds at the counter, a reminder that can go out on WhatsApp without a phone call, and a clear view of who has been owing for sixty days. The moment the business starts issuing GST invoices, though, the credit register and the tax records need to be the same records.
Moving off a khata app is lighter than a full accounting migration, but the same limits hold. Customer and supplier names with their current outstanding come in as opening balances; individual past entries do not, because there is no automated import from Khatabook or any other ledger app yet. Pick a date, agree each party's balance with them before you enter it — that conversation is worth having anyway — and keep the app installed as a record of the old entries.
In LekhaPro the khata is not a side feature; a credit sale posts to the customer's ledger, ages automatically, and shows in outstanding and in the Balance Sheet as a debtor. Reminders share in one tap over WhatsApp or email, settlements knock off against invoices, and the same records feed GST returns and stock. Khatabook is widely used and genuinely convenient on a phone — moving to a desktop ledger is a step up in structure, and in effort.
| What to check before switching | How LekhaPro answers it |
|---|---|
| Does a credit sale become a proper receivable? | Yes — it posts to the customer's ledger and appears as a debtor in the Balance Sheet. |
| Can I still send reminders on WhatsApp? | Yes — one-tap share of a reminder or invoice link over WhatsApp or email, with the balance included. |
| Will I see who has been owing longest? | Ageing buckets by party show 30, 60 and 90-day outstanding, with a receivables summary on the dashboard. |
| Does it also issue GST invoices? | Yes — GST-correct invoices, credit notes, GSTR-1 and 3B all come from the same customer records. |
| What carries over from my current app? | Party names and their outstanding, as opening balances. Individual old entries are not imported. |
| Do I need a computer, or will a phone do? | The Desktop edition needs a Windows PC; the Cloud edition runs in any browser, including on a phone. |
| Is it expensive next to a free khata app? | It is paid software — ₹249 a month for the full core, with a 14-day trial and no card required. |
What’s included
- Customer & supplier khata (credit)
- Payment reminders (WhatsApp/email share)
- GST billing & returns
- Inventory & COGS
- Outstanding & ageing
- Double-entry books
- Offline-first
What it does not do
- · Old khata entries cannot be imported line by line — only each party's balance as at your chosen start date.
- · This is business software rather than a consumer app: expect a day of setting up items, parties and opening balances.
- · The Desktop edition is Windows-only; phone access means using the Cloud edition in a browser.
- · There is no payroll module, and support is provided over email and WhatsApp rather than in person.
Frequently asked
Is LekhaPro a good Khatabook alternative?
Yes if you want credit (khata) tracking plus real GST billing, inventory and accounting in one desktop app, rather than a standalone khata register.
Can I send payment reminders?
Yes — share reminders in one tap via WhatsApp or email; outstanding and ageing are tracked automatically.
Is it offline?
Yes — khata, billing and books all run offline.
Do my customers need to install anything?
No. Reminders and invoices reach them as a WhatsApp message or email with a link or PDF, exactly as a message from you would — there is nothing for them to sign up to or download. The ledger lives with you, which also means the balance shown is the one your own books support if a dispute arises.
I have hundreds of khata parties. How do I start?
Enter only the parties who currently owe you or whom you owe — that is usually a fraction of the list. Load them from a spreadsheet with their agreed balance as at the start date, and add dormant customers later as they buy. Starting with live balances rather than the entire history gets you billing within a day.
What exactly is included in Alternative · khata + books?
customer & supplier khata (credit), payment reminders (WhatsApp/email share), GST billing & returns, inventory & COGS, outstanding & ageing and double-entry books, and 1 more. Every item on that list is a working screen you can open in the trial rather than a capability described in the abstract.
How is alternative · khata + books handled differently here?
It rests on khata, done properly, billing + books too and offline desktop. The distinction that matters is that these are structural rather than cosmetic — the behaviour is built into how records are posted, not layered on as a report you have to remember to run.
Does Alternative · khata + books post to the real books?
Yes, and that is the whole reason it lives in this product rather than beside it. What khata, done properly records lands in the same posted double-entry ledger the Trial Balance, P&L and GST returns are built from — so there is no second set of alternative · khata + books numbers to reconcile against the first.
How does Alternative · khata + books affect my GST?
It feeds it directly rather than sitting alongside it. CGST/SGST and IGST are split from HSN or SAC and place of supply as each document is raised, so whatever alternative · khata + books produces is already correct when GSTR-1, 3B and 2B reconciliation are drawn off the same books. The return matches the accounts because it was never a separate exercise.
Can I try Alternative · khata + books before committing?
Yes — 14 days, no card. Test alternative · khata + books against your own masters and your own transactions rather than sample data: the questions worth answering here are about your business's edge cases, and a demo dataset is built not to have any.