However you earn, SmartPFM plans around it
A payslip on the 25th, takings every evening, a harvest twice a year, rent from tenants, dollars from a client abroad, a pension. Here is how people in different lines of work use the app.
Illustrative stories. The people below are fictional examples, written to show how SmartPFM fits different kinds of income in Kenya. They are not real customers and the quotes are not real reviews. The features they describe are real.
The harvest money comes twice a year, but school fees come every term. Now I can see months ahead which expenses my maize money must cover – and the milk cheque takes care of the rest.
Grace sets the maize sales as a twice-yearly income and the cooperative's milk payment as monthly. Her fees are planned from both; in months without a harvest, SmartPFM moves the maize share onto the milk income and shows the gap in advance.
My takings change every day. I record them in the evening on my phone, and I can see whether this month's bike repayment is covered long before it falls due.
Kevin's motorbike is an asset bought with a loan, so its value and what he still owes sit side by side. He receives his takings against one income item in several part-amounts, and marks a puncture or a fine as an emergency so a bad week is explained.
My SACCO loan comes off my payslip before I ever see the money. SmartPFM records it as a deduction and the loan balance goes down on its own.
Mary's salary arrives with Auto-Receive. The SACCO check-off and her contributions are expenses deducted at source, linked to the loan and the deposit account. Her goal: a deposit for a plot by 2028.
I used to mix the shop money with the house money. Now the shop pays me a set amount every week, and I can see the chama contributions adding up as savings.
Amina records what the shop pays her household as income and keeps stock out of the household budget. Her chama contributions are linked to a chama asset, and she is buying a display fridge in instalments – counted at what she has paid so far.
Three rental units, two title deeds and a mortgage. Everything – including the documents – is in one place, and I know what the property is really worth to me.
Joseph's rent is planned per unit, so a vacant month shows at once. The building he co-owns with his wife is recorded at his 50 % share, the mortgage the same way. Passive income on the net-worth page tells him how much his assets earn each month.
I'm paid in dollars and spend in shillings. SmartPFM converts at the Central Bank rate, so my net worth is right even when the shilling moves.
Brian holds a dollar account and a shilling MMF, and some Safaricom and KCB shares that follow published prices. His budget stays in shillings; his savings goal is three months of income in the MMF.
I'm building a house in Kiambu from the UK. Every payment to the contractor goes in, the house's value grows with it, and the receipts are in the vault for when I need them.
Peter treats the house as an asset being paid for in stages, so it counts at what has gone in so far. His family's school fees at home are planned in shillings; his reminders tell him when the land rates fall due.
My pension and my Treasury bonds are my salary now. I get a reminder before each bill matures, so the money never sits idle.
Esther's pension is a monthly income with Auto-Receive; her bonds' coupons are planned on their payment dates. Passive income shows what her investments pay each month, and she keeps the family's important papers in the vault.
First salary, first rent, and HELB knocking. The needs-wants-savings split showed me where my money really went – it was the weekends.
Dennis started with the 90-day Premium trial, one asset (his MMF) and one loan (HELB). History & analysis shows his wants are above target, so his goal now caps eating out and moves the difference to savings.
The same four steps work for everyone
- Write down what you own and owe – it's your starting net worth.
- Describe your income the way it really comes – monthly, termly, twice a year or on chosen dates.
- Plan expenses from the right income – or from the pool of available money.
- Close each month and let the trend show you what's working.
Tell us your story
Using SmartPFM in a way we haven't shown here? We'd love to hear it – and, with your permission, share it.