Centers, groups, and clients: Overview

Below the level of the branch, your MFI can have centers and groups to organize and empower clients. Usually, a single Loan Officer works in a center and has responsibility for several groups. If there is a center, it determines the meeting schedule (if there is one) for all the groups contained in it. (Otherwise, the branch does this.)

Groups include clients; they can sometimes act as a unit, as in the case where a group has a savings or loan account, and all clients in that group contribute to it.

Clients can act on their own, with individual savings and loan accounts, or they can act as part of a group.

How To Setup Mifos: Overview

• System recommendations
• Latest release notes
• Installation guide
• Configuration guide
• Deployment methodology
• Maintenance and post-deployment planning

This manual contains information on the use of Mifos once it has been installed and configured. For information on what needs to happen before you start to use Mifos, check the following sections.

System recommendations

Before you install Mifos, you must read the system recommendations and be sure that your system is suitable to run Mifos.

Latest release notes

The release notes for each release of Mifos are here. Read them to find important information about the latest release, including known issues.

Installation guide

The installation guide gives you all the instructions you need to install Mifos.

Configuration guide

The configuration guide includes instructions on all the operations that must occur before you starting working with Mifos.

Deployment methodology

The deployment guide includes tips and advice for deploying Mifos independently through community with support via our mailing lists..

Maintenance and post-deployment planning

The maintenance section of the Mifos knowledge base includes information on maintaining Mifos and on planning for future releases.

How to use this manual

• Table of contents
• Using links
• Searching for information
• Tips and techniques
• Glossary
• Document conventions

Table of contents

To read any of the sections listed on the left, click the section name.

Using links

Any text in blue is a link; click it to open a Web site. For example, the Mifos configuration guide is stored on a Web site, and you may need to refer to it or change some of its details.

Searching for information

All information in this manual is indexed by Google. If you go to the Google.com site and type words or phrases in the search box, this manual will be searched for those words or phrases.

Tips and techniques

In this manual, we present several helpful tips that we and our users have found to make operation of Mifos easier. You may find other helpful tips under the FAQ section of this manual.

Glossary

The glossary in this manual (see the appendix) explains some finance terms and some terms that are used by MFIs for their work.  It also includes definitions of terms used in Mifos.

Document conventions

These are the rules for how information is presented in this manual.

• All names of items on the screen (UI elements) have initial capital letters. For example, View Product Mix.
• Any message from the Mifos software is surrounded by quotation marks, as in the following:
  “Please select the Product Type.”
  “Please specify the Category Name.”
• The names of commands and buttons that you click are shown in boldface type.
• Items in Mifos that must be clicked in order to navigate to a particular spot look like this:

  Click Admin > Define New Holidays.
  This means, click the Admin tab and, in the screen that appears, click Define New Holidays.
  

How to log on and log out

1. Open a browser and navigate to the URL for Mifos (provided by your system administrator)
2. The login screen appears
   
3. In the Username box, type the username provided for you on Mifos.
4. In the Password box, type the password provided for you, and click the Login button.
5. The main Mifos window appears.

Note: The first time you log on, Mifos will show a screen to change your password immediately to one of your own choosing. See the How to change your password section for how to change your password after this.

To log out, click the Logout button in the upper right corner of the screen.

How to change your password

1. In the upper right corner of the Mifos screen, click Your settings. A list of all current settings appears.
2. Click Change password. The following screen appears:
   
   
3. In the Old Password box, type your current password.
4. In the New Password box, type the new password. It must be at least 6 characters long, letters and/or numbers. It cannot be longer than 20 characters.
5. In the Confirm New Password box, type the new password again.
6. Click Submit.

How to navigate within Mifos

• Tabs
• Left navigation panel
• Opening screen
• Searching
• Procedure steps
• How to go back to a previous page
• Editable and noneditable fields

Tabs

The tabs near the top of the screen



show you the main sections of Mifos. Click any of these to move to that section. For example, if you click the Admin tab, this screen appears:

Left navigation panel

On the left, links marked "Quick Start" will take you to commonly used operations.

When you are in different sections of Mifos, the left navigation panel does different things:

• While viewing the Admin tab, you can use this panel to search for clients and accounts.
• While viewing the Clients & Accounts tab, you can use this panel to begin common operations.
• The left navigation panel is not used while viewing the Reports tab.

Opening screen

When you first login to Mifos, you see a screen that looks much like this:

Searching

Any time you see a Search box, as in the illustration above, you can go directly to a client, centre, group, or savings/loan account. Type the centre/group/client name, the system ID (for a client, group, or center), client's government ID, or loan/savings account number, and click Search. If there are more than one possible responses, a list appears, which might look like the following;

 

In this case, click the correct one to view it.

Procedure steps

Some procedures (like creating a loan account) have several steps. In those situations, a bar across the screen tells you which step you are in. It might look like this:

 

 

Data entry

All data entry screens in the system behave in the same way. Note the following:

• You can type data into a text field.  A text field requires typing or scanning, as in the amount and interest rate fields in the above page. 
• In a “pull-down list” or “drop-down list,” there is a predefined list of values; the user must choose one from this list. In some cases the items on this list are based on user entries; in other cases, they are configured by the MFI. For information on how to change some of these values, see How To Define And Change Lookup Options
• In some cases, when the data is selected, values that depend on it are displayed automatically and cannot be changed.
• Fields that require no data entry are dimmed.
• Mandatory fields have a red asterisk (*) before the field name. The user must enter data in this field before the form can be completed.
• Where the form is longer than the screen, use the scroll bar to display more fields.
• Use the keyboard to move from one field to another; after you have entered data in a field, press Tab to move to the next field.
• The data entry pages indicate the numbers of steps to be completed. The above section of the create loan account screen, at the top, shows that the current step is the Loan Account Information. You can click the previous step to go back to it.

How to set up MFI operations: Overview

If you are setting up the operations for a microfinance institution (MFI) for the first time, you need to make decisions about its structure, its rules, its user members, and their roles. Some of these decisions must be made immediately, and some will be needed only when the MFI becomes more complex. Other decisions are completely optional.

In the process of configuring Mifos (see the Configuration guide), you or your administrator made many other decisions, such as the language in which Mifos is displayed to you. If you are looking for ways to control Mifos behavior and do not see them shown here, check the configuration file again.
We recommend that you make the decisions in this order, if they apply to your situation:

1. Create any additional fields that you will need to create offices
2. Create and/or view an existing MFI structure, including all offices
3. Create roles and permissions for system users
4. Create system users
5. Create rules for data display (labels, lookup options, additional fields)
6. Define accepted payment types
7. Create fees
8. Create fund types
9. Set product categories
10. Create checklists (optional)
11. Create holidays
12. Define products (loans and savings accounts)

How to set office structure

Your MFI can have as many as five levels of offices, which can be organized according to geographical or functional divisions. All users and clients of the MFI must be attached to offices.

• Head office
  
• Regional office
  
• Subregional office
• Area office
  
• Branch office
  

The head office is the main or parent office for an MFI. Mifos automatically creates it, and there can be only one in an MFI. During initial configuration (see the Configuration guide), you must decide on specifications for at least one branch office; this is the level at which all client interactions take place. You can also decide on specifications for the other three types of offices, which are optional.

The following screenshot shows how to choose which levels of offices you want in Mifos.

 INSERT SCREENSHOT HERE OF VIEW OFFICE HIERARCHY

Once you have decided how many levels of office to have and have configured them, you can add more instances of each of them, if you have the appropriate permissions.

Once you have defined an office as a head office or branch office, you cannot change it to a different office type, such as regional office, sub regional office, or area office. However, you can change the offices of these three optional types to any other level except for the head office level.

TIP:  If you work in an area office or a head office and also want to offer services directly to clients, you must create a "virtual branch office" and assign clients to it.

To view and update the existing office hierarchy, click Admin > View Office Hierarchy.

 

How to work with roles, permissions, and system users

• Personnel hierarchies and office hierarchies
• How to work with roles and permissions
• How to work with system users

Before you create the system users (such as loan officers) who will deal directly with clients, you must decide what their roles are and what permissions they will have. You must have appropriate permissions to create roles.

Before beginning, note the following terms:

• Activity: any system action that a user might perform, such as creating a new system user
• Permission: authorization to execute an activity
• Role: a named set of permissions for a particular user
• Data scope: a set of permissions for a role, determined by the user’s place in the personnel hierarchy and in the office hierarchy  

Personnel hierarchies and office hierarchies

The personnel hierarchy has two levels:

• The Loan Officer has a data scope that is limited to his/her clients, which only she or he is able to modify as appropriate.  The Loan Officer is able to view clients assigned to other Loan Officers but cannot modify the information for them.  A Loan Officer can be attached to only one branch.  If necessary, you can create the same Loan Officer in a different branch as the same user, but in the different branch this officer must have a different system ID.
• The Other level hierarchy has no restrictions and has unrestricted access subject to the office hierarchy explained below.

The following table illustrates how these two hierarchies are related.

User's office hierarchy	Personnel hierarchy	Permission	Applies to branch B1	Applies to Branch B2
Branch B1	Loan officer	Edit MFI and personal information**	Yes*	No
Branch B2	Other	Edit MFI and personal information**	Yes	No
Headquarters	Other	Edit MFI and personal information**	Yes	Yes
Branch B2	Loan officer	Edit MFI and personal information**	No	Yes*

 

*- Permissions apply only to centers, groups, and clients assigned to the loan officer 

**- This is an example of a permission. See the full listing of possible permissions in Default roles and their activities

How to work with roles and permissions

How to work with system users

How to define and change fees

• How to define a fee type
• How to view existing fee types
• How to change a fee

Your MFI can charge customer fees for the various services you offer. Reasons for charging a fee can vary from one MFI to another.

Mifos gives flexibility to MFIs and branches to define fee instances to meet their requirements. Examples of fee instances are a client creation fee, a training fee, and an account creation fee.

How to define a fee type

1. Click Admin > Define New Fees.
   You see a screen like the following:
   
   
   
2. Enter specifications using the descriptions in the following table:

Field	Description	Example
Fee name	Name for the fee	Training fee
Fee applies to	Level of organization where this fee will apply	Center
Default fee	Check if fee is charged to all	Check
Frequency	How often the fee is assessed: Period (every month, for example) or One Time. If you select One Time, in the list below it, select the time at which this fee will be charged. In the Amount box, type the amount of the fee	One time
Calculate fee as	Use this if you want to calculate the fee as a fixed amount or a percentage of another amount. If you have configured Mifos to use multiple currencies for loan products, you can specify the currency for a fixed-amount loan fee. A given fee can be applied multiple times to a customer account.  Interest is never charged on the fee amount. The system will match the periodicity of the fee to the meeting schedule or repayment schedule, depending on whether it’s a client fee for example (tied to meeting schedule) or a loan fee (tied to repayment schedule). Fees are computed automatically by the system.	5 % of loan amount
GL Code	General ledger code that applies to this fee (these codes are set during configuration)

 

How to view existing fee types

How to change a fee

How to apply fees/charges

Your MFI can charge fees for any service, such as membership and loan processing. These fees and charges can be collected from centers, groups, and clients and assessed on loan accounts. To apply charges, follow these instructions:

1. If the fees are for the services provided to a center, group, or client, in any Search box, type the name of the center, group, or client and click Search. In the list that appears, click the link for the correct one. In the details page that appears, in the Account Information and Center/Group/Client charges section, click View Details and then Apply Charges.
   
   
   
   
2. If the fees are for a specific loan account, in any Search box, type the ID for the account and click Search, or navigate to that account from the center/client/group details page. Click the link that appears for that loan. In the details page that appears, in the Transactions box in the upper right corner, click Apply Charges.
   
   
   
   
3. Click Apply Charges. A screen like the following appears:
   
   
   
   
4. In the Select Charge Type list, click the appropriate charge. If there is a set amount for this charge, it appears in the Amount box.
5. In the Amount box, type the amount to apply.
6. Click Submit.
   

The charge now appears in the Upcoming Charges and the Recent Account Activity list. It will appear in Transaction History when posted. 

 

Early Repayment of Fees

This feature provides MFIs the ability to collect fees in advance of the repayment date. However, early repayment of fees is applicable only at the client, group and center level. It cannot be applied to loan accounts. 

This feature, part of Mifos 2.1, enables fees to be assessed and collected up-front at the time in which they've been assessed. Specifically, this feature could be used by MFIs to charge a fee for withdrawal from a savings account. Currently, Mifos does not provide any option to assign penalties or fees to a savings account. If your MFI has a business need to charge fee for withdrawal from a savings account, the early fee repayment feature can be used to assign and charge that fee at the client level (as described in the section below).

When an early payment is made, it is paid off in the following order:

• Overdue charges
• One-time fee
• Recurring fee

In general, fee repayment can be entered into the system in two ways: 

• Through the Apply payment option for a client/ center/ group.
• Through Collection Sheet Entry

The Apply payment feature can be used to collect fee payment before the meeting, on the day of meeting and back-dating of meeting.

Collection Sheet Entry cannot be used to make an early repayment of fee for a meeting date which has not occurred yet . It can either collect payments on the day of the meeting or it can be used to collect back-dated payments before the next meeting date. 

The next section describes the process of applying fee repayment through apply payment and collection sheet entry.

For each of the below scenarios, let's assume the following scenario:  The entity (client, group, or center) has a monthly meeting date of Dec 5.  You would like to apply and collect a fee either before this meeting date or on the day of the meeting.

Without the early repayment capability, any fees applied wouldn't be able to be collected until the next meeting date.

Basic scenarios for early repayment of fees for a monthly meeting date of Dec 5

Action:	Without Early Repayment of Fees	With Early Repayment of Fees
Apply and collect payment of fee on Dec 1 (early)	Apply Payment: Fee can be applied prior to meeting but not collected until Dec 5.  Collection Sheet: N/A	Apply Payment: Fee can be applied prior to meeting and collected on Dec 1.  Collection Sheet: N/A
Apply and collect payment of fee on Dec 5 (day of meeting)	Apply Payment: Fee can be applied to account but not collected till next meeting, Jan 5.  Collection Sheet: Fee will not show up as due under A/C column until next meeting for Jan 5.	Apply Payment: Fee can be applied to account and collected on Dec 5.  Collection Sheet: Fee will show up as due under A/C column for meeting on Dec 5.

 

The steps below outline in detail the process you would follow to complete each of these scenarios.

Additional scenarios including back-dating of fees are covered in detail on the Early Repayment of Fees functional specification.

Early fee repayment through apply payment: 

When a payment is made at the center/group/client level, the payment applies only to fees. The sections below describe how early fee repayment can be made through apply payment feature.

Early fee repayment at the Center Level 

When a payment is made at the center level, the payment applies only to fees. To make an early fee repayment at the center level, select the center for which the fee needs to be collected. This can be done as follows:

1. In any search box type the name of the center for which you want a fee applied and click Search. The center(s) matching the search string you provided will be displayed. The page will look something like this:

 

 2. Select the required center. A screen similar to the following will be displayed:

  

  

       

 3. Under Center Charges in the Account Information section displayed above, click View Details. A screen with the following sections is displayed:

Apply transactions - This section allows the user to enter loan repayment details (apply payment), modify entered loan repayment details (apply adjustment) and apply charges to the center like fee, penalty, etc (apply charges).

Account Summary - This sections shows the amount due at the next installment, the amount overdue (unpaid at the previous installment) and the total.

Upcoming charges - This section shows the charges that are due at the next repayment schedule.

Recent Account Activity - As the name suggests, this section shows all recent activity by the center.

 

 4. Click Apply Payment. This leads to a screen similar to the following:

 

Date of transaction - This records the date of the transaction. By default, it is set to the current date.

Amount - This is amount of fee that is being repaid.

Mode of payment - This is the mode in which repayment is made. Typical modes include Cash, Voucher, Cheque and MPESA.

Receipt ID - If a receipt ID is used, it is entered here.

Receipt Date - The receipt date, if a receipt was used, is entered here.

5. Enter the amount of  fee repaid. When payment is made, it is applied in the following order: all overdue charges are applied first followed by one-time fee followed by recurring fee.

6. System validations and other notes:  When an amount is entered, the system performs the following validations.

• The amount entered should not be greater than the total fee owed by the client. In case the amount exceeds, the system throws an error message.
• The amount repaid can be less than the amount expected for that period. In this case, the system simply transfers the remaining unpaid amount towards the next payment (assessed as overdue charges)
• In the case of repayment of savings penalties too, if an amount less than the expected amount is repaid, the system simply considers it as a partial repayment of penalty. The balance amount now appears as the opening balance to be repaid by the client at the next meeting. Any amount greater than the required savings penalty is applied against fee repayment, if any. If there is no fee due, then the system throws an error for repayment of an amount greater than the expected amount.
• As mentioned above, the fee payment is applied in the following order:
• • Overdue charges
  • One-time fee
  • Recurring fee.

          So, when a fee payment is made all overdue charges are repaid first. The remaining balance is adjusted against the one-time fee. If some balance still remains, it is adjusted against the number of recurring meetings for which the fee can be repaid. 

Example: If overdue charges = 5, one-time fee = 10 and recurring fee = 2 for a period of 5 installments. Suppose the client makes a repayment of 19, then the amount is adjusted in the following manner.

• Overdue charges totalling 5 are repaid first. So, the remaining balance is 19-5 = 14.
• The one-time fee of 10 is repaid next. Remaining balance = 14-10 = 4
• The balance of 4 can be applied against 2 schedules of recurring fee. The balance remaining is now 0.
• The fee amount owed by the client is now equal to the remaining recurring fee (2 * remaining 3 installments = 6). This amount is displayed by default as the opening balance amount to be repaid by the client.

7. Click Review Transaction and if you are satisfied with the updates, click Submit. Else, click the Edit button and modify the transaction details.

Early fee repayment at the Group Level 

When a payment is made at the group level, the payment applies only to fees. To make an early fee repayment at the group level, select the group for which the fee needs to be collected. There are two ways you can do this:

1. As mentioned in the section "Early repayment at the Center Level", in any search box enter the name of the group and click Search. The group(s) matching the search string provided are displayed. Select the required group.

2. Alternately, if you know the center to which the particular group belongs, select the center as described in the previous section. A screen like this will be displayed, with the list of groups assigned to the Center.

Select the required group. The rest of the procedure is the same as described for the Center. Follow steps 3-5 outlined in the previous section "Early fee repayment at the Center Level".

The validations performed at the group level are also similar to that at the center level.

Early fee repayment at the Client Level 

This is very similar to what has been outlined in the above two sections. The client can either be located through a search or by selecting the group to which the client belongs and then selecting the client from that group. In the case of the latter, a screen similar to the following is displayed. The client can then be selected from the list of clients assigned.

 

After selecting the client, follow steps 2-5 outlined above for the remaining process of applying an early fee  repayment at the client level.

The validations performed are similar to that at the center level.

Note: In case a particular client has both penalty and fee due, then the repayment is applied in the following order: penalty is repaid first and if there is excess balance, the fee is repaid.

Early fee repayment through Collection Sheet Data: 

The collection sheet is set up to make your collections easy. After you type in the information for the branch, loan officer, date and mode of payment, you see a form that already includes all payments and deposits that are expected on that date. 

As already mentioned, collection sheet entry cannot be used to make early repayment of fee for a meeting which has not occurred yet. It can only be used to make payment on the day of the meeting or back-dated payments before the next meeting date.

If unfamiliar with using Collection Sheet Entry, please visit the How to enter collection sheet data section of the User Manual.  

To access the collection sheet entry page, click Clients and Accounts > Enter Collection Sheet Data and a screen similar to the following will be displayed:

• System validations and other notes:  When an amount is entered, the system performs the following validations.
• • The amount entered should not be greater than the total fee owed by the client. In case the amount exceeds, the system throws an error message.
  • The amount repaid can be less than the amount expected for that period. In this case, the system simply transfers the remaining unpaid amount towards the next payment (assessed as overdue charges)
  • In the case of repayment of savings penalties too, if an amount less than the expected amount is repaid, the system simply considers it as a partial repayment of penalty. The balance amount now appears as the opening balance to be repaid by the client at the next meeting.
  • As mentioned above, the fee payment is applied in the following order:
  • • Overdue charges
    • One-time fee
    • Recurring fee.

However, in case of collection sheet entry, only payments on the meeting date or backdated payments before the meeting date is allowed.

Recurring fee payment for a meeting date which has not occurred yet is not allowed. Only backdated recurring fee for an already elapsed period or recurring fee for the current meeting date is allowed. 

So, in the case of repayment through CSE, when a fee payment is made, all overdue charges are repaid first. The remaining balance is adjusted against the one-time fee, provided the repayment date is for a period already elapsed or if repayment is scheduled for the current meeting date. Recurring fee for future meeting dates are not accepted by the system. 

Example

: If overdue charges = 5, one-time fee = 10 repayable on the first installment meeting and recurring fee = 2 for a period of 5 installments. Suppose the client makes a repayment of 19 on the meeting date of the first installment, then the amount is adjusted in the following manner.

7. If you need to make changes, click Edit Data, make the changes, and click Preview again. 

8. When you are satisfied with the collection data, click Submit.

How to work with funds

• How to view existing funds
• How to define funds
• How to edit fund names

A certain number of fund codes are included in Mifos. You can associate these codes with specific named funds (such as funds made available by donors) that you use for loans and other services.

How to view existing funds

1. Click Admin > View Funds.
2. A list of funds and their codes appears. It might look like this:
   

How to define funds

If you have the appropriate permissions, you can define a new fund and assign it a fund code. This fund is then available when you create a loan product. You can also assign a new fund to a loan account after it has been created.

1. Click Admin > Define New Fund. A screen like this appears:
2. Type the name of the fund.
3. In the list of fund codes, click the appropriate code.
4. Click Preview to review the details of the fund. If you want to change any details, click Edit Fund Information, make the changes, and click Preview again.
5. When you are satisfied with the fund details, click Submit.

How to edit fund names

1. From the Admin > View Funds screen, click the Edit button for the fund you want to change.
2. In the Name box, type the new name for this fund. (You may not change the code for this fund.)
3. When you have made changes, click Preview to review your changes.
   
4. If you want to make further changes, click Edit Fund Information, make those changes, and click Preview again. 
5. When you are satisfied with the changes to the fund, click Submit.
   

How to work with user checklists

• How to define a checklist
• How to view existing checklists
• How to change a checklist

Checklists are lists of things that should be done before an action is completed.

If you have the appropriate permissions, you can set up checklists that your users will see every time they start an action, such as approving a loan. The checklist serves as a reminder to the user to see that all processes are completed. Checklists are defined by the head office and associated with certain states of customer records or accounts.

For example, if the head office defines a checklist for the state “Pending approval” of a loan account, every time a user attempts to change the state of a loan account to “Pending Approval” (no matter what the state of the loan application was up to this point), the checklist appears.

The user can then go through the list and make sure that all items on the checklist have been satisfied. Each state for clients, groups, and products can only have one checklist attached.

Note: You can change an existing checklist, but you may not delete it.

How to define a checklist

1. Click Admin > Define New Checklist. (You can also click Admin > View Checklists and click the Define a New Checklist from that screen.). The following screen appears.
   
   
2. Enter information about the checklist using the descriptions in the following table:

   Field name	Description	Example
   Name	Type a unique name for the checklist	Chk Delete Member
   Type	Click the type of checklist you want to create from the list of values. The list includes: Center, Group, Client, Loan, Savings.	Client
   Displayed When Moving Status To	Select the status that the checklist will be displayed for, if that status is attached to the type above. For example, if the checklist type is Clients and the status is Pending Approval, the checklist is displayed whenever any client record status is changed to Pending Approval.	Pending Approval
   Items	Type the text for the checklist item and click Add>> to include the item in the checklist below the item field. The text can accept a maximum of 250 characters. The checklist can have any number of check items defined for it. All the listed check items will be considered mandatory and will have to be checked before the status change can be accepted by the system.	The member has been registered
   Remove Selected	To remove a checklist item, click the item and click Remove Selected.

   
   

    

3. When you have finished typing all the items in the checklist, click Preview to review the list.
4. If you want to change anything in the checklist, click Edit Checklist Information, make the changes, and click Preview again.
5. When you are satisfied with the checklist, click Submit. (or click Cancel if you decide not to create a checklist at this time)

How to view existing checklists

1. Click Admin > View Checklists.
   If any checklists are defined, they appear, divided by type. The screen might look like this:
   
   
   
   
2. To see the details of a checklist, click the link for that checklist.
   

How to change a checklist

From the Admin > View Checklists screen, click the link for a checklist, and then click Edit Checklist Information. Follow the instructions above to make and save changes.

How to work with holidays

The repayment schedules that you set up can be interrupted by holidays. If you have the appropriate permissions, you can add holidays for your organization and set the rules for when repayments ordinarily due on that due will actually be due.

Note: You may not delete a holiday once you have added it.

How to define holidays

1. Click Admin > Define New Holiday.

   The following screen appears.

   
   

2. Enter information using the descriptions in the following table:

   Field	Description	Example
   Holiday name	The name of the holiday	Tet
   From Date	The first day of the holiday	04-08-2010
   To Date	The last day of the holiday	05-08-2010
   Repayment Rule	If repayments are due during the holiday, how to calculate when they are due afterward. Choices are: Same Day: no change to repayment schedule Next Meeting/Repayment: payment due that falls on this holiday is now due at the next scheduled repayment date Next Working day: payment is now due on the next working day	Next Meeting/Repayment

3. When you have specified holiday details, click Preview to review them.
4. If you want to change details of the holiday, click Edit Holiday, make the changes, and click Preview again.
5. When you are satisfied with the details of the holiday, click Submit. (If you decide not to create a new holiday at this time, click Cancel.)

How to view existing holidays

Click Admin > View Holidays. From here, you can click Add a New Holiday if you want to create a new one; follow the instructions above.

How to view organizational settings

It can be helpful to see all of the settings for your organization on one screen. If you click Admin > View Organizational Settings, you will see a screen something like this:

These are all the settings you specified during the configuration process. To change them, return to the configuration guide and follow instructions.

How to set rules for data display

• How to define and change labels
• How to define and change lookup options
• How to specify that fields be mandatory and/or hidden
• How to define and change additional fields

How to Work with Batch Jobs

• How to Suspend Scheduled Batch Jobs
• How to Manually Execute Specific Batch Jobs to Run (and check status)
  

Batch jobs (also known as cron jobs on Unix-based systems) are a series of back-end jobs executed on a computer. Mifos currently has 9 batch processes which are scheduled to run nightly.

At any point, you can view the list of batch jobs scheduled to run along with other details specific to each job. Click Admin>>Batch Jobs (under System Administration) to view the following details for each batch job 

 

• Name of the Batch Job
• Next Start
• Previous Run Start
  
• Task Type
  
• Task Priority
• Previous Run Status
• Cron expression 

How to Suspend Scheduled Batch Jobs

The current status of the scheduler is displayed under the Batch Jobs Information section on the Batch Jobs page. This status can be either "Active" or "Standby". If the scheduler status is Active, it indicates that all batch jobs are running/ will run as per the specified schedule.

 

The whole batch-job scheduler can be put in standby mode by using the Suspend option. Clicking on the suspend button will ensure all scheduled batch runs are suspended. The scheduler status will now show "Standby".

   

 

How to Manually Execute Specific Batch Jobs to Run (and check status) 

First select the batch jobs that need to be manually executed.  This selection is done by clicking the respective check boxes (to the left of each job). After the required jobs are selected, click on 'Run Selected Tasks'. This will execute the selected batch jobs. 

  

On click of 'Run Selected Tasks', the list of tasks selected for manual execution will be displayed under the section 'Tasks sent for execution'.

 To verify that all the selected tasks have indeed been sent for execution, check the field 'Previous Run Status' for these tasks. The Previous Run Status for these tasks should read 'Started'.

 

How to set product rules and attributes

• How to define new product categories
• How to view and change existing product categories
• How to view and change the lateness definition and the dormancy definition

How to define new loan products

• How to waive interest on early loan repayment 
• How to configure variable loan installments
• How to use multicurrency features

How to view system information and manage a Mifos shutdown

• How to view system information
• How to manage a Mifos shutdown

Centers, groups, and clients: Overview

Below the level of the branch, your MFI can have centers and groups to organize and empower clients. Usually, a single Loan Officer works in a center and has responsibility for several groups. If there is a center, it determines the meeting schedule (if there is one) for all the groups contained in it. (Otherwise, the branch does this.)

Groups include clients; they can sometimes act as a unit, as in the case where a group has a savings or loan account, and all clients in that group contribute to it.

Clients can act on their own, with individual savings and loan accounts, or they can act as part of a group.

How to create a new center

A center is a collection of many groups. It is associated with a branch office. A center can have a savings account, like a group or a client. Groups or clients associated with that center can make deposits to and withdrawals from such an account, and the center can also pay fees for accounts.

Follow these instructions:

1. Click Clients & Accounts > Create New Center.
   A screen appears that might look like this:
   
   
2. From the list of branches, click the branch that this center will be associated with.
   A screen appears showing the branch office you chose. The first section might look like this:
   
    
3. Enter information about the center using the descriptions in the following table:

Field name	Description	Example
Branch selected	The center's parent branch.	Branch 01
Center details
Name	The center's name (make sure that this is unique within the MFI).	Fina Center
Loan officer assigned	The loan officer assigned to the center. Groups associated with this center inherit this value.	Sri Nagesh
Meeting schedule	Click Schedule Meeting to set the number of times meetings are to be held within a time period. Groups associated with this center inherit this value. Click Weeks or Months. If you click Months, set a meeting for a specific day in each period or a specific day of a specific week in each period. If you click Weeks, type the number of weeks between meetings, and in the list next to it, click the day of the week on which the meeting takes place. In the Location of Meeting box, type where the meeting is to take place. Click save to save this schedule and return to the previous page.	The 12th day of every third month or The 4th Tuesday of every second month Village store
Collection sheet type	The type of collection sheet used for collecting payment from members belonging to the center.
External ID	A unique identifier of the center in another system. This will be used to link the center in Mifos system and center's details in another system.	BRA-001
MFI Joining Date	Date when the center was first approved and saved in the system.	01/02/2002

 

The next section is for the address of the center.

Field name	Description	Example
Center Address
Address lines 1 -3, city, State, country, Postal code and Telephone		#224, Wheeler Road, Bangalore, Karnataka, INDIA, 560090 91 80 23456787

 

The next sections are for additional information and any fees.

 

Field name	Description	Example
Additional information
Customized fields	Fields that are configured by the system administrator to allow the MFI to capture more information.
Administrative set fees
Application or other fee (if charged)	Fee charged to be a member, process membership application, etc.  These fees are set as default when defined.	2.50
Periodicity	The frequency the fee is applicable in a given period.	One-time fee
Check to remove	A user can check this box if they wish to remove the default fee. An unchecked check box means that the fee is applicable.
Apply additional fees
Fee Type, Amount	Additional fee type and amounts defined by the MFI.

 

4. When you have made all specifications, click Preview and review your work.
5. If you want to make changes, click Edit Center Information, make the changes, and click Preview again.
6. When you are satisfied with your changes, click Submit. (If you decide not to create a center at this time, click Cancel.)
7. A screen appears confirming the creation of the center and providing a system ID number. You can use this number to find details on the center (including its performance data) quickly. The screen might look like this:
   
   
   

 

The center details page might look like this:

From the center dashboard, you can do the following:

• View and change center status
• Add groups
• Open new savings accounts
• View closed accounts
• Edit center details
• Edit meeting schedule
• View the change log
• View performance history
• View and attach surveys
• View and add notes

Check the appropriate chapters of this manual for information on each of these.

How to create a new group

A group is a collection of clients that is assigned to a center or a branch (depending on the MFI hierarchy). It inherits the loan officer and the meeting schedule (if any) from its parent center or branch.

The group can act to borrow money and hold a savings account, as if it were an individual client. It can also have an account for group fees (for membership, loan applications, and so forth). A group can have positions such as President and Treasurer that are assigned to group members.

Follow these instructions:

1. Click Clients & Accounts > Create New Group.
   The following screen appears:
   
   

2. In the Center Name box, type the name of the center or branch that this group will belong to, and click Search.
   All centers with that name appear in a list.

3. Click the correct center.
   A screen appears for group details, starting with this section:
   
   

4. Enter information using the descriptions in the following table:

Field Name	Description	Example
Group Name	The name of the group, which must be unique.	Hope and Effort Group
Formed By	Type the name of the person who facilitated the formation of the group.	Venkatesh V
Trained	Check the correct box for if a group has been trained or not.	Yes
Trained On	The date the training was administered.	01/12/2002
External ID	Used to link Mifos group with another system. This value represents the group identifier in another system.	GRP-001

 

The next section is for the address of the group.

Field Name	Description	Example
Group address	Address 1-3, City, Stat, Country, Postal Code, Telephone	#154, Wheeler Road, Cooke Town Bangalore, Karnataka, India - 560045 +91 80 23549876

 

The next section is for additional information and fees.

Field Name	Description	Example
Administrative set fees
Any applicable fee	Shows the mandatory fee for the group.	3:07
Periodicity	The time frequency during which the fee is applicable.
Check to Remove	Check to disable the fee from being required for the group.
Additional Information
Custom fields 1 – 6	Fields used to capture MFI custom data.
Apply additional fees
Fee type; Amount	Additional fee types amounts defined by the MFI for the group.

 

5. When you have made all specifications, click Preview to review your work.

6. If you want to make changes, click Edit Group Information, make changes, and click Preview again.

7. When you are satisfied with all changes, you can click Submit for Approval or (if you are not ready to submit the group) Save for Later. (If you decide not to create a group at all at this time, click Cancel.)

8. When the group application is approved, you see a screen like the following:
   
   

The group details page might look like this:

From the group dashboard, you can do the following:

• View and change group status

• Add clients

• Open new savings and loan accounts

• View closed accounts

• Edit group information

• Edit center membership

• Edit personal information

• View summarized historical data

• View the change log

• View performance history

• View and attach surveys

• View and add notes

Check the appropriate chapters of this manual for information on each of these.

How to reassign a group to a new center

If it ever becomes necessary, you can reassign a group so that it is now associated with a different center. Follow these instructions:

1. From the Group Details page of the Group you'd like to re-assign, scroll down to middle of this page and click Edit Center Membership. (If there is no center, and you are reassigning the group to a new branch, click Edit Branch Membership.)
   The Change Center Membership screen appears.
   
   
2. Type the name of the center you want this group to belong to and click Search.
3. The center name appears. Click its link.
4. Review a summary of your change and click Submit.
   The group is now included on the page for that center.

Note: The meeting time and Loan Officer of the new center is inherited by the group and all its members. Groups cannot be transferred unless all the active loan accounts are closed.

 

How to create a new client

The individual client can have savings accounts and borrow money according to the rules of your MFI. If the client is associated with a group, that client inherits the loan officer, the meeting schedule, and the meeting location of the group.

Follow these instructions to create a client account.

1. Click Clients & Accounts. In the left navigation panel, click Create New Client.

   The following screen appears:

   

2. In the Group Name box, type the name of the group that this client is assigned to, and click Proceed. A list of groups by that name appears; click the correct one. If the correct group name is not on this list (perhaps you mistyped it?), type the group name again and click Search to try again. When you see the correct group name, click it.
3. If group membership is not required for your client, click that link to proceed.
   A screen for information about the client appears.

   The first section contains personal information. All fields with an asterisk (*) are required.

3. Enter information using the descriptions in the following table (note that some fields may not appear or may have different choices, depending on how Mifos is configured for your MFI):
   
   

   Field name		Description	Example
   Salutation		Mr, Mrs etc.  In Mifos, the system administrator can define more salutations.	Mr.
   First Name			Albert
   Middle Name
   Second Last Name			Smith
   Last Name			Anderson
   National ID		Can be Government ID, or National ID, or Social Security Number. This is not editable after a client enters Active state. Some external IDs might have characters associated with them.	N-001
   Date of Birth			Nov-11, 2005
   Gender			Male
   Marital Status			Married
   Number of Children		The total number of children the client has.	4
   Citizenship			Kenyan
   Ethnicity			Arab
   Education Level		Captures the maximum level of education the client has attained, for example, Graduate	Graduate
   Activities		The nature of the client's business	Self-owned business
   Handicapped		If this field is present, check whether there is a handicap or not.	No
   Poverty Status		If this field is present, click the appropriate status for the client, if known.	Very poor
   Income		If this field is present, click the appropriate monthly income for the client, if known.	200
   Photograph		User can upload a photo, which will be a part of the client details page. The maximum size allowed is 30KB. Click Choose File, browse your computer for the photograph file, and double-click it so that the filename appears next to the box.	C:\microfin\photos\smith01.gif
   Spouse/Father Name Relationship, First Name, Middle Name and Second Last Name and Last Name		Names of the spouse or father.	Jane Smith, Spouse

   The next section is for the address of the group.

   

4. Enter information using the descriptions in the following table:
   
   

   Field name		Description	Example
   Address
   Address	Address 1-3, city, state, country, postal code, Telephone		P.O Box 2223, Stanford, California, 94305, +1650-271-2450

   The next section is for additional information about the client, if any is required.

   

5. Enter information based on the descriptions in the following table:
   
   

   Field name		Description	Example
   Additional Information
   Custom Field 1 - 6	Custom data for the MFI.

   The next section is for MFI-related information.

   

6. Enter information using the descriptions in the following table:
   
   

   Field name		Description	Example
   MFI related information
   Recruited by	Select the loan officer to be assigned to the client.  This is applicable if you selected to assign the client directly to a branch; otherwise the value is inherited from the group.		Loan Officer 1
   Meeting Schedule	Define the meeting schedule. This field appears only if you assign the client directly to the branch; otherwise, the meeting schedule is inherited from the group.  A client can be created without a meeting schedule if there is no need for one.  Such client's name will not appear in the collection sheets.
   External ID	The client's unique identifier in another system that shares client details with Mifos.		E003
   Trained	Has the client been trained?		Yes
   Trained On	The date when the client was trained.		Dec-12, 2005

   The next section is for client fees.

   

7. Enter information using the descriptions in the following table:
   
   

   Field name		Description	Example
   Administrative set fees
   Any fees, if applicable	Any group or branch fees, such as membership application fees		8.85
   Periodicity	The frequency the fee is applicable. Periodicity can be Once, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly		One-time fee
   Check to Remove	Check to remove the application fee.
   Apply additional fees
   Fee Type; Amount	Mifos allows the definition of three custom fee types. Click the applicable fee type from the list and type the amount of the fee in the Amount box.		Processing fee, 3.00

   The next section is for savings accounts.

   

8. If you want to create a savings account for this client now, click the name of the savings product from the Savings Name list. You can create up to three savings accounts.
9. When you have finished, click Preview to review your work.
10. If you want to make changes, click Edit MFI-related Information and make the changes.
11. When you are satisfied with all the changes, click Submit for Approval. If you want to submit this client later, click Save for Later; the account goes into a Partial Application state, and you can build a custom report to find all client records in this state. (If you decide not to create this client at all at this time, click Cancel.)

A screen appears that might look like this:

Note the system ID number for this client, so that you can use it to search for details about that client later.

The client details (dashboard) page might look like this:

From the client dashboard, you can do the following:

• View and change client status
• Open new savings and loan accounts
• View closed accounts
• Edit MFI information
• Edit or remove group membership
• Edit personal information
• View summarized historical data
• View the change log
• View performance history
• View and attach surveys
• View and add notes

Check the appropriate chapters of this manual for information on each of these.

How to view and change details for centers, groups, and clients

How to edit details

You can change details about a center, group, or client at any time.

Follow these instructions:

1. From any search box, type the name of the center, group, or client, and click Search.
   All entities with that name appear; click the correct one.
2. In the Center/Group/Client Information section, click Edit Center/Group/Client Details.
   The screen that was filled out when the center, group, or client was created appears. For information on what each field means, see "How to create a new center", "How to create a new group" or "How to create a new client".
3. Make any changes and click Preview.
4. If you want to make changes, click the edit button, make changes, and click Submit.

How to make notes

In the center, group, or client dashboard (details page), you can record any notes in the Recent Notes section. To see all notes, click See All Notes. Any notes created about the group, centre, or client (in the account status or adjustments section, for example) appear here as well.

To add a note, follow these instructions:

1. Click Add a Note.
   The following screen appears:
   
   

2. In the Note box, type the note.

3. Click Preview to review your work. If you want to make changes, click Edit, make changes, and click Submit.
   The note now appears in the Recent Notes section.

How to view the change log

In the center, group, or client dashboard (details page), you can see a record of all changes that have been made. At the bottom of that screen, click View Change Log. It might look like the following screen: