The University of Free State (UFS) has launched an app to give small business owners the education they require to become better stewards of their finances.
The app has 15 video tutorials on financial management available via the Good Money Habits app for free on Google Play Store.
Professor and research fellow in the Department of Economics and Finance and project manager Frederick Fourie said the Good Money Habits (GMH) app and videos were created to support informal micro-enterprises.
“The aim is to promote employment creation in the informal sector. It is based on thorough statistical research as well as face-to-face township engagements on key constraints faced by informal enterprises, which mainly operate in townships, villages and rural areas.”
The videos are between three and five minutes long on practical, day-to-day money management for informal micro-enterprises. “The dos and don’ts of running a micro-enterprise, especially one that still is informal.”
Fourie said videos helped owners and managers of micro-enterprises adopt good habits so that they do not mix household and business money. “That way they can see the business finances better, understand business performance and money flows better, avoid money hazards and leakages – and manage better. The videos also explain the different types of costs and how to control them.”
He said the objective is to take the business owner through how to record income and expenses and calculate profit without complex bookkeeping or accounting statements. “This will help them to grow the business, make more money and create employment,” he said.
He added that a well-managed enterprise is better placed to access banking services such as business loans and grow to better business premises.
“The overall objective is that they improve their business operations, make more money and become more robust,” he said.
“Interactive questions before and after each video help a manager to self-identify current habits and potential problems – and then implement remedies.”
He said to maximise impact, a nonstandard accounting route was followed using an attractive package of punchy but plain language that avoids complex jargon. “The videos use animations, lively graphics, enactments in shops, on-site filming in townships, cashbook writing demos … and a persuasive narrator – Sammy.”
The videos are ideal for use by small businesses, non-profit initiatives at schools, universities and government.
Fourie said data collected will further research on the usefulness of the project, the impact of this type of intervention on managerial behaviour and business performance, and employment creation by the micro-enterprise sector.
