Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about how Chilimba actually works, based on the questions treasurers ask most.
Does Chilimba hold or move my group's money?
No. Chilimba never collects contributions, loan repayments, or payouts. Your group keeps handling money exactly as it always has, in person. The treasurer just logs each payment in the app instead of a notebook. Rotating chilimba groups are free and never involve a payment through the app at all; for share-based groups that issue loans, the only payment that ever goes through Chilimba is the treasurer's own subscription.
Can every member see the group's ledger, or just the treasurer?
Every member can see everything — all contributions, all loans, and all payouts for the whole group, not just their own. That full transparency is the whole point: it replaces arguments about who paid what with something everyone can just look at.
How does the rotating payout work?
Chilimba tracks whose turn it is to receive the group's pooled fund and how much, based on the rotation order your group sets. As contributions come in, the app keeps this updated automatically, so there's no need to work it out by hand each round.
What about loans and interest?
A treasurer of a share-based group can record a loan to a member from the group's loan fund. Chilimba suggests an interest figure based on your group's rate, but the treasurer can always adjust it to a different final amount if the group agrees on an exception. As repayments come in, the principal goes straight back into the loan fund and the interest is tracked separately as the group's interest income — available to lend back out, or to pay out to members as a profit distribution.
What does Chilimba cost?
A classic rotating chilimba — where members take turns receiving the pooled fund — is completely free, forever, including full reports. We keep it free with a few small, unobtrusive ads in the app. Share-based groups that pool share capital and issue loans with interest are the paid tier: a subscription unlocks issuing loans and downloadable reports for those groups. There are no ads on share-based groups either way.
Will I see ads in Chilimba?
Only if your group is a rotating chilimba — a few small ads appear on the dashboard and contributions page, and that's what keeps those groups free. Ads never appear for share-based (loan-issuing) groups, and they never have access to your group's money or ledger.
What happens to loans already in progress if a share-based group's subscription lapses?
Existing loans stay fully usable — you can keep logging repayments on them. The only thing that requires the paid plan is issuing new loans. Nothing about members' existing money is ever locked away.
What happens if a member leaves the group?
The treasurer decides whether that member keeps read-only access to their own historical records, or loses access immediately. Either way, their past contributions stay in the group's permanent record.
What if the treasurer needs to change?
Handing over the treasurer role is a manual, support-verified process rather than something anyone can do instantly in the app. That's deliberate — it protects the group from someone impersonating or wrongly taking over as treasurer.
Is my group's data safe?
Every change to a group's contributions, loans, or payouts is permanently logged with who made it and when — nothing is silently overwritten. Each group's data is also fully separate from every other group's on Chilimba; there's no cross-group visibility.
Can I use Chilimba on my phone?
Yes — every part of Chilimba, from the treasurer dashboard to the member ledger view, is built to work properly on a phone screen, not just a laptop.
How do I sign in?
Chilimba supports signing in with Google or Facebook, so there's no separate password to create or remember.
Still have a question? Get in touch and we'll help directly.