Buyer's Guide: 15 Questions to Ask a SACCO Software Vendor

Start Beyond the Feature List

Most SACCO software vendors can list similar features on a slide. The questions that actually reveal how a platform will perform for your organisation tend to be about implementation, support, data ownership and what happens after the contract is signed.

Questions About the Platform Itself

Does it support both BOSA and FOSA in one system? Is SASRA-aligned reporting built in or a manual export process? Are ID/IPRS, KRA PIN, CRB and AML checks embedded into onboarding and lending, or handled outside the system? Is deployment available as both cloud and on-premise?

Questions About Implementation

How long does a typical implementation take for an organisation your size? What does the data migration process look like, and who is responsible for data quality issues found during migration? What training is included, and for which roles?

Questions About Support and Continuity

What are the guaranteed support hours, and is there emergency support outside business hours? What happens if the vendor discontinues a product or changes ownership? Can you export your full data set at any time, in a usable format, if you ever need to switch systems?

Questions About Cost Structure

Is pricing based on membership size, number of branches, or a flat licence fee? Are implementation, training and data migration included, or charged separately? What triggers additional costs later, such as adding a branch or a new integration?

Questions About Local Presence

Who provides first-line support, and are they based in your country or time zone? Is the vendor itself the platform developer, or a reseller and implementation partner working with a separate technology provider, and what does that division of responsibility mean for you when something goes wrong?