Version 1.25
Release Notes
MusoniReleaseNotes1.25
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ReleaseNotesOverview
The Release Notes are a comprehensive overview of the new features and
functionalityaddedaspartofMusoni’slatestrelease.Thesenotesaredesignedto
give you all the information you need to immediately understand and start
benefittingfromthenewfeatures.
For each new feature, we give a high level description of the functionality, and
provideastep-by-stepwalkthrough,alongwithscreenshotsofhowtostartusingthe
system.
If you would like to learn more about any new feature, please contact the Musoni
supportteamonit-support@musoni.euwhowillbehappytoansweranyquestions
youhave.
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TableofContents
1. InterestincomereversedforNPAs
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2. Abilitytolinkguarantorsavingstoaloan
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3. AbilitytoCustomiseGroupRegistrationform
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4. GroupLevelLoans(ratherthanindividualsinagroup)
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5. GroupLevelSavings(ratherthanindividualsinagroup)
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6. NewCreditCheckslinkedtoGuarantors
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7. IntegrationwithEcocash(Zimbabwe)
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8. MMTModuleupdatedfornewM-PESAFormat
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9. AbilitytoreversesuspendedMMTpaymentsbacktocustomer
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10. GracePeriodonPenaltyFees
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11. SMSModule–sendmessageslongerthan160characters
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12. NewReports
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13. SmallerImprovementsandBugFixes
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1. AccruedInterestIncomesuspendedforNPAs
Whenconfiguringaloanproductusingtheaccrualsaccountingmethodology(rather
thancashaccounting),youneedtospecifythenumberofdaysaloancanfallinto
arrears before it is considered a Non-Performing Account (NPA). Whenever a loan
becomesnon-performing,anyaccruedinterestincomewillthenbesuspendedand
automatically booked into a Suspended Interest Income GL Account. The bookings
the system will carry out when suspending accrued interest income are shown
below:
Dr.InterestIncome
Cr.SuspendedInterestIncome
Whentheclientrepays,thentheincomeinthesuspendedinterestincomeaccount
isbookedbackintotheInterestIncomeaccount.Thebookingsthatthesystemwill
carryoutareshownbelow:
Dr.Bank
Cr.LoanPortfolio
Cr.InterestReceivable
Dr.SuspendedInterestIncome
Cr.InterestIncome
Ifapaymentisthenmadeintotheloan,thesystemwillcheckwhetherthepayment
hascausedtheloantochangefromNPAbacktoperformingandwillautomatically
bookanysuspendedinterestincomeoutoftheSuspendedIncomeAccountintothe
Interest income account. The booking that the system will carry out are shown
below:
Dr.SuspendedInterestIncome
Cr.InterestIncome
IfthepaymentdidnotcausetheloantochangefromNPAtoperforming,thenthe
systemwillonlybookincomelinkedtotheactualpaymentmadebytheclient,and
willbookthisfromtheSuspendedInterestIncomeAccount.
YoucanconfigurewhichaccountisusedastheSuspendedInterestIncomeAccount
onaproduct-by-productbasisintheaccountingtaboftheproductconfiguration,as
showninredbelow:
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2. Abilitytolinkguarantorsavingstoaloan
While Musoni has always enabled you to link a Guarantor to a loan, you are now
abletospecifytheextenttowhichaGuarantorisguaranteeingtheloan,byentering
theamountguaranteedfromtheGuarantor’ssavingsaccount.Anysavingslinkedto
aloanasaguaranteecannotbewithdrawnuntiltheloanisrepaid.
Savingsfundscanbelinkedtoaloanfromeitherasavingsaccountoftheindividual
applyingfortheloan,orfromasavingsaccountofanyotherindividual,solongas
theyareinthesamebranchastheclientreceivingtheloan.
ConfiguringtheproductforGuaranteedSavings
The ability to link savings as a guarantee to a loan is configured on a product by
productbasis(soifyouprefernottospecifytheamountaGuarantorisguaranteeing
then you do not need to). To configure this for a loan product, first go to
Configuration>ProductsandclickontheProductyouwishtoedit.
Atthebottomrightofthe‘NewProduct’tab,youwillseeadropdownlabeled“Lock
GuaranteedFunds”,alsoshowninredbelow.
Ifyouselect“Yes”,thentheoptionslinkedtoconfiguringthesavingsguaranteesare
shown,alsoshowninredbelow.
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Youcanusethe“MandatoryGuarantee”tospecifythepercentageoftheloanthat
has to be guaranteed before the loan can be created. The “Minimum Guarantee
from Own Funds” is the minimum percentage that has to be guaranteed from the
client himself. Finally the “Minimum Guarantee from Guarantor” is the minimum
percentagethatanyotherguarantorshavetoguaranteefortheloantobecreated.
Ifyouselect“Yes”onthe“SplitInterestAmongGuarantors”,thenwhentheloanis
fully repaid, the interest from the loan will be paid into each guarantor’s savings
accountinproportiontotheamounttheyguaranteed.
LinkingGuarantorstotheloan
Whencreatingaloan,proceedinexactlythesamewayasbefore.Howeveronthe
Guarantortab,youwillnoticethatyounowhavetheoptiontospecifytheamount
eachclientisguaranteeing.
Onceadded,theGuarantorandtheamountbeingGuaranteedisshownontheloan.
Ifthereareinsufficientfundsguaranteed,thenitwillnotbepossiblefortheloanto
beApprovedorDisbursed.
3. AbilitytoCustomiseGroupRegistrationform
YouarenowabletoeditthecontentsoftheGroupDetailsFormtoensurethatthe
fields captured perfectly match up to your paper processes. To edit the Group
DetailsForm,gotoConfiguration>Customisationandclickonthe“UserForms”tab.
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When you select the ‘Group Details’ form, you can now add new fields, remove
existingfields,changetheorderoffieldsordeterminewhichonesaremandatory.
Once you click ‘Submit’, the Group Details form will be updated immediately, and
thenewfieldswillbedisplayedasyougothroughtheGroupRegistrationworkflow.
4. GroupLevelLoans(ratherthanindividualsinagroup)
You are now able to give a loan directly to a Group, rather than to the individuals
withinagroup,inlinewiththeNon-SolidarityGrouplendingmethodology.Givinga
loantoaGroupisverysimilartogivingaloantoanindividual.
FromtheGroupDetailspage,simplyselecttheoptionto“AddLoan”.Youwillthen
betakenthroughtheloancreationworkflow.
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TheonlydifferencebetweenaloangiventoaGroup,ratherthantoanIndividualin
a Group, is that when giving a loan to a Group you are also asked to specify the
allocationoftheloanbetweenthedifferentindividualsintheGroupasshowninred
below(thisisonlyusedforreportingpurposes–atnopointistheloanlinkedtothe
individual).
Oncetheloaniscreated,itisapprovedanddisbursedinthesamewayasanyloan
being given to an Individual. The loan will also appear on all loan reports.
RepaymentsmadeintoGroupLoansarecarriedoutinthesamewayasrepayments
intoindividualloans.
5. GroupLevelSavings(ratherthanindividualsinagroup)
YouarenowalsoabletolinkaSavingsAccountdirectlytoaGroup,ratherthanto
the Individuals in a Group, inline with the Non-Solidarity Group lending
methodology.GivingasavingsaccounttoaGroupisverysimilartogivingasavings
accounttoanindividual.
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From the Group Details page, simply select the option to “Add Savings”. You will
thenbetakenthroughtheSavingsactivationworkflow.
TherearenodifferencesbetweentheSavingsActivationworkflowforGroups,and
thatforIndividuals.Depositsandwithdrawalsaremadeinthesameway,andallof
theSavingsReportshavebeenupdatedtoalsoshowGroupSavingsAccounts.
6. NewCreditCheckslinkedtoGuarantors
WehaveaddedtwoadditionalcreditchecksthatarespeciallylinkedtoGuarantors:
• GuarantorsarenotallowedtoGuaranteemultipleloanssimultaneously
• Guarantornotallowedtotakeoutaloan
ThefirstallowsyoutostopanyGuarantoractingasaGuarantorformorethanone
loan at the same time. If this happens, then the system will either give you a
warning, or block the loan from being approved / disbursed, depending on the
severitylevelyouhaveconfigured.
ThesecondstopsanyclientwhoisactingasaGuarantorfromtakingoutaloanat
the same time. If this happens, then the system will either give you a warning, or
blocktheloanfrombeingapproved/disbursed,dependingontheseveritylevelyou
haveconfigured.
7. IntegrationwithEcocash(Zimbabwe)
The Musoni System has now been integrated with Ecocash, and has the ability to
batch process the incoming payments file from Ecocash, assigning the payments
betweeneachclient’sloanorsavingsaccountbasedonthephonenumberusedto
sendthepayments.
TouploadtheEcocashincomingpaymentsfile,gotoConfiguration>MMTServices,
andthenclickontheEcocashtab,asshowninredbelow.
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From here you can follow the onscreen instructions to upload the incoming
paymentsfile.Paymentswillbeautomaticallyallocatedtotheclient’sloanbasedon
first, the phone number used to make the payment and second, the shortcode
enteredasareferencebytheclient.Paymentsthatarenotpossibletoautomarically
allocatewilllandintheMMTSuspenseAccountshownontheSuspenseTab.
All configuration required for the MMT module can be found under ‘Ecocash
Configuration’butanyclientwishingtostartusingtheEcocashMMTmoduleshould
contactMusoniforashorttrainingbeforecommencing.
8. MMTModuleupdatedfornewM-PESAFormat
The Musoni MMT Module has also been updated in line with the new M-PESA file
formats.ThismeansthatanyMFIwishingtoimporttheincomingpaymentsfilefrom
M-PESAintoMusonicandosowithouteditingthefileformatitself,andthesystem
willautomaticallygeneratethecorrectoutgoingfileformatforloandisbursements.
9. AbilitytoreversesuspendedMMTpaymentsbacktocustomer
You are now able to reverse any MMT payment that has landed in the suspense
accountbacktothephonenumberthefundswherereceivedfrom.Thisisdesigned
tobeusedtohelpyoumanagepaymentsmadefromnon-clients.Toreverseanitem
in the Suspense Account, simple click on the red button to the right of the
transactionlabeled“Reverse”,asshowninredbelow:
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Once you click Reverse, you are asked to add a note, given an explanation of the
reversal. All reversed transactions will then be added automatically to the next
outgoing MMT file and sent back to the sender once the outgoing MMT file is
uploaded to the MMT interface. You can see all Reversed transactions under the
“Reversed”tabintheMMTmodule.
10. GracePeriodonPenaltyFees
Youarenowabletoapplyagraceperiodonanypenalties,ensuringthatpenalties
areonlyappliedonclientsinarrearsafterXdaysinarrears,ratherthanimmediately
on the day they fall into arrears. In the future we will be adding this functionality
directly to the frontend, ensuring that you can configure it yourself, but in the
meantimepleaseletusknowifyou’dlikeustosetupagraceonyourpenaltiesby
[email protected].
11. SMSModule–sendmessageslongerthan160characters
ItisnowpossibleinthesystemtosendSMSmessageslongerthan160characters.
Youdonotneedtodoanythingdifferentlyinthesystem,butarenowsimplyableto
configure message templates longer than 160 characters (in the past the system
blockedthis).
Anymessagesthatarelongerthan160characterswillnowsimplybesplitintotwo
messages,withtheclientsreceivingbothconsecutively(orasasinglelargermessage
intheeventtheyownasmartphone).
MFIs are still charged for each SMS message sent, and so will be charged for two
messages if the SMS exceeds 160 characters and more for even longer messages
(320+characters).
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12. NewReports
Wehaveaddedthefollowingnewreportstothesystem:
12.1ZAMFIMonthlyReport(OrganisationalReports)
This report is aimed at all MFIs in Zimbabwe. The report is in the exact format
required by ZAMFI each month, and can be downloaded straight from the system
beforeapplyinganychangesyourequireandsendingtoZAMFI.
12.2RBZSchedule8Report(OrganisationalReports)
This report is aimed at all MFIs in Zimbabwe. The report is in the exact format
required by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe each month, and can be downloaded
straight from the system before applying any changes you require, adding the
additionalschedulesandsendingtotheRBZ.
12.3FieldOfficerCollectionsReport(LoanReports)
Thisreportisdesignedtomakeiteasierforfieldofficerstocaptureallrepayments
anddepositsmadeonagivenday,andshowsallpaymentsdueonthatday,broken
downperGroup.
12.4AccruedInterestReport(FinancialReports)
Thisreportshowstheamountofinterest,feesandpenaltiesaccruedoneachloanin
the system, as well as the amount of unpaid accrued interest, fees and penalties,
makingitveryeasytoreconcilewithyourreceivableandincomeGLbalances.The
reportisaimedatmembersofthefinanceteam.
11.5GroupReport(LoanReports)
We have added a new option onto the Group Report that allows you to select
whetheryouwouldlikethereporttoshowanypaymentsdueontherundateofthe
reportas“inarrears”.ForMFIswhoseclientsaremeanttorepayovermobilemoney
beforetheirmeetingday,thisenablesuserstoeasilyseewhichclientshavepaidon
time,andwhichhavenotpaidbythetimeofthegroupmeeting.
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13. SmallerImprovementsandBugFixes
• MS-535Dashboardgraphicsnotworkingoninternetexplorer
• MS-666CommaSeparators&Decimalsnotshownonloanprincipal
outstanding
• MS-668"Copy"actsdifferentlyindifferentsections
• MS-705OrderHistoricalIncomestatementbyGLNumber
• MS-762ImproveBranchOLBDashboardGraphic
• MS-765AddtheTransfer"eye"totheloantransactionspage
• MS-766Redirecttothejournalwhenthejournalhasbeencreated
• MS-791Notabletosee/editStringLengthonacustomform
• MS-795AddRejectedDateandWithdrawnDatetorespectiveloantables
• MS-817Changedailycollectionsgraphtoincludeoverdue
• MS-820ShowfullnameofGuarantorsonLoanAppraisal
• MS-827ImplementSavingsJournalsoverview
• MS-829ChangeFundto'OriginofFunding'
• MS-832AddfundandloanpurposetoOutstandingloansreport
• MS-833CreatepullrequestandMIFOSXitemfordropdownimprovements
• MS-863Filtertabsandentersinclientnames
• MS-864Addoptionalparametercalled"inhertClientActiveAccounts"
• MS-865Duplicateclientidentifiercausingerrors
• MS-869Abilitytoeditclientidentifiers
• MS-877ScheduledReportsdonotupdatedatesforconsecutivedays
• MS-902Updatingthedata-tablesversionandcheckifanycodeusingdatatablesbreaks
• MS-912AbilitytoallocateMMTpaymentstowrittenoffloans
• MS-930Wheneditingaloantherepaymentscheduledoesnotshow
• MS-932Handlingerrorforagrouploanthathasacreditcheckattachedtoit
• MS-933Goingtoaloanpageiscausinganerrorontheapi(java)side
• MS-942AdditionofSMSTagforLoanAccountNumber
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