BY VICTOR ADAR
Angela Nzioki knows too well that managing cash flows is not for the faint hearted. The country manager and founder of Uhasibu, a local startup, says in addition to the already existing challenges, many companies utilize an array of workers such as full time employees, consultants, and even casual laborers with each group requiring a different paper trail that has to be submitted in order for the company to confidently rest that they are following the rules and regulations.
Having chosen the entrepreneurship route a time when many Kenyan youths are seeing very few opportunities, Ms Nzioki is gearing up to offer digital solutions, moving into the accounting suite to automate financial management and increase efficiency with an online service.
Forget other daily challenges of managing employees, a business venture must provide monthly reports to at least five different government agencies including Kenya Revenue Authority, National Hospital Insurance Fund, National Social Security Fund and even HELB all of whom have their own individual reporting format, independent offices, and distinct timelines. With this kind of trend, cloud based accounting solution like the one provided by Uhasibu (Swahili for accounting) is a necessity for businesses growth.
“It is officially not possible in Kenya to do what this system can do,” says Nzioki. “These stakeholders (referring to government agencies) generally do not offer platforms for systems to integrate with their systems. It all seems muddled and all over the place, which is exactly what our payroll system is trying to demystify.”
In fact, the Business and IT graduate from Strathmore University – who is also a Mandela Washington Fellow, Young Africa Leaders Initiative – says that this direct integration could be a good example of extreme innovation in the country, an environment where organizations are only now digitizing their processes. “Many ventures have not reached the point where they are looking beyond their own organization to directly integrate with other relevant organizations,” she says.
Ideally, what her payroll system team is trying to achieve with innovation is to offer an easy and affordable solution to businesses in the market, allowing them to be fully compliant with the payroll rules and regulations, and avoid the unnecessary headache. The solution also disrupts payroll management in the country by offering one platform where you can manage processes that before would have required the knowledge, use and expertise of at least five different platforms.
Unlike the traditional payroll systems, what has truly opened a fresh page for Uhasibu is actually a payroll management system (the latest innovation) built specifically for the payroll rules and regulations relevant in Kenya. It was officially launched on March 1, and digitally manages and provides all the required paperwork for every type of worker a business can employ. It is integrated with the local stakeholders including KRA’s iTax system, NHIF online submission and so on, allowing the system to automatically do the return directly without the business owner or accountant having to learn or fully understand the individual processes. Essentially it’s like an easy to use interface or secret shortcut into the world of government agencies that are relevant to payroll management.
Online accounting has big potential, especially among small and medium enterprises looking to cut large upfront software investment costs. “In this age, you don’t need to write down petty cash expenses manually then do data entry later on your computer,” says Mr Willis Simiyu, account executive at Uhasibu. “For an SME owner with limited resources, you do not need to rely exclusively on external consultants to do your bookkeeping… a lot on the system is automatic and we are always able to innovate the system to suit your needs.”
Uhasibu, which has employed 11 people, has for more than six years cultivated a loyal subscription base of 1,000 users and looking to grow this number by another 1000 over the next year. The Payroll system, on the other hand, has a database of about 300 customers, and is expected to hit 700 by January.
It has always been the objective of the applications developers to integrate with other financial systems, enabling customers to become fully compliant on their reporting, submissions, and accounting with just a click of a button. It was just a question of when. The growing demand for cloud based products like this one is part of the reason Uhasibu is in the mix.
The solution is affordable, at Sh1, 160 a month for Uhasibu only, Sh1, 740 for Uhasibu plus and Sh1, 160 for Payroll costs; all is plus Value Added Tax and includes petty-cash management, invoice generation and tracking system, generates local tax reports and supports East African currencies while still making financial information accessible anywhere. Lowering the barrier to entry for Small Medium Enterprises by offering incentives such as free training as well as first month free trial also gives the venture an edge.
“You don’t need any software installations or maintenance. Our business is to provide and maintain the service for you. Most of what you have to do is type data directly on your computer (online), save, preview, generate invoices and create credit notes while keeping track of payments,” says Nzioki.
