Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for microfinance institutions.
A checklist built from how microfinance institutions work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Members, groups and centres
- Loan files and KYC
- Repayment schedules
- Collection screens for loan officers
- Arrears by bucket and officer
- Branch deposits matched to the bank
- Renewals for the next cycle
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners and managing directors
- For loan officers
- For field collectors
- For accountants
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Demand versus collection for the day, week or month, by collector and by branch
- Overdue ageing by bucket, with the borrower list behind each figure
- Disbursements by product, officer and month
- SHG-wise outstanding and member-wise repayment history
- Applications pending sanction and the documents each one is missing
- Commission earned on recoveries, worked out from actual receipts
- Loans closing this month and collateral due for release
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Accounting export
- SMS
- Payment links and gateways
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it handle SHG and group loans?
- Can we keep our accounting package?
- Is there an app for field collectors?
- Can it monitor accounts after disbursement, and what happens past 90 days?
- Can EMIs be collected by e-NACH or auto-debit?
- Do co-operative societies and Nidhi companies get deposits and share capital?
- How is our existing loan book moved from Excel?
- Is it core lending software for an NBFC, and does it make us RBI compliant?
- Who owns the loan data?
- What does it cost?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Demand sheets and receipts are kept apart
- Branch cash and receipts differ
- Arrears surface after month end
- Member and group figures drift
- An officer leaves with his centres
Prefer to talk it through? See the microfinance institutions page.