How to make an app for a book store

A bookshop gets asked for titles all day, and half the answers are 'let me check'. An app lets you search your stock by title, author or ISBN, keep a list of books customers have asked you to order, and tell them on WhatsApp when the book arrives.

Updated 2026-11-09

Who uses the app

The owner and counter staff. If one counter phone runs it, data can stay on that phone. If staff search stock on their own phones, or readers browse what you have, connect your own Supabase database so everyone sees the same shelves.

The screens a book store app needs

Search: Find a book by title, author, publisher, class or ISBN, with copies in stock and its shelf
Books: Each title with author, edition, price, copies and shelf; add new arrivals
Requests: Books customers asked for: title, customer phone, advance if any, ordered from whom, and status
Booklists: A school's list by class, with which titles are in stock and sets packed
Used books: Second-hand books bought back: title, condition, price paid and resale price
Catalogue: For readers: sections and titles in stock, with a WhatsApp button to keep a copy aside

Features worth asking for

Scan the ISBN barcode on the back of a book with the phone camera to find or add it (installed app)
A WhatsApp message to the customer when a requested book arrives
Edition noted on each title so old editions are easy to spot
A list of requests not yet ordered from the distributor
Used-book buy-back price worked out as a share of the printed price
A phone reminder before the school session to check booklists and stock

Where the data lives

One counter phone can keep the data on itself. For staff on their own phones or a reader catalogue with live stock, connect your own Supabase database; to take advances for ordered books in the app, connect your Razorpay account too.

How to make it with AppCub, step by step

Decide what the app does. List the screens you need, for example: Search, Books, Requests, Booklists, Used books.
Describe it to AppCub. Paste the request below, changed to your own business and details.
Check the plan. AppCub shows the screens and features it will build. Change them in the chat until they are right; seeing the plan is free.
Try it on your phone. The app runs live next to the chat. Scan the QR code to install it, and ask for changes.
Share it. Share it as a web link, an APK file, or publish it on Google Play from your own developer account.

Copy this request, change the details to match your book store, and paste it into AppCub:

Make an app for my book store, Panda Book House in Bhubaneswar. Screens: search, books, requests, booklists, used books and catalogue. Each book has title, author, publisher, edition, price, copies and shelf; scan the ISBN with the camera to find or add it. Requests: title, customer phone, advance, distributor and status, with a WhatsApp 'your book has arrived' button. Booklists by school and class showing what is in stock. Used books bought back at 40% of the printed price. Catalogue for readers with a WhatsApp button to 98XXXXXXXX. Dark green and cream colours.

Tips for a book store app

Scan books into the app as new stock arrives, rather than trying to enter the whole shop at once.
Note the edition on exam and textbooks; it is the most common reason for returns.
Clear the requests list every week: order what is pending, and message people whose books have come.
Keep used books in their own section of the app, so their price doesn't mix with new copies.
Ask for search to ignore small spelling mistakes in titles and authors' names.

What it costs

Describing your app and seeing AppCub’s plan for it is free.
A new app usually takes 60 to 110 credits. Start with the 2-day trial for ₹99 (150 credits, enough for one app and a few changes) or the one-time App Pack for ₹499. Starter is ₹1,599 a month for 700 credits.
Google Play needs a paid plan (it includes the Play Store bundle and your app’s signing key) and your own Google Play developer account, a one-time US$25 fee to Google.
Work that fails or is rolled back costs no credits.

See all plans

Good to know

AppCub doesn't connect to distributors' systems, billing machines or a separate barcode scanner, and it doesn't send messages by itself. 'Your book has arrived' goes out when you tap the WhatsApp button and send.
AppCub builds Android apps. You can also share the app as a web link that opens on any phone; for the iPhone App Store, AppCub’s team can do it for you.

Questions

Can I scan a book's ISBN to add it?

Yes. In the installed Android app, the phone camera scans the ISBN barcode on the back cover. You type in the title and price the first time, and the scan finds it after that.

Can the app keep track of books customers asked me to order?

Yes. Each request saves the title, the customer's phone and any advance, with a status from asked to ordered to arrived.

Can I tell a customer their book has arrived?

Yes. When you mark a request as arrived, a button opens WhatsApp with a ready message, and you send it.

Can readers see what books I have in stock?

Yes, with a catalogue connected to your Supabase database. They search, and a WhatsApp button asks you to keep a copy aside.

Can the app manage second-hand books I buy back?

Yes. Record each used book with its condition, the price you paid and your resale price, separate from new stock.

Can I prepare school booklists in the app?

Yes. Enter each school's list by class, and the app shows which titles are in stock and how many sets you can pack.

Make your book store app

Seeing the plan is free. Building starts with a 2-day trial for ₹99.

Start building