Under revised SYSCOHADA, a mobile money wallet (Orange Money, MTN MoMo, Wave, Moov Money, Airtel Money) is recorded in class 5, in account 552 “Electronic money, mobile phone”. It is not a bank (521), not cash (571), and not an imprest fund (581). This guide gives the chart of accounts, the five entries you will post every month, and the checks that prevent a cash gap at year end.
Why account 552, and no other
The revised chart of accounts, from the 2017 Uniform Act, created a dedicated heading: 55, Electronic money instruments.
| Account | Official title | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 551 | Electronic money, fuel card | Prepaid fuel cards |
| 552 | Electronic money, mobile phone | Orange Money, MTN MoMo, Wave, Moov |
| 553 | Electronic money, toll card | Toll badges |
| 554 | Electronic purse | Prepaid cards |
| 558 | Other electronic money instruments | Everything else |
Common mistakes come from older habits:
- 521 Local banks: the wallet issuer is not your bank, and its statement follows different rules.
- 571 Cash: the money is not physical cash on your premises.
- 581 Imprest funds: this account tracks money advanced to an agent for expenses, not a means of collection.
- 512: under SYSCOHADA, this is bills for collection. “512 Bank” comes from the French chart of accounts.
The accounts to create
Open one sub-account per wallet, that is, per merchant phone number. Two Orange Money wallets make two accounts.
552100 Orange Money, merchant wallet 6xx xx xx 01
552200 MTN MoMo, merchant wallet 6xx xx xx 02
552300 Wave, merchant wallet 7x xxx xx 03Each sub-account is then reconciled with its own wallet statement, exactly as a bank account is reconciled with its statement.
The five entries of the month
The examples use an Orange Money wallet (552100). Amounts are in CFA francs.
1. A customer pays an invoice
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 552100 Orange Money | 50,000 | |
| 411 Customer | 50,000 |
The payment is matched with the invoice in account 411: the customer owes nothing more on that invoice.
2. You pay a supplier from the wallet
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 401 Supplier | 30,000 | |
| 552100 Orange Money | 30,000 |
3. The operator charges fees
Transfer or withdrawal fees are payment service fees. Account 631 Bank charges, or a sub-account of 6318 Other bank charges named “Mobile money fees”, isolates them and lets you compare the cost of mobile money with that of the bank.
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 6318 Mobile money fees | 500 | |
| 552100 Orange Money | 500 |
4. You transfer the balance to the bank
The transfer goes through 585 Fund transfers, a transit account between two treasury accounts. It only returns to zero when both sides are recorded.
The day the money leaves the wallet:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 585 Fund transfers | 200,000 | |
| 552100 Orange Money | 200,000 |
The day the bank receives it (bank statement):
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 521 Bank | 200,000 | |
| 585 Fund transfers | 200,000 |
5. A cash withdrawal at an agent
Same logic, with cash as the destination: debit 585 and credit 552 at the withdrawal, then debit 571 and credit 585 when the money enters the cash register. Withdrawal fees follow entry 3.
Three traps that distort cash
A salesperson’s personal wallet. A customer pays on an employee’s personal number, who then pays the company. These are two operations: a receivable on the employee (staff account) and its repayment. Mixing them distorts both the customer’s and the employee’s accounts.
Fees hidden in the receipt. A statement may show an amount net of fees. Record the gross amount on the customer account and the fees separately: otherwise the invoice stays partly due for an amount the customer actually paid.
A 585 that never clears. A transfer to the bank recorded on one side only leaves a balance in 585. At each month end, this account must be at zero; otherwise a transfer is waiting for its other side.
The month-end check
- Balance of 552 = balance shown by the wallet on the same date, for each sub-account.
- 585 at zero, or each balance explained by a transfer in progress.
- Fees for the month consistent with the operator’s statement.
- No unmatched receipt in 411 when the wallet statement shows it.
This check takes a few minutes when the wallet statement is imported rather than re-keyed.
In SynkriaOps
Each wallet is created as a Mobile Money treasury account, with its own journal and suspense account. An Orange Money Cameroon wallet statement is imported in Excel or PDF: the direction of each operation and the fees are recognised without any column setup. For other operators, a CSV or Excel statement is imported like a bank statement, by mapping the columns. Invoice payments are recorded with the payment method and the credited account, then matched on the customer account.
Direct Mobile Money collection from the invoice (the customer pays, the invoice settles itself) is being rolled out: the connection with the operators is not active yet.
For step-by-step instructions, see in the help centre Import a Mobile Money statement and Record a customer payment. To get paid on time, see also Chasing customers and recovering unpaid invoices.