How to make an app for a self-help group

A self-help group meets every month and writes the same things in its register: who came, who saved how much, who took a loan from the group and who repaid. An app keeps that register on the leader's phone, adds up the totals, and makes a summary to share with members on WhatsApp.

Updated 2026-11-09

Who uses the app

Usually the group leader or the book-keeper, on one phone. If the treasurer and secretary should also see the register on their phones, connect the group's own Supabase database.

The screens a self-help group app needs

Meeting: This month's meeting: date, members present, savings collected and repayments received
Members: Each member with her savings till date, loan running and phone
Loans: Loans given from the group's fund, amount, purpose, instalment and balance, as per the group's rule
Group fund: Total savings, money given as loans, repaid, and the balance with the group
Minutes: Decisions taken in each meeting, written in the members' language
Products: If the group makes things: raw material bought, packs made and sales

Features worth asking for

Attendance and savings for all members on one screen in the meeting
Interest on internal loans worked out the way the group has decided
A member's own statement as a PDF to share on WhatsApp
A meeting summary to send in the group's WhatsApp group
Hindi or the local language for labels
Works offline on the leader's phone in the village

Where the data lives

On the leader's phone the register works offline and stays on that phone. If the treasurer and secretary need it too, or you worry about losing the phone, connect the group's own Supabase database.

How to make it with AppCub, step by step

Decide what the app does. List the screens you need, for example: Meeting, Members, Loans, Group fund, Minutes.
Describe it to AppCub. Paste the request below, changed to your own business and details.
Check the plan. AppCub shows the screens and features it will build. Change them in the chat until they are right; seeing the plan is free.
Try it on your phone. The app runs live next to the chat. Scan the QR code to install it, and ask for changes.
Share it. Share it as a web link, an APK file, or publish it on Google Play from your own developer account.

Copy this request, change the details to match your self-help group, and paste it into AppCub:

Make an app for Ujala Mahila Group, a self-help group of twelve women in Mana village, Raipur. Screens: meeting, members, loans, group fund, minutes and products. Each month's meeting: date, who came, savings of ₹100 per member and loan repayments. Loans from the group fund: member, amount, purpose, monthly instalment and interest as the group decides (I will give the rule), balance. Group fund: savings, loans out, repaid and balance. Minutes in Hindi. Products: papad and pickle made and sold. A PDF statement for each member and a meeting summary to send on WhatsApp. Hindi labels. Yellow and green colours.

Tips for a self-help group app

Give AppCub your group's own rules: saving amount, loan limit, interest and fine, exactly as members agreed. The app doesn't decide them.
Keep the paper register too if your bank or the project staff who guide your group ask for it, and check the app's totals against it.
Read out the meeting summary at the end of each meeting before sharing it.
Let each member see only her own statement.
Ask for big buttons and Hindi labels so any member can use the app in the meeting.

What it costs

Describing your app and seeing AppCub’s plan for it is free.
A new app usually takes 60 to 110 credits. Start with the 2-day trial for ₹99 (150 credits, enough for one app and a few changes) or the one-time App Pack for ₹499. Starter is ₹1,599 a month for 700 credits.
Google Play needs a paid plan (it includes the Play Store bundle and your app’s signing key) and your own Google Play developer account, a one-time US$25 fee to Google.
Work that fails or is rolled back costs no credits.

See all plans

Good to know

The app is the group's register; it doesn't connect to your bank account or apply for bank loans. It doesn't give financial advice; the group's decisions and the rules of whoever guides your group come first.
AppCub builds Android apps. You can also share the app as a web link that opens on any phone; for the iPhone App Store, AppCub’s team can do it for you.

Questions

Can the app keep our SHG register?

Yes. It records attendance, monthly savings, internal loans and repayments for each meeting and keeps the totals.

Can the app work in the village without internet?

Yes. Unless you connect a database, the app keeps its data on the phone and works offline.

Can each member get her own statement?

Yes. The app makes a PDF of one member's savings and loan entries that the leader can share on her WhatsApp.

Can the app work out interest on internal loans?

Yes, by the rule your group has agreed, such as a fixed amount per ₹100 a month. Tell AppCub the exact rule.

Can the app be in Hindi?

The screens can have Hindi labels, and you can describe the app to AppCub in Hindi or Hinglish.

Can we keep our product sales in the same app?

Yes. A products screen can record raw material bought, packs made and sales, separate from the savings register.

Make your self-help group app

Seeing the plan is free. Building starts with a 2-day trial for ₹99.

Start building