Payment calculation differences
If an installment, a schedule or a balance isn't what you expected, the cause is almost always one of the settings below. Check them in this order.
1. The loan type
You choose the type when you create the loan. Open the loan to see which one it is (Loan detail).
- Fixed Interest — interest is calculated on the original amount, so every installment is the same and the interest doesn't shrink as the customer pays.
- Amortized — interest is calculated on the remaining balance, so the interest part gets smaller as the balance goes down. See Amortization.
- Open-ended Note — no end date and no fixed number of installments. Interest is charged each period on the remaining balance, and the customer pays flexible amounts until the balance reaches zero.
Older loans may show Fixed Anticipated Interest. That type is no longer offered for new loans, but existing loans keep it.
The same rate gives very different totals with Fixed Interest and with Amortized. It's a common reason a schedule "looks wrong".
2. How the rate is read: monthly or per period
Settings → Loan configuration has an Interest calculation option, and you can also see it when you create a loan:
- Monthly — the rate you enter is a monthly rate, split across the month's payments. Example: 20% monthly with biweekly payments → 10% per period.
- Per period — the rate is charged in full on every payment. Example: 20% with biweekly payments → 20% per period.
The setting only affects new loans. Loans already created keep the basis they were calculated with.
3. Rounding
If Round installment is on, LoanAdmin rounds each installment up to the unit you chose. Example: 816,667 → 817,000. A calculator without rounding gives slightly different amounts.
4. Work calendar
If you use a Work calendar (Essential, Professional and Business), due dates that fall on a day off or a holiday move to the next or the previous working day, according to its Due date adjustment option. The amounts don't change, but the dates do.
5. Late fees
If late fees apply to the loan, the amount due includes them. See Late fees.
6. What was actually recorded
Partial payments, payments on a different date and edited or deleted payments all change the balance. Review the loan's payment history: Payment history.
Still doesn't match?
Open a ticket from Help & Support in the app menu. Include the loan amount, rate, frequency, number of installments, the loan type and a screenshot of the schedule, and tell us what result you expected.