How to Maintain a Transport Party Ledger (Khata)
A step-by-step guide to keeping party accounts for a transport business: charges, receivings, payments, discounts, running balance, ageing and monthly statements.
The two sides
Every party has charges (you will collect) and receivings (they have paid). The running balance is charges minus receivings minus discounts. A positive balance means the party owes you.
Posting charges
A delivered bilty is charged to the receiver automatically. A completed fleet trip is charged to the client. Do not hand-copy these.
Receivings
Record cash, bank transfer, or cheque. Apply the money to the oldest open bill first (FIFO) so the ageing stays honest.
Bounced cheques
When a cheque bounces, reverse the receving — do not delete it. The audit trail stays clean and the balance returns to where it belongs.
Ageing and statements
Group outstanding into 0–30, 31–60, 61–90 and 90+ days. Send each party a monthly PDF statement, ideally on WhatsApp, so there are no surprises.