Glossary: Key Terms and Concepts in Agatabo Explained

This glossary defines every significant term used in Agatabo and in this documentation. Terms are grouped by category so you can explore related concepts together. If you encounter a word in the application or in an API response and are unsure what it means, start here.

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Core Concepts

Tontine A rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) in which members make regular contributions to a shared pool and access loans from that pool. Tontines provide financial services to communities that may not have ready access to commercial banking. Agatabo is built specifically to manage tontines and similar savings groups. Organization The top-level entity in Agatabo representing your tontine group. All members, transactions, ledger accounts, and settings belong to a single organization. Every API call requires an x-organization-id header identifying which organization you are working with. Organization User Any person who has been granted access to Agatabo within your organization. An organization user can hold one or more roles — Member, Treasurer, Loan Officer, Accountant, or Administrator — that determine what they can see and do. Member An organization user who has been assigned the “member” role and is therefore eligible to participate in savings and loans. Member status is determined by role assignment, not by having a savings balance. When you assign the member role, a savings ledger account is created automatically. Active Member An organization user with the member role who has either a positive savings balance or an active loan. Active member count is a key metric displayed on the Agatabo dashboard. Ledger Account A record that tracks the running balance of a specific financial entity — a member’s savings, an outstanding loan, a bank account, or an income category. Every transaction affects at least two ledger accounts through double-entry accounting. See also: Ledger Role.

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Member & User Management

Invitation The process of adding a new person to your organization. When you create an organization user with sendInvitation: true, Agatabo sends a secure link via email or SMS that lets the recipient set a password and activate their account. Invitation links expire after 72 hours. Role A named collection of permissions assigned to an organization user. Roles determine what the user can see and do in Agatabo. An organization user may hold multiple roles; permissions are cumulative. See also: Permission, Permissions Matrix. Permission A specific capability granted within a role, expressed in resource:action format (e.g., savings:write). Permissions have a scope of either SELF (the user’s own data only) or ANY (all data in the organization). When a user has the same permission with both scopes, ANY takes precedence. Role Assignment The act of linking a role to an organization user at a specific date. Role assignments are tracked individually, so you can see when each role was granted and revoke specific roles without affecting others. Join Date The date on which a member officially became part of the organization. Set during organization user creation and used for anniversary tracking, pro-rated contribution calculations, and tenure-based eligibility rules.

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Deposits & Savings

Deposit A savings contribution made by a member. Deposits increase the member’s savings balance (a liability to the organization) and increase the organization’s cash (an asset). Also called a “contribution” in some tontines. Savings Balance The total amount a member has deposited minus any withdrawals. This is the member’s equity stake in the tontine and is displayed prominently on the member’s dashboard view. Savings Ledger Account The specific ledger account that tracks an individual member’s savings balance. It is created automatically when the “member” role is assigned. Its ledger role is SAVINGS (a liability). No savings ledger account means no deposits or loans are possible for that member. Withdrawal A member’s request to remove funds from their savings balance. Withdrawals reduce the savings ledger account and reduce the organization’s cash. Whether and under what conditions withdrawals are permitted is determined by your organization’s bylaws. Total Savings The sum of all member savings balances across the entire organization. Displayed on the Agatabo dashboard as a key financial health metric. Payment Method How a deposit or payment was received: cash, bank transfer, mobile money (e.g., MTN MoMo, Airtel Money), check, or other. Recorded on each transaction and used for reconciliation and reporting. Entry Fee A one-time fee charged to a new member upon joining. Tracked separately from the savings deposit via POST /organization-users/{id}/entry-fee. Requires the member role to be assigned before recording.

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Loans

Loan Money borrowed by a member from the organization’s pooled funds. Every loan has a defined principal, interest rate, calculation method, repayment term, and installment schedule. Agatabo supports one active loan per member at a time. Principal The original amount borrowed, excluding interest and fees. As installment payments are made, the outstanding principal decreases. The principal balance is tracked in the LOAN_RECEIVABLE ledger account. Interest The cost of borrowing, calculated as a percentage of the outstanding loan balance. Interest is revenue for the organization. It is tracked in the INTEREST_RECEIVABLE ledger account until collected. Interest Rate The percentage charged for borrowing over a defined period. Expressed as either a monthly or yearly rate. Interest Rate Type Specifies whether the interest rate applies per month (MONTHLY) or per year (YEARLY). A 12% yearly rate is equivalent to approximately 1% per month. Interest Calculation Type The method used to compute interest charges:

• SIMPLE — interest is calculated on the original principal only for the full term. Total interest = Principal × Rate × Term. Best for short-term loans and simple understanding.
• COMPOUND — interest is calculated on the principal plus accumulated unpaid interest. Amount = Principal × (1 + Rate)^Term. Best for long-term or investment-style lending.
• REDUCING_BALANCE — interest is calculated on the outstanding principal balance after each payment. Interest decreases as the principal is repaid. The most common method in commercial lending.

Interest Payment Timing When the borrower pays interest:

• WITH_INSTALLMENTS — interest is included in each monthly installment. The member receives the full principal at disbursement and repays principal + interest together. Standard commercial structure.
• IN_ADVANCE — the total interest for the full term is deducted upfront, either from the cash disbursement or from the member’s savings account. Common in microfinance.

Installment A single scheduled loan repayment. Loans are divided into equal installments with specific due dates (typically monthly). Each installment covers some combination of principal, interest, and penalties depending on the payment allocation order. Installment Type How the periodic repayment amounts are structured:

• EQUAL_PRINCIPAL — each payment contains the same principal amount, but total payment decreases over time as interest reduces. Payments are higher early and lower later.
• EQUAL_TOTAL — each payment is the same total amount (amortized). The principal portion increases while the interest portion decreases. Most common because it aids budgeting.

Payment Allocation Order How a received payment is divided when it covers less than the full amount owed:

• INTEREST_FIRST — outstanding interest is paid before any principal reduction. Protects revenue for the organization. Most common in tontines.
• PRINCIPAL_FIRST — outstanding principal is reduced before interest is collected. Reduces balance faster.
• PROPORTIONAL — payment is split based on the ratio of outstanding principal to outstanding interest. Equitable for partial payments.

Disbursement The act of releasing loan funds to the borrower. In Agatabo, disbursement happens simultaneously with loan creation — a successful POST /loans call means the loan is immediately ACTIVE and funds are considered disbursed. Disbursement Fee A one-time fee charged at the time of loan disbursement, expressed as either a percentage of the principal (PERCENTAGE) or a flat amount (FIXED_AMOUNT). May be deducted from the cash disbursement or from the member’s savings account. Loan Term The number of installment periods in the loan, not a duration of time. A loan term of 12 means 12 installments; if payments are monthly, that equals 12 months. Loan Balance The outstanding principal still owed by the borrower at any given moment. Does not include future interest not yet accrued. Arrears Overdue amounts on a loan — any combination of past-due principal, interest, and penalties. Arrears accumulate when a member misses a payment or pays less than the scheduled installment amount. Delinquent Loan A loan with any amount in arrears (at least one payment overdue by at least one day). Tracked on the dashboard and in the Loans Outstanding report. Portfolio Outstanding The total outstanding principal across all active loans in the organization. Also called Loans Receivable or Loan Portfolio. Displayed on the Agatabo dashboard as a key metric. Penalty A fee charged for a late loan payment or another policy violation. Penalties are added to the loan’s outstanding balance and tracked in the PENALTY_RECEIVABLE ledger account. Also called a “late fee” or “penalty interest.” Securities Assets or commitments pledged to protect the organization against loan default:

• Guarantors — active members who co-sign the loan and agree to repay if the borrower defaults
• Collateral — physical assets (land, vehicles, equipment) pledged by the borrower with an estimated value
• Savings lien — a minimum savings balance the borrower must maintain during the loan term

The total declared security value must equal or exceed the principal amount. Loan Write-Off The removal of an uncollectible loan from the active books by debiting Bad Debt Expense (or a loan loss reserve) and crediting the Loan Receivable account. A write-off is a last resort after all collection efforts and security recovery attempts have failed.

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Accounting & General Ledger

Double-Entry Accounting The accounting system used by Agatabo in which every transaction affects at least two ledger accounts, and the total debits always equal the total credits. This system ensures mathematical accuracy and provides a complete audit trail for every financial event. Debit An accounting entry that increases asset or expense accounts, or decreases liability, income, or equity accounts. Appears on the left side of a T-account. Credit An accounting entry that increases liability, income, or equity accounts, or decreases asset or expense accounts. Appears on the right side of a T-account. Journal Entry A record of a single financial transaction showing all the debit and credit lines that were affected, the date, the amounts, and a description. Agatabo creates journal entries automatically for every operation. You can also create manual journal entries for corrections or adjustments. Journal Entry Type A category label that identifies what kind of transaction the journal entry records. Examples include DEPOSIT, LOAN_DISBURSEMENT, LOAN_PAYMENT, EXPENSE_PAYMENT, and PERIOD_CLOSE. See the Journal Entry Types reference for the complete list. Ledger Role A classification applied to ledger accounts that determines how they behave in accounting reports:

• ASSET — cash, loans receivable, fixed assets
• LIABILITY — member savings, reserves
• EQUITY — retained earnings, share capital
• INCOME — interest income, disbursement fee income
• EXPENSE — operating expenses, loan losses, bank charges

Trial Balance A report that lists all ledger accounts with their current debit or credit balances. In a correctly maintained set of books, total debits always equal total credits. A trial balance that does not balance indicates a data entry error that must be resolved before closing the period. Manual Journal Entry A journal entry created directly by an accountant rather than automatically generated by an Agatabo operation. Used for corrections, adjusting entries, and transactions not covered by standard operations. Manual entries bypass normal workflow controls — use them only when necessary, and always document why they were needed. Reconciliation The process of matching Agatabo’s internal records to external statements (typically bank statements) to confirm accuracy and identify discrepancies. Required at every period close. Idempotency Key A unique string included in the x-idempotency-key HTTP header with every mutation request. If the same key is submitted twice within the same organization, Agatabo rejects the second request as a duplicate, preventing accidental double-recording of transactions. See Idempotency.

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Financial Periods

Accounting Period A defined time interval used to organize financial data and generate comparative reports. Your organization’s period frequency (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) is configured in Organization Settings and cannot be changed without careful planning. Open Period An accounting period in which transactions can be freely created, edited, or deleted. Only the current period is open for new transactions. Closed Period An accounting period that has been locked by executing the period close. Transactions in closed periods are immutable. Corrections must be made via adjusting entries in the current open period. Period Close The process of locking an accounting period. When you close a period, Agatabo zeros all INCOME and EXPENSE account balances, transfers the net income (or net loss) to RETAINED_EARNINGS, and prevents any further changes to that period’s data. Period Status The state of a given period: OPEN (transactions permitted) or CLOSED (locked, immutable). Retained Earnings The cumulative net income of the organization since its founding, less any dividends distributed. Retained earnings increase each time a period is closed with a net income, and decrease each time a dividend is distributed or a period closes at a net loss.

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Bank Accounts & Cash

Bank Account A financial account held at a bank or other financial institution, tracked within Agatabo. Each bank account has a dedicated ledger account. Organizations can manage multiple bank accounts (e.g., operations account, savings reserve account). Cash Balance The total funds available across all organization bank accounts. Displayed on the Agatabo dashboard and tracked in real time as deposits, disbursements, and expenses are recorded. Bank Charge A fee deducted by the bank (e.g., account maintenance fees, transfer fees, SMS alert fees). Bank charges must be recorded in Agatabo to keep the cash balance accurate. Bank Transfer A movement of funds between two bank accounts both tracked in Agatabo. Creates a debit in the source account and a credit in the destination account. Does not affect the organization’s total cash — only the distribution across accounts.

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Reserves & Dividends

Reserve Funds set aside for a specific purpose, such as an emergency fund, a loan loss provision, or a future capital project. Reserves are liability accounts — they belong to members collectively but are restricted from general withdrawal. Reserve Top-Up The act of allocating additional funds into a reserve account. Creates a RESERVE_TOP_UP journal entry. Funded either from cash or as a book entry from retained earnings. Reserve Release The act of returning funds from a reserve account back to general use. Creates a RESERVE_RELEASE journal entry. Dividend A distribution of the organization’s profit to members, typically proportional to each member’s savings balance or share of ownership. Dividends are paid from retained earnings. Dividend Pool The total amount of profit designated for distribution in a given distribution cycle. Created by an accountant after calculating the period’s net income. Dividend Distribution The act of allocating the dividend pool to individual members. Can be credited directly to each member’s savings account or paid out in cash.

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Reports & System

Balance Sheet A financial statement showing the organization’s assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time. The accounting equation must always hold: Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Profit & Loss Statement A financial statement showing total income and total expenses over a defined period, resulting in a net income or net loss figure. Also called the Income Statement or P&L. Shares Report A report showing each member’s savings balance and their percentage ownership of total member savings. Used for calculating dividend distributions and reporting membership equity. Audit Trail A chronological, immutable log of every transaction and user action in Agatabo. Each entry includes the acting user’s ID, timestamp, action type, and the data that was affected. Used for compliance, dispute resolution, and fraud detection. Dashboard The main landing page in Agatabo, showing key organization metrics at a glance: Total Savings, Portfolio Outstanding, Delinquent Loans, Cash Balance, and active member count. Currency The monetary unit used by the organization (e.g., RWF for Rwandan Francs, USD, KES). Set during organization setup and cannot be changed after the first transaction is recorded. Notification An automated message sent to users via email or SMS when a significant event occurs — such as a loan disbursement, a payment receipt, an arrears alert, or a period close.

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