Qard al-Hasan Funds
On the surface, the work of a Qard al-Hasan (interest-free loan) fund is simple. Members make deposits and take out loans in turn. Behind that simple routine, though, sit several sensitive calculations: each member's score based on their deposit history, loan limits, installment schedules, late-payment penalties, and the reports that have to go to the board of directors and the supervisory authority. Dara brings all of this into one system, and its Financial Core also takes the place of the fund's separate accounting software.
Challenges we hear about
- 01
Two applications for one fund
Loans and deposits are recorded in one application and accounting in another, and at the end of every month the two have to be reconciled by hand.
- 02
Scores and loan queues in spreadsheets
Members' loan limits are worked out from their balances with hand-built formulas, and changing a rule means rewriting every calculation.
- 03
Installments and penalties on the Solar Hijri calendar
Many applications calculate due dates on the Gregorian calendar, so the installment day shifts from one Solar Hijri month to the next.
- 04
Reporting to the board and the supervisor
Preparing the sources and uses report and the arrears position takes several days of manual work every time.
How Dara responds
- 01
The Financial Core replaces separate accounting software
The fund's deposits, loans and expenses are posted to one chart of accounts, and the financial reports are built from that same data.
- 02
Nightly scoring from daily balances
Eleven scoring methods and four eligibility models, with parameters that are stored in a versioned policy and can be changed without a programmer.
- 03
Installment schedules on a fixed Solar Hijri day
Installment due dates are generated on the Solar Hijri calendar, and payments are allocated to penalty, profit and principal, in that order.
- 04
Sources and uses dashboard
Balances, the loan portfolio, holds and arrears are read in real time from the Financial Core.
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