Ajo and Thrift troubleshooting and FAQ
Quick answers about Ajo and Thrift: payments that do not show, late fees, payouts, the order, collectors, accounts and limits.
I paid, but it still shows as unpaid. What do I do?
Only a Confirmed payment counts as paid. If you reported a transfer, it is waiting for an officer to find it on the bank statement. If you gave cash, it is waiting for your collector to record it and hand it in. Open the payment to see which step it is at. If it has been more than a day or two and you are sure you paid, use I already paid this. See Raising a query about a payment.
What do the payment statuses mean?
There are nine, and the main ones are Pending, Reported, Confirmed, Under review and Missed. Only Confirmed counts toward what you have paid. See Payment statuses.
Why was I charged a late fee?
A late fee applies only when the rule version you accepted includes one, and only after the grace period has passed. If you never accepted a version, no fee is charged. A fee is payable 48 hours after you are told about it. See Rules, grace and late fees.
Can the rules change after I joined?
Yes, but never suddenly. A new version of the rules gives members 7 days' notice, and you accept it before it governs you. Your earlier acceptance stays on record. See Joining a circle and accepting the rules.
Why can't a payout be paid yet?
A payout goes through three steps: an officer prepares it, an admin approves it (with their password), and it is recorded as paid once the money has gone. The admin who approves cannot be the officer who prepared it, nor the person being paid. In a rotating pot, the previous round must be recorded as paid first. See Payouts.
Why is my payout account not accepted?
A new or changed payout account has a 72-hour cool-off, to stop someone redirecting your money. It is then checked: the name must match your own, your phone must be confirmed, and your address must be on file. If it is Turned down, the page says why. See Your payout account and verification.
How is the order of payouts decided?
By draw or by the admin's own order, set before the circle starts. Each draw is recorded and cannot be redone. A change after the start is an emergency change, and it is recorded with a reason. See The payout order and the draw.
What is the difference between a rotating pot and collector thrift?
In a rotating pot, everyone pays in each round and one member takes the pot each time. In collector thrift, a collector visits savers daily, and each saver gets their own savings back at the end of a cycle. See Choosing a circle type.
My collector says they handed in the cash, but I cannot see it.
Open Where my cash is on your savings page. Your payment moves through three steps: recorded by your collector, handed in by your collector, and confirmed by the office. If a step is overdue, the page says so. See Cash reconciliation.
The handover count does not match. What now?
The cash counted must equal the payments ticked. If a payment is not there, untick it and the count then matches. That payment stays unconfirmed, and the missing cash is carried into the next handover so nothing disappears. See Handovers and counting cash.
Can I leave a circle?
Before it starts, yes. In collector thrift, yes, and what you have saved is still yours. In a rotating pot that has started, you cannot simply leave, because other members are relying on your payments. Speak to an admin. See Leaving a circle.
Who can see my details?
Your own details are private to you and the circle's officers. Other members see only what the Circle board shows, and names follow the circle's name rule. A statement or board never includes phone numbers, emails, addresses or bank accounts. See What members can see in a circle.
Why can't I start a new circle or add people?
Usually one of three things: your plan's limit for circles or people has been reached, your levy has been unpaid for more than 60 days, or your Ajo add-on has expired, which makes everything read-only. See Plans, billing and limits.
Can an officer take or change money on their own?
No. Every confirmation, payout and reversal is recorded with who did it and when, and some steps need a second person. See Officer accountability.
How do I know a message or call is really from my circle?
Be careful. SocietyLedger never asks for your password or a phone code, and an officer will never ask you to pay into a personal account that is not on the circle page. See Staying safe.
Why can't I start my circle?
Start is refused for one of three reasons, and each has a button next to the message. People are still waiting: the overview counts only people who are fully in, so "9 of 10 approved" can mean one person is approved but has not accepted the rules yet. The start date has passed: use Change the start date, which fills in today. The draw is out of date: someone joined, left or was approved after the draw, so open Payout order and Draw again. See Starting a circle.
Where do I accept the circle's rules?
Open My Thrift, then the circle, and select Read and accept the rules. The button is also on the circle's card and in a "Your next step" banner. If you are an officer, the same banner appears on the officer pages for the circle. If you agreed in person instead, an officer can record it with Record rules acceptance. See Adding and approving people.
I turned the Circle board on, but members still cannot see it.
If the circle has not started, open its overview and press Turn it on now on the Circle board card: it takes effect straight away. If it is already running, a change to the rules takes effect after 7 days' notice, and the card and the members' screen show the date it turns on. Members appear by name only after they have accepted rules that include the board; until then they show as "Member 3". Admins and officers can always see the board. See What members can see in a circle.
Where is Payments in the menu?
Everyone has it. A member opens My Payments (phone: Thrift, then Pay and report a payment) to report a payment with a slip and to see where each payment stands. Admins and officers open Payments to confirm what members reported, with a badge counting what is waiting. The buttons only work once the circle has started: before that the page says "Payments open when the circle starts on [date]".
I paid but forgot to report it. Can an officer fix that?
Yes. An officer who has seen your payment at the bank can use Record a payment. It is confirmed in one step, and it shows as "recorded by an officer from the bank", with the officer's note, in your payment list. See Confirming payments.
Can the admin choose the payout order instead of a random draw?
Yes, if the circle is set up that way. When you create a rotating pot (or in Edit settings before it starts) choose Admin sets the order. The admin places everyone and writes the reason, and every member can read who set it and why. With an Automatic draw, members can press Verify this draw to check the result from its seed. See The payout order and the draw.
How do I give someone the Officer or Collector role?
Open Settings (phone: Manage, Settings), choose the person and give the role. A thrift group offers Administrator, Officer, Collector and Member. See Roles in a thrift group.
Why do I not see Finances, Meetings or Welfare?
You are in a standalone thrift group, which has only Thrift. Those belong to associations. See Standalone thrift groups.
Related
Starting a circle
What must be true before a circle can start, what each refusal means (people waiting, start date passed, draw out of date), and how to fix it.
Payment statuses
What Paid on time, Reported, Overdue, Missed and the other words mean in a circle, who decides them, and what counts as paid.
Raising a query about a payment
If you paid but it does not show, tell your circle with I already paid this, attach your evidence, and see how an officer decides it.
Last updated 31 October 2026