Tohands Smart Calculator

In India & SEA 27 Million + shopkeepers cannot afford to set up costly and complex billing machines and are not comfortable using mobile apps to record data due to the high volume of transactions they handle.

Our approach leverages the existing behaviour of these shopkeepers who use Casio calculators to calculate final sales amounts, and then ask customers to pay. With our product, after the calculation, they can now record this data with just the press of a button (Cash in/ cash out) and further record payment modes, such as Cash, Online, and Pay Later, along with the name and mobile number of customers or suppliers.

Our solution helps these small and mostly unorganized shopkeepers keep track of 1-1₹ bookkeeping, which is essential because, unlike in the past, cash is no longer the only mode of payment. In India, for example, customers now pay via various methods, including cash, UPI (with an average of three UPI QR codes per merchant), card machines, and credit.

Our simple product provides shopkeepers with a user-friendly interface that they can easily adopt - a "smart" calculator - enabling them to record data that syncs with our app. They can then download reports and view aggregate financial insights, helping them effectively manage their businesses.

We made traditional calculators smart, by using IoT and enabled small businesses to record their basic bookkeeping such as -> businesses

• Can keep track of  Cash In and Cash out.
• Payment mode Cash , Online and Pay Later 
• Name , mobile number of customers  or suppliers
• Print small bill
• Sync all data to app, where they can get insights and recover any pending pay later amount. 

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Our main innovation is the design,  we kept it Most advance yet acceptable. also very very affordable at $30 price point increasing accessibility for very small business.

• Easy Adoption: Tohands smart calculator is designed to be 97% similar to existing calculators, from its design and button press to its formulas

• Proven success with 150+ devices and 5k+ bi-weekly transactions on V3.
  
  

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Fundamental tools such as phones, watches, and TVs are becoming "smart" in this decade. I believe the next fundamental tool to become "smart" for every shopkeeper is calculators, which presents a huge opportunity since they are such a fundamental tool for businesses. India alone has over 60 million business calculators, and the market is ripe for disruption since calculators have not seen any significant innovations in the past three decades. Our smart calculator is disrupting the market by offering a more convenient and affordable solution, with 97% of it resembling a traditional CASIO calculator, making it easy for shopkeepers to adopt. Our calculator not only performs basic calculations but also offers features such as bookkeeping, payment confirmation, and helps keep track of finances all in one place.

Our solution serves small, unorganized businesses in rural areas of India who currently lack a bookkeeping system or any means of tracking their finances. These businesses typically rely on gut feeling and have limited education. The target population consists of individuals who operate small shops, local services, or informal businesses, with an average monthly income ranging from $1000 to $3000.

These businesses are currently underserved in terms of financial tracking solutions. Traditional billing systems are costly to implement and often require technical expertise, making them inaccessible to small businesses with limited resources and educational backgrounds. Additionally, existing mobile apps for financial management often have complex features that are not suitable for this audience, requiring significant efforts to learn and use effectively.

Lack of financial tracking hinders small businesses' access to credit and growth. Our solution provides easy and accurate financial tracking, enabling businesses to demonstrate their creditworthiness and access opportunities for growth.

Our solution directly addresses the needs of this underserved population by providing a user-friendly and affordable tool for financial tracking. It simplifies the process of recording income, expenses, and cash flow, enabling businesses to make informed decisions and improve their financial management practices.

Our team's experience and track record in building products for the shopkeeper segment make us well-positioned to deliver this solution to the target population. With over four years of experience, we have successfully served over 7,000 customers through our previous app, the "bybuy seller app," and other software solutions.

The combined expertise of my co-founders and myself creates a well-rounded team. My co-founders bring strong technical expertise, ensuring that we can deliver a high-quality and technologically sound product. Their knowledge and skills in software development, user experience design, and system architecture contribute to the robustness and efficiency of our solutions.

On the other hand, my domain expertise lies in product development and distribution. This means that I have a deep understanding of the shopkeeper segment, their pain points, and the challenges they face. Through our previous products, we have gained valuable insights into the problems experienced by small businesses, allowing us to develop a deep understanding of their needs and priorities. One of our prv customer is now our Investor, so we are deeply connected with this segment. 

The success and impact of our previous products have helped us understand the shopkeeper segment on a profound level. By working closely with customers and engaging them in continuous feedback loops, we have been able to address their pain points and provide effective solutions. This experience has allowed us to identify common challenges faced by small businesses and develop solutions that truly resonate with their needs.

Continuous feedback and iterations have shaped our product from V1 to V4, making it more effective and valuable to our customers.

Serving over 330+ customers in India and Bangladesh.

I am applying to MIT Solve because I have a strong desire to gain perspectives on building a world-class product. My goal is to develop solutions that can reach billions of people and significantly improve their lives. I believe that MIT Solve is the ideal platform to receive the guidance, help, and learning opportunities that are essential for achieving this ambitious objective.

Monetary constraints are not a concern for us as we are operationally profitable. However, my genuine motivation lies in building something that genuinely enhances the lives of people worldwide. I am truly committed to making a positive impact on a global scale.

MIT Solve offers more than just funding; it provides access to a diverse community of innovators, mentors, and experts who can provide invaluable guidance and insights. By participating in MIT Solve, I hope to learn from their experiences and expertise, enabling me to refine my solution to effectively address the challenges faced by billions of people.

Additionally, Solve's global network and partnerships are of immense value in understanding different cultural contexts, market dynamics, and regulatory landscapes. This knowledge is crucial for tailoring my solution to suit the specific needs and challenges of diverse populations worldwide.

Through my active engagement with MIT Solve, I aim to leverage its resources, seek guidance, and acquire the necessary knowledge to build a truly world-class product. I firmly believe that with the guidance and support provided by Solve, I can fulfill my vision of reaching billions of people and making a meaningful difference in their lives.

Our insight is that shopkeepers typically process between 70-200 transactions per day, and mobile phones are often located in the back of the shop or in the owner's pocket. In order to record a transaction, a shopkeeper would need to pick up their phone, unlock it, find the app, open it, and then manually enter the transaction amount. This process could be time-consuming and repetitive, especially when repeated hundreds of times per day.

Calculator is already present on the counter and requires just one extra click to record and sync transaction data automatically to the app. In India, shopkeepers often prefer a hardware solution. This is evident by the success of Paytm's soundbox, which started as a small audio payment confirmation speaker for shopkeepers but has now been deployed at 4.4 million shops with annual revenue of more than $50 million. Technically, this could have been just an audio notification on an app, but people still prefer a hardware audio box.

Overall, our smart calculator offers the best of both worlds by combining the convenience of software with the reliability and ease of use of hardware.

This solution will make bookkeeping accessible for a large segment of unorganized shopkeepers and further enable access to credit, which will help them grow their business  and make society more financially inclusive, not just In India , but worldwide.

By the end of 2023, our goal is to establish connections with 50,000 shops, providing them with our innovative solutions and support.

Looking ahead to 2025, we aim to empower a minimum of 3 million shopkeepers by offering them access to smart calculators. These tools will revolutionize their financial tracking and bookkeeping processes, ultimately enhancing their businesses' efficiency and growth potential.

Furthermore, within the next five years, we aspire to extend our reach to 10 million shopkeepers across developing regions worldwide. Our focus will encompass India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. By targeting these regions, we aim to address the specific needs of small, unorganized businesses in diverse economies and cultural contexts.

We are committed to tracking the impact of our devices on shop efficiency and credit access. While our initial focus has been on getting the product to market, we understand the importance of assessing its effectiveness.

To gain a clearer understanding of our solution's impact, we are working on implementing feedback mechanisms and data collection processes. By actively seeking input from shopkeepers, we can gather valuable insights on how our devices have improved their efficiency and if they have experienced enhanced access to credit.

We acknowledge that there is room for improvement in this area. Moving forward, we are dedicated to strengthening our impact-tracking efforts to ensure that our solution is truly making a positive difference in the lives of shopkeepers.

By monitoring their progress and evaluating any changes in credit scores, we can measure the tangible outcomes our solution brings. This information will guide us in refining our approach and continuously enhancing the value we provide to shopkeepers.

Our theory of change revolves around the belief that empowering small, unorganized businesses with efficient financial tracking tools can lead to improved financial management, access to credit, and overall business growth. 

Through our solution, which includes IoT-enabled smart calculators connected to a cloud-based system, we aim to provide shopkeepers with accurate and real-time data about their financial transactions and inventory. By having access to this information in a simple and understandable manner, shopkeepers can make informed decisions to optimize their operations.

The immediate outputs of our solution include the deployment of smart calculators, data synchronization to the cloud, and the generation of valuable insights for shopkeepers. These outputs directly contribute to improving the efficiency of financial tracking, reducing manual errors, and providing a clear overview of the shop's financial health.

In the short term, we anticipate that shopkeepers will experience increased efficiency in their day-to-day operations. They will have a better understanding of their cash flow, inventory management, and overall business performance. This, in turn, can lead to cost savings, improved decision-making, and increased profitability.

As shopkeepers continue to use our solution and demonstrate better financial management practices, we expect to see longer-term outcomes. These include enhanced access to credit, as shopkeepers can provide accurate financial records and demonstrate their creditworthiness to financial institutions. With improved credit access, they can secure loans or financial support to invest in their businesses, expand operations, and drive sustainable growth.

To support our theory of change, we rely on a combination of factors, including third-party research, insights from interviews with shopkeepers, and feedback gathered during the iterative development of our solution. We continuously evaluate and refine our solution based on the evidence and feedback received to ensure its effectiveness in creating tangible impact for our target population.

Overall, our theory of change is rooted in the belief that providing small, unorganized businesses with the right tools and information can empower them to make informed decisions, access credit, and ultimately improve their financial stability and growth prospects.

Our solution utilizes IoT technology, specifically smart calculators that are connected to the cloud through a Wi-Fi-based system. This connectivity enables seamless data synchronization, analysis, and the delivery of valuable insights to our customers in a simple and easily understandable manner.

By leveraging IoT, our smart calculators capture and transmit data to the cloud, where it is securely stored and processed. This data includes financial transactions, inventory information, and other relevant metrics collected from the shops. The cloud-based infrastructure allows for real-time monitoring and analysis of the data, enabling us to generate actionable insights.

Through our user-friendly interface, we present these insights to our customers in a simplified format, making it easy for them to understand and apply the information to their business operations. Our goal is to empower shopkeepers with valuable data-driven insights that can drive informed decision-making, improve efficiency, and ultimately contribute to their overall success.

The IoT-enabled connectivity and cloud-based infrastructure form the backbone of our solution, enabling us to provide a seamless and efficient experience for our customers. By leveraging this technology, we can unlock the power of data and deliver meaningful insights that drive tangible business outcomes for our users.

We recognize the importance of diversity and its positive impact on team performance and innovation. While we acknowledge that our team currently lacks gender balance, we are actively committed to addressing this issue.