In this guide 6 sections
Ask the vendor to run your own pledge packets through the system before you sign. Check the packet register, purity and net weight entries, interest slabs, renewal and release, auction notices and branch cash to head office. Software that handles these on your real data is worth a closer look.
Does it hold the pledge packet as one record?
A packet is more than a loan. It has a number, a sealed envelope, a customer, a set of ornaments and a place in a strongroom. Ask to see all of that on one screen.
Ask where the packet sits right now. Branch locker, head office vault or out for valuation? A register that cannot answer this in seconds will send your staff back to the notebook.
Packets also move between branches. A transfer should leave a dated entry with two names on it, not a phone call and a hope.
- Packet number tied to loan number
- Strongroom or locker location
- Transfer entries with sender and receiver
- Photo of the sealed packet
How are purity and net weight captured?
Gross weight is easy. Net weight after stones, solder and wax is where disputes start. The form should take gross weight, deduction and net weight as separate fields.
Purity needs the same care. Ask whether the appraiser records the karat reading, the touchstone or machine result, and the appraiser’s own name against each item.
Eligible loan value should come from those entries and your rate for the day. Nobody should type it in by hand. Ask the vendor to change the rate and show you the limit move.
Can it run your interest slabs and renewals?
Most gold loans do not charge one flat rate. Rates step up as months pass, and some schemes shift at fixed intervals. Give the vendor your three oldest schemes and see whether it copes.
Renewal is the second trap. A customer pays the interest and takes a fresh loan on the same packet. The old loan must close and the new one must open without the packet being re-entered.
Part release follows the same logic. One ornament comes out, the rest stay, and the balance is recalculated. Test it with a real packet of four items.
- Slab changes by month or by day count
- Renewal that keeps the packet record
- Part release with recalculated balance
- Receipt printed at the counter
What happens when a loan goes overdue?
Auction rules are strict, and the paper trail matters. Ask whether the system flags a loan at each notice stage and prints the notice with the right dates.
You want a list of packets nearing auction, a record of each notice sent and its proof of delivery. If the auction is later challenged, this is the file you open.
Also ask who can approve an auction. A single login that anyone can use is a weakness. Approval should sit with a named senior.
How does cash reach head office, and how do you test it?
Branches pay out loans in cash and collect interest in cash. The day book should show opening cash, payouts, receipts and the closing figure sent to head office.
Ask for the branch cash report and the head office view of the same day. They should agree without anyone adding up by hand.
Now the test. Take ten finished packets from your own files, with a renewal and a part release among them. Ask the vendor to enter them live. Sign nothing until the figures match your ledger.
Vendor test sheet for gold loan software
Test grid for the vendor demo. Its columns are test, your sample packet number, expected result, vendor result and pass or fail. The rows cover packet transfer, net weight entry, a slab change, renewal, part release, an overdue notice, an auction approval and branch cash closing.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Do we need separate software for gold loans and chits?
Not always. Many firms run both. Ask whether one customer record can hold a pledge loan and a chit membership, and whether cash from both reaches the same day book.
Why test on our own packets?
Demo data is clean. Your packets carry odd deductions, old schemes and renewals that were patched by hand. Real files show gaps a demo hides.
Who should be in the room for the trial?
Your counter staff, your appraiser and the person who closes the cash each evening. They know the awkward cases and will spot a wrong entry quickly.
Can a small branch run this on a phone?
Some parts can, such as balance enquiry or photo upload. Ask which screens work on a phone and which need a desktop at the counter.