Frequently asked questions
Getting started
What exactly is SBB?
A real-time, all-in-one business management and accounting system: the money, the stock, the people and the paperwork that proves it, in one place. Every sale and payment posts to proper double-entry books the moment it happens. See What is SBB?.
How long does setup take?
An afternoon to be recording transactions. About a week to have books you would show a bank — see Your first week.
Do I need to understand accounting?
No. You record business events — a sale, a purchase, a payment — and correct double-entry bookkeeping comes out the other end. Terms you meet along the way are in the Glossary.
How do I move from QuickBooks / Excel?
See Migrate to SBB — it has downloadable templates for every kind of data and the order to import them in. QuickBooks Desktop exports are understood natively, including their grouped layout.
What can I import?
Accounts and opening balances, products and stock, customers, suppliers, transactions, invoices, bills, employees and fixed assets — each with a downloadable template.
Money & currencies
What is a Reporting Class, and how do I create one?
A Class is an optional business segment—such as Retail, Wholesale or Professional Services—that you can place on invoices and income or expense entries. Owners create them under Settings → Personalization. In Reports → P&L, select one Class to filter the statement or compare all Classes in the breakdown. See Reporting Classes.
Which currencies does SBB support?
Any currency — UGX, KES, TZS, RWF, NGN, GHS, ZAR, USD, EUR, GBP and more. Each money location has its own, and reports total in your base currency. Rates are frozen per transaction date, so last year's numbers do not move when today's rate does. See Multi-currency.
Can I take mobile money payments?
Yes — MTN MoMo, Airtel Money and M-Pesa depending on your country, both request-to-pay and pay-to-merchant with a QR code. See Mobile money.
How does reconciliation work?
Like QuickBooks: pick an account, enter the statement's ending balance, check off each transaction until the difference is zero, then finish — every matched entry gets a permanent ✓. Or import the statement and let SBB auto-match. See Reconciliation.
Working offline
Does SBB work offline?
Yes, two ways: the web app queues entries and syncs when you are back, and the Windows desktop app is fully offline-first for POS and inventory. See Working offline.
Can several tills share stock?
Yes. Tills on the same local network tell each other what they have sold, so stock stays in step even with no internet. See Multi-branch.
People
Can my accountant use it?
Yes — invite them under Collaboration with the accountant role. They get the ledger, statements, reconciliation and exports without owner powers, and they do not need their own subscription. See Working with your accountant.
I run an accounting firm — is there something for me?
Yes: a practice workspace for running a whole client portfolio, with review stages, branded report packs and portfolio insights.
Can staff see their own payslips?
Yes, with employee self-service. They see their own record and nothing else.
Can I stop a cashier seeing payroll?
Yes. Access is by role, and a cashier with till access sees no payroll data at all.
The AI
What is Kiongozi?
The AI built into SBB. It works from your real books — a daily brief, review queues, duplicate and evidence checks, and plain-language answers. See Kiongozi.
Can it change my data?
Only if you allow it, and by default it asks first. There are six operating modes from "disabled" to "autonomous", and everything it does lands on the audit trail. See Trust, limits & permissions.
What happens when I run out of AI tokens?
AI features pause until your next period. The rest of SBB works exactly as normal.
Data & safety
Is my data safe?
Every write is tracked with an audit trail; deletions go through a recycle bin with reasons; role-based access limits what each person sees; and data is transmitted over HTTPS and backed up server-side.
Can I get my data out?
Yes, at any time, in Excel/CSV and PDF. See Exporting your data.
I deleted something by mistake
Check the Recycle Bin — deletions are recoverable.
Why can’t I delete a paid invoice?
Paid and partially paid invoices affect the ledger, so they must be voided before deletion. Void the invoice to reverse its payment transactions, then delete it to the Recycle Bin. If restored, it remains void and does not restore the reversed revenue. See Voiding and deleting invoices.
Billing
How do I pay for SBB?
With mobile money inside the app (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, M-Pesa, depending on country) for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months — yearly saves 10%. See Subscriptions & payment.
What happens when my trial ends?
Your data stays. Paid features pause until you subscribe. Nothing is deleted for non-payment.
Help
I found a bug / need help
Use the Help button inside SBB, or the support centre at smartbusinessbook.io/support — guides, articles and a ticket system. Common problems are covered in Troubleshooting.