How to Calculate Petrol Pump Shift Sales from Nozzle Readings

To calculate petrol pump shift sales, take the Closing Reading of each nozzle, subtract the Opening Reading, and subtract any test litres (like the 5-litre measure test). That gives Fuel Sold. Multiply Fuel Sold by the rate to get the Expected Amount. Then add up Cash + Online + Pending Dues. If both numbers match, the shift is settled.

That is the whole idea. The rest of this guide shows a worked example and the small mistakes that make a shift look short when it is not.

The formula, step by step

Every nozzle has a totalizer meter. It only goes up, never down. So the difference between two readings is the fuel that passed through that nozzle.

Fuel Sold        = Closing Reading − Opening Reading − Test litres
Expected Amount  = Fuel Sold × Rate
Collected        = Cash + Online + Pending Dues
Difference       = Expected Amount − Collected

The opening reading is simply the last shift's closing reading for the same nozzle. You do not need to read it again at the start of the shift. Writing it again by hand is where many copying errors happen.

Worked example: one dispenser, two nozzles

Say your shift runs from 10:00 AM to 10:00 AM next day. Dispenser 398 has one petrol (MS) nozzle and one diesel (HSD) nozzle. One 5-litre test was done on each nozzle. The rates below are just for the example.

MS:  46180.750 − 45210.500 − 5 = 965.250 L
     965.250 × 108.28 = Rs.1,04,517.27

Collected on MS-1: Cash 70,000 + Online 30,517 + Pending Dues 4,000
                 = Rs.1,04,517
Difference       = 1,04,517.27 − 1,04,517 = Rs.0.27  → Settled

If the operator had handed over only Rs.69,500 in cash, the difference would be Rs.500.27. That is Short by Rs.500, and you should ask about it before the operator goes home, not three days later.

Common mistakes that create a false shortage

• Forgetting test litres. One missed 5 L test at Rs.108.28 makes the shift look Rs.541.40 short. Read more in the 5-litre test guide.
• Wrong opening reading. Copying the previous closing reading by hand and swapping two digits. A single wrong digit can mean hundreds of litres.
• Missing the decimal. Totalizers show three decimals (millilitres). Write all of them.
• Not counting pending dues. Fuel given on credit is still a sale. If the udhar slip is not added, cash looks short.
• Wrong rate after a price change. If the rate changed during the shift, one rate for the whole shift is wrong. See how to split a rate change.
• Mixing nozzles. Online payments entered against the wrong nozzle make one operator look short and the other look extra.

Doing it in the app

In Fuel Pump Book, the opening reading is carried over from the last shift automatically. When you close a shift, you go one dispenser at a time: type the closing readings, add the tests, type the cash. Online payments and Pending Due sales that staff added from their own phones are already listed. The app then shows a summary of every nozzle with fuel sold, expected, collected and the difference, marked Settled or Short by Rs.X.