VICOBA guide

1. Getting started

This guide explains, step by step, how to use VisaMi for a VICOBA group, a savings group or a family/community (Umoja) group. Read the part that matches your role, then use the menu above to jump to other sections.

Menu names in the app are in Kiswahili. This guide shows each one in bold with the English meaning in brackets.

Registering and signing in

1. Open visami.moescience.com and press Sajili Bure (Register free), or Ingia (Sign in) if you already have an account.
2. New group: fill in the group's details and those of the person starting it. That person becomes the group's first administrator.
3. Sign in with your phone number or email and your password. Never give your password to anyone.
4. Other members do not register themselves: the treasurer or chairperson adds them (see Members).

Using it on a phone

• On a phone you will see a bottom menu: Nyumbani (Home), Wanachama (Members), the middle record button (+), Mikopo (Loans), Ripoti (Reports) and Zaidi (More).
• You can add VisaMi to your home screen: press the Ongeza (Add) button that appears at the bottom, or use "Add to Home screen" in your browser.

The Home button

Every inner page has a ‹ Mwanzo (Home) button under the top bar that returns you to your dashboard, and ↩ Rudi nyuma (Back) that returns to the previous page.

2. Group types

The price plan (Basic or VICOBA) is shown on the website home page, under Bei (Pricing). Group loans are part of the VICOBA plan.

3. Who does what

Nobody can approve their own loan. Every step of a loan is done by a different person.

4. Setting up the group (Settings)

The treasurer (and the super admin) opens Mipangilio (Settings) in the menu. Set these before you start recording:

The example on the settings page shows the penalty on a TZS 100,000 loan using your rates, so you can check it is right before saving.

5. Members

Adding a member

1. Open Wanachama (Members), then Ongeza Mwanachama (Add Member).
2. Fill in full name, phone number, group, gender, national ID (optional), residence, occupation and next of kin.
3. Set a sign-in password and give it to the member in a safe way. They should change it under Wasifu Wangu (My Profile).

Changing leadership

Under Wanachama > Uongozi (Members > Leadership) you can give a member a new position by choosing the member, the position, the start date and the reason for the change. The person who steps down goes back to being an ordinary member and the reason is recorded.

Viewing a member's details

Press the member's name to see their contributions, loans, fines and statement.

6. Contributions and savings

1. The treasurer opens Michango (Contributions), then + Rekodi Mchango (Record Contribution), or the + button on a phone.
2. They choose the member, contribution type, amount, payment method (cash, M-Pesa and so on), reference number (if any), the month and year of the contribution, and the date.
3. They save. The system issues a receipt with a unique number that can be printed, and the member sees the contribution straight away.

• The minimum amount is TZS 100.
• If a contribution is wrong, the treasurer can edit it; the change is written to the audit log and the group is notified.
• The Matrix ya Michango (Contributions Matrix) in Reports shows who has paid in which month, so you can see who is behind.

7. Loans

Applying for a loan (four steps)

1. Application: a loan is requested through Mikopo > Ombi la Mkopo (Loans > Loan Application): member, amount, term (months), purpose and guarantors.
2. Verification: the treasurer verifies the application.
3. Passing: the secretary passes it.
4. Approval: the chairperson approves, sets the approved amount and the release date; the loan is released and the repayment schedule is prepared.

A member cannot have two loans at the same time (applied for, approved or being repaid). A new application is allowed only after the earlier one is complete, or through a top-up (a new loan that pays off the balance of the old one).

• Guarantors: an application needs at least one guarantor, and a member cannot guarantee their own loan.
• Rejecting: whoever rejects writes a reason. A rejected loan does not go back a step; a new application is made.
• Maximum amount: controlled by the group's settings (multiple of savings).

Repayments

1. The treasurer opens the loan, then Lipa (Pay / Repayment).
2. They enter the amount paid, the penalty (if any), payment method, reference number and payment date.
3. The system reduces the loan balance and issues a loan receipt; the member sees their balance immediately.

When a loan is fully paid its status becomes Imekamilika (Completed). A loan that stays unpaid for a long time can be marked Haukulipwa (Not repaid) by the leaders.

Daily, weekly or monthly repayments

When applying you choose the repayment frequency. The system works out the schedule and the amount of each payment automatically.

Flat interest is a percentage of the whole loan; it is not multiplied by the number of months. The amount of each payment is shown on the loan page.

Correcting a loan

Once a loan is created, its amount, interest, debt and status are locked. The edit page only allows the date, purpose and notes, and every change is written to the audit log. If you made a mistake with money, record a correction through the normal payment and repayment steps, or contact us.

8. Fines

• Fines have types: late contribution, late loan, missing a meeting, discipline and others.
• The fine for missing a meeting is added automatically when you take attendance (only once per meeting date), for the amount set in Settings.
• The Faini (Fines) page shows paid and unpaid fines. The treasurer marks a fine Imelipwa (Paid) when it is paid.
• A member sees their fines on their dashboard and on their statement.

9. Expenses and bank funds

Expenses

1. Open Matumizi (Expenses), then add: category, amount (at least TZS 100), description, date and receipt number.
2. Expenses reduce the group's balance in the reports.

Bank funds

The Fedha za Benki (Bank Funds) page records the group's bank activity (deposits, withdrawals and so on) with date, amount, description and reference number, and shows its history.

10. Meetings and attendance

1. Open Mikutano (Meetings), then Panga Mkutano Mpya (Plan a New Meeting): title, date, place and agenda. Members are notified.
2. On meeting day, open the meeting, then Mahudhurio (Attendance): mark those present and those excused.
3. Those absent without an excuse are fined automatically.
4. After the meeting, write the minutes on the meeting page.

Saving attendance a second time for the same meeting does not add the fine twice. The chairperson or secretary can take attendance even without a network (see Working without a network).

11. Reports

Every report can be printed or saved as a PDF with the print button.

12. For members

• Dashboard: your contributions, your current loan and its balance, fines, the next meeting and progress toward your yearly goal.
• Michango yangu (My contributions) and Mikopo yangu (My loans): the full history and receipts.
• Taarifa yangu (My statement): a summary of your money for the year.
• Wasifu wangu (My profile): change your phone, email, residence and password.

13. Working without a network

If the network drops during a meeting or at the market you do not need to stop. You record on your phone, and the work is sent by itself when the network returns. There is a full step-by-step offline guide.

Who can use it

Preparation (do this while you have a network)

1. Sign in on the phone you will use at the meeting.
2. Open the menu, then Kazi bila mtandao (Work without a network).
3. Wait for the list of members, contribution types, loans and meetings to download to the phone. This happens as soon as the page opens.
4. Optional but helpful: add VisaMi to your home screen.
5. Test it once: put the phone in airplane mode and open that page again. If it opens and the list is there, you are ready.
6. Turn the network back on.

Recording without a network

1. Open Kazi bila mtandao and choose a tab: contribution, repayment or attendance.
2. Fill in the form as usual: member, amount, payment method and date.
3. Save. The work goes into the Foleni ya kutuma (Send queue) on your phone.

When the network returns

• If you are signed in, the work is sent by itself. You can also press Tuma sasa (Send now).
• Each item is sent only once, even if you press twice or use two pages.
• The official receipt and its number are issued by the server when sending; what is in the queue is only a temporary record.
• Items already sent can be cleared with Ondoa zilizotumwa (Remove sent).

Limits and safety

• Work older than 3 days asks for your confirmation before it is sent, and work older than 30 days is not accepted.
• New loans, loan approvals and reports are done online only.
• When you press Toka (Sign out), the offline data on the phone is erased. There is also a Futa data ya kifaa hiki (Erase this device's data) button.
• Send your work early. On an iPhone the system may delete the data of a site that has not been used for a long time, so do not leave a queue for weeks.

If you have work in the queue, do not erase the device's data until it shows as sent.

14. Plan and payment

• Every new group gets 90 free days, once only, from registration.
• After that you pay per day according to the plan (Basic or VICOBA). Prices and the calculator are in the Bei (Pricing) section of the home page.
• When the plan ends, the group's users see the Kifurushi kimeisha (Plan expired) page. The group's data is not lost.
• To reopen: pay, then send the group name and proof of payment on WhatsApp to +255 768 139 301. The VisaMi team records the payment and the account opens.

15. Notifications, search and security

• Notifications: the bell at the top shows new contributions, loans, fines and meetings. Soma zote (Read all) marks them as read.
• Search: the search box on the top bar looks for members, contributions and loans.
• Audit log: every important action is recorded with the person who did it.
• Sign out (Toka) when you finish, especially on a shared phone or computer.
• Change your password from time to time and never give it to anyone.

16. Common problems