Akoma
BakeServe main bakeryPrepared by Akoma

Morning report delivery

How the figures reach us, and the report reaches them

The proposed setup for getting each day's sheets from the bakery to us, and the morning report back to Yusuf and Naeem, with the routes we looked at and why. Written 7 October 2026 by Claude Code with Mo; research with sources in working/reporting/whatsapp-intake-research-2026-10-07.md.

The short answer

  • Every morning, one person at the bakery sends two photos on WhatsApp to a contact called something like "BakeServe Reports": the production sheet and the loading book page. About a minute, from wherever they are.
  • Everything after that is automatic. Our server receives the photos the moment they are sent, files them in Drive, reads them, does the sums and sends the report.
  • We check for five minutes a day in the first two weeks, from Discord #bakeserve on the phone. After that, days where everything adds up send themselves.
  • Yusuf and Naeem get the report on WhatsApp from the same contact: three lines and a link.
  • Accounts send their sales Excel once a week by email, so we can check our photo readings against their typed figures.
  • Nobody at Akoma downloads or uploads anything. We are needed only for the daily check in the first two weeks, and when a reminder to the bakery goes unanswered.

What the report needs, and where each figure comes from

Two sheets, one reportWhich part of the morning report each sheet feedsThe production sheet alone gives about half the report. Sales are the other half.
Production sheet photoSales: loading book photo or Excel
Bread in stock this morningmade, less sold, less damaged
Today's sales estimatelearns from what sold each weekday
Estimate against what soldthe scoreboard that proves it works
Yesterday's damagesbakery on the sheet, returns with sales
Raw materialsthe stock table at the foot of the sheet
Flour against breadflour issued against batches baked

The production sheet shows what was baked, the bakery's damages and the raw materials used. It says nothing about what was sold. Sales are written on the salesmen's route sheets and in the bakery's loading book; accounts type them into Excel one to two days later (S80). Without sales the report shrinks to raw materials and damages.

Two ways to get the sales:

Accounts' sales ExcelPhoto of the loading book page
What it holdsEach route's sales, typed by accountsLoaded, sold and returned for every route and the gate shop, written on the day
How fastOne to two days late (S80)Ready the next morning
How it is sentFrom a computer: WhatsApp on the desktop or emailFrom a phone, with the production sheet photo
AccuracyTyped and checked by accountsHandwritten, read by AI; matched the salesmen's reports line for line on 6 October (S69)
Still to find outWhether they can send it dailyWho fills in the loading book, and whether one page covers every route (S69)

Our suggestion: the loading book photo every day, the Excel once a week as the check. If the Excel has to come daily instead, the photo goes on WhatsApp and the Excel by email, and both land in the same Drive folder.

The proposed route: WhatsApp in, WhatsApp out

Click any step, or let it play.

Proposed routeWhatsApp in, WhatsApp outOne person at the bakery spends a minute; everything else runs by itself.
PersonAutomatic
  1. What happens
    Munir, or whoever fills in the loading book, photographs yesterday's production sheet and the loading book page and sends both to the saved contact "BakeServe Reports", like any WhatsApp photo.
    Where it lands
    WhatsApp chat with "BakeServe Reports" (our own new number)
    Who does it
    The bakery. About one minute, from wherever they are.
  2. What happens
    WhatsApp passes the photos straight to our server through Meta's official connection. The server files them in a dated folder and replies "Received, thanks", so the sender knows it worked.
    Where it lands
    Drive › AKOMA_ › Initiatives › Zambia Factories › Bakeserve › Daily records › 2026-10-12
    Who does it
    Automatic, on Marvin's server. Nobody downloads anything.
  3. What happens
    AI reads the handwriting into numbers. The readers and sums we already built work out stock, damages, the sales estimate and flour against bread, and list anything that does not add up.
    Where it lands
    Drive › … › Bakeserve › BakeServe tables (Google Sheet), plus a draft report
    Who does it
    Automatic. Already built and tested; today it is run by hand.
  4. What happens
    A message in Discord #bakeserve shows each photo next to what the AI read from it, and the draft report. Approve if it is right; type a correction if a number is wrong.
    Where it lands
    Discord #bakeserve
    Who does it
    Mo or Zubair, about five minutes. First two weeks only; after that, clean days send themselves.
  5. What happens
    Yusuf and Naeem each get a WhatsApp message from "BakeServe Reports": three short lines and a link to the full report behind an email-code login.
    Where it lands
    Yusuf's and Naeem's WhatsApp, one by one (a group can come later)
    Who does it
    Automatic. About USD 0.004 a message.
  6. What happens
    If no photos have arrived by 09:30, "BakeServe Reports" sends the bakery a reminder and tells us in #bakeserve.
    Where it lands
    The sender's WhatsApp, plus a note in Discord #bakeserve
    Who does it
    Automatic. We only act if the reminder goes unanswered.

The fallback route: email in, email out

The same machinery with an email address instead of a WhatsApp number. Simpler to set up, but someone at the bakery has to send from a computer or attach a photo to an email, which is more effort than a WhatsApp message.

Fallback routeEmail in, email outThe same machinery, with an inbox instead of a WhatsApp number.
PersonAutomatic
  1. What happens
    Munir emails the production sheet photo and the sales Excel to one fixed address. The photo first has to reach his computer, or he attaches it to an email on his phone.
    Where it lands
    Inbox: bakeserve-reports@… (one address, name to choose)
    Who does it
    Munir. A couple of minutes, at a computer.
  2. What happens
    The server checks the inbox every 10 minutes, takes the attachments out and files them in a dated folder.
    Where it lands
    Drive › AKOMA_ › Initiatives › Zambia Factories › Bakeserve › Daily records › 2026-10-12
    Who does it
    Automatic, on Marvin's server.
  3. What happens
    The Excel goes through the readers we already built; the photo is read by AI. Then the same sums and checks run.
    Where it lands
    Drive › … › Bakeserve › BakeServe tables (Google Sheet), plus a draft report
    Who does it
    Automatic.
  4. What happens
    The same check in Discord #bakeserve: photo against reading, and the draft report.
    Where it lands
    Discord #bakeserve
    Who does it
    Mo or Zubair. First two weeks only.
  5. What happens
    Three short lines and a link go to Yusuf and Naeem by email.
    Where it lands
    Yusuf's and Naeem's email
    Who does it
    Automatic.
  6. What happens
    If no email has arrived by 09:30, the server reminds Munir and tells us in #bakeserve.
    Where it lands
    Munir's email, plus a note in Discord #bakeserve
    Who does it
    Automatic.

Four ways in, compared

Way inFor the bakeryFor usRiskCost a monthVerdict
WhatsApp, Meta's official connectionSend to a saved contact, like any messageA new number and a Meta business account; files arrive at our server in secondsLow: this is what Meta built it forUnder USD 1Proposed
Email to one fixed addressPhoto has to reach a computer, or be attached to an email on the phoneA dedicated inbox; the server checks it every 10 minutesLowNilFallback; good for the weekly Excel
WhatsApp, linked ordinary number (Marvin's plugin, Baileys and similar)Post in a group they already usePlugin install and config change on Marvin's live gatewayHigh: WhatsApp warns linked unofficial apps can get the number banned; bans reported in 2025 and 2026; open bugs in the plugin's attachment and group handlingNilRejected for a client feed
Share to a Drive folder from the phonePhoto, Share, Drive, pick the folder, save: more taps, easy to get wrongServer watches the folderLow, but sends get missed or filed in the wrong placeNilRejected

Getting the report out

Way outWhat it takesVerdict
WhatsApp, to Yusuf and Naeem one by oneA pre-approved message template ("here is today's report" and a link); about USD 0.004 a message to a Zambian numberProposed
EmailNothing new; the report goes from the new addressFallback, or as well
A new WhatsApp group made by our numberAt most 8 people, members join by invite link, only after Meta grants "Official Business Account" status (30 days on the platform, business verification, approved display name)Later, if they want a group
Their existing WhatsApp groupOnly possible with a linked ordinary numberNo: same ban risk as above

What the WhatsApp route needs from us

  1. A new SIM card (Zambian or South African) that has never been on WhatsApp. It becomes the "BakeServe Reports" number.
  2. A Meta business account with a payment card, in Akoma's or Tinkerbird's name. Business verification is not needed at this volume. Mo sets up the account and the card himself.
  3. One message template approved by Meta, for the daily report.
  4. A small program on Marvin's server that receives the photos, files them in Drive, runs the readers and sums we already have, asks for the check in #bakeserve, sends the report and the 09:30 reminder.

Cost: under USD 1 a month. Messages coming in are free; replies within 24 hours are free up to 1,000 a month (Meta's rule from 1 October 2026). No paid WhatsApp provider is needed.

Time: Meta gives a free test number, so the program can be built and tested at once. Registering the real number takes an estimated 1 to 3 days (Meta does not publish a figure).

What is already built: the readers and the sums (working/reporting/). What is not: everything on this page that runs by itself.

Open decisions

  • Mo: Akoma or Tinkerbird as the name on the Meta business account.
  • Mo or Zubair: a new SIM for the number; Zubair can buy a Zambian one in Lusaka this week.
  • Zubair, on site before Friday: who fills in the loading book, and could that person or Munir photograph it each morning with the production sheet? (Accounts agreed on 6 October to "sales in any format".)
  • Zubair: is Munir happy to send by WhatsApp to a saved contact?
  • At the walkthrough: who receives the report, and whether by WhatsApp, email or both.

Sources