Money template
Chama ledger: free Excel workbook
The chama ledger is a free, multi-sheet Excel workbook for a Kenyan business: member contributions, loans, fines and balances for a group.
Contributions, loans and fines in a group book that everyone distrusts and no one can audit.
What is in the workbook
Start here
What the workbook is for, how to fill it, and the colour key.
Chama ledger
The register: the right columns, dropdowns, and live totals. Type in the gold cells.
Dashboard
Your numbers added up as you go, with a simple bar view.
Lists
The dropdown options, so your data stays tidy and consistent.
Settings
The reporting currency, and where figures come from.
Next step
How SawaAfrik does this automatically from your real records.
The columns it includes
How to use it
- 1Download the workbook and open the "Chama ledger" sheet.
- 2Fill one row per entry. Type only in the gold cells; the white cells and the totals work themselves out.
- 3Where a cell has a dropdown, pick from the list instead of typing.
- 4Watch the totals row and the Dashboard add up your money columns automatically.
- 5When you outgrow the file, bring it into SawaAfrik, where it fills from your real records and the tax figures are computed for you.
Questions
- Can members see their own balance?
- Yes. Each transaction updates a running member balance, so contributions, loans taken, repayments and fines are transparent, which is what keeps a chama together.
- Is the chama ledger free?
- Yes. Download the chama ledger as a ready-to-use Excel workbook, with no sign-in and no payment. It is yours to keep and edit.
- What is inside the chama ledger workbook?
- Six sheets: a Start Here guide, the Chama ledger register (Date, Member, Transaction Type, Contribution KES, Loan Disbursed KES, Loan Repaid KES, and more), a Dashboard that adds everything up, a Lists sheet for the dropdowns, a Settings sheet, and a Next step sheet. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets or WPS, with no macros.
- Does it work in Google Sheets and on my phone?
- Yes. The workbook opens in Excel, Google Sheets or WPS. There are no macros, so it works on a phone or a laptop. Keep your own copy before you share it.
- Does the chama ledger calculate my totals?
- Yes. The money columns total automatically on the register and on the Dashboard. Statutory figures like PAYE, VAT, NSSF and SHA are deliberately not typed into the sheet. SawaAfrik computes those from the current KRA rates, each with its official source and the date it took effect, so a number is never without where it came from.
- How is this different from the SawaAfrik app?
- A workbook is a file you fill in yourself. Inside a free SawaAfrik workspace the same shape fills from your real records, invoices, payroll and expenses flow in once and appear everywhere, deadlines remind you before they are due, and statutory figures are computed with their source and date. The workbook is the start; the app is when you stop retyping.
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