ERP Software for Agarbatti and Incense Manufacturers
Raw material to distributor on one system: run every batch through wet mix, forming, drying, fragrance and packaging with a sign-off at each stage, know which perfume lot went into which carton, trace any pack back to its batch, and run distributor schemes, beats and collections alongside GST billing. Built for agarbatti, dhoop and incense units across India.
The problems a stock register cannot solve
An agarbatti unit turns powder, sticks and perfume into cartons over several days and five stages, then sells through distributors on schemes and credit. Accounting software sees the purchase and the sale and nothing in between. These are the gaps incense manufacturers describe:
Five stages, one notebook
A batch goes through wet mix, forming, drying, fragrance and packaging over several days. When each stage is a line in a supervisor's notebook, nobody can say how many kilos are at which stage today, or which batch is stuck.
Drying loss nobody measures
Sticks lose weight as they dry, and the loss changes with the season. If weight in and weight out of drying are not recorded per batch, yield is a guess and the cost of a pack is a guess built on it.
Which perfume went into which batch
Fragrance is the most expensive input and the one that decides repeat sales. Without the perfume lot recorded against the batch, a complaint about smell cannot be traced to a compound, a supplier or a date.
A complaint with nothing to trace
A distributor says one carton smells weak. With no link from the carton to its batch, you cannot tell which other cartons to check, so you either ignore it or take back far more stock than you need to.
Schemes run on memory
Buy ten cartons, get one free; a festival discount for one territory. When schemes live in the salesman's head, they are applied unevenly, claims arrive months later and nobody knows what a scheme actually cost.
Collections that never reach the books
Salesmen collect cash and cheques on the beat. If that money is written on a slip and entered days later, distributor outstanding is always wrong and follow-up calls go to people who have already paid.
How a batch flows through ERPDrive, raw material to distributor
This is the flow the Incense Edition runs. Each step closes one of the gaps above:
- Raw material inward with lots
Bamboo sticks, charcoal and wood powder, jigat, perfume compounds and packing material are received against purchase orders. Each receipt becomes a stock lot with its manufacturing and best-before dates where they apply.
- Bill of materials per product
Each finished product has a bill of materials: what goes into the mix, how much perfume, which pack and carton. The approved version is the one production orders are raised against.
- Wet mix and forming
A production order opens a batch. Wet mix and forming are recorded as separate stages with the material issued, the machine or work centre, the labour and the quantity that came out.
- Drying with weight in and out
Drying is its own stage. Weight going in and coming out is recorded, so the loss is a number on the batch. A batch that did not dry properly can be restarted or rejected at this stage instead of being perfumed and packed.
- Fragrance from a known perfume lot
The fragrance stage records the perfume lot and the quantity issued, along with soak and maturation start and end. From here on, every pack of that batch can be tied to that perfume lot.
- Packaging to finished stock
Packaging is signed off with total and rejected cartons. Good cartons become a finished goods lot with the day's manufacturing date, ready to pick. QR labels identify lots in the warehouse.
- Orders, schemes and dispatch
Sales orders apply the customer group's pricing and any running trade scheme. Stock is picked by lot and dispatched, and the GST invoice is raised from the order.
- Beat collections to the ledger
Territories and beats define who visits which distributor. Money collected on the beat is deposited against the distributor's invoices, so outstanding is correct the same day.
What the Incense Edition includes
Every capability below is in the product today:
Five-stage batch production
Wet mix, forming, drying, fragrance and packaging as separate stages, each with inputs, output and a sign-off.
Work-in-progress board
Open work orders, open stages and the quantity at each stage, so a stuck batch is visible the same day.
Drying loss per batch
Weight in and weight out of drying recorded on the batch, with restart and reject when a batch has not dried.
Perfume lot on every batch
The perfume lot and quantity issued at the fragrance stage, with soak and maturation times.
Bills of materials
Mix, perfume, pack and carton per finished product, with versions and approval.
Lot stock with dates
Raw material and finished goods held as lots with manufacturing and best-before dates, in more than one warehouse.
QR labels, put-away and pick
Lots labelled with QR codes; put-away and picking recorded against warehouse locations.
Quality checks
Checks recorded against batches, with the option to hold or reject before stock becomes saleable.
Trace, complaint and recall
Trace a lot back to its batch and forward to its dispatches; log complaints, recalls and corrective actions.
Trade schemes and price groups
Customer groups with their own pricing, quantity schemes, and a margin floor checked after discount.
Territories, beats and collections
Territories and journey plans for the sales team, with field collections posted as receipts.
Batch costing and accounts
Production cost per batch, GST invoices and credit notes, vendor bills and payments, ledger, trial balance, profit and loss.
Why a general ERP does not fit an incense unit
The Incense Edition is its own product, separate from the ERPDrive used by engineering and auto component factories, because the work is different:
Pricing
Frequently asked questions
Does ERPDrive track each stage of agarbatti production?
Yes. A batch moves through wet mix, forming, drying, fragrance and packaging as five separate stages. Each stage records the material issued, the labour and work centre, the quantity that came out and who signed it off. A work-in-progress board shows how much is at each stage.
Can I see drying loss and yield per batch?
Yes. Weight going into drying and weight coming out are recorded on the batch, so the loss is a figure you can compare between batches and seasons. A batch that has not dried properly can be restarted or rejected at that stage.
Can I trace a carton back to the perfume that went into it?
Yes. The fragrance stage records the perfume lot issued to the batch, and packaging creates a finished goods lot from that batch. From a finished lot you can trace back to the batch and its perfume lot, and forward to the dispatches it went out on.
Does it handle distributor schemes and different price lists?
Yes. Customers sit in groups with their own pricing, and trade schemes can be set up and applied on sales orders. A margin floor is checked after discounts, so a scheme cannot quietly take an order below cost.
Can my sales team record collections from the market?
Yes. Territories and beats define who covers which distributors. Money collected in the field is deposited against the distributor's invoices and becomes a payment receipt, so outstanding is up to date.
Does it cover GST billing and accounts, or do I still need Tally?
It raises GST invoices and credit notes, records vendor bills and payments, and keeps a double-entry ledger with trial balance, profit and loss and balance sheet. Opening balances and opening receivables can be brought in when you start.
The screens your incense unit will run on
A selection of the Incense Edition menu: every batch, lot and order lives in these screens.
Illustration of the Incense Edition menu with sample figures. Book a demo to click through it live.
See ERPDrive on your own products and batches
Free 30-minute personalised demo using your products, your stages and your distributor structure. Scheduled within 24 hours.