5. Record keeping

Books of accounts must be maintained because they promote accountability within the commercial zone and to external world; When a commercial zone grows big in terms of numbers and size of transactions, it is difficult for members to mentally keep track of all the transactions that have been made. It is also important for the commercial zone to have regular weekly meetings because they provide a regular and frequent opportunity for members to interact with each other. It Inculcates discipline and provide scope for regular financial transactions, such as saving, lending loan and interest repayment.

a)Some of the critical Books and Records used in a commercial zone are:

  • Minute book- to document the proceedings of the meetings
  • Admission register – to keep a record of all members of the organization
  • Attendance Register- to keep a record of the attendance by members
  • Member’s Individual pass Book- it’s a documentation of members savings and is kept by the owner.
  •  Individual Savings Ledger- this is a duplicate of the member passbook so that the group has a clear record of each members cash transactions with the group kept by the group treasurer.
  • Individual Loan Ledger Cash Book – it maintains a record of the loans taken and repayment patterns of the individuals.
  • General Ledger: It contains the activity wise cumulative balances
  • Receipt Book: It keeps track of all receipts to the SHGs.
  • Payment Voucher: All payments and expenditures of the SHG are routed through the Payment Voucher
  • A demand Promissory Note: This Note is taken from the borrower as security of the loan.
  1. Documentation File: Supporting documents, related to various financial transactions and decisions made by the group and all correspondence should be filed in the Documentation File.  Bank Pass Book/ Challan/ Cheque Book
  • Local Contribution Register: It provides information of funds mobilized at local level either in cash or kind for various programmes.
  • Stock Book: It contains information of materials received or issued and balances, along with their material value.

 

Commercial Zones are facilitated to understand the need for maintaining records and are trained on how to maintain them. The book writer of the group maintains the group records and the assistant book writer helps. The records maintained are: Individual Passbook (or Individual Record Book) containing the financial records of the savings and loans of the individual member.