Keep every member, share balance, loan decision and notice on one shared record.

A credit union exists for its members, and it is often run by a small paid team with elected volunteers on the board and the credit committee. The members expect personal service from an institution that cannot afford a large back office. Spreadsheets cope for a while. Past a few thousand members, paper loan files and linked workbooks stop coping and start hiding things.

Credit union management software keeps the member at the centre. Savings, shares, loans, guarantors and notices are tied to one membership record. Begin with membership and loan decisions, which carry the most explaining. Collections and member communication come next.

Staff enrol new members. They record the common bond or sponsoring employer that qualifies each person, and open the share and savings accounts that the credit union offers to every new member. Deposits arrive at the counter, by payroll deduction from a sponsoring employer or by standing order from a bank. A loan officer takes each application, checks the member’s savings history and adds guarantors where the policy asks for them. The credit committee meets, reads the file and records a decision.

Treasurers post interest and dividends. They also prepare the figures that the board and the supervisor ask to see before each quarterly meeting. Collections staff phone members whose repayments are late and note what was agreed. The annual meeting needs a member list, notices and a record of votes. Volunteers rotate each term. The records must carry the history, not the people.