The Ledger holds two kinds of Contributions. They go in the same place but they behave differently and they're for different things.
Cash Contributions
Real money in or out. A grocery receipt, a tool purchase, a partial rent payment, a refund. Cash Contributions have a real currency amount and ideally a receipt photo.
Use cash for:
- Anything where money actually changed hands
- Reimbursements ("Maya bought 30€ of soap, owed back from the kitty")
- Tax / accounting documentation (your bookkeeper will thank you)
Sweat Equity Contributions
Hours worked, valued at your community's hourly rate (set in Settings > Sanctuary). No money exchanged; the Ledger just records that someone put in time.
Use sweat for:
- Cooking communal meals
- Building, repair, gardening
- Facilitating Council meetings
- Stewardship work (coordinating, mediating, holding the email)
The "don't double-log" rule
If a member buys lumber AND spends Saturday building the shed, log them separately: one cash Contribution for the lumber receipt, one sweat Contribution for the build hours. Don't try to combine them. Your future self trying to reconcile the books will be grateful.
At year-end
Stewards can export both as CSV. Cash Contributions feed the bookkeeping. Sweat Contributions feed the community's understanding of who carried what — useful for member reviews, fair tier-shifting, and exit calculations when someone leaves.