Broadband business accounting becomes easier when you record each rupee in the right place: cash, UPI, bank, ISP wallet or partner wallet. This guide gives you a daily closing routine, a monthly reconciliation checklist and a clean file to share with your CA.
What moves through a broadband shop
A broadband reseller is handling more than customer payments. Money can move between your shop counter, bank account, payment app, ISP wallet and the wallets of your partners or sub-partners.
Keep these buckets separate in your book:
| Bucket | What it records | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Notes and coins held at the shop | Treating the till balance as total profit |
| UPI and bank | Customer receipts, transfers and expenses | Recording a UPI receipt without the customer or plan reference |
| ISP wallet | Balance funded for recharges or upstream payments | Calling every wallet top-up a sale |
| Partner wallet | Balance belonging to a partner or sub-partner | Mixing partner funds with shop cash |
| Sales and expenses | Your actual service income and operating costs | Using wallet movement as a replacement for invoices and bills |
The important idea is simple: a transfer between two of your own buckets is not automatically income. A recharge may include a customer payment, an upstream cost and a margin. Record those parts so your CA can apply the correct treatment to your business structure.
What you need before you start
Set up one simple register, either on paper, in a spreadsheet or in your business software. You do not need a complicated chart of accounts to begin a reliable daily routine.
Prepare these columns:
- Date and time
- Customer, partner or supplier name
- Connection or wallet reference
- Amount
- Payment method: cash, UPI, bank or wallet
- Money in or money out
- Reason: recharge, collection, commission, expense, stock or transfer
- Receipt, invoice, screenshot or statement reference
Keep separate totals for cash, UPI, bank and each ISP wallet. If you run partners, also keep a balance for each partner wallet. Never overwrite an old entry to “fix” it. Add a correction with a note and retain the original reference.
For GST and other tax records, your exact duties depend on your registration, scheme and activity. CBIC’s accounts and records rules cover records such as invoices, bills, payment vouchers and stock for registered persons. Use the official rules as a starting point, then confirm what applies with your CA or ISP.
Step 1: Separate the five money buckets
Why this matters: You can only reconcile a balance when you know where it is held.
At the start of the month, write down the opening balance for each bucket:
- Count physical cash in the shop.
- Note the bank balance used for the broadband business.
- Note the closing balance in each UPI or payment account used for collections.
- Copy the opening balance of each ISP wallet from the ISP statement or portal.
- List each partner and sub-partner wallet balance from your register.
Do not combine these into one number called “available money”. Keep a total view if it helps you, but retain the bucket-level figures underneath it.
Success looks like: You can answer “How much cash do I have?”, “How much is in the ISP wallet?” and “How much is held for partners?” without calculating from memory.
Step 2: Close cash and UPI every day
Why this matters: A daily close catches a missing receipt while the customer, staff member and payment notification are still easy to identify.
Choose a fixed time, such as shop closing, and follow the same order every day:
- Count the cash drawer. Remove the opening float before comparing the day’s collections.
- Add all cash receipts recorded in the register.
- Subtract cash expenses, cash given to staff and cash deposited into the bank.
- Compare the result with the physical cash count.
- Open each business UPI or bank account and record successful credits and debits for that date.
- Match every customer receipt to a customer, connection, plan or recharge reference.
- Mark payments that are pending, failed or reversed. Do not treat a pending payment as collected until the account shows it as successful.
A small example makes the check clear. If the opening cash is ₹2,000, cash collected is ₹4,500, and cash expenses are ₹700, the expected closing cash is ₹5,800. If you count ₹5,300, record a ₹500 difference and investigate it the same day. Do not quietly change a previous entry to make the numbers agree.
Use a daily table like this:
| Check | Expected | Actual | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash drawer | ₹5,800 | ₹5,300 | Find and explain ₹500 difference |
| UPI credits | ₹8,200 | ₹8,200 | Match each receipt to a customer |
| Cash deposit | ₹3,000 | ₹3,000 | Keep the bank reference |
| Pending payments | 2 | 2 | Check again before treating as collected |
Success looks like: Your cash count, UPI statement and daily register agree, or every difference has a dated note and an owner.
Step 3: Reconcile recharges with the ISP wallet
Why this matters: Customer collections and ISP wallet movements are connected, but they are not the same record.
For each recharge or renewal, record both sides:
- What the customer paid and how they paid it.
- What amount was deducted from the ISP wallet or upstream account.
- The customer or connection reference.
- The plan, date and receipt or transaction reference.
- Any difference between your retail amount and the upstream amount.
For example, a customer may pay ₹650 through UPI while ₹600 is deducted from the ISP wallet. Record the UPI receipt of ₹650, the upstream deduction of ₹600 and the ₹50 difference separately. Do not decide from this example alone whether the difference is margin, commission, tax-inclusive value or another adjustment. Ask your CA to classify it for your arrangement.
When you add money to the ISP wallet, record it as a movement from the source account to the wallet. A ₹10,000 transfer from your bank to the ISP wallet reduces the bank bucket and increases the wallet bucket. It does not, by itself, prove that you earned ₹10,000 in sales.
At the end of the day:
- Note the opening ISP wallet balance.
- Add confirmed top-ups.
- Subtract confirmed recharges or upstream payments.
- Compare the calculated closing balance with the ISP statement.
- List unmatched transactions by date and reference instead of guessing.
If a recharge times out, check its final status before trying again. A blind retry can create two payments for one customer. Keep the original reference and record the final outcome once confirmed.
Success looks like: Your calculated ISP wallet balance matches the ISP account, and every recharge has one customer reference and one final status.
Step 4: Track partner wallets and commission
Why this matters: Partner money can look like shop income if you only watch the cash or UPI screen.
Keep one page or ledger view per partner. For every entry, show:
| Entry | Partner wallet | Your record |
|---|---|---|
| Partner adds balance by UPI | +₹2,000 | Match UPI reference and partner name |
| Recharge uses partner balance | -₹650 | Match customer and connection |
| Commission posted | +₹50 | Note plan, level and rule used |
| Correction or refund | +/- amount | Add reason and approval reference |
Use the same vocabulary at every level: operator, partner and sub-partner. If you have a three-level structure, the ledger should make clear who owns the wallet balance and who served the customer.
Do not treat a partner wallet top-up as sales merely because money reached your bank. Depending on your agreement and tax setup, it may be an advance, a wallet liability, a collection or another category. Give your CA the agreement, wallet report, invoices and transaction trail so they can decide.
If you set a different retail price for each level, retain the price rule used on the date of recharge. This makes commission checks easier and prevents a later change in plan price from changing the history.
Success looks like: Every partner can see or receive a balance statement, and you can explain each credit, debit and commission without using a personal memory or chat message as the only proof.
Step 5: Compare your records with the monthly ISP statement
Why this matters: Daily entries can look correct while an old reversal, duplicate or unmatched top-up remains hidden.
At month-end, download or save the statement available from each ISP account and compare it with your register. Work from the statement line by line:
- Confirm the opening balance agrees with last month’s closing balance.
- Match every top-up to your bank or payment record.
- Match every recharge to a customer, partner or sub-partner reference.
- Check reversals, refunds, failed transactions and manual adjustments.
- Compare the statement’s closing balance with your calculated closing balance.
- Prepare an exceptions list with date, amount, reference, suspected reason and next action.
If you resell more than one ISP, repeat this process for each account. A single customer list and a common internal naming convention help, but do not erase the source statement for each ISP. The One Broadband and GTPL partner-login guide explains the operational reason for keeping multiple upstream accounts visible together.
Success looks like: You have one signed-off monthly reconciliation per ISP, plus an exceptions list for anything still awaiting an answer.
Step 6: Give a clean file to your CA
Why this matters: Your CA can make better decisions when the source documents and business explanation arrive together.
Create one folder per month with:
- Daily cash closing sheets
- UPI and bank statements
- ISP wallet statements
- Partner and sub-partner wallet reports
- Customer collection and recharge reports
- Sales invoices, purchase bills and expense proofs
- Stock movement for routers, ONUs and other devices
- Refunds, adjustments and correction notes
- GST portal downloads or filings that your CA asks for
Add a one-page summary at the front:
| Summary line | Amount or status |
|---|---|
| Cash closing balance | Enter amount |
| Bank and UPI closing balance | Enter amount |
| ISP wallet closing balance | Enter amount per ISP |
| Partner wallet balance | Enter amount per partner |
| Unmatched items | List count and total |
| Stock exceptions | List missing, damaged or written-off items |
CBIC’s CGST Act accounts-and-records chapter describes maintaining true and correct accounts and permits electronic records in the stated conditions. It is not a substitute for advice about your own registration, invoices or retention process. Ask your CA which records to retain, how to classify wallet balances and which GST reports to reconcile.
Verify your broadband shop accounts
Run this short check before you close the month:
- Does the cash count agree with the daily register?
- Do successful UPI and bank credits have a customer or business reference?
- Does each ISP wallet statement agree with your calculated balance?
- Are partner wallets separate from your own cash and bank balances?
- Are commissions tied to a plan, level and rule?
- Can every correction be traced to an original entry?
- Are stock movements recorded from store to partner, installation, return or write-off?
- Is the folder ready for your CA without asking staff to rebuild the month from chat messages?
If one answer is “no”, fix the record or write an exception note before starting the next month.
Troubleshooting common mismatches
Cash is short at closing
Recount the opening float and check whether a cash deposit, staff advance or supplier payment was missed. Review same-day customer receipts before looking at older entries. Record the unexplained difference separately; do not force the drawer to agree.
UPI total is higher than the register
Filter the UPI statement by date and match every credit. Look for a personal payment, a duplicate customer transfer or a payment made for a partner wallet. Move the entry to the correct bucket with a dated correction note.
ISP wallet is lower than expected
Compare top-ups first, then confirmed recharges, reversals and manual adjustments. If a payment is pending, wait for its final status and keep the reference. Never solve an unexplained deduction by entering an invented recharge.
Partner says the wallet balance is wrong
Send the partner a line-by-line statement showing opening balance, additions, recharges, commission and corrections. Check the customer reference and the price rule used on each disputed line. Keep the original entry and add the resolution as a new note.
How ISP Square’s ledger helps
ISP Square is designed for operators who connect ISP partner accounts rather than run their own network. Today it connects OneBroadband and GTPL; if you resell another ISP, tell ISP Square which one you use.
It brings the operator’s customer list, connection, plan, expiry, payments and history into one place. Customers can use a web recharge page without installing an app, and the operator can see the recharge against the ISP account. The platform also keeps a wallet ledger, records commission for the partner structure, tracks stock from store to partner to installation or write-off, and logs staff actions.
This does not replace your CA’s books or source documents. It gives your daily operations a clearer trail so you do not rebuild every recharge, wallet change and partner balance from separate portals. Read the practical guide to ISP billing software in India if you are comparing a register, spreadsheets and a reseller-focused panel.
Plans start low — see current pricing. Pricing shown on the website can change, so check the current page before you decide.
FAQ
What should a broadband cash book include?
A broadband cash book should include the date, customer or partner reference, amount, payment method, reason and receipt reference. Keep cash, bank, UPI, ISP wallet and partner wallet totals separate so a transfer is not mistaken for income.
Is an ISP wallet balance revenue?
Not automatically. A wallet top-up is a movement of money into an account used for upstream payments; a customer recharge and your retail margin are separate events. Ask your CA how to classify wallet funds, advances, commission and revenue for your agreement.
How often should I reconcile an ISP wallet?
Do a quick check every day and a full statement reconciliation each month. Daily checks catch duplicate or missing references early, while the monthly check covers reversals, adjustments and opening-to-closing balance continuity.
How do I record partner commission?
Record the partner, plan, level, base amount, commission rule, amount credited and resulting wallet balance. Keep the source recharge reference and ask your CA how the commission should appear in your books and invoices.
What records should I give my CA?
Give your CA the cash book, bank and UPI statements, ISP wallet statements, partner wallet reports, sales and expense documents, stock movements and a list of exceptions. The exact records and GST treatment depend on your setup, so confirm the final checklist with your CA.
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