M-Pesa till reconciliation

What the m-pesa till reconciliation does

Most shops take most of their money by M-Pesa, and unmatched payments are where mistakes and fraud hide. List each payment from the statement with its code, customer and amount, mark whether it matches a recorded sale and give the sale reference, and the sheet shows the total received, the matched total and the unexplained balance.

Who it is for

Shop owners, restaurants, pharmacies and any business with a Lipa na M-Pesa till, and the bookkeepers who reconcile the till to the sales records.

How to use the workbook

1. Download the till statement and copy each payment into the sheet.
2. Mark each payment as matched or not matched to a sale.
3. Write the sale reference for the matched ones.
4. Investigate the unmatched amount at the top.
5. Save a copy under a new name for each month or year, so earlier records stay as they were.

What is inside

• Date, M-Pesa code, customer and amount
• Matched or not matched with a sale reference
• Totals: received, matched and unexplained
• Count of unmatched payments
• Space for 500 payments

The workbook has these sheets: Instructions, Till. The main table has the columns Date; M-Pesa code; Customer; Amount; Matched to a sale?; Sale reference; Notes. Yellow cells are for you to fill in and grey cells calculate by themselves, so leave the grey cells alone. The example rows show how it works; type over them with your own entries.

Tips for getting it right

• Reconcile weekly; old payments are harder to explain.
• Ask staff to record the M-Pesa code with every sale.
• Look at refunds and reversals separately.
• Keep the downloaded statements with this sheet.

Why keep this record

Accounting records let you answer three questions at any time: what came in, what went out and who owes whom. Kept consistently they also make tax returns, loan applications and the sale of a business much easier, because the evidence is already organised. Entering transactions the day they happen is far cheaper than reconstructing them at year end.

Questions people ask

Do I need to know Excel formulas? No. Type into the yellow cells and the rest is worked out for you. The formulas are visible if you want to see how a figure is reached.

Can I add rows or change the layout? You can add your own columns to the right and your own notes. If you insert rows inside a table, copy the grey formula cells down so the new rows calculate too.

Will it work on my phone or in Google Sheets? Yes for viewing and typing, but dropdown lists and the charts look best in desktop Excel or LibreOffice.

Keeping it safe and up to date

Good accounting records are a legal duty as well as a management tool: keep the supporting receipts and invoices with the workbook, and keep each year's copy for at least five years. Work on a copy, never on your only file, and back it up.

Read how to keep business records for KRA for the wider picture. See more accounting templates or ask us for a custom one.

The workbook works in Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets. It is a tool to help you work out and record figures, not tax, legal or accounting advice, and it is not affiliated with the Kenya Revenue Authority. If something does not work as described, contact us and we will put it right.

Related guides, calculators and templates

• Guide: How to keep business records for KRA: what to save and for how long
• Guide: Bank reconciliation step by step: match your books to your bank
• Guide: Fixed assets and capital allowances explained for small businesses
• Another template: Balance sheet template
• Another template: Bank reconciliation statement
• Another template: Chart of accounts and general ledger

Need something different? Request a custom template, browse all guides or see every Excel template.