This guide is your fastest path to being productive in Agatabo. You will learn what the dashboard shows you, how each role uses the platform day-to-day, and how to complete the three most common first tasks: inviting a member, recording a deposit, and creating a loan. If you have not yet activated your account, start with the First Login guide and then come back here.
Your Dashboard at a Glance
When you log in, the first thing you see is the Dashboard — a live snapshot of your organization’s financial position. The metric cards across the top update in real time as your team records transactions.
| Metric | What It Tells You |
|---|
| Total Savings | The combined deposit balance held by all members |
| Portfolio Outstanding | The total principal loaned to members that has not yet been repaid |
| Total Arrears | Overdue amounts across all loans requiring follow-up |
| Cash Balance | Funds currently available in your linked bank accounts |
| Delinquent Loans | The number of loans that have at least one overdue payment |
| Active Members | Members who currently have an open savings balance or active loan |
The dashboard reflects your organization’s data as of right now. Refresh the page at any time to pull the latest figures.
Daily Operations by Role
Agatabo is designed so each team member sees and does exactly what their role requires. Select your role below to see a typical day’s workflow.
Treasurer
Loan Officer
Accountant
Administrator
Your core responsibility is recording what members pay in and ensuring cash positions are accurate.
- Start at the Dashboard — check the Cash Balance and Total Savings cards for any overnight changes.
- Go to Savings → Deposits — record each deposit collected during the day. Select the member, enter the amount, and save. Agatabo posts the journal entry automatically.
- Check Bank Accounts — verify that recorded cash matches your physical bank account balances and flag any discrepancies early.
- Review member balances — navigate to Organization Users, select a member, and open their savings ledger account to answer any balance enquiries.
Recording deposits in detail → Your focus is on the loan lifecycle — from application through full repayment.
- Start at the Dashboard — review Delinquent Loans and Total Arrears to prioritize follow-up calls.
- Go to Loans → All Loans — scan for loans with upcoming installments or overdue balances.
- Record payments — open the relevant loan record and click Record Payment for each repayment received.
- Create new loans — for approved applications, click Create Loan and complete the three-step wizard (borrower details → loan rules → securities).
Managing loans in detail → Your responsibility is the integrity of the general ledger and the accuracy of financial reports.
- Start at General Ledger → Journal Entries — review automatic postings from the previous day to confirm correctness.
- Check Ledger Accounts — spot-check individual account balances and investigate any unexpected movements.
- Generate reports — go to Reports and run the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statement for the current period.
- Close periods — at month end, go to Advanced → Period Closing to lock historical data and prevent retroactive changes.
Accounting and reports in detail → You manage who can access the system and how it is configured.
- Start at the Dashboard — get a high-level view of organizational health before diving into operational tasks.
- Manage users — go to Organization Users to invite new members or staff, update roles, or deactivate accounts as needed.
- Review permissions — check Settings → Permissions periodically to ensure each role has the right level of access.
- Update settings — use Settings → Organization Settings to adjust the currency, timezone, or accounting period configuration if anything changes.
User management in detail → Key Concepts to Know
Organization Users
Everyone you invite to Agatabo becomes an organization user. Users are assigned one or more roles that determine their access. Agatabo provides two built-in roles:
- Member — a person who saves and may borrow. Members see only their own financial data.
- Administrator — a person with full access to all features, settings, and data.
Administrators can also create custom roles — such as Treasurer, Loan Officer, or Accountant — and configure exactly which actions each role is permitted to perform.
A person becomes a member by being assigned the Member role, not by having a savings account. You can assign someone the Member role before they make their first deposit.
Ledger Accounts
Every financial entity in Agatabo has a ledger account that tracks its running balance. When you record a deposit, Agatabo updates both the member’s savings ledger account and your cash account simultaneously. Common ledger account types include:
- Member savings accounts — one per member, tracking cumulative deposits
- Loan receivable accounts — tracking the outstanding principal for each loan
- Bank accounts — reflecting cash held at each financial institution
- Expense and revenue accounts — used for fees, interest income, and operating costs
All ledger accounts feed into the General Ledger and roll up automatically into your financial reports.
Double-Entry Accounting
Agatabo records every transaction as a pair of equal and opposite entries — a debit and a credit — so your books are always mathematically balanced. You never need to enter journal entries manually for routine operations; Agatabo creates them for you.
Example — recording a 5,000 RWF deposit:
- Debit Cash +5,000 (your cash asset increases)
- Credit Member Savings +5,000 (the tontine’s obligation to that member increases)
Learn more about double-entry accounting →
Complete Your First Three Tasks
1 — Invite a Member
Open Organization Users
Click Organization Users in the left sidebar.
Click 'Invite Member'
Select the Invite Member button to open the invitation form.
Fill in the details
Enter the person’s full name, email address, and phone number. Assign the Member role (or another role if appropriate).
Send the invitation
Click Send. The member receives an email with their activation link immediately.
2 — Record a Deposit
Go to Savings → Deposits
Expand Savings in the sidebar and click Deposits.
Click 'Record Deposit'
Open the deposit entry form.
Select the member and enter the amount
Choose the member from the dropdown and type the deposit amount. Confirm the date is correct.
Save
Click Save. Agatabo automatically posts the debit to Cash and the credit to Member Savings in the general ledger.
3 — Create a Loan
Go to Loans
Click Loans in the sidebar.
Click 'Create Loan'
Start the three-step loan creation wizard.
Complete the wizard
- Step 1 — Basic Info: Select the borrower, enter the principal amount, and set the loan term.
- Step 2 — Loan Rules: Choose the interest rate, calculation method, and installment type (equal principal or equal total payment).
- Step 3 — Securities: Optionally add guarantors or collateral to secure the loan.
Review and confirm
Agatabo displays the full repayment schedule before you finalize. Review it, then click Create Loan to disburse the funds and post the opening journal entries.
A Note on Permissions and Data Corrections
Your role determines which menu items, action buttons, and reports are visible to you. If you expect to see a feature that is not showing up, ask your administrator to check your permissions under Settings → Permissions.
Transactions can be edited or deleted while their accounting period is still open. Agatabo automatically creates reversal and repost entries to keep the ledger clean. Once a period is closed, those transactions are locked and any corrections must be made as adjusting entries in the current open period. Take care to review amounts carefully before saving.
