How to Reconcile Nomination Fee Payments (M-Pesa and Bank)

During nominations, hundreds of aspirants pay fees in a few days by M-Pesa, bank deposit and sometimes cash at the party office. If you can’t say who paid for what, you’ll have angry aspirants and a messy audit. Here is a simple way to keep it straight.

Set up payments so matching is easy

Use one paybill for nomination fees, separate from the party’s other income. Tell aspirants exactly what to type as the account number, such as their ID number or application number. Vague instructions give you account references like “fee” or “MCA”.

Publish the fee for each seat clearly. If your party offers reduced fees for women, youth or persons with disabilities, list them too.

Agree your payment statuses before money starts coming in: unmatched, matched, part paid, overpaid, duplicate, reversed, disputed and confirmed.

Every payment record needs

• The M-Pesa or bank transaction code
• Amount
• Date and time
• Name and phone number of the person who paid
• The account reference they typed
• The aspirant and seat it is matched to
• Who matched it

Import statements, don’t retype them

Download the paybill statement from the M-Pesa organisation portal, and the bank statement from your bank, and import them. Retyping causes mistakes.

Import every day during nominations and keep the original files. Check each import for new payments, duplicates (the same transaction code twice) and rows that failed.

A screenshot is not proof. Screenshots can be edited. Always confirm the transaction code on the statement.

Work through problem payments every day

Give every problem payment an owner and a deadline. Aspirants are anxious during nominations, so call them rather than waiting for them to call you.

Follow your party’s rules on refunds, and record who approved each refund and its M-Pesa or bank reference.

Common problem payments

• No matching application
• Paid less than the fee
• Paid twice
• Paid after the deadline
• Paid for the wrong seat
• Paid by someone else
• Aspirant disputes the status

Payment is not clearance

Paying the fee does not make an aspirant eligible. Keep “fee confirmed” separate from “cleared to contest”.

The finance team matches money. It never decides who contests. That belongs to the party’s vetting and elections process.

Close out with a report anyone can check

Share a daily summary during nominations: total received, total matched and open problems. When nominations close, produce a final report with totals by seat, refunds and anything still unresolved.

Someone who did not do the matching should review and sign the report.

Keep everything for your auditors. Parties must keep proper books, and nomination fees are a large part of the year’s income. UshindiOS links each payment to a named application and seat, so finance and the nominations team work from the same record.

Your final report should show

• The statement period and sources
• Total received and total matched
• Problem payments by type
• Refunds and reversals
• Who reviewed and signed it