Cement, iron bars and builders on account, on one till.
Stem is a point of sale for Ugandan hardware stores: every size as its own item, trade prices for contractors, site accounts with limits, and quotations that become invoices. It keeps selling when the internet drops.
Built for how a hardware store actually sells
Every size is its own item
Iron bars in 8, 10, 12 and 16 mm, pipes by diameter, paint by litre size: one product, a variant per size, each with its own price and its own stock count.
Trade price for builders and fundis
Each item can carry a wholesale price. The cashier switches the sale to trade price for a contractor; the receipt and the books follow.
Builders on account, with a limit
Put a site’s materials on the customer’s account, settle part in cash and part on account, and print what they now owe on every receipt. Set a limit so no account runs away from you.
Sells with no internet
The till keeps selling, printing and counting when the network drops, and catches up on its own when it comes back.
From quotation to delivery note, without retyping
Quotation in a minute
Price a builder’s list on the spot, on your own letterhead, and send it on WhatsApp.
Invoice and delivery note from the quote
When the builder says yes, the quotation becomes the invoice and the delivery note, with the numbers carried over.
A statement for every account
Everything a builder owes, across every delivery, on one page you can send.
Know what is in the yard, and what you owe for it
Order from suppliers, pay in instalments
Raise a purchase order to the cement or steel supplier, receive what actually arrived, and pay it off over time. Stem knows what you still owe them.
Low stock before a builder asks
See which sizes are running out before the busy morning, not when a lorry is waiting.
The yard and the shop, counted apart
Run a second branch or a yard as its own location. Transfers are sent and received, so nothing disappears between them.
What a hardware store should know first
Half a kilo, or a cut length
Stem sells whole units today: a bag, a piece, a metre, a kilo. Selling 2.5 kg of nails or 3.4 m of chain is not built yet. Most stores price the common splits as their own item until it is.
EFRIS e-receipts
In development. Until it is live, the site says so plainly.
Hardware store questions
›Can Stem handle the many sizes a hardware store sells?
Yes. A product can have a variant for every size or gauge (8 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm bars; ½-inch and ¾-inch pipe) and each variant keeps its own price, barcode and stock.
›Can builders buy on credit?
Yes. Add the builder or the site as a customer, sell on account with a credit limit, take part payment in cash or mobile money, and the receipt prints what they now owe. Statements show everything across deliveries.
›Can I give contractors a lower price?
Yes. Every item can carry a wholesale price, and the cashier switches the sale to it for trade customers.
›Can I sell nails by weight or chain by the metre?
In whole units, yes: a kilo, a metre, a bag. Fractions such as 2.5 kg are not supported yet, so most stores add the common part-quantities as their own items for now.
›Does it work without internet?
Yes. Selling, receipts, stock and customer balances all work offline and sync when the network returns.
Run a hardware store?
Bring your stock list from Excel and sell the same day.
Page updated 2 October 2026