How ElitJohns One works

Getting started

From creating an account to your first sale.

1. 1Create your ElitJohns One account at elitjohnsone.elitjohnsdigital.co.ke/register with your name, email and phone. This account is you, the person; it can own or join several companies.
2. 2Register a company: choose the business type (Retail, Supermarket, Restaurant, Auto Service, Vehicle Dealership or Agency & Services) and a plan. Paid plans are activated once payment is confirmed; you get an email and an in-app notification.
3. 3Open the company. The setup wizard asks for your business details, currency (KSh by default), tax (VAT 16%) and first warehouse, and can create sample categories and accounts for you.
4. 4You land in the company workspace at /c/your-company. The first time each person logs in, a spotlight tour lights up each part of the screen (top bar, every module and each page of the module you are in) and explains it.
5. 5Invite staff from Settings → Staff and give each a role. They receive an email invite and sign in at your company link.
6. 6Add your items (or import them from Excel under Settings → Import / Export), set up your tills in POS Profiles, connect M-Pesa or other payments, then open a shift and sell.

Two places you work in

• Account portal (/account): your companies, subscriptions and billing, wallet, team invites, notifications and personal settings.
• Company workspace (/c/your-company): the business itself: POS, stock, buying, accounting, reports, HR and settings. Use the company switcher at the top left to move between companies you belong to.

Users, roles and access

Who can see and do what.

Every staff member has one role per company. The role decides which modules appear in their top bar and which buttons they can use. The owner can fine-tune this in Settings → Role Permissions and hide whole modules per role in Settings → Module Access.

• Owner: everything, including billing, staff and permissions.
• Manager / System manager: runs the business day to day; settings, staff, reports.
• Cashier / POS user: the Point of Sale, their own shift and their own portal.
• Accounts, Sales, Purchase, Stock and HR managers: full access to their own area.
• Technician (auto service), Chef and Waiter (restaurant): the screens their job needs.
• Report user: read-only reports. Dealer sales: the dealer portal for allocated vehicles.

What happens when…

You deactivate a staff member

They are signed out and can no longer open the company. Their past sales and records stay, still showing their name.

You change someone's role

Their menus and permissions change from their next page load.

A user changes their password

Their other signed-in devices are signed out.

You sign in to a different company in another tab

Tabs still showing the first company pause with a notice, so data from two companies is never mixed. Choose which company to continue with.

Point of Sale

Shifts, payments, returns and receipts.

1. 1Open a shift: pick the till (POS Profile) and enter the opening cash float.
2. 2Add items by scanning a barcode, searching, or tapping a product tile. Change quantities or apply discounts if your role allows.
3. 3Optionally select a customer. You need one for credit, part payments, loyalty points and SMS or email receipts.
4. 4Press Pay and choose how the customer pays. For cash, type the amount received or tap Exact; the change is shown. Complete stays locked until an amount is entered.
5. 5For M-Pesa, enter the customer's phone number: they get a PIN prompt (STK push) on their phone and the sale completes only when Safaricom confirms. Paystack and card payments give a payment link or checkout that must succeed before the sale completes.
6. 6Complete the sale. The receipt prints or is sent, and stock goes down immediately.
7. 7Close the shift at the end of the day by counting the drawer. The system compares your count with expected cash and records any shortage or excess.

What happens when…

A sale is completed

Stock is deducted from the till's warehouse; the sale and payment are recorded; accounting entries are posted automatically (income, VAT, cash or M-Pesa, cost of goods); loyalty points and staff commission are added if enabled.

A customer pays less than the total

The rest is recorded as owed by the selected customer (Accounts Receivable). You can collect it later with Add Payment on the sale.

A sale is on credit

Nothing is paid now; the full amount goes on the customer's account and counts against their credit limit.

A sale is voided

It is marked Void with the reason, stock is put back, and its accounting entries are reversed. Voided sales stay visible for audit.

Items are returned

A return invoice is created and linked to the original sale, stock goes back, and the refund is paid by the method you choose (or kept as store credit).

The shift is closed with a difference

The shortage or excess is recorded against the shift and posted to a cash-variance account, and shows in the shift report.

The internet is down

Cash and card sales keep working and are saved on the device, then sync automatically. M-Pesa and online payments need the internet.

Payment gateways (M-Pesa, Paystack, PayHero, card)

Take mobile-money and card payments straight into your own account.

Open Settings → Payment Gateways (owner or manager). Each provider has an Active switch; every active provider appears automatically as a payment option at the POS. Money goes directly to your own M-Pesa till or paybill, or your Paystack or PayHero account; ElitJohns One never holds it.

M-Pesa (Safaricom Daraja STK push)

1. 1Create an app on the Safaricom developer portal (developer.safaricom.co.ke) and get your Consumer Key, Consumer Secret and Lipa Na M-Pesa Online Passkey for your shortcode (till or paybill).
2. 2Enter the shortcode, keys and passkey, choose Sandbox for testing or Production for real money, and switch M-Pesa on.
3. 3The Callback URL is filled in for you (this website). Safaricom sends the payment result there.
4. 4At the POS choose M-Pesa, enter the customer's number and send. The customer approves with their PIN and the sale completes by itself.

Paystack, PayHero and Stripe

• Paystack: public and secret keys from your Paystack dashboard; add the webhook URL shown on the page. Customers pay by card, M-Pesa or bank via a secure payment link.
• PayHero: API username, password and channel ID; one integration for M-Pesa, Airtel Money and T-Kash.
• Stripe: international cards via a checkout link; add the webhook URL shown.
• Card machines (PDQ/"swipe"): take the payment on your bank's card terminal, then choose Card at the POS to record it.

What happens when…

The customer approves the M-Pesa prompt

Safaricom confirms to ElitJohns One, the transaction is marked successful with the M-Pesa receipt number, and the sale completes.

The customer cancels or ignores the prompt

The payment is marked failed or expired after a few minutes; nothing is recorded and you can retry or choose another method.

A gateway is switched off

It disappears from the POS immediately; past transactions are kept.

Stock and buying

Keeping quantities right and buying from suppliers.

A purchase invoice is received

Stock goes up in the chosen warehouse, the item's cost is updated, and the amount is recorded as owed to the supplier (Accounts Payable).

You pay a supplier

The payable is reduced and cash or bank goes down. Aged Payables updates.

A stock transfer is completed

Stock leaves one warehouse and arrives in the other; totals don't change.

A stock take is posted

Each item is set to the counted quantity; differences are recorded as adjustments and show in the Shrinkage report.

An item falls below its reorder level

It appears in Low Stock Items and the Reorder Dashboard, with a suggested quantity to buy.

You use Bulk Price Update

Selling prices change for all chosen items at once. Reprint shelf labels afterwards.

Accounting

The books keep themselves; you review and close.

When automatic posting is on (Accounting → Settings), ElitJohns One creates the double-entry journal for every sale, payment, purchase, void, stock adjustment and transfer, gift card, layaway payment, work order, shift variance and commission payout. You only enter journals for things outside the system, such as rent or loans.

Before the first sale, make sure a current fiscal year exists and default accounts (Sales, Receivables, Cash) are set in Accounting → Settings. The setup wizard does this; if it was skipped, sales will ask you to configure them.

A period is closed

Transactions dated in that period can no longer be added, edited or deleted, so reports for it stay final.

You record an opening balance

Starting balances from your previous system are posted once, so the balance sheet is right from day one.

A customer is overdue

They appear in Accounts Receivable; Dunning can send reminder letters by level.

HR and payroll

Employees, payroll runs and payslips.

A payroll run is submitted

Salary slips are created for every employee in it, using their salary structure (basic, allowances, PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, Housing Levy). Staff can download them from My Portal.

An advance is given

It is recorded against the employee and deducted automatically from later payroll until repaid.

A commission payout is made

Approved commissions are marked paid and posted to accounting; staff see them in My Portal.

ElitJohns One CRM (Agency & Services)

Customers, quotations, invoices, projects, time, expenses, team and leave for agencies and service businesses.

Companies set up as Agency & Services get one workspace with everything in the left sidebar: Dashboard, Customers, Products & Services, Projects, Agreements, Time Logs, Quotations, Invoices, Transactions, Expenses, Team Members, Payroll, Leave / Attendance, Reports, Web Studio, Users, Subscription, Support and Settings. There is no POS or stock.

What happens when…

You send a quotation

The client gets a link to view it. When they accept, convert it to an invoice in one click. Quotes stay valid for the days set in Settings → Branding & documents.

You record a payment on an invoice

The invoice moves to part paid or paid, the payment appears under Transactions and on the dashboard, and it is posted to accounting.

An invoice passes its due date unpaid

It shows as overdue on the dashboard under Needs attention and in Invoices → Overdue.

You share a project link

The client follows progress, milestones and your updates live, without signing in.

You click "Bill unbilled" on a project

A draft invoice is created from billable hours and billable expenses not yet invoiced.

A team member requests leave

Managers see it on the dashboard and in Leave / Attendance, and approve or reject it. Days are counted Monday to Friday and checked against the yearly allowance.

You change the currency or number format

Settings → Finance. New invoices and the dashboard use the new symbol, position and decimals.

ElitJohns One Websites (Web Studio)

Your business website: templates, content, online orders, bookings, forms and your own domain.

1. 1Open Website (Web Studio) from the top bar, or Web Studio in the CRM sidebar. Your website is created with a template that suits your business type.
2. 2In Design & pages, add a hero photo, your about text, phone, WhatsApp, address and opening hours, and choose which sections to show.
3. 3Add content: blog posts, pages, services, portfolio, team, testimonials, FAQ, client logos, gallery, jobs and custom forms.
4. 4Products, the restaurant menu and vehicles come straight from ElitJohns One: anything active with a price (or available vehicles) shows automatically.
5. 5Optional: in Design → Payments, switch on online payments. Customers then pay by M-Pesa or card through the gateways you connected in Settings → Payment gateways, and the money goes straight to your account.
6. 6Press Publish. Your address is shown on the overview; copy it and share it.

Templates (each one built for the business)

• Online shop (retail, supermarket): slider, categories, deals, product rows, filters, cart and checkout with M-Pesa, card, pay on delivery or WhatsApp.
• Restaurant: dark gold look, menu, online orders, table reservations where the guest picks a table, events and opening hours.
• Garage / auto service: red and blue look, service cards with prices, a booking form with day, time, service and car, spare parts shop, reviews and a Call / WhatsApp / Book bar on phones.
• Car dealership: luxury showroom with search, saved cars and My Garage. Buyers reserve a car with a deposit, hire by the day, book test drives, apply for financing or sell their own car.
• Agency: floating header, big hero with video, portfolio, platforms, process, industries, blog and a quote form.
• Every template has a light / dark switch for visitors, and the builder (Web Studio → Builder) lets you add, move and edit sections with a live preview. "Template layout" puts back the original design for your template.

What happens when…

A visitor places an online order

It appears in Online orders with a notification. Confirming it takes the items out of stock; cancelling a confirmed order puts them back.

A visitor chooses M-Pesa or card at checkout

The order waits as "Awaiting payment" (no notification yet). When the payment is confirmed by the gateway it becomes Paid and you are notified. Unpaid online orders are cancelled automatically after a while, and the customer can cancel an unpaid order from the order page.

A visitor books a table or a service

Restaurants get a reservation, garages an appointment in their calendar, others a booking in the Inbox.

A visitor sends a form or applies for a job

It lands in the Inbox (export to CSV any time) and, if you added a webhook in Settings → Integrations, it is sent to your other system.

You connect your own domain

Add the TXT and CNAME records shown in Web Studio → Domain, then press Check DNS. After verification the ElitJohns One team adds the domain and SSL to the server.

Plans and website credits

• Every plan, including Free: build, design and preview your website for free, as long as you like.
• Pay as you go with website credits (1 credit = KSh 10): publish with at least 50 credits in your wallet, then each paid order, reservation, booking or enquiry uses 1 credit. Each one is charged only once.
• When credits run out the website stays online, but checkout, bookings and forms pause until you top up. You get a warning when credits are low.
• Free and Starter plans use credits to publish. Website, Professional, Business and Enterprise plans include the full website: publish, your own domain, unlimited orders and bookings, no credits needed. Business and Enterprise also remove the "Website by ElitJohns One" badge.

Restaurants

Tables, kitchen display, reservations and online orders.

1. 1Add your menu items with prices (and photos for the website) under Items. Group them into categories such as Starters, Mains and Drinks.
2. 2Draw your floor plan in Tables: add each table with its seats. Waiters open a table, add items and send them to the kitchen.
3. 3The Kitchen Display shows each order as a ticket. Cooks move it from Preparing to Ready so the waiter knows it can be served.
4. 4Reservations from your website (where the guest can pick a table) and from the phone appear in Reservations and on the floor plan.

What happens when…

A table pays

The sale is recorded, stock (and recipe ingredients) go down and the table becomes free.

A guest books a table on the website

The reservation appears in Reservations with a notification, linked to the table the guest picked.

Garages and auto service

Work orders, inspections, parts and service bookings.

1. 1Add your service types with a standard price in Service types (they also show on your website and in its booking form).
2. 2When a car comes in, create a Work order: the customer, the vehicle, the work to do and the parts. Add an inspection with photos if needed.
3. 3Move the work order through its stages as the job progresses, and add insurance estimates when an insurer pays.
4. 4When the job is done, take payment at the POS by cash, M-Pesa or card.

What happens when…

A customer books a service on the website

An appointment is created for that day and time with the service and car they chose, and you are notified.

A customer buys spare parts online

It works like any online shop order: it appears in Online orders, and stock goes down when you confirm it.

Car dealerships

Vehicle stock, test drives, trade-ins, financing, car hire and website requests.

1. 1Add each car in Dealership → Inventory: make, model, year, mileage, photos, features and the asking price.
2. 2On each car choose "For sale on the website", an optional "Hire price per day" (empty = not for hire) and "Featured" to show it first.
3. 3In Web Studio → Design → Payments, set the deposit buyers pay to reserve a car (10% by default, minimum 1,000; 0 = no online deposit) and switch on online payments.
4. 4Website requests arrive in Dealership → Website requests. Confirm, complete or cancel each one; test drives also appear in Test drives and sell-my-car offers in Trade-ins.

What happens when…

A buyer pays a reservation deposit online

The request is confirmed, the car is marked Reserved (taken off sale) and you are notified with the payment reference.

A buyer reserves and chooses to pay at the yard

The request waits as New. When you confirm it, the car is marked Reserved. Use "Mark paid" when the deposit is paid in person.

Someone hires a car

The dates are checked against other hires so a car is never double-booked. Paid or confirmed hires block those days on the website calendar.

You cancel a reservation

The car goes back to Available. If the deposit was paid online, refund it from your gateway.

A request is never paid

Unpaid online deposits and hires are dropped after 24 hours and nothing is held.

Fleet and live location

Track riders, drivers and vehicles on a map.

1. 1Open Fleet (for managers) and add each vehicle, motorbike or person you want to follow.
2. 2The rider or driver opens My location on their phone and allows location sharing. Their position updates on the map while the page is open.
3. 3Use History to replay a route for a day, and Report for distance and time per asset.

What happens when…

An asset moves outside working hours

You get an alert, so you know when a vehicle is used after hours.

AI assistant

Ask questions about your business and get things done by chat or voice.

• Open the assistant from the orb in the top bar. Ask in plain language, for example "What sold most this week?" or "Which items are running low?".
• Owners choose what the assistant may do in Settings → AI: read business data, pull reports and the daily brief, open pages and records, read the screen, make changes and send emails. Each user only gets answers their role allows.
• Changes (new customers or products, price changes) and emails always wait for you to tap Allow or Send. Nothing happens on its own.

Offline mode and apps

Keep working without internet, on any device.

• While online, ElitJohns One saves your pages and main lists on the device in the background, so you can open any section offline.
• Anything you create or change offline is stored safely on the device and synced automatically when the connection returns. The bar at the top shows how many changes are waiting.
• Each company's offline data is kept separate on shared devices.
• Install it like an app: use "Install app" (Chrome) or Share → Add to Home Screen (iPhone). Android and iOS apps are also available.

Subscription and billing

Plans, renewals and what happens if a subscription lapses.

Plans differ by modules, number of users and storage, with no per-user fees: Free has POS and stock for 2 users (300 sales a month), Starter adds buying and reports for 5 users, Professional adds accounting, HR and payroll, fleet and social for 15 users, and Business and Enterprise include everything. Every plan can build a website for free. Free and Starter publish with website credits; Website, Professional, Business and Enterprise include the full website with your own domain and no credits; Business and Enterprise also remove the ElitJohns One badge. Higher plans add more storage. Paying yearly costs 10 months and covers 12.

You top up your wallet

Renewals are paid from the wallet automatically when a period ends, so there is no interruption.

A subscription is about to expire

You get a reminder notification and email two days before.

A subscription expires unpaid

The company is locked: staff can't sign in, but nothing is deleted. Renewing unlocks it immediately.

A company stays locked for 7 days

Its data is scheduled for deletion; you are warned 3 days before. Renew before then to keep everything.

Troubleshooting

Quick answers to common problems.

Stock doesn't match the shelf

Do a Stock Take, then check the Stock Ledger for that item to see every movement.

The cash drawer is short

Open the shift report and Daily Summary; both split takings by cashier and payment method.

A page shows old data

Press the refresh button in the top bar. It reloads the page's data without reloading the whole app.

M-Pesa prompt never arrives

Check the number format (07… or 2547…), that M-Pesa is set to Production with the right shortcode and passkey, and that the phone is on and has network.

Password reset email didn't come

Check spam, then ask your company owner to resend your invite or reset access in Settings → Staff.

A tab says you switched company

You opened another company in a different tab. Choose which company to continue with.

Every page, by business type

Pick a business type to see its modules and what each page is for. What a staff member sees depends on their role.