Sahakari Record Keeping in Nepal: What to Keep and Why

Every sahakari in Nepal is registered under co-operative law and answers to its members, an auditor and the co-operative authorities. The exact rules, forms and reporting formats are set by those bodies and are updated from time to time, so this article does not quote them. What it does is describe the records a well-run saving and credit co-operative normally keeps, so you can check your own books and prepare your questions for the regulator or auditor.

Records about people

The foundation of any co-operative is its membership. You should be able to produce, for each member, an admission record, signed application, identity details, nominee, photo and share subscription. A member register with a unique number and admission date in BS is basic. When a member leaves, record the date, the reason and the settlement of shares and balances. Keep the nominee details current because they matter at the saddest moment.

• Member register and membership numbers
• Share register with purchases, transfers and refunds
• Guarantor and nominee links
• Board and committee member list with terms

Records about money

The accounting books are where most audit queries land. A co-operative generally maintains a cash book, bank book, day book, general ledger, member ledgers for savings and loans, and subsidiary registers such as fixed assets. Each entry needs a voucher with a number, BS date, narration and an authorised signature. The aim is simple: from any total in the balance sheet you should be able to walk back to the vouchers behind it.

Record	Why it matters
Cash and bank book	Shows daily cash position and reconciles with the bank
Member savings ledger	Supports each member's balance and interest
Loan ledger	Principal, interest and fines per borrower
General ledger	Feeds trial balance and final accounts
Fixed asset register	Supports depreciation and the balance sheet

Records about decisions

Minute books for the board, the loan committee, the audit or accounts committee and the annual general meeting show that the co-operative acted within its bylaws. Record the date, attendance, agenda, decisions and signatures. For loans, the minute number should be linked to the loan file. For the AGM, keep the notice, attendance, resolutions and the approved accounts together.

Fiscal year and closing

The Nepali fiscal year starts in Shrawan and ends in Ashadh. Closing the year properly means posting interest and fines up to the last day, accruing expenses, reconciling the bank, checking that the member ledgers total to the control accounts and preparing the trial balance. Do these steps in a fixed order each year. Software that lets you lock a closed period prevents someone from quietly changing last year's numbers.

Reports you will be asked for

You will typically need to give the board and auditor a trial balance, income and expenditure statement, balance sheet, loan ageing, savings and share summaries and a list of overdue borrowers. Regulators may require additional periodic returns in prescribed formats. These formats change, so contact the Department of Co-operatives or your auditor to confirm the current ones before building or buying anything. Software should be flexible enough to be configured to those formats rather than locked to a fixed set.

Controls an auditor will like

1. Cashier, manager and approver roles are separate.
2. Loans above a threshold need committee approval recorded in the system.
3. Posted vouchers are corrected with reversing entries, not deleted.
4. A daily backup exists and has been tested.
5. Large cash transactions are visible in a daily report.

Where manual books go wrong

Handwritten registers and loose Excel files tend to fail in predictable ways: a page is lost, a formula is overwritten, two copies of the file drift apart, or the one person who understands the sheet leaves. Reconciliation between member ledgers and the control account then takes days. None of this means paper is unlawful. It means the cost of proving your numbers rises each year as the membership grows.

Preparing for the annual general meeting

The AGM is where the year's records meet the members. Work backwards from the meeting date. First, close the accounts and obtain the audit report. Second, prepare the balance sheet, income and expenditure statement and the proposed distribution of surplus, if any, in line with your bylaws. Third, prepare a short, plain-language summary for members: total members, share capital, savings, loans issued and recovered, overdue amount and the main expenses. Members who can read the numbers ask better questions and trust the board more.

Keep a simple checklist: notice sent within the required period, attendance sheet signed, quorum recorded, resolutions numbered and minutes signed. Check the rule on notice periods in your bylaws and with the co-operative office, since these details are set by the governing rules rather than by software.

How software helps without taking over

Software does not replace the board, the minute book or the signed voucher. It makes posting consistent, gives each total a trail and produces the reports faster. Our sahakari software is designed to support exactly these records in BS dates and to be configured for your reporting needs, while you remain responsible for confirming formats and compliance with the regulator.

Your next step

Print your last trial balance and try to trace three random figures back to vouchers and member ledgers. If it takes more than an hour, your records need work. Message WebsNP on WhatsApp at +977 9846280400 and we will show you how the same trace works in a live demo. If you also run group lending, our microfinance software page explains the centre-meeting workflow.

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