If you're reading this, you probably already have an idea of what you want to sell. What you don't have is a clear sense of the steps between that idea and your first paying customer.
This guide is for that gap. No theory. Just what you actually need to do, in the order you need to do it, with the costs and decisions Nepali sellers face in 2026.
Quick summary
To start an online business in Nepal, you need five things: a product people will pay for, a way to register your business, a place to sell (your own website or a marketplace), a way to take payments (FonePay, eSewa, Khalti, or COD), and a way to deliver. You can begin with as little as Rs. 5,000 if you sell from home using social media. A proper online store with your own domain costs Rs. 2,000–15,000 to set up and can be running in under a week.
Step 1: Decide what you'll sell
Before anything else, pick a product. Three honest questions to ask:
Will people in Nepal actually pay for this? Not "would it be nice." Pay. The fastest test is to post about your product on your personal Instagram or Facebook and see if anyone asks the price.
Can you get the product reliably? If you're reselling, do you have a supplier who won't run out? If you're making it yourself, can you make ten of them in a week without burning out?
What's your margin? If you buy a kurta for Rs. 800 and sell it for Rs. 1,200, that's Rs. 400 gross. After delivery, packaging, and Facebook ads, you might keep Rs. 150. You need to know this number before you start, not after.
The most common product categories Nepali sellers do well with: clothing and fashion, handmade crafts, cosmetics and skincare, home goods, food items with long shelf life, electronics accessories, and digital services.
Step 2: Register your business (or decide not to yet)
Many Nepali sellers start without registering. That's fine for the first few months while you test if the business works. Once you're consistently earning, you should register for three reasons: you can open a business bank account, customers and suppliers take you more seriously, and you avoid problems with tax authorities later.
The basic options:
PAN registration — required for any business activity. You apply at the Inland Revenue Department or online through the IRD portal. It's free.
Sole proprietorship registration — done at your local ward office or municipality. Costs vary by location, usually Rs. 1,000–3,000.
Private Limited Company — registered at the Office of the Company Registrar. More paperwork and cost (Rs. 10,000–20,000 with help from a consultant), but worth it if you plan to take on partners or apply for larger payments.
VAT registration — only required if your annual turnover crosses Rs. 50 lakh for goods or Rs. 20 lakh for services. Don't worry about this until you're close.
If you're unsure, start with PAN and sole proprietorship. You can upgrade to a Pvt. Ltd. later.
Step 3: Choose where you'll sell
You have four real options. Each makes sense for different stages.
Social media only (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok). Cheapest. You post products, customers DM you, you take orders by message. Good for testing. Bad for scaling — you'll spend hours every day answering "kati ko ho" messages.
A marketplace like Daraz or Sastodeal. Customers already there. You list products and pay a commission (usually 5–15%). You get traffic but you don't own the customer relationship, and your brand sits next to ten competitors selling the same thing.
Your own website. You own everything — the domain, the customer list, the brand. Customers trust it more than a DM-based shop. You handle traffic yourself, but you keep all the profit.
A combination. Many successful Nepali sellers use social media for discovery, their own website for checkout, and a marketplace for extra reach.
If you want your own website without paying foreign platform prices, Zalient Shop is free and built for Nepal. You get a store at yourname.zalient.shop in about five minutes, with FonePay and COD already built in. You can connect a custom domain (.com or .com.np) when you're ready.
Step 4: Set up payments
In Nepal, you need to support at least two payment methods: one digital and one cash on delivery. Customers expect both.
The main digital payment options:
FonePay — the most widely used QR system in Nepal. Customers scan and pay from any bank app or wallet. Best default choice.
eSewa — large user base, especially with younger customers. Worth adding as a second option.
Khalti — growing, popular for smaller transactions and bill payments.
Bank transfer — useful for high-value items where customers prefer direct transfer.
Cash on Delivery (COD) — still around 60–70% of online orders in Nepal. You will lose customers if you don't offer it. The downside: 15–25% of COD orders get returned or refused at the door. Plan for this.
To reduce COD returns: confirm every order by phone before shipping, charge a small advance (Rs. 100–200) for high-value items, and clearly show delivery dates so customers don't forget they ordered.
Step 5: Figure out delivery
You have two paths:
Do it yourself. Works if you're in Kathmandu Valley and orders are small. Use Pathao, inDrive, or local riders. Cheap but caps your growth at how much you can personally handle.
Use a delivery partner. Aramex, NCM Fast Track, Upaaya, or local courier services handle pickup and delivery across Nepal. Costs Rs. 80–250 per order depending on weight and distance. You hand them packed orders, they deliver.
For most sellers, the right move is: deliver yourself for the first 10–20 orders to learn the process, then switch to a delivery partner once volume grows.
Plan your packaging before you start. A bubble-wrapped product in a clean box with your logo on it costs maybe Rs. 30 extra and dramatically reduces returns and complaints.
Step 6: Get your first ten customers
This is where most people get stuck. The product is ready, the website is live, and nothing happens.
The truth: your first ten customers will not come from ads or SEO. They'll come from people who already know you.
What actually works:
Tell your network. Post on your personal Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp status, and any group chats. Don't be shy. Most successful Nepali small businesses started with friends and family orders.
Ask for a share, not a sale. When someone buys, ask them to post a story tagging you. One genuine post from a real customer beats any ad.
Start posting consistently. One product post per day on Instagram and TikTok for 30 days straight. You'll learn what works faster than any tutorial can teach you.
Run small ads only after you have organic traction. Spending Rs. 500/day on Facebook ads when you have no proof anyone wants your product just trains you to lose money. Wait until you've sold to at least 20 organic customers.
Step 7: Track what's actually happening
Most sellers don't know if they're making or losing money. Don't be one of them.
The four numbers to track every week:
How much you sold (revenue)
How much it cost you (product cost + delivery + packaging + ads)
How many orders came in
How many got returned
If you're using a platform like Zalient Shop, the dashboard shows most of this. If not, a simple Google Sheet works fine.
After 30 days, you'll see patterns: which products sell, which customers come back, where your traffic comes from. Use that to decide what to do next.
What it actually costs to start
A realistic budget for the first three months:
Item | Low end | Higher end |
|---|---|---|
Business registration (PAN + ward) | Rs. 1,000 | Rs. 3,000 |
Domain name (.com.np) | Rs. 2,000 | Rs. 2,000 |
Website (Zalient Shop free tier) | Rs. 0 | Rs. 0 |
Website (paid theme or custom domain on Shopify) | — | Rs. 8,000 |
First inventory batch | Rs. 5,000 | Rs. 30,000 |
Packaging materials | Rs. 1,000 | Rs. 3,000 |
Initial marketing (ads, content, samples) | Rs. 2,000 | Rs. 15,000 |
Total | Rs. 11,000 | Rs. 61,000 |
You can start lower if you sell digital products or services with no inventory.
Common mistakes to avoid
Building the perfect website before selling anything. Spend a day setting up a basic store, then start selling. You can always improve the website later. You can't get back the months spent on a logo nobody will see.
Pricing too low to "get customers." Cheap pricing attracts customers who only care about price and will leave the moment someone is cheaper. Price for the value you provide.
Ignoring COD because of return rates. You'll lose 70% of your potential market. Manage the returns instead — confirm orders, set clear expectations, work with reliable delivery partners.
Trying to sell to everyone. "I sell clothes" is too broad. "I sell handloomed cotton kurtas for women in their 20s and 30s in Kathmandu" gives you something to actually market.
Not asking customers for reviews. Every happy customer is a marketing asset. Ask for a photo, a story tag, or a Google review. Most will say yes if you ask politely.
What to do this week
If you've read this far and you're still thinking about it, here's the smallest possible first step:
Write down what you'll sell, in one sentence
Take five photos of the product on your phone
Set up a free Zalient Shop store (it takes about five minutes)
Add your product, set a price, and connect FonePay
Post about it once on your personal social media
That's it. You'll have a real online business by the end of the day. Everything else — registration, delivery partners, ads, custom domains — can wait until you have your first paying customer.
The hardest part is starting. The rest is just iteration.
Ready to set up your store? Create your free Zalient Shop in 5 minutes at zalient.shop — built in Nepal, with FonePay, eSewa, and COD already included.