Inventory

Mobile shop records: IMEI numbers, warranties and repairs without a pile of slips

A practical record-keeping routine for a small mobile phone and electronics shop: writing down IMEI and serial numbers when stock arrives and when it sells, checking a warranty claim in a minute, and tracking repairs from the counter to collection.

31 October 2026 · 10 min read · By Muhammad Ahmad

Also in: اردو · हिन्दी · العربية · Bahasa Indonesia

A customer puts a phone on your counter and says, "You sold me this four months ago. The charging port has stopped working. It has a warranty." You remember the face, maybe. You do not remember the phone. Your helper starts going through a shoebox of bill copies while the customer gets louder and two other people wait.

You might find the slip, give in to keep the peace, or refuse and lose a customer who was telling the truth. All three come from the same gap: nobody wrote down which phone went to which person.

A mobile shop is different from a grocery. Two boxes of the same model look identical but are not the same thing. Each one has its own IMEI or serial number, its own warranty date and sometimes its own story of repairs. Once you record that number at two moments, when it arrives and when it sells, most warranty arguments end in a minute.

This article sets up that routine, on paper or in a phone app.

Why one number per phone matters

In most shops, stock is counted by product: twelve packets of the same biscuit are simply twelve. In a mobile shop that is not enough, for three reasons.

• Warranty belongs to one unit. The customer is not claiming on "a phone of that model". They are claiming on this phone, sold on a certain date.
• The value per unit is high. One missing handset can wipe out the profit on many accessory sales. You need to know exactly which one is missing, not only that the count is one short.
• Phones come back. For exchange, for repair, for warranty, sometimes for resale. Each time, you need to know whether it is really the unit you sold.

The IMEI is a number printed on the box, on a sticker inside the phone or under the battery on some models, and usually shown when you dial *#06#. A phone with two SIM slots often has two IMEIs. Laptops, tablets, speakers, power banks of higher value and most other electronics carry a serial number instead. For the record, treat them the same way: one unit, one number.

The rules about phone registration and IMEI checks differ between countries, so check what applies where you trade. This article is only about keeping your own shop's records straight.

Record the number when stock arrives

The best moment to write down a serial number is before the box goes on the shelf. At the counter, with a customer waiting, you will skip it.

When a delivery comes in:

1. Check each box against the supplier's bill. Model, colour, memory size and quantity.
2. Write down every IMEI or serial number next to that line of the purchase. For a phone with two IMEIs, the first one is enough to identify it, but writing both saves confusion later.
3. Note the supplier and the date on the same line. If a unit turns out faulty, the supplier will want to know it came from them, and when.
4. Put a small sticker on the box with your own short code or the last four digits of the IMEI. It makes the shelf easier to check without opening anything.

If the supplier's bill already lists the IMEIs, keep that bill with the purchase. It is your proof of where the phone came from. Buying well and keeping purchase records covers the rest of the purchase routine.

A barcode on the box usually identifies the model, not the single unit. If you want a scannable label per unit, the free barcode label maker can print one with your own code on it.

Record it again when it sells

This is the record that settles warranty claims. At the moment of sale, three things must be written against the bill:

• The IMEI or serial number of the unit that left the shop.
• The customer's name and phone number. A name alone is not enough four months later.
• The warranty period you are giving, in months, and what it covers.

Then put the IMEI on the customer's bill too. A bill that says "phone, Rs 30,000" proves very little. A bill that names the model and the IMEI proves exactly what was sold. What a good receipt should show explains the rest of the bill.

Before the customer leaves, check the number on the bill against the box in their hand. Swapped boxes are one of the most common causes of later confusion: the customer took the box from the shelf and you wrote the number from a different box on the counter.

Make the warranty terms plain before the sale

A warranty argument is often not about the phone at all. It is about what each side thought was promised. Settle that at the counter.

Decide your shop's terms once and write them on a card and on the bill:

If the warranty is the brand's and not yours, say so, and tell the customer whether a claim comes to you or to a service centre.

Used phones need their own line. If you sell second-hand units, decide whether they carry any shop warranty at all, for how many days, and write "used" on the bill. A short check-and-return window for used phones is fair. Silence about it is what causes arguments.

Checking a warranty claim in one minute

When a customer comes back, follow the same steps every time, even for someone you know well.

1. Read the IMEI from the phone itself, by dialling *#06# or from the sticker. Do not rely on the box the customer brings.
2. Find the sale by that number, by the customer's phone number or name, or by the bill they bring.
3. Check the date against the warranty period on that sale.
4. Look at the phone for things the terms exclude: water marks, a cracked screen, missing screws.
5. Write down the claim against the sale: the date it came in, the fault in the customer's words, and what you decided.

If the number does not match any sale, the phone was not sold by your shop, or it was sold without a record. Say politely that you cannot find the sale. If the customer has a bill from you with a different number, look into it carefully before you answer. That is how a swapped box shows itself.

Returns and exchanges covers the money side once you agree a phone should be replaced or taken back.

Tracking repairs from the counter to collection

Many mobile shops also repair, or take repairs in and send them to a technician. Repairs are where phones get lost, because the phone is not your stock and nobody counts it.

Give every repair a slip with a number, in two parts. The customer keeps one half. The other half goes with the phone, in a small bag or with a rubber band. On both halves write:

• The repair number and the date it came in.
• The customer's name and phone number.
• The model, the IMEI and the colour.
• The fault, in the customer's words.
• What the phone came with: case, SIM, memory card, charger. Write "none" if it came with nothing.
• The condition: scratches, a cracked back, anything already wrong.
• The price you quoted, and any amount paid in advance.

Then keep a repair page, one line per repair, with a column for each stage: received, sent to technician, back, customer told, collected. A glance down the page shows which phones have sat too long. Any phone "back" for more than a few days with no "customer told" is a call you need to make today.

When the customer collects, they show their half of the slip. Check the IMEI on the phone against the slip, take the payment, and mark the line collected. A phone handed over without the slip should only go out after you have checked the customer's identity and written down that you did.

Keep accessories simple

Chargers, cables, covers, screen guards and earphones do not need serial numbers. Count them like any other stock. What matters is that their price and count stay right, because they are often where most of the daily profit comes from.

Two habits help:

• Sell bundles as separate lines. If a phone comes with a free cover, ring up the cover at its own line with a zero price or a discount, so the cover's stock still moves.
• Keep loose accessories away from boxed phones. A charger taken out of a phone box "to test" and never put back turns a sellable phone into an incomplete one.

A weekly check that takes ten minutes

Once a week, before opening, compare the shelf with the record.

1. Count the boxed phones and devices and read the last four digits of each.
2. Compare with your list of units in stock, that is, numbers received and not yet sold.
3. Any number on the list but not on the shelf is either sold without being recorded, taken out for display, or missing. Find out which today.
4. Look at the repair page for phones waiting too long.
5. Look at warranty claims of the week. The same model coming back with the same fault is something to raise with the supplier.

For a fuller count of the whole shop, doing a stock take in one evening explains how to plan it.

Questions shopkeepers ask

Do I really need to record the IMEI for cheap phones too?

Yes, if you give any warranty or accept any returns on them. A cheap phone is just as likely to be claimed on, and the claim is just as hard to check without a number. Writing down fifteen digits takes seconds and saves a long argument on the day you need it.

What if a customer lost the bill?

If you recorded the IMEI and the customer's phone number at the sale, you can find it without the bill. Read the number from the phone and search for it. This is the main reason to record the sale against the number and the customer, rather than relying on paper the customer has to keep.

Should I give my own shop warranty on top of the brand's?

It is your choice, and it can win sales. But keep it short and clear, for example a few days for a replacement if a fault shows at once, and write it on the bill. A shop warranty you cannot afford to honour does more harm than none at all.

How do I handle a phone a customer wants to sell to me?

Treat it like a purchase from a supplier. Write down the IMEI, the seller's name and phone number, the date and the price you paid, and keep a copy of their identity document if that is the practice where you trade. Check whether the phone is reported lost or stolen where such a check exists. Do not buy a phone whose IMEI has been tampered with.

What about repairs left uncollected for months?

Write your rule on the repair slip when the phone comes in, for example that phones not collected within a set time after the customer is told may be handled as your local practice allows. Call the customer at least twice and note the dates. The rules on goods left with a business vary, so check what applies where you trade before you sell or dispose of anything.

Saleva can do the sale side of this for you. With the mobile shop and electronics module switched on in Settings, the product form asks for serial numbers and warranty months, and they are recorded against the sale, so a warranty claim can be checked from the bill in Sales history, which you can search by invoice number or customer name. The products and stock guide shows where to switch the module on.

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