Cold storage software where every bag has an owner and a rent
Lot-wise inward and outward, chamber and rack allocation, rent by bag and duration, temperature logs and receipts that settle arguments before they start.
Cold storage software records every lot that enters a chamber, who owns it, where it sits, how long it stays and what rent it has earned. We build it for cold storage units that hold produce for farmers and traders and need rent, partial withdrawals and receipts to be exact.
Where the day goes wrong
- 01
Ownership blurs at withdrawal
A farmer sends a relative or a trader's agent to collect, and without a clear lot record nobody is sure whose bags are whose.
- 02
Rent worked out by hand
Rent by bag and months stored is calculated at outward time, under pressure, with partial withdrawals making every bill different.
- 03
Chambers nobody can see into
Which rack holds which lot, and where there is room, lives in the head of the chamber supervisor.
- 04
Temperature logs filled later
Readings are written on a sheet, often completed in one sitting, and are of little use when a customer claims spoilage.
- 05
Receipts lost or duplicated
Paper receipts go missing, advances given against stock are not linked to the lot, and a duplicate receipt starts an argument.
What we build for you
- 01
Inward register by lot
Party, variety, bag count, weight and date for each lot, with a numbered receipt printed on entry.
- 02
Chamber and rack map
Allocation of lots to chambers and racks, with free space visible before you accept the next truck.
- 03
Rent engine
Rent by bag, by month or by season, with grace days, minimum charges and partial withdrawals worked out automatically.
- 04
Outward and partial delivery
Withdrawals against the receipt, who collected, the balance bags left and the rent due at that moment.
- 05
Temperature and humidity log
Shift readings entered on a phone, or fed from your loggers where they allow it, with alerts outside your limits.
- 06
Party ledger and advances
Rent receipts, advances against stock and outstanding balances per farmer or trader, with a block on outward until cleared.
- 07
Reports and statements
Stock by chamber, party and age, collection summaries and a statement for any party on demand.
What a cold store actually sells
A cold storage unit sells three things: space, time and trust. A farmer or trader hands over produce worth many times the rent, and expects the same bags back, in the same condition, whenever they ask. Software for this business has to be built around one object, the lot, and one document, the receipt.
Whether your chambers hold potatoes, dry chillies, tamarind or fruit, the pattern is the same. Produce arrives in a rush at harvest, sits for months and leaves in instalments.
The day a farmer comes to collect
Take a unit holding dry chillies for forty farmers and a handful of traders. Months into the season, a farmer arrives with a receipt for two hundred bags and asks for fifty. Rent for those fifty has to be worked out by the bag and by the months stored, the other hundred and fifty must stay on the receipt, and the person at the counter has to know whether this farmer also took an advance against the stock. Done on paper, every step is a chance for an error that the farmer will remember for years.
What the system keeps track of
- Inward. Each lot is entered with the party, variety, bag count and weight, allocated to a chamber and rack, and given a numbered receipt printed on the spot. The party can also receive the details by message.
- Rent. The rule is yours: by bag, by month or by season, with a grace period and a minimum charge. It is worked out afresh for every partial withdrawal, so the figure at the counter is the figure in the ledger.
- Outward. Every withdrawal is posted against the receipt along with the name of whoever collected. A lot with an advance against it cannot leave until the advance is cleared or a manager overrides the block.
- Space. A chamber and rack map shows what is free before you accept the next truck, and which lots have sat the longest.
Temperature records and what they can prove
When a customer says their produce spoiled, the temperature record is your defence, and a sheet completed at the end of the week is a weak one. We log readings by shift on a phone, stamped with the time, and raise an alert when a chamber leaves its range. If your sensors or loggers can export their data, we can pull it in through an IoT-connected app, once we have seen the model. Otherwise shift staff enter the readings by hand, which costs a few minutes a round but needs no extra hardware.
We do not build or control refrigeration plant. The software records and warns, and the chambers remain your engineers' business.
Price, phasing and what we do not cover
A lot, rent and receipt tool typically starts around ₹50,000. A complete cold storage system with chamber map, party ledger, temperature logging and an Android app for gate and chamber staff typically starts around ₹85,000, and a unit with several sites needs a full management system, which runs from ₹1,50,000 up to ₹5,00,000. We would begin with inward, rent and receipts, the three things every customer touches, and add the chamber map and temperature log once counter staff trust the first release. A small unit with one chamber and a few dozen regular customers may manage perfectly well with a well-kept register and a spreadsheet.
If you issue receipts that banks accept as security for loans, ask your adviser which format and registration that requires before assuming any software meets it. We can print your receipt in the layout you already use and flag pledged lots internally, but we do not claim legal standing for a receipt. Traders who buy from your farmers are covered on the page for wholesale distributors, and the processing side on rice mills. The stock engine underneath is described under inventory management software. VS Tech Builders will want to see your current receipt book and rent register before quoting.
Frequently asked questions
Can rent be charged by bag and by month with a minimum period?
Yes. Rent rules are settings: a rate per bag, charged per month or per season, with a grace period, a minimum duration and a minimum bill if you use one. Each partial withdrawal is charged on the bags that left and the time they stayed. If your rates differ for farmers and traders, we set up two rate cards and attach each to the right party.
Does it connect to our temperature sensors?
Only if the sensors or loggers you already own can export data or offer an interface, and the model numbers would decide that. If they cannot, shift staff key the readings into a phone and alerts run from those entries. We do not supply or install sensors, and we will say so plainly rather than promise a live link we have not verified.
How do you stop the wrong person collecting a farmer's bags?
The receipt number and the party record are needed at outward, and each withdrawal records who collected, optionally confirmed by an OTP sent to the party's registered mobile number. A manager can override with a reason that is logged. No system removes the risk entirely, but a clear record makes a wrong collection easy to trace and harder to repeat.
We have two cold storage units. Can one system run both?
Yes. Each unit has its own chambers, receipt series and staff, and the owner sees both together or one at a time. A party who stores at both has a single record with lots shown by unit. This is a multi-site structure, so the price is higher than for a single unit, and we would quote it after seeing how the two units differ.
Further reading
Software built for cold storage units.
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