How to make an app for an NGO

An NGO keeps many lists: the people each programme serves, who came to each session, volunteers and their shifts, donors and what they gave. An app keeps them in one place, so the coordinator in the field and the treasurer in the office work from the same records.

Updated 2026-11-09

Who uses the app

Your coordinators, volunteers and treasurer. If more than one person enters data on their own phone, connect your own Supabase database and turn on sign-in, so a volunteer sees only the programme they run and the treasurer sees donations.

The screens an NGO app needs

Beneficiaries: The people each programme serves, searchable by name, village or basti, with only the details you need
Sessions: Each class, camp or distribution with the date, place and who attended or received a kit
Volunteers: Volunteers with their skills, area and the sessions they have covered
Donors: Each donor, their gifts by date and purpose, and a PDF receipt
Stock: Material received and given out, such as books, ration kits or blankets
Reports: Sessions held, people served and donations received in a month, for your trustees

Features worth asking for

Attendance for each session or camp, marked in the field
Kit distribution records, so the same family is not missed or counted twice
Donation receipts as PDFs, with your registration details on them
A pay button using your NGO's own Razorpay account for donations, if you want it
A WhatsApp button to remind volunteers of their next shift
Monthly totals of sessions and people served for trustee meetings
Hindi or Odia labels for volunteers who prefer them

Where the data lives

Because volunteers in the field and the office both use it, connect your own Supabase database from the chat and turn on sign-in. To take donations in the app, connect the NGO's own Razorpay account as well; the money goes to the NGO.

How to make it with AppCub, step by step

Decide what the app does. List the screens you need, for example: Beneficiaries, Sessions, Volunteers, Donors, Stock.
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 NGO, and paste it into AppCub:

Make an app for my NGO, Asha Path Foundation in Bhubaneswar. We run evening classes in three bastis, monthly health camps, and ration kit distribution. Screens: beneficiaries by basti, sessions with attendance, volunteers, donors with PDF receipts, stock of books and kits, and monthly reports. Volunteers sign in and mark attendance only for their own class. The treasurer records donations with the donor's name, amount, date and purpose. Add a WhatsApp button to remind volunteers of their shift. Green and white colours with our logo.

Tips for an NGO app

Collect only the beneficiary details your programme needs. People's names, families and health details are sensitive; keep them behind sign-in and follow the law on personal data.
Print only what your registration allows on donation receipts. If you issue 80G receipts, ask your CA what they must contain and give AppCub that exact format.
Start with one programme's attendance for a month before adding donors and stock.
If your field areas have weak signal, test the app there on one session day before you rely on it, and keep a paper sheet as a backup for that first week.
Ask for monthly totals in the same format your trustees already read.

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

AppCub doesn't file returns, connect to government portals or send automatic receipts or SMS. Receipts are made as PDFs and shared from the phone; reminders go out when someone taps the WhatsApp button.
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 donors pay through the NGO app?

Yes, with a pay button that uses your NGO's own Razorpay account; connect Razorpay and Supabase from the chat first. The money goes to the NGO, not to AppCub.

Can the app make 80G donation receipts?

It can make a receipt as a PDF in the format you give it. Whether it counts as an 80G receipt depends on your registration; check the required details with your CA.

Can volunteers use the app on their own phones?

Yes, once your own Supabase database is connected and sign-in is on. Each volunteer can be limited to the programme they run.

Does the app work in villages with poor signal?

When the data is in an online database, the phone needs a signal to save to it. Try the app on a session day in your area first, and tell AppCub what happens so it can be adjusted.

Can the app show how many people a programme reached?

Yes. It counts sessions, attendance and kits given out by month, for your trustees and your reports.

Should the app store Aadhaar numbers of beneficiaries?

Only if your programme truly needs them. Store as little as you can, keep it behind sign-in, and follow the law on personal data.

Make your NGO app

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

Start building