Tutorials

How to Add a Loan Discount

A loan discount is a reduction applied to the outstanding amount a borrower owes. For example, if a borrower has a balance of 1,000 and you apply a discount of 100, their new expected repayment drops to 900. Discounts are useful for situations like early settlement, goodwill adjustments, or fee waivers — giving you the flexibility to manage what a borrower actually pays. This guide explains the two discount types and walks through adding one to a loan. Types of Discounts Lendbox offers two types of discounts: Interest rate discount — reduces the interest rate on the loan itself, lowering how much interest the borrower accumulates over time. Fixed amount discount — deducts a specific amount directly from the total balance the borrower owes. Step 1: Open the Loans area In the left navigation panel, click Loan Management, then click Loans. Step 2: Select the loan Click on the loan you want to add a discount to. This opens the loan details page, where you can see figures such as the periodic repayment amount and the total amount due. Step 3: Open the Discounts tab In the header navigation panel, click the Discounts tab. Step 4: Add a new discount Click the Add Discount button. Step 5: Name the discount and choose a type Enter a name for the discount, then select the discount type — either an interest rate discount or a fixed amount discount. If you choose a fixed amount discount, set the amount to deduct from the balance. Step 6: Save the discount Click Save to apply the discount to the loan. Step 7: Confirm the result Navigate back to the Details tab to see the effect. The discount is applied, the total amount due is reduced, and the periodic repayment amount also adjusts to account for the discount. Done You have learned what loan discounts are and how to add them to a loan in Lendbox. With both interest rate and fixed amount options available, you can flexibly adjust what each borrower owes to suit their situation.

How Approval Workflows Work

If your lending business has multiple staff handling loans, repayments, and accounting, you need controls in place so nothing gets approved without the right eyes on it. An approval workflow is simply a chain of sign-offs that a loan, repayment, or journal entry must pass through before it becomes active. This guide explains how Lendbox's approval workflows work, how to set one up, and how each role on your team fits into the process. The Three Types of Approval Workflow Lendbox supports approval workflows for three kinds of financial action: Loan approvals control which staff members must sign off before a loan goes active. Repayment approvals ensure repayments are verified before they are recorded. Journal approvals add oversight to accounting entries before they are posted. Every financial action in Lendbox can be placed behind an approval workflow, so nothing goes through unverified. Part 1: Set Up an Approval Workflow Step 1: Open Approval Workflows In the left navigation panel, click Staff Management, then click Approval Workflows. Step 2: Add a new workflow Click Add Workflow, then choose the type of workflow you want to set up — loan, repayment, or journal approvals. This guide uses a loan approval workflow as the example. Step 3: Build the approval chain Build your approval chain with as many steps as you need. A staff member at each step must approve the loan before it moves forward, and the loan only becomes active once every step is cleared. Step 4: Configure each step Click on any step to configure it. For each step, select which staff roles are responsible for approving loans at that point. Fill in the roles for every step in your workflow. Step 5: Save the workflow When done, click Save. Part 2: The Workflow in Action Step 6: Submit a loan for review When a loan officer fills in a new loan request and enters all the details, they click Submit for Review. This sends the loan into the approval workflow. Step 7: Review pending items in the Approval Center The first approver — for example, a manager — clicks Approval Center in the left navigation panel. This shows everything waiting for approval: loans, repayments, and journal entries in one place. Click on a loan to review it. Step 8: Review the loan and its position in the chain On the review screen, you can see all the loan's details. The approval chain shows exactly where the loan is in the workflow, whose turn it is to approve, and who else still needs to sign off before it goes active. Step 9: Make a decision After reviewing, the approver can Approve the loan to move it forward, Reject it, or Request Changes if something needs to be corrected. Part 3: Handling Requested Changes Step 10: Notify the loan creator When changes are requested, the loan officer sees a notification at the top alerting them that a loan needs their attention. They click Review Changes to see all loans sent back to them, then click on the loan to proceed. Step 11: Make the requested changes At the bottom of the Details tab, the loan officer finds a note from the approver explaining what needs to be updated, and makes the requested changes. Note that only the person who created the loan can edit it when changes have been requested. Step 12: Resubmit for review Once editing is done, the loan officer can add a comment, then click Submit for Review and confirm. The loan returns to the start of the approval chain and must be reviewed by everyone again. Part 4: Final Approval Step 13: Approve through each step Each approver in the chain reviews the loan from the Approval Center and approves it in turn. As the loan progresses, the approval chain shows when it is each role's turn to give their sign-off. Step 14: The loan goes active Once every approver in the chain has signed off, the loan status changes to active, confirmed on the loan details page. Repayments and Journal Entries The same process applies beyond loans: For repayments, when someone records a payment from a borrower, it passes through an approval chain before it is posted. For journal entries, when someone logs an expense or adjusts an account balance, the entry sits as a draft until every role defined in your journal approval workflow has signed off. Done You now know how approval workflows work in Lendbox — how to build an approval chain, how each role moves an item through the process, and how requested changes are handled. With workflows in place, no loan, repayment, or journal entry goes through unverified.

How to Post a Transaction to Accounting

Lendbox's accounting module lets you keep accurate financial records alongside your lending activity. This guide covers two connected tasks: creating an account in your chart of accounts, then posting a manual transaction against it. By the end, you will have added a new account and recorded a transaction in the ledger. Part 1: Create an Account in the Chart of Accounts Step 1: Open the Chart of Accounts In the left navigation panel, click the Accounting tab, then click Chart of Accounts. Step 2: Add a new account Click Add Account to create a new account. Step 3: Enter the account details Fill in the account information, including the account name, code, type, and cash flow type. Step 4: Save the account Click Save to add the new account to your chart of accounts. Part 2: Post a Manual Transaction Step 5: Open the Transactions page In the left navigation panel, click Transactions. Step 6: Add a new transaction Click Add Transaction to begin recording a new financial transaction. Step 7: Select the transaction type Choose the type of transaction you want to record. Step 8: Fill in the transaction details Complete all the information required for the transaction type you are recording. Step 9: Post the transaction Click Proceed to finalize and record the transaction in the ledger. Done Your transaction has been successfully posted and now appears on the Transactions page. You have posted a transaction to accounting in Lendbox by creating an account in the chart of accounts, entering the journal details, and posting the entry.

How to Create Document Templates

Document templates in Lendbox are reusable documents containing placeholder fields that automatically populate with loan-specific data. For example, a loan agreement template with placeholders for principal amount, borrower name, and interest rate generates a customized document for each loan by inserting the actual values from that loan record. This guide shows you how to create templates using both available methods, and how to download a generated document from a loan. Two Ways to Create a Template There are two ways to build a document template in Lendbox: The built-in editor is best for straightforward templates you can write directly in Lendbox. Uploading your own Word document is best when you need more advanced formatting and design control. In both methods, pre-selectors are the placeholders that automatically insert loan-specific data into your document. Step 1: Open the Templates section In the left navigation panel, click the Documents tab, then click the Template subtab. Step 2: Start a new template Click Add Document to start creating a new document template. Method A: Use the Built-In Editor Step 3: Open the editor Click the Edit in UI tab and type out the contents of your document. Step 4: Insert pre-selectors Click any pre-selector to add it at your cursor position in the editor. Each pre-selector is a placeholder that will be replaced with loan-specific data when the document is generated. Method B: Upload a Word Document Step 3: Open the upload tab For more advanced formatting and design control, click the Upload Document tab. Step 4: Add pre-selectors to your document Click a pre-selector to copy it, then paste it into your Word document wherever you want that value to appear. Step 5: Upload the file When you have finished editing your Word document, click the upload area to select the document file. Step 6: Save the template Click Save Template to finalize and store your new document template. Seeing a Template in Action Step 7: Open a loan Navigate to the Loans page and select a loan of your choice. Step 8: Open the loan's documents On the loan details page, click the Documents tab to see the documents associated with that loan. Step 9: Download the generated document Click Download to retrieve the document generated from your template. In the downloaded file, all placeholders have been replaced with values from the loan — such as the principal amount, company name, and borrower. Done You have successfully created and saved document templates in Lendbox, including editing them in the built-in editor, uploading Word documents, and applying them to loan records.

How to Configure the Borrower Portal

The borrower portal lets your borrowers submit loan requests directly to you online. Once configured, you share a single web link, and borrowers can choose a loan, fill in their details, upload documents, and send their request straight to your Lendbox dashboard for review. This guide covers setting up your portal — domain, account requirements, fields, and documents — and reviewing the loan requests that come in. Part 1: Configure the Portal Step 1: Open the website configuration In the left navigation panel, click Configure Website to access the main settings for your borrower portal, then click Configuration. Step 2: Choose your portal web address Choose your portal's web address. You can either use a free Lendbox subdomain or connect your own custom domain. Enter your preferred name and click Save. This is the link you will share with borrowers so they can submit their information and request loans. Step 3: Decide on borrower accounts Decide whether borrowers need to create accounts on your portal: If you enable account creation, borrowers can log back in any time to check their loan status, view repayment schedules, and track their history. If you disable it, borrowers can submit loan requests much faster, with no sign-up required. Choose whichever works best for your business. Step 4: Set the required fields Toggle which fields borrowers need to fill in when requesting a loan. You can also choose whether next of kin details are required, and how many. Step 5: Specify required documents Specify which documents borrowers must upload with their loan request — for example, national IDs, pay slips, or bank statements. Step 6: Save your settings Once everything is set up, click Save. Part 2: The Borrower's Experience When a borrower visits your portal URL, they can start a loan request right away. They: - Choose their loan amount, duration, and product, and preview the repayment schedule and any associated fees. - Fill in their details and upload any required documents to proceed. - Optionally add collateral information along with their request. Part 3: Review Incoming Loan Requests Step 7: Open the Approval Center Back on your Lendbox dashboard, click Approval Center in the left navigation panel. Step 8: Select a loan request Select the loan request you would like to review. Step 9: Review the request Review everything about the request — the loan terms, borrower details, collateral, and uploaded documents. Step 10: Decide on an action Choose what to do with the request. You can approve it, reject it, or request more information from the borrower. If you request more information, the borrower is notified to update their submission. Done You have learned how to configure your borrower portal — setting your domain, account requirements, fields, and documents — and how to review incoming loan requests from the Approval Center.

How to Set Up Automated Borrower Reminders

Lendbox can automatically send WhatsApp, SMS, and email reminders to your borrowers for key loan events — keeping communication timely without manual effort. This guide shows you how to enable automated reminders, customize the message templates, and send a one-off reminder for a specific loan when you need to. Part 1: Configure Automated Notifications Step 1: Open the Notifications settings In the left navigation panel, click Settings, then click the Notifications tab. Step 2: Choose channels for each loan event You can configure notifications for key loan events, including overdue alerts, status changes, and upcoming due dates. For each event type, click the Email, SMS, or WhatsApp button to enable or disable that channel. Step 3: Customize the message templates Click the Templates button to customize the content of the messages sent. For each notification channel, you can use one of the predefined templates or create your own custom message. Step 4: Save your settings Click Save Changes to confirm all the notification settings you have configured. Your reminders will now be sent to borrowers automatically. Part 2: Send a Manual Reminder You can also send a reminder for a specific loan at any time. Step 5: Open the loan In the left navigation panel, click the Loan Management tab, then click Loans. Select the specific loan you want to send a reminder for. Step 6: Send the reminder From the loan details page, you have three ways to reach the borrower directly. Click Send SMS Reminder, Send WhatsApp Reminder, or Send Email Reminder, and the notification goes out instantly. A Note on Notification Credits Notifications require purchasing notification credits from the billing page. Make sure you have credits available so your reminders can be sent. Done You have successfully configured automated WhatsApp, SMS, and email reminders for borrowers by customizing your notification settings and message templates. This setup ensures timely communication and helps you manage borrower interactions effectively.