How it makes the work lighter
Taking the finance cycle in the order you meet it, here is what changes at each step.
- Fuel for field vehiclesRequested by Achieng · Water for TurkanaNeeds approval
- Laptops for the Kisumu officeRequested by Otieno · General fundNeeds approval
- Training venue, 2 daysApproved by Wanjiru · todayApproved
Sample figures, for illustration
Grants and donors
Record the grant once, with its budget and its dates. From then on everything charged to it is counted against it, so you stop keeping a spreadsheet per donor.
- See what is spent and what is left, by budget line.
- Keep restricted and unrestricted money apart without extra bookkeeping.
- Track funding you are still applying for.
- Charge overheads to each donor at the rate you agreed with them.
- Water for Turkana62%
- Girls in school41%
- Clinic equipment93%
- General fund28%
Clinic equipment is nearly spent. A payment over the balance asks for a decision.
Sample figures, for illustration
Buying and paying
A request becomes an order, then a supplier bill, then a payment. Each step remembers the one before, so nobody has to dig for the paperwork afterwards.
- The right person approves at each step. Whoever asks cannot approve their own request.
- A supplier's bank details are checked before they can be used, which helps against payment fraud.
- Staff ask for advances, account for them, and claim expenses and per diems.
- Vehicles and stock are tracked, so fuel and supplies are accounted for.
- Fuel for field vehiclesRequested by Achieng · Water for TurkanaNeeds approval
- Laptops for the Kisumu officeRequested by Otieno · General fundNeeds approval
- Training venue, 2 daysApproved by Wanjiru · todayApproved
Sample figures, for illustration
Bank and M-Pesa
Bring in the bank statement and the system matches what it can. You only look at what is left, which makes the month-end much shorter.
- Give a restricted grant its own bank account and other funds are kept out of it.
- Every account has a cash book showing each receipt and payment, and whether the bank has confirmed it.
- Bank charges and interest are posted by rule.
- M-Pesa payments are tracked alongside the bank.
- M-Pesa paybill, community levy12 Mar · 45,000Matched
- Transfer from donor14 Mar · 1,200,000Matched
- Bank charges31 Mar · 1,450Matched by rule
- Cheque 00041231 Mar · 85,000Not yet cleared
42 of 45 lines matched. The month can be closed when the rest are explained.
Sample figures, for illustration
People and payroll
Most staff are paid from more than one grant. Say how a person's time is split and their salary cost lands where it belongs each month.
- Statutory deductions are worked out from rates that are kept up to date for you.
- Payslips and the bank payment file are produced for you.
- Leave is requested and approved in the same place.
- PAYE, NSSF, SHIF, housing levyWorked out for youDone
- Payslips and bank fileready to downloadDone
Sample figures, for illustration
Reporting
Because each cost is recorded against its grant as it happens, a report is a view of what is already there and not a job of its own.
- Donor reports in layouts you can adapt for each donor.
- Budget against actual, by programme and for the whole organisation.
- Financial statements and a trial balance by fund, for any financial year or month.
- A board pack and an audit pack in one step.
| Budget | Spent | |
|---|---|---|
| Boreholes and pumps | 2,400,000 | 1,980,000 |
| Community training | 600,000 | 412,500 |
| Staff and travel | 900,000 | 655,000 |
| Total | 3,900,000 | 3,047,500 |
78% of the grant spent, 70% of the time used
Sample figures, for illustration
Closing the month, and the audit
A checklist shows what is still open. Once a month is closed nobody can post into it, and reopening it needs a reason that is kept on record.
- Mistakes are corrected by reversing the entry, never by editing or deleting it.
- Every entry shows who made it and when.
- Compliance dates and audit findings are tracked so nothing slips past.
- Bank reconciledDone
- Requests approved or declinedDone
- Payroll postedDone
- Adjustments reviewedDone
- Board pack preparedTo do
Sample figures, for illustration
What it cannot do yet
You cannot yet pay your bank directly from the system, there is no Swahili version of the screens, and bank statements come in as files rather than automatically. We would rather you heard that from us.
Want to see your own work in it?
Tell us how you run grants, purchasing and payroll and we will start there.