How it works
From the first group to the last round
Rotaro runs a Direct Rotation: members pay each other directly, bank to bank, and Rotaro keeps the record, the reminders and the confirmations. It never holds the money. Here is the whole journey.
Start a group
Give it any name you like. Set how much each member pays, how often (every week, every two weeks or every month), how many rounds, and the first due date. Choose how many days before a due date members are reminded, how long to wait before a payment counts as late, and whether the first payout slots need a guarantor.
In the app: Start a group, then Direct Rotation.
Invite people and name a deputy
Share an invitation link, or the group code (it looks like ROTA-4K7M). Someone who joins with a code asks to join, you approve, and they read the group's rules and accept before they are in. Every group needs a deputy: a member you trust who can step in for you, and who decides anything you cannot decide yourself.
In the app: Invite, then Choose a deputy.
Set the payout order
Everyone gets their own turn to receive the pot. Draw the order at random, where anyone can check the draw; set it by hand, which your deputy approves; or let members pick their own slots. The order is shown to every member before the group starts.
In the app: Set the payout order.
Pay each other, and mark it
Each round, every member pays that round's recipient directly, by bank transfer, as you do today. Then they tap "I have paid". Paid for a relative or a friend? Say so, and both names go on the record.
In the app: I have paid, or I paid for someone else.
The recipient confirms
The member receiving the pot checks their bank and taps Confirm. Only a confirmed payment counts. Nobody confirms their own payment. If the recipient has not answered within the group's waiting time, the payment goes to the organiser to decide, or to the deputy when the organiser is the one receiving.
In the app: Confirm, or Report missing.
Reminders, late payments and disputes
Reminders go out before each due date, by push, email or text, and the organiser can send a WhatsApp reminder in one tap. A payment not confirmed by its due date shows as late to everyone. After the days the group allows, it counts as missed and the group's rule applies, the same way for everyone. If two members disagree, either raises a dispute with evidence, and the organiser records the outcome.
In the app: Dispute this payment.
The record stays
Every contribution, confirmation, dispute and decision is an entry in the group's record, with who made it and when. Entries are never edited or deleted; a mistake is corrected with a new entry that names the one it corrects. Each entry carries a code of the one before it, so any change would show. Everyone in the group reads the same record.
In the app: The record.
Next round, and a new rotation
Once the recipient confirms the pot, the round closes and the next one opens. When the last round ends, the group can start a new rotation with the same people in a tap. Changes to a running group need agreement: the amount, currency or rhythm needs every member; cancelling, redrawing or swapping turns needs both the organiser and the deputy.
In the app: Start a new rotation.
The rules a group agrees
Set once, applied the same way to everyone
- Late and missedHow many days after the due date a payment counts as missed, and what happens then: a flag, a move down the order, or leaving the order after repeated misses.
- GuarantorsWhether members with the first payout slots name another member who stands behind them, and how many slots count as the first ones.
- LeavingBefore the group starts a slot simply opens. After it starts, leaving follows the rule, and the organiser or deputy can bring in a replacement.
- Changing a running groupThe amount, currency or rhythm changes only when every member agrees. Cancelling, redrawing or swapping turns needs both the organiser and the deputy.
Every role in detail: the organiser, the deputy, a member, the recipient on their turn and a guarantor. The in-app guide, How to use Rotaro, has every screen.
Run your circle on one record
Start a group in minutes, or open the invitation your organiser sent you. Rotaro runs on the web today, on any phone or computer.