The Informal Business Problem
Over 80% of businesses in East Africa are informal — meaning no registered accounts, no formal bookkeeping, no tax filings. This isn't laziness or evasion. It's rational: the tools for formal financial management were designed for Western businesses with bank accounts, accounting software subscriptions, and dedicated bookkeepers.
Zuma Finance Hub is designed for the mama mboga, the boda driver entrepreneur, the freelance graphic designer, and the small restaurant owner who does their accounting in a notebook.
What's Included
Income Tracking: Every Zuma transaction you receive is automatically categorised and logged. Zuma vendor sales, freelance payments, delivery earnings — all appear in a single income report, filterable by period, service type, and customer.
Expense Recording: Log expenses manually with voice input or photo receipt scanning. Categorize by type (stock, transport, marketing, rent). The app learns your common expense categories over time and auto-suggests them.
Invoicing: Generate professional PDF invoices with your Zuma business logo, line items, tax calculation, and payment link. Clients can pay via Zuma Wallet, M-Pesa, or card. Invoice status (sent, viewed, paid, overdue) is tracked in real time.
Cash Flow Projections: Based on your historical income patterns and recurring expenses, the Finance Hub projects your cash position 30 and 60 days forward. If you're heading for a cash shortfall, it flags it 2 weeks in advance — leaving time to plan.
Tax Preparation
At the end of each quarter, Zuma Finance Hub generates a tax summary report showing total income, deductible expenses, and estimated VAT liability (for VAT-registered businesses). This is not tax advice — but it gives you a document to hand to your accountant that takes their work from 3 hours to 20 minutes.
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