How the books are laid out¶
Finance team Admin
Read this first if you're new to Amana's finance. It explains where the books are, how the chart of accounts is structured, what extra information every entry carries, and which journal each app's transactions land in. The Finance guide then covers the day-to-day work.
In plain words¶
- Each country office keeps its own books, in its own currency, under its own legal entity: GHAF Kenya (KES), GHAF Uganda (UGX) and GHAF Tanzania (TZS).
- Each country's chart of accounts follows that country's local standard, so account codes differ between countries. "Staff Advances" is 110002 in Kenya, 352802 in Uganda and 1901 in Tanzania.
- Because codes differ, Amana doesn't report to donors or across countries by account code. Every entry also carries the award, fund, project, cost centre and donor cost category it belongs to. Donor reports, budget-vs-actual and consolidation are built from those.
- Journals are the "books of first entry": Sales, Purchases, Bank, Travel Advances, Fleet and so on. Each app posts into a known journal, so you always know where to look.
flowchart LR
subgraph Apps
P[Procurement] ; T[Travel] ; E[Field Events] ; F[Fleet] ; PY[Payroll] ; S[Subawards] ; G[Grants] ; M[Manual entries]
end
subgraph Journals["Journals (per country)"]
BILL[Purchases] ; TRVL[Travel Advances] ; PAY[Bank / M-Pesa / Paystack / Petty Cash] ; FLT[Fleet] ; PAYR[Payroll] ; INV[Sales] ; GRNT[Grants] ; MISC[Miscellaneous Operations]
end
P --> BILL ; T --> TRVL ; T --> PAY ; E --> PAY ; F --> FLT ; PY --> PAYR ; S --> PAY ; S --> GRNT ; G --> INV ; G --> PAY ; G --> GRNT ; M --> MISC
Journals --> L[(Ledger: account + award + fund + project + cost centre)]
L --> R[Donor reports · Budget vs Actual · Financial statements]1. Legal entities and currencies¶
| Legal entity | Currency | Chart of accounts | Books kept here |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHAF Kenya | KES | Kenya (l10n_ke), 6-digit codes |
Yes |
| GHAF Uganda | UGX | Uganda (l10n_ug), 6-digit codes |
Yes |
| GHAF Tanzania | TZS | Tanzania (l10n_tz), 4-digit codes |
Yes |
| Global Health & Development Alliance | USD | none | The organisation-level entity. It has no journals, so no books are kept here today. |
Grants are often in USD while the books are in local currency. Amana converts at the day's rate when posting, and Currency Revaluation restates open foreign-currency balances at month end.
2. The chart of accounts¶
Kenya: where each range starts¶
The Kenya chart is the clearest example. The first digit tells you the kind of account:
| Codes start with | Holds | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Fixed and long-term assets | 001000 Software · 003000 Fixtures and fittings · 006000 Office equipment |
| 1 | Current assets: stock, receivables, advances, bank and cash | 110000 Debtors Control · 110001 Subrecipient Advances · 110002 Staff Advances · 110300 Prepayments · 120001 Bank · 120002 Bank Suspense |
| 2 | Liabilities: creditors, accruals, payroll deductions, loans | 210000 Creditors Control · 210100 Sundry Creditors · 211000 Deferred Revenue (donor money received but not yet earned) · 223100 SHIF · 230000 Loans |
| 3 | Equity and reserves | 300000 and up |
| 4 | Income | 400100 Grant Income – Restricted · 400200 Grant Income – Unrestricted · 400300 Donations and Contributions · 400400 In-kind Contributions · 400500 Bank interest · 401000 Other Income |
| 5 | Expenses | 500106 Subaward Expenses · 510900 Gross Salaries · 510910 NSSF Employer Contribution · 511200 Rent and rates · 512200 Office consumables · 520100+ Depreciation |
| 9 | Year-end result | 999999 Profit or Loss Appropriation |
The same accounts in each country¶
| Account | Kenya | Uganda | Tanzania |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Advances | 110002 | 352802 | 1901 |
| Subrecipient Advances | 110001 | 352813 | 1081 |
| Bank Suspense | 120002 | 352803 | 1032 |
| Deferred revenue (donor advances) | 211000 Deferred Revenue | — | 3420 Deferred Income (Unearned Revenue) |
| Subaward Expenses | 500106 | 211101 | 5101 |
Grant accounts on each legal entity¶
Donor money uses three accounts per entity, set on the legal entity (Configuration › Settings, NPO grant accounts):
| Grant revenue | Donor advances (deferred revenue) | Grants receivable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | 400100 Grant Income – Restricted | 211000 Deferred Revenue | 110004 Grants Receivable |
| Uganda | 144100 Grant Income – Restricted | 411726 Deferred Income | 352818 Grants Receivable |
| Tanzania | 4010 Grant Income – Restricted | 3420 Deferred Income (Unearned Revenue) | 1902 Grants Receivable |
- When a donor pays in advance, the receipt goes to donor advances: the money is held until it's earned.
- As the award's costs are recognised, Amana moves it to grant revenue.
- When you bill a donor after spending (reimbursable awards), the claim sits in grants receivable until the donor pays.
Don't compare countries by account code
To see "all travel" or "all subaward spending" across countries, use donor cost categories, cost centres or Dimension Analysis (below). Account codes only mean something inside one country's books.
3. What every entry carries¶
Each journal line has an account plus these reporting fields. You can see them as columns on any journal entry:
| Field | What it's for | Set up in |
|---|---|---|
| Award | The grant paying for it. Drives donor reports, donor billing and closeout. | Grants |
| Fund | Restricted or unrestricted pot within the award | Grants (on the award) |
| Project | The project the cost belongs to | Programs & Projects |
| Cost Centre | The office or unit carrying the cost. Today: KE-CORE, UG-CORE, TZ-CORE (each country office's core costs). | Configuration › NPO Finance › Cost Centres |
| Program Centre | A programme-level grouping for allocating shared costs. One per programme each country runs, plus a support centre per country that holds its core cost centre: Kenya PC-KE-CHSS, PC-KE-YEE, PC-KE-SUP · Uganda PC-UG-MCH, PC-UG-SUP · Tanzania PC-TZ-CHSS, PC-TZ-SUP. | Configuration › NPO Finance › Program Centres |
| Budget line / Sanction | The budget line the spending is checked against | Budget |
| Dimensions | Any extra analysis you define (for example Activity or Location) | Configuration › NPO Finance › Journal Dimensions |
Donor cost categories map accounts to the headings donors report in. Amana ships with the common US-government-style set: Personnel, Fringe Benefits, Travel, Equipment, Supplies, Contractual, Subawards, Other Direct Costs, Indirect Costs. You can add donor-specific mappings (Grants › Configuration › Cost Categories).
Reporting segments
Amana also includes an NPO Standard Chart Structure template with five reporting segments for consolidated, nonprofit-style statements:
- Donor restriction: with donor restrictions (perpetual or temporary), or without.
- Functional class: Program services, Management and general, Fundraising.
- Program area: Health, Education, Livelihoods, Shared.
- Location: Headquarters, Field offices.
- Donor type: Government and multilateral, Foundations, Individuals and corporate.
Each legal entity has its own copy (for example NPO Standard Chart Structure (GHAF Kenya)), under Configuration › NPO Finance › Chart Structures. Tag accounts with segment values there to produce nonprofit-style statements by restriction and function.
4. Journals: which app posts where¶
Every country has the same 14 journals, with the same codes:
| Journal (code) | Type | What lands here | Posted by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales (INV) | Sales | Customer invoices, and donor invoices from donor billing | Finance; Grants donor billing |
| Purchases (BILL) | Purchase | Vendor bills, including bills for purchase orders | Procurement, Finance |
| Bank (BNK1) | Bank | Payments in and out: vendor payments, donor receipts, subaward advances and payments | Finance, Grants, Subawards |
| M-Pesa B2C (MPSA) | Bank | Mobile-money payouts: travel per diems and field-event participants | Travel, Field Events |
| Paystack Balance (PSTK) | Bank | Payouts through Paystack | Travel, Field Events |
| Corporate Card (CARD) | Bank | Company card spending | Finance |
| Petty Cash (PCSH) | Cash | Small cash payments and cash payouts | Finance, Travel, Field Events |
| Travel Advances (TRVL) | Miscellaneous | Recognising travel advances and settling them against receipts | Travel |
| Fleet (FLT) | Miscellaneous | Mileage recharges to projects and vehicle running costs | Fleet |
| Inventory Valuation (STJ) | Miscellaneous | Stock moves when goods are received or issued | Procurement receipts, Inventory |
| Exchange Difference (EXCH) | Miscellaneous | Gains and losses when foreign-currency items are paid. Usually also chosen for month-end revaluation. | Automatic; Finance |
| Cash Basis Taxes (CABA) | Miscellaneous | Tax moved when cash-basis invoices are paid | Automatic |
| Grants (GRNT) | Miscellaneous | Award indirect-cost and revenue runs, and subaward report liquidations. Set as each entity's Grant Journal. | Finance, Subawards |
| Miscellaneous Operations (MISC) | Miscellaneous | Manual entries: accruals, corrections, reclassifications, recurring postings. Every voucher here needs a second person's authorisation. | Finance |
Two more are created or chosen when the app is set up:
- Payroll (PAYR) is created automatically the first time a payroll salary structure is set up for a country. Salaries, deductions and employer contributions post there.
- Grant Journal: each legal entity uses Grants (GRNT). Award indirect-cost and revenue runs post there, and so do subaward report liquidations, unless a separate Subaward Journal is set.
5. Following a transaction through¶
| Business event | App | Journal | Typical accounts (Kenya) | Also tagged with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff gets a travel advance | Travel | Travel Advances, then paid from Bank / M-Pesa | Dr 110002 Staff Advances · Cr bank | Award, project, budget line |
| Staff settles the advance with receipts | Travel | Travel Advances | Dr travel expense · Cr 110002 Staff Advances | Award, project, budget line |
| Supplier's bill for a purchase order | Procurement / Finance | Purchases | Dr expense (or stock) · Cr 210000 Creditors | Award, project, budget line, cost centre |
| Paying the supplier | Finance | Bank | Dr 210000 Creditors · Cr 120001 Bank | — |
| Advance to a subaward partner | Subawards | Bank | Dr 110001 Subrecipient Advances · Cr bank | Award, budget line |
| Partner's financial report accepted | Subawards | Grants (GRNT) | Dr 500106 Subaward Expenses · Cr 110001 Subrecipient Advances | Award, budget line |
| Donor sends an advance | Grants / Finance | Bank | Dr bank · Cr 211000 Deferred Revenue (or grant revenue on receipt) | Award |
| Monthly rent accrual | Finance | Miscellaneous Operations (authorised) | Dr 511200 Rent and rates · Cr 210100 Sundry Creditors | Cost centre |
| Monthly payroll | Payroll | Payroll | Dr 510900 Gross Salaries, 510910 NSSF · Cr payroll liabilities and bank | Award / project split from timesheets |
The exact accounts come from each app's settings (Travel policy, Subaward accounts on the legal entity, the payroll salary structure), so check those if a posting lands somewhere unexpected.