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Accounting & finance — Mutual Africa Pay Help

Accounting & finance

Guidance on reading your financial reports, recording expenses correctly, managing VAT compliance, and exporting data for your accountant or auditor in Mutual Africa Pay.

Reading your profit and loss report

The profit and loss report in Mutual Africa Pay shows your total revenue, total expenses, and net profit for any period you select. It updates in real time as invoices are raised, payments are received, and expenses are recorded — so you always have a current view of your business performance without waiting for month-end.

How to access the profit and loss report

Go to Accounting in the main navigation and select Profit and Loss. Choose the date range you want to view — this month, last month, this quarter, this financial year, or a custom date range. The report loads immediately with all transactions for that period.

Understanding the sections

Revenue — The total value of all invoices with a status of Paid or Partially Paid during the period. This is your gross income before any deductions.

Cost of Sales — Direct costs attributable to delivering your products or services — materials, subcontractors, and direct labour recorded as project costs. Not all businesses will have a cost of sales figure.

Gross Profit — Revenue minus cost of sales. This shows how much your business earns from its core activity before overhead costs.

Operating Expenses — All overhead expenses for the period — rent, salaries, utilities, subscriptions, and other running costs recorded as expenses.

Net Profit — Gross profit minus operating expenses. This is your actual bottom line for the period.

Comparing periods

Mutual Africa Pay allows you to compare two periods side by side — for example, this month versus last month, or this year versus last year. Select the comparison period from the dropdown at the top of the report. The difference in both absolute and percentage terms is shown for each line.

Export the profit and loss report to share with your accountant, board, or investors. The exported report is formatted professionally with your business details and is ready to use without further formatting.

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Recording and categorising expenses

Mutual Africa Pay records expenses in real time — from petty cash purchases to supplier invoices — and assigns each expense to a category that flows directly into your profit and loss report. Every expense you record updates your financial reports immediately.

How to record an expense

Go to Expenses — Select Expenses from the main navigation. Click New Expense.

Enter the expense details — Enter the supplier or payee name, the amount, the date of the expense, and the payment method used.

Select the category — Choose the expense category — travel, materials, subscriptions, utilities, salaries, professional fees, or any custom category you have created. The category determines which line in your profit and loss report this expense appears under.

Attach the receipt — Click Attach Receipt and upload a photograph or scan of the receipt. On the mobile app, you can photograph the receipt directly from the camera. Attaching receipts creates an audit-ready expense record.

Assign to a client or project (optional) — If this expense is billable to a client or should be tracked against a specific project, select the client or project from the assignment fields. Client-assigned expenses will appear as billable line items on the next invoice for that client.

Save — Click Save. The expense is immediately recorded in your accounts and reflected in your profit and loss report.

Creating custom expense categories

Mutual Africa Pay includes a standard set of expense categories. If you need categories specific to your business, go to Settings, then Chart of Accounts, and add custom expense accounts. These will then appear in the category dropdown when recording expenses.

Use the Mutual Africa Pay mobile app to capture expenses on the go — photograph the receipt immediately after a purchase, record the expense, and it is done before you leave the premises. This eliminates the end-of-month receipt pile.

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Understanding your balance sheet

The balance sheet in Mutual Africa Pay shows the financial position of your business at any point in time — what your business owns, what it owes, and the difference between the two, which is your business equity. Unlike the profit and loss report which covers a period, the balance sheet is a snapshot at a specific date.

How to access the balance sheet

Go to Accounting in the main navigation and select Balance Sheet. Select the date you want to view the position as at — today, end of last month, end of last quarter, or any specific historical date.

Assets

Current Assets include your cash and bank balances, accounts receivable (invoices that have been sent but not yet paid), stock and inventory at cost value, and any prepaid expenses. Current assets are those expected to be converted to cash within the next twelve months.

Non-Current Assets include fixed assets such as equipment, vehicles, and property recorded in your asset register. These are assets with a useful life of more than twelve months.

Liabilities

Current Liabilities include accounts payable (supplier bills that are due but not yet paid), VAT payable, PAYE and UIF owed to SARS, and any short-term loan obligations. Current liabilities are those due within the next twelve months.

Non-Current Liabilities include long-term debt and loans with repayment schedules extending beyond twelve months.

Equity

Equity is the residual value of the business after all liabilities are subtracted from all assets. It comprises your initial capital contribution plus accumulated retained earnings — the sum of all net profits your business has generated since inception, less any distributions taken.

The balance sheet must always balance — total assets must equal total liabilities plus equity. Mutual Africa Pay maintains this balance automatically through double-entry accounting that runs silently behind every transaction you record.

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Setting up VAT and generating VAT201 reports

Mutual Africa Pay tracks output VAT on every invoice you raise and input VAT on every expense you record — automatically. At the end of each VAT period, Mutual Africa Pay generates a SARS-compliant VAT201 report with all figures pre-calculated, ready for your eFiling submission.

Setting up your VAT configuration

Go to Settings, then Tax Settings — Enter your VAT registration number in the VAT Registration Number field.

Set your VAT period — South African businesses are registered on either a two-month or six-month VAT cycle. Select your cycle from the VAT Period dropdown. Mutual Africa Pay will use this to determine which transactions fall into each VAT return period.

Confirm your standard VAT rate — The default rate is fifteen percent for South African businesses. If you operate in another African jurisdiction with a different standard rate, update this field.

Configure zero-rated and exempt categories — If your business sells zero-rated products (such as basic food items) or exempt services, configure these categories in the tax settings. Mutual Africa Pay will apply the correct treatment to transactions in each category.

Generating a VAT201 report

At the end of your VAT period, go to Accounting, then VAT Reporting. Select the VAT period you need to report on. Mutual Africa Pay presents a summary showing total output tax collected on sales, total input tax paid on purchases, and the net VAT payable to SARS for the period. Click Export VAT201 to download the report in the format required for eFiling.

Ensure that all invoices and expenses for the period have been recorded before generating your VAT201. Any transactions added after submission will need to be included in a subsequent return as a correction.

Input VAT on expenses

For input VAT to be claimable, each expense must be recorded with a valid tax invoice attached — either a digital receipt or a supplier invoice showing the supplier VAT number. Mutual Africa Pay tracks the input VAT component on every expense automatically. Expenses without a valid tax invoice attached should be marked as non-deductible in the tax field.

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Managing aged receivables and payables

The aged receivables and payables report in Mutual Africa Pay shows all outstanding invoices and supplier bills organised by how long they have been outstanding — current, thirty days overdue, sixty days overdue, and ninety or more days overdue. This report updates in real time and is the primary tool for managing your credit exposure and payment obligations.

Accessing the aged receivables report

Go to Accounting, then Aged Receivables. The report shows every outstanding invoice with the client name, invoice number, original amount, outstanding balance, original due date, and aging bracket. You can sort by any column and filter by client or aging bracket.

Taking action on overdue invoices

From the aged receivables view, select one or more overdue invoices and click Send Reminder. Mutual Africa Pay sends payment reminders by your chosen channel — email, WhatsApp, or SMS — with the payment link included. You can also resend the original invoice from here.

Accessing the aged payables report

Go to Accounting, then Aged Payables. The aged payables report shows all outstanding supplier bills — what you owe, to which suppliers, and how long each obligation has been outstanding. Use this report to plan weekly payment runs and ensure you pay suppliers on time to maintain good relationships and avoid late payment penalties.

How aging brackets are calculated

Aging is calculated from the invoice due date, not the invoice creation date. An invoice with thirty-day terms raised on the first of the month becomes overdue on the first of the following month and enters the thirty-day overdue bracket. Aging brackets are updated at midnight each day.

Export the aged receivables report for your credit controller or collections team. The exported file includes all outstanding balances and contact details, making it straightforward to manage the collection process outside the system.

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Exporting financial reports for your accountant

Mutual Africa Pay generates professional financial reports that are formatted for direct use by accountants, auditors, and financial institutions — without requiring any reformatting after export. This section explains which reports to export for different purposes and how to share them.

For your external accountant or bookkeeper

The reports most commonly required by accountants are the profit and loss statement, the balance sheet, the VAT201 report, the trial balance, and the general ledger. All of these are available under Accounting in the main navigation. Export each report for the relevant period in PDF or Excel format.

You can also give your accountant direct access to your Mutual Africa Pay account by inviting them as a team member with the Accountant role. This gives them full access to all financial modules without requiring manual exports — they can generate the reports they need directly.

For a bank application

Banks typically require a current balance sheet, three to six months of profit and loss statements, and an aged receivables summary. Export these from Mutual Africa Pay for the required periods. Mutual Africa Pay reports include your business name, registration number, and the report date — meeting the standard documentation requirements of South African financial institutions.

For an audit

In addition to the financial statements, auditors typically require the general ledger, the audit trail, and supporting documentation for significant transactions. The audit trail is available under Compliance, and all supporting documents attached to transactions are accessible from the relevant transaction records. For scheduled audits, consider granting your auditor Viewer access to your account to allow direct access to records and documentation.

Mutual Africa Pay retains all financial records and transaction history indefinitely. If you need records from a prior financial year, they are always accessible — there is no archiving or data expiry.

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Understanding the audit trail

The audit trail in Mutual Africa Pay is a complete, tamper-proof record of every action taken in your account — every invoice created, edited, or sent; every payment recorded; every expense captured; every approval made; and every user login. Entries in the audit trail cannot be edited or deleted by anyone, including the account owner.

What the audit trail records

For every action, the audit trail records the date and time, the user who performed the action, the type of action taken, the record affected, and where applicable the previous and new values. This means you can always answer the questions: who changed this, when did they change it, and what did it look like before the change.

Accessing the audit trail

Go to Compliance in the main navigation and select Audit Trail. The full audit trail is displayed in reverse chronological order — most recent first. Use the filters to narrow the view by user, action type, module, or date range.

Exporting the audit trail

To export the audit trail for an external audit, legal matter, or compliance review, apply the relevant filters and click Export. The export includes all relevant details in a structured format. Mutual Africa Pay generates the export immediately regardless of the volume of records in the selected period.

Why the audit trail matters

The audit trail is the accountability layer that underpins financial integrity. It deters internal fraud, provides evidence in disputes with clients or suppliers, supports SARS audit requirements, and meets the record-keeping obligations of South African financial legislation. For businesses in regulated sectors, the audit trail supports compliance with the FSCA and other relevant regulatory bodies.

The audit trail is available on the Summit and Enterprise plans. On Growth plan, a simplified activity log is available showing the last ninety days of significant actions.

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Setting your financial year dates

Your financial year setting in Mutual Africa Pay determines how annual reports, year-to-date calculations, and year-on-year comparisons are structured. Most South African businesses operate on a financial year that runs from the first of March to the end of February, but your business may use a different financial year depending on your industry or registration history.

How to check or change your financial year setting

Go to Settings — Click your organisation name in the top navigation and select Settings.

Select Financial Settings — Scroll to the Financial Year section.

Set your financial year start month — Select the month in which your financial year begins. This is typically the month after your prior financial year-end.

Save the setting — Click Save. Mutual Africa Pay immediately updates all annual report periods, year-to-date figures, and comparison periods to reflect the new financial year structure.

Effect on reports

Once your financial year start month is set, the Year to Date filter on all reports refers to the period from the start of your current financial year to today. The Previous Year comparison refers to the equivalent period in the prior financial year. If you change the financial year setting after transactions have been recorded, all historical reports are recalculated against the new year structure immediately.

Changing the financial year start date on an established account with historical data should be done carefully and ideally in consultation with your accountant. Recalculations take effect immediately and will change how prior period comparisons display.

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