How it works

From registration to your first transaction.

Five steps, done by your own officers, at your own pace. Nothing is final until two of your officers activate the society together.

Register your society

  1. Step 1: Register

    5 minutes

    Tell us your society's name, country and type, and create your own sign-in. We'll email you a link to confirm your address. Nothing is created in your society's name until you confirm the details in set-up.

    What you'll need

    • A work email address
    • A mobile phone for sign-in codes
    Register now

  2. Step 2: Practise on a sample society

    As long as you like

    Every account comes with Lakeside Teachers Cooperative, a sample society with 200 members, savings, loans, guarantees and a closed year. Admit a member, take a deposit, approve a loan, run a year-end. Practice is clearly marked and uses no real money, so nothing can go wrong.

    Good first things to try

    • Open member LTC/0142 and read their statement
    • Take a loan from application to disbursement
    • Run the year-end wizard

    What you'll need

    • Nothing

  3. Step 3: Set up your society

    About an afternoon

    A guided checklist takes you through your society's registration details, the rules from your bye-laws, your officers, and your savings and loan products. Every rule comes pre-filled from your country's template and explained with an example, so you only change what's different for you.

    1. Step 1: Your society

      Registration number, registrar, common bond, financial year.

    2. Step 2: Your rules

      Share price, entrance fee, monthly deposit, loan multiplier, approvals per loan, reserve.

    3. Step 3: Your officers

      Invite your secretary, treasurer, committees and board.

    4. Step 4: Your products

      Choose from templates such as BOSA, FOSA, emergency and normal loans.

    What you'll need

    • Registration certificate
    • Your bye-laws (PDF)
    • Officers' names and email addresses

  4. Step 4: Get verified, then activate together

    Status shown as it moves

    We check your registration and your officers' identity. If anything needs changing, we tell you exactly what and why. Once you're verified, your treasurer activates the society and a second officer confirms. Your ledger accounts open, your officers' permissions are set, and your country's prudential rules switch on.

    What you'll need

    • Registration certificate and, where your regulator issues one, your licence
    • ID for each signatory officer

  5. Step 5: Bring your members across

    Hours to days

    Download the import template, fill it from your records and upload it. Bridge checks every row, shows you a dry run, and reconciles every opening balance before anything is posted. Your treasurer and a second officer apply it. Smaller societies can simply add members one by one.

    What you'll need

    • Your member list
    • Each member's shares, deposits, loans and guarantees
    • Your control totals from your last balanced books
    How importing works

Get ready: what you'll need

  • Society's registered name and registration number
  • Registrar or ministry that registered you
  • Bye-laws (PDF or scan)
  • Registration certificate
  • Licence, if your regulator issues one
  • Officers' names, emails and phone numbers
  • ID for each signatory officer
  • Your share price, entrance fee and monthly deposit
  • Member list with balances (for importing)
  • Bank account or mobile money details for collections

Who does each step

Any officer can register. These are the offices that usually complete each step. The checklist shows each person what's theirs.

Who usually completes each set-up step, and whether a second officer is needed
StepUsually done byNeeds a second officer?
Register Chair, general manager or any officer No
Practise Every officer No
Set up: society and rules Chair or general manager with the secretary No
Set up: officers Chair or general manager No
Set up: products Treasurer No
Verification Chair or general manager; each signatory uploads their own ID No
Activate Treasurer Yes, a second officer confirms
Bring members across Treasurer Yes, a second officer applies the import

Help along the way

Guidance on every screen

Every field explains itself, and every rule shows an example worked out from your own numbers.

District unions and apexes

You follow the same five steps, plus one more: invite your affiliates. Each society registers and sets itself up, then links to you with one approval from your side.

Federations & networks

Questions about getting started

Can we stop half-way and come back?

Yes. Every step saves as you go, and any invited officer can pick up where someone else left off.

What if we're not verified?

We tell you exactly which document or detail needs changing. Fix it in the same screen and resubmit.

Can we change our rules after we go live?

Yes. Rule changes need board approval and take effect from a date you choose; existing accounts keep the terms they were opened with.

Is our practice data ever mixed with real data?

No. Practice is completely separate and clearly marked on every screen, export and receipt.

Which countries can register?

Societies across West, Central, East and Southern Africa can register and go live. Choose your country on the registration form.

Set up your society on Bridge.

Register free, practise on sample data, and go live when you're ready. No sales call needed.

Register your society How it works

Free to set up and practise. You pay only once you're live.