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AyRojgar

Software and app reselling

Installing point-of-sale and accounting software in small shops. The competition is free apps - TallyKhata alone has about 4.7 million registered traders - so the income comes from hardware and service.

  • Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
  • Version 1
Software and app reselling

Software and app reselling

Starting capital
৳60,000 – ৳2,50,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
1 – 6 people
First sale
7 – 60 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
4 – 10 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Online · Medium difficulty

About the business

Buying software someone else wrote - point of sale, inventory, a ledger - installing it in small shops and charging for it. Who the customers are is clear: grocery shops, pharmacies, clothing shops and restaurants, the same businesses documented elsewhere on this site. But there is a hard fact to face first. Shopkeepers already have free apps. TallyKhata launched in March 2020 and by November 2022 had about 4.7 million registered traders, 1.1 million of them regular users. The shopkeeper who kept a paper ledger now keeps it on his phone for nothing. So what is anyone paying for? The money is in what the free app does not reach - barcode selling, stock across more than one branch, credit accounts, VAT receipts, and the hardware. At Smart Software Limited's prices an 80 mm thermal receipt printer is Tk 13,300 and a small Bluetooth mobile POS printer is Tk 4,500. The software licence has to be bought too: Bdtask's inventory software carries a regular licence at US$45 and an extended licence at US$325. Remember that selling is the easy part of this business - the hard part is servicing what you installed, year after year.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳5,400 – ৳39,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳4,500 – ৳13,300 / unitMarket quote
Variable cost৳3,500 – ৳11,700 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin12% – 22%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue7 – 60 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time4 – 10 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle0 – 30 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss5% – 10%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity1 – 6Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • A laptop to demonstrate on, plus hardware to sell: an 80 mm thermal receipt printer (ZKTeco ZKP8001, with auto-cutter and cash-drawer connection) at Tk 13,300 and a Bluetooth mobile POS printer supporting Bengali at Tk 4,500 - Smart Software Limited, 16 September 2026. Plus a barcode scanner and cash drawer.Equipment
  • DBID (Digital Business Identification) from RJSC, Ministry of Commerce, which applies if software or services are sold online. By 19 November 2025 only 1,870 businesses had one, against about 12,000 pending applications.Licence
  • A valid licence from whoever wrote the software. Bdtask Limited's inventory and POS software is US$45 for a regular licence (one site) and US$325 for an extended licence with resale rights, both with lifetime updates and six months of support. Without resale rights you cannot sell someone else's software.Licence
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
  • Installing the software, entering the shop's existing products and prices, training the counter staff, and fixing problems over the phone. This needs patience more than technical depth.Skill
  • A software house (local or foreign) and a hardware supplier. Buying from a local firm brings Bengali receipts and local support.Supplier
  • No office is needed, only a laptop and a motorcycle - the work happens inside the shop. Stocking hardware does need somewhere to keep it.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1First go and see how the shopkeeper keeps accounts today. Many already manage on a free app like TallyKhata - decide what your software does that theirs does not before anything else.
  2. 2Pick one trade - pharmacy, clothing or restaurant. Each keeps accounts differently, and once you know one properly the rest come looking for you.
  3. 3Choose the software and buy the licence. Bdtask's inventory software is US$45 for a regular licence and US$325 for the extended one, both with lifetime updates and six months of support.
  4. 4Line up a hardware supplier - receipt printer, barcode scanner, cash drawer. At Smart Software Limited's prices an 80 mm thermal printer is Tk 13,300 and a Bluetooth mobile POS printer Tk 4,500.
  5. 5Build a working demo on your own laptop with real product names, real prices and a Bengali receipt. A demo the shopkeeper can see beats any amount of talking.
  6. 6On the first installation, enter the shop's existing products and prices yourself. That data entry is the shopkeeper's biggest fear, and doing it for him is what stops him going back.
  7. 7Train the staff, not just the owner. If the person at the counter cannot use it, the software is switched off within a week.
  8. 8Fix the installation fee and the annual service fee separately and in writing. Giving a year of free support after installation is what kills this business.
  9. 9Look for shops that must issue VAT receipts - there the software is a need, not a nicety. The National Board of Revenue is rolling out EFD machines in stages.
  10. 10Selling online requires DBID registration from RJSC, and a trade licence from the city corporation or municipality is needed regardless.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebNormal
  3. MarNormal
  4. AprNormal
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunNormal
  7. JulNormal
  8. AugNormal
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecNormal
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · A large city with many departmental stores and restaurants, and more pressure to issue VAT receipts.
  • Strong fitDhaka · The densest concentration of shops, pharmacies and restaurants, and the software houses and hardware suppliers are here too.
  • PossibleBogura · A northern trading centre with many wholesale and retail shops.
  • PossibleCumilla · Plenty of highway markets and businesses, and easy enough to reach for service.
  • PossibleGazipur · Many shops in the markets around the factories, and serviceable from Dhaka.
  • PossibleKhulna · A divisional city with shops and pharmacies, though limited in number.
  • PossibleNarayanganj · Many cloth and wholesale shops, which need stock tracked across more than one branch.
  • PossibleRajshahi · A compact city makes service calls easy, but fewer shops are willing to pay for software.
  • PossibleSylhet · Many expatriate-owned shops and restaurants, whose owners spend more readily.
  • Weak fitRangpur · Shops are small and free apps are enough for them; little inclination to pay.

Risks and cautions

  • HighDemand: The biggest competitor is a free app. TallyKhata launched in March 2020 and by November 2022 had about 4.7 million registered traders, 1.1 million of whom used it 24 days a month for six months straight. (Those figures are four years old and are presumably higher now.) To make a shopkeeper who keeps accounts free on his phone pay, you must offer what that app does not - barcodes, stock across branches, VAT receipts. 'Accounting software' alone sells to nobody.
  • HighDependency: The software is not yours. If the maker raises the price, ends support or withdraws the product, every shop you installed is in trouble - and the shopkeeper will complain to you. Bdtask's licence includes six months of support; what happens after that and what it costs must be settled in advance or it becomes a problem a year later. With foreign software the licence is priced in dollars, so a rising dollar raises your cost.
  • HighLate payment: Once the software is on the shop's computer the leverage to collect is nearly gone. A small shop easily says 'let it run a few days and I will pay', and that money drifts past month end. Collecting the annual service fee is harder still - the owner feels he already bought it. Starting without an advance and written terms makes this a recurring loss.
  • MediumWorking capital: Money leaves before it arrives. The licence is bought first (US$45 regular, US$325 extended), the demo hardware is bought first, and the installation time is yours. Stocking printers and scanners to sell ties up more - a few printers at Tk 13,300 each and the working cash is gone.
  • MediumOther: After-sales service is the real work here and it is the part that gets sold cheapest. Every shop you install will phone for years - the server is down, the report does not tally, the new employee cannot use it. After twenty installations one person's entire day goes on those calls. Without a separate annual service fee, the business gets less profitable the more it grows.

Sources

What changed

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