In Indonesia, two cocoa and two coffee cooperatives working with Progreso are taking a big step toward managing their own finances as they are adopting accounting software for the first time. It’s part of Progreso’s Technical Assistance program, which supports cooperatives not just with training and market access but also with the internal systems that enable them to run as transparent, accountable organisations in their own right.
Staff who had never opened an accounting software program before are now learning to record their own sales, purchases, and bank transactions. That’s the quiet but significant shift behind Progreso’s rollout of Jurnal ID, the accounting software selected earlier this year through a competitive bidding process.
The goal of this training in itself is simple: give cooperatives the tools to manage their finances transparently, on their own. However, in practice, this means more than just installing software. It meant weeks of hands-on training with people who, in many cases, had no accounting background at all.
Getting the data right first
Between June 22 and June 30, our Indonesia Project Manager, Siske Annisa, who led the training for Progreso, worked alongside Jurnal ID’s team and cooperative staff from Koperasi Manik Amerta Buana (MAB), KSU Mitra Petani Toraja (MPT), PT Toduri, and Kopan Sikap Flores through data preparation. Each cooperative filled out templates covering their chart of accounts, product lists, and assets, then was guided through importing that information into the system correctly. This first step is perhaps not the most exciting, but definitely essential as it’s what makes everything after it possible. Get the chart of accounts wrong, and every report built on top of it is wrong too.
From templates to daily practice
The second phase, running from July 7 to July 14, moved into system use: setting up company profiles, generating invoices, recording purchases and sales, tracking operational expenses, and reconciling bank transactions.
By the end of this session, cooperative staff were expected to be ready to start entering their own data, beginning balances, expenses, purchases, sales, from January 1st, 2026 onward. A second session, covering more advanced functions, is scheduled by request before the end of November.
What the cooperatives said
After each session, Progreso surveyed participants on how the training landed. All cooperative staff said the material was easy to understand and apply, that it was presented clearly and in a logical order, and that Siske knew the material well and made room for questions.
The written comments added texture to those numbers. One participant said the material was useful and matched the organization’s needs. Another said the explanations were clear and that there was always a chance to ask questions. A third was candid about pace, noting the delivery moved too fast to keep up with comfortably.
One comment stood out for what it says about how the coaching phase should be shaped: the participant said they personally absorb information better through real cases than through lecture-style material, and asked that support continue if they run into difficulties once they start entering data on their own. That’s feedback Progreso is carrying directly into the coaching schedule now being set with each cooperative.
What comes next
Software adoption doesn’t end when the training does. Progreso’s team is now setting individual coaching schedules with each cooperative, with implementation support continuing through the end of August. Because also we do know and acknowledge that learning a new system, especially for people encountering accounting software for the first time, requires support over time, not just a single onboarding week. Finally, next month, we are launching online coaching for financial, governance and business.
