Client: El Mersal Trade · Industry: Import & Wholesale Trade · Country: Ghana
Overview
El Mersal Trade is an import and wholesale trading business operating in Ghana, sourcing goods from China and selling to local buyers. To replace fragile spreadsheet tracking with a real ERP — and to bring full transparency to a complex, multi-currency import operation — Wanas Apps implemented an integrated Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory system built around container costing, true landed cost, and a transparent procurement workflow.
The Challenge
Importing from China and wholesaling in Ghana is an operation full of moving parts: purchase requisitions, ocean freight, customs, container loads, and sales — all spanning three currencies (RMB, USD, and local). El Mersal was running it on manual Excel sheets, which made a few things nearly impossible:
- Knowing the true cost of each product. Without automated landed-cost allocation, the real cost per SKU — freight, duties, and fees included — was a guess.
- Tracing every payment. With sourcing handled through an intermediary agent who controlled payments and currency conversions, money flows weren't transparent — and untraceable conversions can quietly erode margin.
- Seeing the business in real time. Stock levels, shipments in transit, and true profitability were scattered and slow to compile.
The Solution
Wanas Apps designed a fully integrated system on Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory that models the entire import lifecycle — requisition → China shipment → container costing → landed-cost allocation → inventory → wholesale sale:
- Container & landed-cost management. Every shipment is costed at the container level, with freight and other expenses automatically allocated across SKUs — so inventory is valued at its true landed cost.
- Transparent, traceable payments. Multi-currency payment flows (RMB / USD) are captured in the ledger, making every conversion and expense visible and auditable — closing the door on hidden intermediary margins.
- Factory-level purchase tracking. Purchases are traced back to the originating factory even when procured through an agent.
- Structured wholesale operations with real-time visibility of stock, shipments, and profitability.
- Multi-currency, multi-jurisdiction setup — configured for the realities of a China-sourced, Ghana-operating business.
The Results
- True cost visibility — accurate landed cost per SKU, so pricing and margins are based on reality, not estimates.
- Financial transparency — traceable, auditable multi-currency payment flows replace an opaque, intermediary-controlled process.
- No more spreadsheets — a structured ERP workflow from purchase requisition to wholesale sale.
- Real-time insight — live visibility of inventory, shipments, and profitability.
Ready to bring transparency to your trade operation?
From landed-cost accounting to multi-currency inventory, Wanas Apps builds the Zoho systems that import and trading businesses run on. Book a free consultation.
Key Outcomes
El-Mersal adopted the Wanas Apps ETA e-invoice integration for Zoho Books, replacing a manual dual-entry process between their accounting system and the Egyptian Tax Authority portal.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice submission time | 30–45 minutes per invoice (manual ETA portal entry) | Under 2 minutes per invoice (one-click from Zoho Books) |
| ETA validation errors | Frequent due to manual UUID and code transcription | Eliminated — codes mapped automatically at submission |
| Compliance visibility | Manual tracking of submitted/rejected status | Real-time ETA status returned to Zoho Books invoice record |
| Credit note handling | Separate manual process per ETA portal | Fully automated credit note and debit note submission through the same workflow |
Wanas Apps designed and deployed: Certified ETA e-invoice integration connecting Zoho Books directly to the ETA portal, product code mapping to GS1/EGS standards, digital signature (USB token / eSeal) configuration, and automated status-sync back to Zoho Books records.