JEWELLERY MANUFACTURERS AND BULLION TRADERS
Running a Jewellery Workshop: Metal Loss, Karigar Ledger, Stock
A karigar returns an order and the weight comes back short of what was issued. The scrap is weighed, the difference is noted in a diary and the matter is settled by memory the next week. At month end the owner holds gold, some in stock, some on the workbenches and some out on job work, and a count of it takes a day.
We help owners keep the records of the workshop. Metal loss on each job is tracked as a management figure. Every karigar and job-work party gets a ledger. Stock is counted at close of day, making charge realised is compared with the quote, and open price exposure is recorded in grams only, never as a view on prices. Hallmarking, tax and market prices are for your CA or the authority.
Book a first callCOMMON CHALLENGES
What goes wrong in
jewellery manufacturers and bullion traders.
- 01Metal is issued to karigars by weight and returned as ornaments and scrap, but loss per job is worked out only when a figure looks wrong.
- 02Job work out to other workshops sits in a notebook, and the balance of metal and finished pieces lying with each party is argued from memory.
- 03Stock is held as raw metal, work in progress and finished goods, and the book position and physical position are compared rarely.
- 04Making charges are quoted per piece or per gram, then bargained down at delivery, and the amount realised is never compared with the quote.
- 05A job priced at the day's rate becomes exposed when the metal is bought later, and the owner has no sheet showing how much stock is covered and how much is open.
NUMBERS TO TRACK
Count these
every week.
Metal loss per job
Grams issued less grams returned in ornaments and scrap, divided by grams issued, for each job and karigar.
Karigar ledger balance
Metal and pieces issued less metal and pieces returned, by karigar and job-work party, at week end.
Book against physical stock
Grams on the book less grams counted on the shelf and benches, by category, on a set day.
Making-charge realisation
Making charge billed divided by making charge quoted, by order.
Timing and seasons: Orders build before the wedding months and the major festivals, so karigar capacity and metal stock are tightest then. Check last year's weeks before you accept the next batch.
WORKED SAMPLE (ILLUSTRATIVE, NOT CLIENT DATA)
Metal loss by job (illustrative, not client data)
| Job | Issued (g) | Returned (g) | Loss (g) | Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Job 1 | 250 | 245 | 5 | 2.0% |
| Job 2 | 400 | 394 | 6 | 1.5% |
| Job 3 | 200 | 197 | 3 | 1.5% |
| Job 4 | 150 | 147 | 3 | 2.0% |
| All four | 1,000 | 983 | 17 | 1.7% |
Jobs 1 and 4 run at 2.0 percent against 1.5 on the other two. The 17 grams in all are valued at whatever rate your books use that day.
COMMON MISTAKES
What owners often
get wrong first.
- 01Looking at total loss for the month without metal loss per job, so one karigar's work hides in the average.
- 02Letting the karigar ledger balance wait until month end, when the weekly balance would show a gap while it is small.
- 03Quoting making charge by habit and never comparing realisation with the quote.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Issue and return weight for every job and karigar, with loss in grams and as a share of issue
- 02A karigar ledger showing metal, pieces and wages in and out, balanced every week
- 03A job-work ledger by party with the metal and pieces still lying with each
- 04Daily stock position in grams: raw, in process and finished, counted against the book
- 05Making charge quoted, billed and realised for each order
- 06Stock covered and stock open to price movement, shown as a plain record in grams
- 07Scrap and dust recovery recorded separately, with the date and weight
- 08A Saturday balance check for the owner and the senior karigar
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- For last month's jobs, write the metal issued and the metal returned including scrap, per job. Subtract and divide by the issue.
- Hypothetical example: four jobs issued 1,000 grams in all and returned 983 grams. The loss is 17 grams, or 1.7 percent. Split it by job to see which karigar's work runs above the rest.
- For one month, write the making charge you quoted and the charge that was billed. If the quotes were ₹1,50,000 and the bills ₹1,20,000, realisation is 80 percent.
WHAT YOU GET
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
Your first sheet: a metal loss sheet showing grams issued, grams returned and loss as a share of issue for each job and karigar, with the running ledger balance beside it
- A metal loss sheet by job and karigar with a weekly trend
- A karigar and job-work ledger that balances in grams and pieces
- A daily stock position record that matches the book to the physical count
- A making-charge realisation sheet by order and customer
Not the right fit when: We make no claim about hallmarking, tax treatment or market prices, and we do not advise on trading positions; check with your CA, lawyer or the authority. If you sell finished jewellery across a counter, see /industries/retail/jewellery-retailers.
HOW THE WORK RUNS
What happens after
you book.
- First call: you describe the business and the numbers you already track.
- Your first sheet: the one described under What you get, built from your own books.
- The rhythm: a regular review of metal loss per job, karigar ledger balance, book against physical stock, making-charge realisation.
- What you hold at the end: a written sheet and a named owner for each number.
WHICH SERVICE FITS
Where we usually start
for this trade.
Operations & Process Audit
We walk through how work really flows in your business, from order to delivery, and identify the delays, rework, errors and handoffs costing you money.
Business Audit
Operations & Process Audit is part of Business Audit. See the full service if the problem is wider than one piece.
PROBLEMS THIS SHOWS UP AS
How owners in this trade
describe it.
I cannot see how my business is really performing
If you steer by bank balance and gut feel, you are driving blind. See how a few trusted numbers, a monthly report and a review meeting fix that.
Our revenue is growing, but our profit is not
Sales are up but the money left over is not. Find where margin leaks in pricing, discounts, rework and overheads, and what to check this week.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Before you
get in touch.
HOW THIS DIFFERS
Close trades,
different work.
How this differs from Jewellery retailers
A jewellery retailer sells finished pieces to customers at a counter and watches stock turn; a manufacturer or bullion trader issues metal to karigars and watches loss and ledgers.
How this differs from Electroplating and surface finishing units
A plating unit treats other firms' parts and watches chemical and rejection rates; a jewellery workshop works in the owner's metal and watches grams lost per job.
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