I visited a number of shops around Kathmandu last week. I was very surprised that only a few shops gave me receipts for the items that I bought. Much less I had to ask for the receipt at some places. Getting a receipt for my purchases has already become a norm for me having lived abroad and not getting one feels short of my experience as a customer.

Following this experience, few questions came across my mind: are people in Kathmandu keeping weekly, monthly or yearly recordkeeping of their purchases without collecting receipts? Without proper recordkeeping, how would a person know how much money that they need to survive for a month or a year?

Answers to these questions help an individual or a family tremendously. Getting in the habit of collecting receipts and writing them on a notebook or an Excel sheet helps track expenses on a timely basis. It can help a person figure out where he/she spends most of the money and where he/she can save. Without receipts, you are missing out on easy recordkeeping. Well even without receipts, you can record your expenses in a book but having receipts will simplify your recordkeeping.

Asking for receipts also makes business sense. It should be a customer's right to ask for it. If a business refuses or hesitates to give a receipt, then there can be reason for concern. By having a receipt you can know what you were being charged and not be overcharged.

From what I have seen so far, there is not much tendency to give receipts or ask for receipts around Kathmandu. A few places have started providing receipts. Asking for a receipt for your purchases will help you in recordkeeping. Customers also should demand more from the businesses that they deal with. If customers are not asking for receipts, of course there is not much incentive for the business to provide any.

Photo courtesy of PlanetReceipt

http://www.parakhi.com/blogs/2012/03/11/can-i-get-a-receipt