Malini maliniapp.co.za

Bookkeeping that lives in WhatsApp and Telegram

Your money. In your language. — isiXhosa

Photograph the slip. Malini does the books.

Malini is a bookkeeping helper for African small businesses. It lives inside WhatsApp and Telegram — the apps your shop already has open. Send a photo of a till slip; it reads it, counts it against your stock, and writes back in the language you sent it in.

Free for your first 30 days. After that, priced in your own currency — rand, dollars or shillings.

Join the waiting list

We open new shops a few at a time, in the order they signed up. No card, no sales call — Zuzo writes to you on WhatsApp or Telegram when yours is next.

  • WhatsApp + Telegram
  • Works on slow signal
  • Your data stays yours

Before · 14:22 · Friday

A till slip from Vusi’s Wholesale listing eighteen lines of stock by quantity.

After · 14:23 · WhatsApp

Malini14:23

Got it. Vusi’s Wholesale, 18 lines — counted against your kitchen stock.

Lamb is up 4% on last week.

02 · The problem, in one owner’s words

I close the till on a Friday and I’m short. I don’t know where it went. By Monday I’ve stopped looking.

— a Joburg chicken shop owner

Not the month-end spreadsheet — the Friday-night feeling that the day moved faster than you did. Malini stops you losing money you didn’t know you were losing.

03 · Three things it does

Three things. Nothing else.

  1. Send the slip. That’s the whole job.

    Photograph it and send it to Malini on WhatsApp or Telegram — whichever your shop already uses. Paper slips, supplier e-mails, a voice note at the back door: same chat, same answer. Nothing to install.

  2. Open your day at 06:14.

    A short message before you unlock: what yesterday took, what’s running low, which prices moved. The note a careful manager would leave on your desk.

  3. Ask Zuzo, in your own language.

    “How much did I spend on chicken this month?” — in isiXhosa, Setswana, chiShona, Kiswahili, English, or your language of comfort. Zuzo answers in the language you asked in, and in your own currency.

04 · A real day · twelve hours, six messages, two apps

One chat thread, start to close.

06:14 · open

From Malini · WhatsApp · isiXhosa

Molo. Yesterday’s till is counted and balanced. Chicken stock down to 2 days. Eggs — order today.

Molo = good morning, in isiXhosa.

09:48 · delivery

From owner · Telegram · photo

[ till slip · Vusi’s Wholesale ]

Counted. Vusi’s Wholesale, 18 lines. Lamb up 4% on last week — want me to flag the menu?

13:02 · question

From owner · Telegram · chiShona

Zuzo, ndatengesa marii nezuro?

Zuzo, how much did I sell yesterday?

Wakatengesa $412. Mwedzi uno wakawanda ne-12% kupfuura wadarika.

You sold $412. This month is up 12% on last.

15:20 · question

From owner · WhatsApp · Kiswahili

Zuzo, nilitumia pesa ngapi kwa kuku mwezi huu?

Zuzo, how much did I spend on chicken this month?

Ulitumia KSh 18,400 kwa kuku mwezi huu — 6% chini ya mwezi jana.

You spent KSh 18,400 on chicken this month — 6% below last month.

17:35 · roster

From staff · WhatsApp · Afrikaans

Naomi clock uit. Sien jou môre.

Naomi clocking out. See you tomorrow.

Logged. 8h 22m today. Three staff still on shift.

21:08 · close

From Malini · Telegram · Setswana

Letsatsi le fedile. Tsotlhe di a dumalana, fa ntle le phoso e nngwe kwa till — ke tla botsa mo mosong. Robala sentle.

Day done. Everything balances except one till gap — I’ll ask in the morning. Sleep well. — Setswana

Scroll the rail · 06:14 → 21:08

05 · Straight answers

What Malini is not.

  • Not another app to log in to. It’s a WhatsApp or Telegram chat. Both get a photo through on a cheap phone and a SIM you haven’t topped up this week.

  • Not a replacement for your accountant. Malini does the daily part they don’t do, then sends a clean file on the first of the month. Your accountant keeps their job.

  • Not a lecture. Zuzo tells you what changed and stays quiet when nothing did. Two messages a day, not twenty.

06 · Price · in your currency, in plain language

Free for 30 days. Then let’s talk.

Pro & Premium · let’s talk

Stock that warns you before you run out, staff roles, more than one shop.

Let’s talk.

Setup tailored to your shop

Know what to order before your customers find you out of stock.

  • Everything in Starter
  • Low-stock warnings
  • Staff roles and roster
  • Up to three locations, or more
  • Onboarding done in your shop, by us
Join the waiting list

Nothing to pay while you wait. We quote in the currency your shop trades in — rand, dollars, shillings — VAT or local tax included, and only after your 30 free days. Cancel with a message to Zuzo and everything you’ve captured comes back to you as a file.

07 · FAQ

Things people ask us first.

Q1How does the waiting list actually work?

We open new shops a few at a time, in the order they signed up, because a person from Malini sets up every shop by hand. You’ll get one message from Zuzo when yours is next — not a newsletter. Leaving the list takes one word.

Q2WhatsApp or Telegram — which one?

Whichever your shop already uses. Malini works the same in both: you send a photo, Zuzo answers in the same thread. Staff on WhatsApp and an owner on Telegram is a normal setup, and both see the shop they’re allowed to see.

Q3Will it work if my internet is slow?

Yes. You send a photo to a chat; that’s all you need. WhatsApp and Telegram both handle bad signal better than almost any other app. Once the photo reaches Malini the rest happens on our side — you don’t wait.

Q4Who can see my receipts?

Only you, and anyone you add. Your data lives on AWS Cape Town, encrypted, POPIA-compliant, and is never sold or used to train anyone else’s anything. Your accountant sees the monthly file you choose to share.

Q5What happens if I cancel?

Nothing bad. Your receipts and your data are yours — Zuzo mails you the whole file before the kettle boils. Cancel from a message; no forms, no calls to head office.

Q6What does it cost to join the list?

Nothing. When your shop opens, the first 30 days are free; after that we quote in the currency your shop trades in, with local tax included.

08 · Join the waiting list

Your shop runs better by next Friday.

Molo — join the waiting list

We open new shops a few at a time, in the order they signed up. Drop your email and we’ll write you back, in the language you’d like to hear from us in.