Local Government Revenue Collection
Published
How can we increase tax revenue collected by local governments and pave the way to more local development?
Transparent and efficient revenue collection is challenging for local governments, especially in 3rd World Countries. Local governments in Kenya (county governments) use revenue sources such as fees, taxes, or licenses to fund development and operational activities to supplement what they receive from the central budget. We at LynqSides have put together a solution to help make local revenue collection more manageable and more transparent for citizens and county governments alike.
Previously, tax revenue records were based on paper making it difficult for local governments to quickly obtain a clear picture of their financial situation. Currently, several technologies are popping up to help fix this. However, the various technologies are diverse and they solve specific needs. LynqSides comes in to synchronize the various technologies and provide a real-time link between the people and the local government.
Our process:
- 1. Automated Payment Options
Citizens can directly make payments over methods that can be automated and are trackable. We started with M-Pesa payments after which we are moving to Bank payments, Card Payments, and other PSP gateways according to demand and what works best for the people.
- 2. Agents Accounts
In Kenya, revenue collection agents are famously referred to as “makanjo”. On a daily basis, they move from business to business collecting dues. LynqSides makes this process efficient and scalable by offering a way of sending payment requests to business owners. Agents can then focus only on those who don’t respond to these requests. The agents get assigned to a fixed number of businesses hence maintaining a direct and personal relationship with these people.
Working towards Kenya’s vision 2030, these agents can be financial analysts, who can provide more value to these business owners apart from just revenue collection.
- 3. Accounting Softwares
The name LynqSides is based on ‘linking sides’. We believe in embracing partnerships and working in sync with existing accounting systems and providers. We act as an abstraction layer on top of current accounting softwares, providing real-time payment updates to the software.
- 4. Analytics Dashboard
Details of the payments being processed are automatically represented graphically on our dashboard as they occur in real time. Key Performance Indicators that can be expressed include:
- • Business owner’s performance
- • Agent’s performance
- • Local government’s financial performance
- 5. Payment Links
People can make payments by clicking on payment links which automatically pick the amount they are owed and their account. For M-Pesa payments, STK push technology is implemented on every link and all they have to do is enter their mobile number to receive a notification on their Safaricom line asking for their pin to complete the payment.
These links are embedded within payment request SMS text messages. Agents also make use of these links as they walk from person to person collecting revenue. Instead of using a hardware POS, these agents use an Android Application that can be installed on organisation-issued devices.
- 6. Automated Payment Requests
You can pre-configure SMS templates on LynqSides dashboard to be used for sending payment requests automatically to customers recorded on your accounting software.
- 7. Automated Payment Acknowledgement
After successfully making each payment, acknowledgment SMS text messages get sent to the number that made the payment. These messages can optionally include a URL link for downloading the payment receipt.
