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TaxhintAdvisors

October 7, 2026 · Guides

Share Capital, Dividend and Member Share Ledger

Share capital software for a society keeps a clean record of what every member has paid in, what the society owes back on exit, and what can be shared as dividend. When this sits in a notebook or a loose Excel sheet, it is usually the first thing that does not tally at the AGM.

In this guide

What a share ledger does

A member share ledger is one account per member showing share purchases, additional contributions, transfers, withdrawals and the running balance. It sits beside the savings and loan accounts described in our member ledger and passbook guide, and it is part of the wider picture in the loan and society software buyer’s guide.

On top of the ledger, three things are usually needed:

  • Share certificates: a printed certificate with member name, number of shares and folio, in your own format.
  • Dividend working: a calculation of each member’s share, based on balance and period, once the general body decides the rate.
  • Member register: admission date, nominee, exit date and current status, ready for the auditor.

Our credit and thrift society management software page lists what the product covers. For anything not listed there, treat it as a question for the demo.

How to use it, step by step

This is the usual flow for a clerk and the manager.

  1. The clerk opens the member’s account at admission and records the entrance fee and the first share payment against it.
  2. Each later contribution is entered as a share receipt, so the balance and the receipt number update together.
  3. For a certificate, the clerk selects the member, checks the share count and prints it on your pre-set form.
  4. On a transfer or exit, the clerk enters a transfer or withdrawal, after the manager confirms any loan or guarantee dues.
  5. Before the AGM, the manager opens the share register for the year-end date and tallies the total with the share capital figure in the trial balance.
  6. After the general body fixes the dividend rate, the manager runs the dividend working, reviews it member by member and posts it only once the CA has cleared it.

How it helps the business

The change is mostly about trust and time. A member who asks “how many shares do I hold?” gets the answer at the counter, not after a hunt through registers. The auditor gets one register that agrees with the books.

SituationWithout a share ledgerWith one
Member asks for share balancePaper search, call back next dayAnswer at the counter
Year-end share capital checkManual totalling, differences chasedRegister total tallied against ledger
Dividend workingCalculator and ExcelCalculated from stored balances, reviewed

The number to watch is the difference between the member share register total and the share capital shown in the balance sheet. It should be nil on the day you close. If it is not, find the entry that broke it before the audit, as the annual compliance checklist is a bad time to find it.

Common mistakes

  • Keeping the share ledger in Excel while loans and savings sit in software, so the totals never meet.
  • Posting dividend before the rate is formally approved and checked against your Act or Rules.
  • Deleting a member’s entries after exit instead of closing the account, which breaks history.
  • Ignoring the nominee field until a claim arrives.
  • Printing certificates from a free-hand template with no folio number control.

What to check in a demo

  • Can you enter a share purchase and see the passbook, ledger and trial balance change together?
  • Can it print a certificate in your format with your logo and signatories?
  • Does the dividend working show each member’s calculation, so you can explain it at the AGM?
  • What happens on exit with pending loan dues?
  • Can it produce a share register for any past date?

Want to see this working on your own data? See the credit and thrift society management software, ask for a live demo on +91 93117 95484, or write to mail@taxhint.in.

FAQs

Can the software work out dividend on shares automatically?

A good system should calculate it from each member’s share balance over the period and the rate your general body approves. Whether and how much you may declare depends on your Act or Rules, so check that and your CA’s advice before the AGM.

What happens to a member’s shares when they leave?

The share account is closed through a withdrawal or refund entry, after dues such as loan balances are adjusted as per your bye-laws. The ledger should keep the old entries visible, not erase them.

Do we need a separate share ledger if we already keep passbooks?

The passbook is the member’s copy. The share ledger is the society’s own record, and the two must agree. Software that prints the passbook from the same ledger removes the mismatch.

Can a Nidhi company use the same share ledger?

Nidhis keep a register of members and shares under the Companies Act and the Nidhi Rules, so the layout differs. Ask for a demo with your own format, and confirm the requirements with your CA.

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