Plain Desk · Guide
Stokvel year-end payout sheet (South Africa)
December and January are when SA stokvels fight — not because people are greedy, but because totals lived in WhatsApp. A year-end payout sheet freezes the books before money moves: contributions, fines, loans, and net ZAR per member in one place the committee can minute.
What the payout sheet must show
- Member list matching the contribution tracker
- Total contributed (year / cycle)
- Fines owed and fines paid
- Loans outstanding and repayments
- Net amount due to (or from) each member
- Club pool total vs bank balance check
- Distribution rule (equal share, grocery vouchers, rotating payout — as your constitution says)
The sheet does not transfer money. Your bank (or cash process) does. The sheet is the agreed record.
Four steps before payout day
- Freeze contributions — stop editing historical paid flags; add a dated note if a correction is needed.
- Close the fine & loan log — informal advances that only one person remembered become fights.
- Walk the sheet with the constitution — rules on paper beat memory in the group chat.
- Minute the meeting — export PDF totals (status only; keep full IDs off the group).
Common payout mistakes
- Paying out from chat screenshots instead of a ledger
- Letting every member edit the master sheet the week before payout
- Ignoring arrears until cash is already on the table
- Mixing burial-claim urgency with savings-club grocery payout without separate books
If your hard week is claim week and good-standing, see the Burial Society Treasurer Pack guide (permalink /l/qbiimu). Soft cross-sell — pick the job you need this month. For general savings clubs, Stokvel OS is the primary pack.
Pair with a contribution tracker
Payout math is only as good as the monthly ledger. Use an Excel or Sheets contribution tracker all year, then roll totals into this sheet. Guides: Excel contribution tracker · contribution tracker overview.
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FAQ
When should we open the year-end payout sheet?
At least one committee meeting before money moves — usually late November / early December for calendar-year clubs.
Excel or Google Sheets?
Both. Import Stokvel OS CSVs into either; export a PDF for minutes.
Does the sheet pay members automatically?
No. You keep banking. The sheet records agreed net amounts.
What if we only have WhatsApp history?
Rebuild a tracker from bank statements where possible, then start the next cycle on a proper sheet. See how to run a stokvel from WhatsApp.