The flow monitoring has been a priority in fluid handling industry for controlling and regulating various parameters. Any change in flow dimension directly affects the output parameters in the domain of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, fluid power, etc. This may lead to huge economical and quality loss which is totally unbearable. The traditional fluid flow measurement methodologies are time consuming, bulky and affected by pressure, temperature, and viscosity with self-draining characteristics. It also requires appropriate observation followed by theoretical calculations. This motivates developing a flow management system incorporating integration of flow meters with the electronic control system. In the generation of open-source instrumentation, it is quite easy to implement such in-house built systems. This paper presents development of a fluid flow monitoring system using flow sensor YF-DN50 and Arduino interface. The algorithm is designed in ARDUINO IDE and is communicated to Microsoft Excel through PLX DAQ. The experimentation is carried out on centrifugal pump to measure the outlet discharge by conventional method and with use of developed system. The comparison of outlet discharge measured by both approaches has been plotted for calibration purpose. The advocated approach is efficient, reliable, inexpensive, and flexible particularly for academic research. Additionally, the system may perhaps be implemented in stand-alone special purpose industries and for laboratories at engineering institutes. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2021.