Agro processing & mills
Accounting software for rice mills
Paddy bills, rice invoices, the mill clerk's cash and the power bills all write their own journals, so the books of the mill are current every evening.
In short
SimpleERP is accounting software for rice mills. Paddy bills credit each farmer, rice invoices debit each trader with the tax, payroll and power post as they happen, and the trial balance and P&L are ready on any date.
Illustration: saving invoice INV-2026-0213 moves stock, posts the customer ledger, records tax and updates the dashboard in one step.
An accounting day at Volta Valley Rice Mill
The accountant at Volta Valley Rice Mill comes in on Saturdays. For years the week arrived as a paddy book with farmers' names, a sales book from the billing desk, a cash book kept by the mill clerk, and an envelope of power bills, firewood slips and loading chits.
The trouble was never the arithmetic. The paddy book said one thing about what Kwame Asante was owed and the cash book another, and nobody knew the stock value until the year end, so profit for the season stayed a guess until the accountant closed the books.
In SimpleERP each document writes its own journal. A paddy bill credits the farmer, an invoice debits the trader and records the tax, a payslip books wages and an expense books power or loading, so on Saturday the accountant reviews rather than retypes.
Which ledger accounts does a rice mill actually use?
The seeded chart of accounts covers most of it. Add a few expense accounts in the trade's own words and every document posts to the right place.
- Farmers without a tax number are unregistered suppliers with their own ledger.
- Every journal links to its document, so a figure traces back to the bill.
- Manual journals only for what no document covers, such as a loan instalment.
| Account | What posts to it | Posted by |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory | Paddy received, rice produced, bran and husk added | Supplier bill, work order, adjustment |
| Accounts payable | What each farmer and commission agent is owed | Supplier bill, payment out |
| Accounts receivable | What each trader owes for rice, bran and husk | Invoice, payment in |
| Sales | Rice, broken rice, bran and husk sold | Invoice |
| Cost of goods sold | Average cost of what left the warehouse | Invoice |
| Power and fuel (you add) | power bills for the huller, firewood for the boiler | Expense or supplier bill |
| Loading and loading (you add) | Bag loading and unloading charges | Expense |
| Salaries and wages | Monthly pay of mill hands | Payroll run |
How do I see what is owed to farmers before payday?
Payables ageing groups every farmer and agent by how long their bills have been open. A payment out settles the oldest bills first and prints a voucher, and the farmer's statement shows each load and each payment.
- Payments by cash, mobile money or bank transfer, each to the right account.
- Supplier statements on A4 for a farmer who wants to see the season.
- Debit notes for paddy returned over moisture or quality.
What does the month-end look like?
Close the month in an afternoon: reconcile the bank, read the trial balance, check stock value against a count, then lock the books so nothing can post into the closed month.
- Bank reconciliation by ticking the lines that cleared until the difference is zero.
- Trial balance, P&L and balance sheet on any date, read from posted journals.
- Lock date after the check; reopening is logged.
- Purchase register to check the tax you reclaim from registered suppliers.
Illustration of a profit and loss statement for Jan–Jun 2026 with net profit of 4,691, a tax summary and the lock date.
Can I see what a season of milling earned?
Pick the dates from the first paddy bill of the kuruvai harvest to the last rice invoice, and the P&L shows sales, cost of goods sold, power, wages and depreciation on the huller for exactly that span.
- Depreciation on the huller, polisher and boiler posts in one monthly run.
- Retained earnings carried forward without closing entries.
- CSV export of every report for your accountant.
One system
Where accounting connects
Bills, invoices, work orders, payroll, expenses and depreciation each post a balanced journal, linked back to the document that caused it.
Agro processing & mills
Paddy and grain purchases by weight, milling runs at actual cost, and stock in kilos across warehouses.
See howInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howInventory for rice mills
Paddy, rice, bran and husk in kilos or bags per warehouse, at weighted average cost, with a reorder level on paddy.
See howPayroll for rice mills
Day and night shift attendance, deductions and advances for mill hands, and the wage journal posted after one approval.
See howManufacturing for rice mills
A bill of materials from paddy to rice, a work order per milling run, and the real cost per kilo from actual yield.
See howAccounting
A double-entry ledger with journals, bank registers, statements and a lock date.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- No bank feeds: bank entries are recorded and reconciled by hand
- No multi-currency; every document is in your base currency
- Tax returns are not filed and e-invoices are not issued from inside the product
- Market commission and market fees have no special handling; record them as expense lines.
- Profit by milling season is a date range on the P&L, not a separate tag on each entry.
Getting started
Start with accounting
Sign up with your email
Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.
Tell us about the business
Pick your country and, if you are registered, type your tax number. Accounts, tax rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for that country.
Enter opening balances
Use the three-step wizard to bring in account balances and what each farmer and trader owed on the day you start.
Run the trial balance
Every posted document is already in the ledger; the trial balance and P&L are ready on any date.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Farmers sell to me without tax. How are their bills recorded?
Add each farmer as an unregistered supplier with a name and phone number. The supplier bill records the paddy at the agreed price per kilo with no tax, raises stock and credits the farmer's ledger, so their balance is right without a tax number.
Can the mill clerk's cash book live in SimpleERP?
Yes. Cash is an account with its own register. Payments to farmers, receipts from small buyers and loading paid in cash all post to it, and the register shows a running balance the mill clerk can check against the cash box every evening.
Where do power bills and firewood for the boiler go?
Record them as supplier bills when the vendor gives a tax invoice, so the tax you can reclaim is captured, or as expenses under a category you add, such as power and fuel. Either way they reach the P&L for the month without a separate register.
Will my accountant still be able to file my returns?
Yes. SimpleERP does not file tax returns, but the sales register and purchase register export as CSV for your accountant. The trial balance and ledgers are ready for the audit on any date you choose.
Related
Keep reading
Agro processing & mills
Paddy and grain purchases by weight, milling runs at actual cost, and stock in kilos across warehouses.
Read moreInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
Read morePayroll for rice mills
Day and night shift attendance, deductions and advances for mill hands, and the wage journal posted after one approval.
Read more
See how accounting works in SimpleERP for agro processing and mills
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