Facts checked on 19 October 2026. Published by MDG Services on 2 November 2026.
What paper does well
A paper khata, a register and an Excel sheet have run pumps for years. Paper needs no phone, no signal and no training. Excel adds totals and search.
Side by side
| Paper register | Excel sheet | Shared credit app (Khata Kavach) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | A register and a pen | Software you may already have | Call us; the price depends on your business |
| Needs a phone or signal | No | A computer or phone | A phone at the pump; transporters use their own. The nozzle works with no signal once opened with internet |
| Who sees each line | Whoever holds the book | Whoever has the file | The pump and the transporter, the same line |
| Can a line change without the other side seeing | Yes, unless the customer holds a copy | Yes, unless the customer holds a copy | Once the line has been sent, no. A correction is a new line; the old line stays, struck out |
| How the transporter knows | When you tell him or show the book | When you send the file or a statement | In his own app, as soon as the pump's phone is online |
| Limit checked before the fuel goes in | By hand | By hand | Green, amber or red light at the nozzle |
| Transporter asks first | Only if you make it a rule | Only if you make it a rule | By default: a request, one per truck |
| Month-end bill | You add up and write it | You build it from the sheet | A numbered bill from the unbilled fills, made in a tap |
Paper and Excel rows describe general practice, not a named app's claim. The Khata Kavach column was checked on 19 October 2026. Tell us if anything has changed.
When to stay, when to switch
Stay with paper if transporters are few, you see every fill, and no one else fills on credit. Look at an app when:
- drivers fill their trucks and you are not at the pump;
- month end takes days of adding up;
- a transporter says "we took 150 litres, not 200" and neither side can show the line.
Moving from the book
Keep the old book. When you add each transporter in Khata Kavach, type what he owes from the paper book; it becomes his opening balance. Every fill after that is a line both sides see. See how to keep a khata on paper or phone, and paper slips and coupons at the pump.
Questions people ask
01How long is a paper udhar register enough for a petrol pump?
Yes, when you are at the pump for every credit fill and your transporters are few. It starts to strain when nozzle men fill for transporters you do not see, because you learn about a fill later.
02Excel or paper: when should I move to an app?
When you cannot be at the pump for every fill, or a transporter disputes a line and neither side can show it. Excel adds totals and search, but shows the transporter nothing unless you send a file. Our page on keeping a khata has the columns to use.
03Can I keep my paper book after I start Khata Kavach?
Yes. When you add a transporter, you can type, if you wish, what he owes today from the paper book, as his opening balance. From then on each fill is a line in the app, and the old book stays as your history.
04Does a shared credit app need internet?
The nozzle works with no signal once the app has been opened with internet; the fill is sent later. The owner's screens and the transporter's app need internet.
Related pages
About Khata Kavach (advertisement)
Khata Kavach is a shared credit book for petrol pumps, from MDG Services. The transporter asks before each truck fills, your nozzle man sees the limit before he fills, and both of you see every fill, payment and bill. It never lends or holds money.