Lending Operations
How a lender replaced spreadsheet-based operations with one loan management system
A five-person lender moved loan calculations, approvals and reporting out of spreadsheets and into one loan management system.
- ~2 months from spreadsheet-based operations to production LMS
- 5-person team supported from one centralized platform
- 3 build cycles shaped by operational feedback
Services used
- Custom Software Development
- Workflow and AI Automation
- System and API Integration
The challenge
A small microfinance lender providing short-term loans to local borrowers managed the full loan lifecycle manually in spreadsheets. Spreadsheet formulas drove interest, penalty and balance calculations, making the process hard to audit and vulnerable to human error. Reporting depended on manual consolidation and validation, and the team lacked structured verification stages, approval checks and guardrails before disbursement.
The solution
FINTIQ built a custom loan management system around the lender's existing operating model. It now handles origination, verification, disbursement, repayments, overdue accounts, collections, write-offs and borrower and investor reporting.
Outcomes
What changed after launch
- Administrative effort for loan tracking and reporting dropped significantly.
- Automated calculations eliminated spreadsheet formula risk.
- Portfolio reporting became immediately available without manual compilation.
- Centralized records improved reconciliation, operational visibility and oversight.
- Generating operational and investor reports now takes minutes instead of hours.
The client
The client is a small microfinance lender that provides short-term loans to local borrowers. A team of about five people managed the full loan lifecycle in spreadsheets. As loan volume grew, reporting took longer and the lack of formal checks became harder to manage.
Project goals
The project had to centralise loan data, automate financial calculations and add verification and approval checks before disbursement. The team also needed current operational and investor reports without manual spreadsheet compilation.
Implementation
FINTIQ delivered the first production version in about two months over three build cycles. We migrated the historical loan data, tested the system with the operating team and retired the spreadsheet process after launch.
Key capabilities
The platform introduced loan lifecycle management from origination through collections and write-offs, automated financial calculations for interest and overdue balances, payment tracking, supplier variance tracking, delivery tracking tied to loan-funded purchases, real-time operational and investor reporting, verification workflows before disbursement, and automated email notifications for workflow events.
Technology architecture
The system uses a web-based interface, PostgreSQL database and private hosting infrastructure located in Africa. It was designed for future integrations with accounting systems, borrower portals and additional automation.
Current status and next steps
The lender still runs its active loan book and reporting from the system. Possible next steps include a customer application portal, connections to external financial systems and more automation within the lending workflow.
- Custom Software Development
- Workflow and AI Automation
- System and API Integration