Half shares and double turns in a committee or tanda: how the numbers work
Not everyone in a savings group can afford a full share, and some members want more than one. Many groups handle both with half shares, where two people split one share, and double turns, where one person holds two shares. In Mexico a double turn is often called a número doble; in a kameti or committee people talk about a half or a full share. The arithmetic is simple, but it has to be written down.
What is a share in a savings circle?
A share is one place in the rotation: one contribution each round and one turn to receive the pot. A group with ten shares runs for ten rounds, and the pot each round is ten contributions. Most of the time each member holds exactly one share, so people say “members” and “shares” interchangeably. Half shares and double turns are the cases where they differ.
How does a half share work?
Two people split one share. Each pays half the contribution every round, and when that share’s turn comes, each receives half the pot. Here is a committee of ten shares at PKR 20,000 a month, where share 4 is split between two family members.
| Pays each month | Receives | Total paid over 10 months | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A member with a full share | PKR 20,000 | PKR 200,000 on their turn | PKR 200,000 |
| Each half-share holder | PKR 10,000 | PKR 100,000 in month 4 | PKR 100,000 |
| The whole group, each month | PKR 200,000 | PKR 200,000 to that month’s turn |
Every month, nine full shares and two half shares pay in PKR 200,000, which is exactly the pot paid out. Each person pays in what they receive.
How does a double turn work?
One person holds two shares. They pay two contributions every round and receive the pot twice, on two different turns. Here is a tanda of ten shares at $100 a week, where Ana holds shares 2 and 7.
| Pays each week | Receives | Total paid over 10 weeks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A member with one share | $100 | $1,000 on their turn | $1,000 |
| Ana, with two shares | $200 | $1,000 in week 2 and $1,000 in week 7 | $2,000 |
| The whole group, each week | $1,000 | $1,000 to that week’s turn |
The group has nine people but ten shares, so it runs for ten weeks, and the pot is still ten contributions.
Who should get a double turn?
A double turn means a bigger commitment each round. If the member takes both turns early and then stops paying, the group loses twice as much. Many organizers only give double turns to members the group knows well, or set the two turns far apart, with one of them late in the rotation.
What should the group write down?
- Who holds each share, including both names on a split share.
- What each person pays each round, and which turn or turns are theirs.
- How a split pot is paid out: to each half-share holder separately, or to one of them for both.
- What happens if one half-share holder stops paying. In most groups the other half-share holder, or the person who brought them in, makes up the gap.
To check the numbers for your own group, use the payout calculator, and enter the number of shares rather than the number of people.
Guides
- For organizers: late payments and defaults, half shares and double turns, choosing a safe app, saving for Umrah, a wedding or school fees, is a savings circle halal? and reminder templates
- Free tools: random turn-order draw, payout calculator, Excel tracker and printable register and rules template
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