Free apps for recording debts (kasbon): NotaKita compared with a kasbon book and other apps

By Mohammad Hilmi Bisri, S.Kom.. Published 17 October 2026.

There are four ways to record customers' kasbon (goods taken on credit and paid for later) at no cost: a paper kasbon book, a spreadsheet on your phone, a debt-recording app from Google Play such as BukuWarung or Buku Hutang, and NotaKita. A paper book is enough for a warung (a small neighbourhood shop) with only a few kasbon customers, while a spreadsheet makes things easier if you are used to working with tables. BukuWarung and Buku Hutang suit shop owners who want to send payment reminders and produce reports. Choose NotaKita if the person who owes the money keeps the same record as you, for example in a residents' group, a cooperative, or a farmers' group.

If the phone signal where you are is weak, a paper book, Google Sheets (Google Spreadsheet in Indonesian), and NotaKita (after you have opened it once) still work without internet. All the apps below are free to download or open.

Comparison of the options

We took the app details from their Google Play pages and official websites on 17 October 2026. We left out BukuKas: the app no longer appears in Google Play search results, and its former website address, bukukas.co.id, is now offered for sale.

Paper kasbon book

A book needs no battery, signal, or account. The customer can see the entry on the spot and initial it. On the other hand, a book can be lost, get wet, or tear, and there is only one copy. If the figures do not match, the only record anyone can read is the shop owner's.

Spreadsheet

Google Sheets (external site) is free and opens on both phones and computers. You can create your own columns, for example date, name, item, amount, paid, and balance. Earlier versions are kept, so you can trace changes. You have to build the table and its formulas yourself, and anyone you give edit rights to can change the contents.

BukuWarung

BukuWarung (external site), made by PT Buku Usaha Digital, has been downloaded more than 5 million times and was still being updated in October 2026. According to its help centre, the debt feature records debts and receivables with customers, sets due dates, and sends automatic debt reminder messages free of charge. The Tagih (billing) feature sends a bill through WhatsApp with a payment link, so the customer can pay into your bank account from that link. The app also covers bookkeeping, stock records, QRIS, and the sale of mobile phone credit (pulsa). Its official website gives the steps to join: download the app, register an account, then verify your personal and business details, including a photo of your KTP (Indonesian identity card).

Buku Hutang

Buku Hutang (external site), from the developer Ankit Saraf, has been downloaded more than 1 million times and was updated in October 2026. The app is only for debts and payments. You can add photos of receipts, send reminders to customers, and export reports to PDF or Excel. According to its description, data is stored on the phone or in Google Drive, not on an outside server, and the app can be locked with a password or fingerprint. Whoever holds the phone can change or delete transactions at any time, so customers still have to trust the person keeping the records, just as with a paper book.

NotaKita

NotaKita is an app made by HanzCodes. You open it in the browser of an Android phone or iPhone, without installing another app and without registering an account. Kasbon is recorded together with the person who owes: the person keeping the record creates a note (nota) and shows a QR code, and the person who owes scans it with their own phone to confirm. The record is stored on both people's phones, not on a server, and cannot be changed by one side alone. Debts can be recorded in rupiah or in goods, for example rice or fertiliser. If, within one group, A owes B, B owes C, and C owes A the same amount, NotaKita cancels all three debts without any money changing hands.

The person who owes also needs a phone. To bring their records into line, members' phones need to scan each other's QR codes or be connected to the same WiFi. Every member of a group sees all the records, so warung customers in the same group can see other customers' kasbon. Make sure they agree to this before they join.

If what you need is payment reminders, financial reports, or stock records, BukuWarung and Buku Hutang have those features. How to start using NotaKita is explained on the NotaKita page.

Tips for recording debts without quarrels

1. Write the entry straight away, in front of the customer. Record the date, the name, the goods or amount of money, and the total.
2. Ask the customer to agree to the entry. In a book, ask for their initials. In an app, send a copy of the entry or ask the customer to confirm it.
3. Agree on a payment date from the start and write it in the record.
4. Record each payment as a new line, together with the amount still owed. Do not cross out or write over old figures.
5. Use one page or one name for each customer so their history is easy to read.
6. Ask for payment in private, not in front of other shoppers.

For example, a customer takes rice and cooking oil worth IDR 85,000 on 3 October and promises to pay on the 10th. The shop owner writes "3/10, rice and oil, IDR 85,000, will pay 10/10", and the customer initials it. On 10 October the customer pays IDR 50,000, and the shop owner writes a new line: "10/10, paid IDR 50,000, still owes IDR 35,000".

For shared money such as an RT (neighbourhood association) fund, an arisan (rotating savings group), or a farmers' group fund, good recording habits are covered in the article how to keep RT and arisan accounts.

Customers' personal data

Customers' names, phone numbers, and debts should be seen only by the people concerned, so do not put up a list of debtors on the warung wall or share photos of the kasbon book in WhatsApp groups. Cooperatives or groups that want to know their legal obligations can read a summary of Law (UU) 27/2022 on Personal Data Protection in the article the Personal Data Protection Law (UU PDP) for villages, schools, and agencies.