For Ethiopian businesses
Run your business.
Verify payments.
Know your numbers.
Chela gives businesses a simpler way to manage sales, verify payments, track activity, and grow — from one platform.
Free plan available · No card required
Payment verified — the sale completes only after the transaction is confirmed.
Built for the counter
Sell fast, stay accurate
Ring up items, apply discounts and tips, and take QR, cash or gift-card payments — all from a POS designed for phones first.
- Items, discounts and tips in ETB or percent
- Open carts survive interruptions, discard with undo
- Every sale records its branch and staff member
Built for the owner
Payments you don't have to double-check
Supported payments are verified against provider records before a sale completes, and results are kept with the transaction.
- Verification runs on Chela's backend, not the browser
- Transactions keep their verification evidence
- Analytics by branch, product, staff and hour
Verified — the sale is marked paid with its verification record.
Built for the team
Everyone sees what they should
Staff work their counter, managers see their branches, owners see the whole picture. Permissions are enforced server-side.
- Owner · manager · staff roles
- Staff see only their own sales and tips
- Pause, resume or remove access anytime
Roles are enforced on every request by the platform.
Chela Card
Gift cards, without paper or guesswork
Sell a gift card from your POS, or let customers buy one in the Chela Card mini app on Telegram. The balance lands in their wallet, is redeemable at your counter, and is never created before the payment clears.
Choose the amount
Presets from 100 ETB, or any amount up to 100,000 ETB — with an optional expiry in days and a note printed on the card.
The card is issued after payment
Sell it at the counter or let a customer buy it in the Chela Card mini app. Either way the balance exists only once the payment verifies.
Sent or shown
Buyers send the card to anyone on Telegram in one tap with an occasion theme and a message, or open its QR at the counter.
Spent at the counter
Staff apply the card to a sale. If it does not cover the total, the rest is paid in cash — and every balance change is recorded.
- Birthday, Eid, holiday and “just because” card themes
- Optional expiry date on every card
- Orders and issued cards listed for owners and managers
- Credit back, adjust or freeze a card — with a reason on record
A card is redeemed at the business that issued it — not across unrelated businesses. Gift-card balances change only through recorded, audited actions.
Chela
Gift Card
Birthday
ETB 500.00
“Happy birthday, Selam!”
Card
•••• 4821
Gift-card activity
Why Chela
Built around how businesses actually get paid
Know when you've actually been paid
Chela checks supported payments before a sale is marked paid — less squinting at payment messages and transaction details.
Keep sales organized
Every sale, payment and transaction lives in one place, attributed to the right branch and staff member.
Give your team the tools they need
Owners, managers and staff each get an experience sized to their role, with permissions enforced on the server.
Understand your business
Analytics for revenue, top products, peak hours and staff performance — per branch or across them all.
Features
Everything a counter needs, nothing it doesn't
Chela is focused on selling, verifying and understanding — not on features for their own sake.
Payment verification
Verify supported transactions — CBE, BOA, Telebirr and more — before completing a sale.
Modern POS
A fast web-based point of sale for items, discounts, tips and payments — including gift cards.
Business analytics
Owners and managers get revenue, product and staff insights with CSV export.
Team management
Roles, permissions, pause and resume access — enforced server-side.
Multi-branch
Run multiple locations, with owners able to scope who works where.
Receipts & records
Every transaction keeps its record, including QR evidence for verified payments.
Inventory & barcodes
Barcode-scanned product catalog with stock tracking.
Secure architecture
Verification and sensitive operations run on the backend — never in your browser.
Subscriptions & referrals
Self-serve plans and a refer-and-earn program for Chela itself.
How it works
From signup to insight in four steps
Create your business
Sign up with your phone, set up your business and catalog in minutes.
Start selling
Ring up sales with items, discounts and tips; take QR, cash or gift-card payments.
Verify payments
Supported payments are checked before the sale completes — no more guessing.
Understand your business
Watch revenue, products and staff performance in the analytics dashboard.
Pricing
Simple plans in ETB
Start free, upgrade when your volume grows. Pay for longer periods and save.
Free
0 ETB / mo
Get started with the basics.
- 100 monthly payment verifications
- 1 team member per branch
- 1 business · 1 branch
Business
Popular199 ETB / mo
For growing shops and cafés.
- 2,000 monthly payment verifications
- ~70 API requests / minute
- Up to 3 team members per branch
- 2 businesses · up to 3 branches
Business Pro
499 ETB / mo
For multi-branch operations.
- 10,000 monthly payment verifications
- ~500 API requests / minute
- Up to 10 team members per branch
- Up to 5 businesses · 10 branches
Enterprise
Custom
Custom limits and pricing.
- Custom verification volumes
- Custom API limits
- Multiple businesses & branches
- Larger teams · custom integrations
All plans include payment verification, POS, receipts and team management. Quotas are per business per month.
Refer & earn
Refer businesses. Earn cash.
Know a business that could use Chela? Refer them and earn when they become a paying customer.
Share your link
Get your unique referral link from the Refer & Earn page in the Chela app.
They sign up
Your referral is automatically associated with their new account.
They subscribe
Once they successfully pay for a qualifying paid plan, the referral becomes eligible for a reward.
You earn
Earn a percentage of the qualifying amount paid, tracked in your Refer & Earn dashboard.
Good to know
- Referral links are the easiest method — codes work too.
- Signing up alone does not generate a reward.
- Free plans do not qualify.
- A successfully verified payment for a qualifying paid subscription is required.
Earn a percentage of qualifying subscription payments.
The current percentage is shown in the app, and rewards are paid out as cash once the payout minimum is reached.
Trust & security
Serious about your business's records
Server-side verification
Payment checks run on Chela's backend against provider data — the client never decides what's paid.
Role-based access
Owner, manager and staff permissions are enforced on every request, not hidden with CSS.
Auditable history
Management actions and member changes are recorded — who did what, and when.
Business data protection
One business's data is isolated from another's by design, on every query.
Chela helps you verify and record payments. It does not guarantee payment outcomes, prevent all fraud, or replace your bank.
FAQ
Common questions
What is Chela?
Chela is an Ethiopia-first point-of-sale and payment verification platform. It helps businesses manage sales, verify supported payments, organize teams and branches, and understand performance through analytics.
Who is Chela for?
Any Ethiopian business that takes payments — cafes, shops, salons, restaurants, wholesalers and multi-branch businesses. Owners manage the business; managers and staff get tools sized to their role.
How does payment verification work?
When a customer pays by a supported method, Chela checks the transaction against provider records before the sale is marked paid. Verification runs on Chela's backend, and results are recorded with each transaction. Cash and gift-card sales are recorded directly without provider verification.
How do Chela gift cards work?
You issue a card for a fixed amount between 1 and 100,000 ETB, with an optional expiry in days and a note on the card. The buyer can send it to someone on Telegram with an occasion theme and a message; the recipient claims it into their own Chela Card wallet. At the counter, staff apply the card to a sale and any remainder is paid in cash.
Read the full gift-card guideWhen is a gift card actually created?
Only after its payment verifies. Whether you sell it from the POS or a customer buys it in the Chela Card mini app on Telegram, the balance is issued after the payment is confirmed — an abandoned or unpaid order never produces a card.
Where can a gift card be spent?
At the business that issued it. Gift cards are business-scoped, so a card sold by one business cannot be redeemed at another — that keeps each card's balance and records unambiguous. If you operate several branches, the card is redeemed against a sale at your business.
Can a gift card be partially spent?
Yes. If the card's balance is less than the sale total, the card covers what it can and the rest is paid in cash. The remaining balance stays on the card, and every balance change is recorded on the card's activity.
Can I see the gift cards I've issued?
Owners and managers get a list of gift-card orders and issued cards in the app, with each card's balance, status and activity. A manager can credit a card back, adjust its balance, or freeze it — each action requires a reason and is recorded.
Do I need to install an application?
No. Chela is web-based and works as a Progressive Web App (PWA) — you can add it to your phone's home screen for an app-like experience, but there's nothing to install from an app store.
Can I use Chela on my phone?
Yes. Chela is designed mobile-first and works on modern Android and iOS browsers, as well as desktop.
Can I have multiple branches?
Yes. Each business can operate multiple branches, and sales records keep track of which branch made them. Owners can see all branches or focus on one.
Can multiple employees use one business account?
Yes. Every employee has their own account and is added to your business with a role — staff, manager or owner — with permissions enforced by the platform, not by trust.
What is included in the Free plan?
The Free plan includes 100 payment verifications per month, 1 team member per branch, 1 business and 1 branch — enough to run and evaluate Chela on real sales.
How does the referral program work?
Every Chela user gets a referral link and code. When a business you referred becomes a paying customer — a successfully verified payment for a qualifying paid subscription — you earn a cash commission on the amount paid. You can track referrals and earnings in the Refer & Earn page in the app.
When does a referral become successful?
Only when the referred account pays for a qualifying paid subscription and that payment is verified. Signups, free plans and trials do not generate rewards.
How are referral rewards calculated?
As a configurable percentage of the amount actually paid for the qualifying subscription — not the list price. If the referred customer used a discount, the reward is based on what was actually collected.
Can I upgrade my plan?
Yes. Owners can pick a new plan on the Subscription & billing page in the app at any time. Upgrades take effect after the payment is verified.
What happens when my subscription expires?
Your business moves back to the Free plan's limits automatically. Your sales, records and team accounts remain intact.
Do you support Enterprise businesses?
Yes. Enterprise customers get custom verification volumes, limits, integrations and support. Contact sales and we'll set it up with you.
Contact
Have questions or need something specific?
Reach the right team directly, or send a message with the form.
General questions
Product questions and support.
support@chela.et
Partnerships
Working together on payment rails, distribution or integrations — start with a message.
Ready when your business is
Start on the Free plan and upgrade when you're ready — your sales, team and analytics come with you.