Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November, with Dhanteras on Friday, 6 November. For a fataka shop, most of the year's sales happen in the ten days before. A slow counter in that week does not just annoy customers; it sends them to the next shop. This checklist is what to finish in October so the rush week runs smoothly.
Two weeks before: prices and stock
Most counter delays in the rush come from one question: "Is ka rate kya hai?" Settle prices before the crowd arrives.
- Make one final price list. One sheet with every item, its unit (box, packet or piece) and both the retail and the wholesale rate. Mark items you will not restock.
- Load it into your billing software. Import the sheet instead of typing items one by one. Then pick 20 items at random and check the price and unit on screen against the sheet.
- Put a label with a barcode on every box. Fireworks boxes rarely carry a barcode a shop can use. Print your own store-code labels, so a sale is one scan instead of a search. See how store codes work.
- Count your fast movers. Phuljhadi, anar, chakri and rockets sell out first. Note what you have, and place the last order while suppliers still have stock.
One week before: the counter
- Stock up on printer rolls. Keep at least a full week of rolls next to the counter, and a spare ribbon if your label printer uses one. Running out at 8 pm on Dhanteras costs more than the rolls.
- Test the barcode gun, and keep a backup. Scan ten labels in a row. If a code does not scan, reprint it now. A second scanner, or at least a keyboard, keeps the counter moving if one fails.
- Practise serving several customers at once. In the rush, one family keeps adding items while the next is ready to pay. Billing software that can hold a bill and open the next one saves minutes per hour.
- Teach the keys to every person at the counter. Scan, Enter, complete sale. A cashier who never reaches for the mouse bills noticeably faster. Print the shortcut list and stick it near the screen.
Money: cash, UPI and udhar
- Put your UPI QR where customers can see it. On the counter, and on the bill if your software prints it. Confirm each UPI payment on your phone or soundbox before handing over the goods; in a crowd, fake "payment done" screens appear.
- Keep a cash float in small notes and count the galla at every shift change. A ten-minute count at the end of each shift tells you the same evening if something is wrong, not after Diwali.
- Give udhar only with a name and mobile number on the bill. Wholesale buyers who take goods on credit should go into the khata with every bill, so the balance is clear when they come back after the festival.
Keep your records safe
- Back up before and during the rush. Copy your billing data to a pen drive or Google Drive every night of the festival week. Put the PC and the bill printer on a UPS; a power cut in the middle of a bill should not lose the bill.
After Diwali
When the rush is over, count the leftover stock while you still remember what sold. Settle udhar with wholesale buyers, and keep the sales data ready for GST: monthly filers send GSTR-1 for October by 11 November, and quarterly (QRMP) filers file for October to December by 13 January.
This checklist is about billing and the counter. Licences for storing and selling fireworks, and the local rules on timing and safety, are separate; follow what your local authority requires.
How KamaiPlus helps a fataka shop
KamaiPlus was tested with a real 825-item fireworks price list in Marathi. It imports your price list from Excel, keeps retail and wholesale rates on each item, prints a barcode label for every box, holds several bills at once, and backs up the data every hour. It works fully offline, so a weak network in the rush does not stop the counter. See KamaiPlus for fataka shops, or make labels right now with the free barcode generator.