THE BRANCH APPLICATION GUIDE

Understand the work.
Follow every step.

A practical guide to setting up your company and managing its daily work. Follow the steps in order, or choose the task you need below.

14 topics22 actual application screensScreenshots refreshed 2 November 2026

Before you begin

Menu names below match the workspace. On a phone, select Menu to open navigation. Expand a menu group, then choose the page. Your role determines which pages and actions are available.

All screenshots use fictional demonstration records. Select a screenshot to open it at full size in a new tab. Amounts and settings are examples.

01 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Create an account and sign in

Branch is a workspace for microfinance companies. Start by creating your company, or accept an invitation if you are joining an existing team.

Who: Company owner · All staff
Where: Get started / Sign in

Select Get started on the website. Enter the company name, country and base currency, followed by the owner’s name, email address and password.
Open the verification email and select Verify email address. Then select Open your workspace. If the email does not arrive, use the resend option on the email confirmation page.
For later visits, select Sign in and enter your email address and password. Invited staff should first open their invitation, enter their name and choose a password.

Keep in mindChoose the base currency carefully: it remains fixed after registration. Each company uses the same currency across its branches.

Company registration screen with country, base currency and owner account fields. — Registration creates the company and its owner account. Email verification is the next step.

Password recovery, signing out and unavailable access

Select Forgot password on the sign-in page, enter your account email and follow the email link to choose a new password.
Use Sign out in the workspace menu when you finish. If the company or your staff account is inactive, contact your company administrator; a suspended company needs help from the platform administrator.

02 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Prepare the company and your team

Set up the company before recording daily business. Each person receives a home screen and actions suited to their role.

Who: Owner · Administrator
Where: Settings · Configuration · Access

Open Settings → Settings. Check the company details, business timezone and receipt prefix. Set the rules for overdue payments, advance repayments, guarantors and application documents. Enable savings and susu if needed.
Open Configuration → Branches and add each location. Use Branch rules to set lending limits, working days and holidays for those locations.
Open Access → Team → Invitations. Select Invite staff, enter the email, role, branch and approval limit, then save. The staff member completes the invitation from their email.
Set up loan products in Loans → Products, and deposit products if you offer savings or investor accounts. Record confirmed opening capital in Accounting before making payouts.

Keep in mindA manager or administrator needs an adequate approval limit. A limit of zero gives no monetary approval authority. Assign enough people to prepare, review and pay loans independently.

Team screen listing seven demonstration staff members and their roles and approval limits. — Team shows staff roles, approval limits and active access. Invitations are managed in a separate tab.

Owner overview showing portfolio totals, pending applications and shortcuts to daily tasks. — The owner’s overview shows company activity. Other roles have their own relevant totals and work queues.

Understand the seven staff roles

Typical responsibilities; company permissions and approval limits still apply.
Role	Main responsibility
Company owner	Company setup, portfolio oversight, access and authorized decisions.
Administrator	Staff, branches, settings and permitted operations.
Branch manager	Applications, decisions and follow-up within their assigned scope and approval limit.
Loan officer	Assigned customers, application preparation and payment follow-up.
Cashier	Confirmed payouts, payments, deposits, withdrawal requests and receipts.
Accountant	Accounting, matching statements, financial reports and permitted funding work.
Auditor	Read-only review of records, decisions and activity history.

Change staff access

In Team, edit a staff member to change their role, branch, approval limit or active status. Revoke an unused invitation from Invitations.
For more specific permissions, use Access controls. Review the affected staff before saving changes to a custom role.
Forms open in a dialog. Select Expand for more room or Open in page to continue in the page. Open in modal returns to the dialog and retains your entries.

Expanded staff invitation form with the sample manager role, branch, approval limit and Open in page control. — Expand an invitation to review its role, branch and approval limit. This demonstration invitation has not been sent.

03 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Add customers and supporting records

A customer profile brings contact details, supporting evidence and account history together.

Who: Owner · Administrator · Manager · Loan officer
Where: Customers & accounts → Customers

Select Add Customer. Enter the individual’s or business’s name and phone number, then select the branch and assigned officer where applicable.
Add the remaining contact and identification details. Upload a photo, identification front and back, and relevant supporting files. Business customers can also have a business certificate.
Use Add guarantor in the customer form if another person supports the application. Enter their relationship and contact details, and attach their own identification or files. Save the completed record.
Select the customer’s name or View customer to open the full profile. Review guarantors, documents, loans, payments and savings history. Select a file or photo to preview it.

Keep in mindPhotos use PNG or JPEG; supporting files use PDF, PNG or JPEG, up to 5 MB each. Earlier uploads remain in the record when you add a replacement photo.

Customers table with sample customer records and tabs for guarantors, groups and documents. — Customers is the starting point for profiles, guarantors, lending groups and private documents.

View full-size screenshot

Open a customer’s profile to review their full relationship with the company.

Guarantors, groups and documents

Use the Guarantors tab to update an existing guarantor and their files. Guarantor documents stay separate from the customer’s own documents.
Use Groups to create a group and select its customer members. Use Documents to upload and link a file to the correct customer, guarantor or application.
Wait for the file check to pass before opening or downloading an upload. Use Blocked uploads to investigate rejected files with an authorized administrator.

Customer briefings

Where your role permits it, generate a briefing from the customer profile and compare it with the source records.
Review any suggested reminder before using the messaging tools. A briefing does not approve a loan, record a payment or send a message. Availability depends on the company’s AI connection.

04 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Prepare, approve and pay a loan

A loan moves through preparation, independent review and a confirmed payout. Approval alone does not record money paid to the borrower.

Who: Loan officer → Independent reviewer → Cashier
Where: Loans · Approvals · Cashier

In Loans, select Add Loan. Choose the customer and product, enter the amount, purpose and assessment, and add supporting documents. Save a draft if you need to finish later; use Resume draft to continue.
Complete any pledged asset details and evidence, then select Submit for review. The application enters the approval queue; a saved draft does not.
A different authorized reviewer opens Approvals, selects View and checks the borrower, terms, evidence and repayment schedule. They approve or reject with a decision note. Products with several approval stages need all required reviews.
After approval, a third authorized staff member uses Disburse in Cashier. Confirm the actual payout first, choose cash, bank or mobile money, and save. Branch records the loan as active and finalizes its repayment dates.

Keep in mindThe preparer and final approver cannot record the disbursement. Product fees are withheld from the payout; check the displayed net amount before paying the customer.

Loan list showing demonstration applications marked approved, submitted and active, with the actions available to the owner. — Loans lists each application’s status and available actions. Saved drafts appear above this list.

Approval desk showing a submitted demonstration loan with View, Approve and Reject actions. — An independent reviewer checks a submitted application before recording a decision.

Supporting documents and form views

In a loan draft, use Additional supporting documents to select optional PDF, PNG or JPEG files. Review each title. Files upload when you select Save draft or Submit for review; selecting them alone does not upload them.
Resume the saved draft to continue. You can use Expand or Open in page for more space while keeping your entries and file selections.
To add files to a submitted or decided loan, open its details and select Add supporting documents. Files added after the decision remain separate supporting records and do not change approved terms or verified collateral.

Loan draft showing two selected supporting documents, editable document titles and Save draft and Submit for review controls. — Optional supporting files are selected and titled in the draft. These demonstration files have not been uploaded.

Secured loans, collateral and guarantors

For a product requiring collateral, add each pledged asset, its legal owner, valuation, valuation date and supporting evidence before submitting. Collateral means an asset pledged as security for the loan.
An authorized reviewer checks ownership and valuation evidence before approval. Use Collateral to track the assets; after approval, use a collateral change request and independent review to update the approved security.
Use Lending rules → Loan Guarantees to associate the relevant guarantor or customer with a loan. Company guarantor and document requirements must be satisfied before approval.

Pledged collateral form with a fictional vehicle, legal owner, valuation, valuation date and selected evidence file. — Pledged assets have their own ownership, valuation and evidence fields. The selected sample file uploads only when the draft is saved or submitted.

Product terms, loan changes and write-offs

Use Loans → Products to configure interest, payment frequency, term, amount limits, fees and collateral requirements. Lending rules adds approval stages and penalty settings. Use the loan calculator to compare a proposed schedule before applying.
To change an active loan, open its details and request the appropriate loan change with a reason. Restructuring, extensions, repricing and permitted settlement discounts require independent review; editing the product does not change an existing loan’s agreed terms.
If recovery is no longer expected, an authorized member can request a write-off with a reason. A different reviewer decides the request; the loan history remains available.

05 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Receive payments and issue receipts

Record a manual payment only after the money has been received. Each posted payment has a reference and a numbered receipt.

Who: Cashier · Authorized reviewers
Where: Work & approvals → Cashier

Find the active loan in Cashier and select Repayment. Enter the amount received, payment account and a unique payment reference.
Check the customer, amount and reference, then confirm. If the product requires repayment review, a different authorized reviewer must approve the pending request in Lending rules → Financial Requests before it changes the balance.
Once posted, the payment reduces the loan according to its agreed rules; partial payments are supported. Open Repayments and select Receipt to view or print the record. Check the remaining balance in the loan or customer profile; a fully repaid loan closes automatically.

Keep in mindIf an amount exceeds the permitted balance, explicitly select Hold excess as customer credit when appropriate. Reusing an identical payment reference returns the existing payment; a conflicting reference is rejected.

Record repayment form showing the confirmed amount, payment account, excess-payment choice and unique reference. — Select Repayment on the active loan, enter the confirmed amount and check its unique reference before saving.

Correct a manual payment

In Repayments, select Reverse on the original manual payment and explain the correction. A different authorized reviewer decides it in Approvals.
An approved reversal restores the original payment allocations and retains the original receipt. Record any replacement payment with its own reference. Paystack payments require provider-confirmed refund handling and cannot use this manual reversal.

Apply or refund excess customer credit

Open Customer credits and check the customer’s held balance. Request an application to an eligible loan or savings account, or a refund, with the required details.
A different authorized reviewer checks the request and any confirmed refund payout before approving it. Credit movements retain the history; corrections also require review.

Collect online through Paystack

With the company’s Paystack collection connection configured, select Paystack link on an active loan or savings account. Enter the amount and share the generated checkout link.
The customer pays on Paystack. Wait for server verification; returning from checkout alone does not confirm a payment. Check Recent Paystack payments and use Verify payment if needed.
If a verified payment needs review, resolve the account issue and use Retry allocation. Refunds and outgoing bank payments need separate confirmed provider handling.

06 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Follow up payments that are due

Collections helps staff see accounts due today or overdue and keep a record of follow-up conversations.

Who: Loan officer · Manager · Authorized staff
Where: Work & approvals → Collections

Open Collections and review the due accounts and follow-up queue within your branch or assigned customers.
Open the loan to check unpaid installments. Contact the customer and record a contact note; include a promised payment date and amount when agreed.
Use Reminder for an email or SMS where delivery is configured. Review suggested drafts and source facts before sending through the messaging workflow.
Return to the queue to follow payment promises. Record any money received through Cashier so the balances and follow-up information update.

Collections screen with a follow-up queue, contact-note controls and payment-promise information. — Collections supports follow-up work. A contact note or promise does not record a payment.

Coordinate visits and appointments

Open Calendar to add an event with start and end times, the branch, responsible staff member and notes.
Use the calendar alongside collection promises to coordinate work. Creating an event does not send a payment or make a financial posting.

07 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Manage savings and susu

Once savings is enabled, open customer accounts, record deposits and review withdrawals separately.

Who: Cashier · Independent reviewer · Owner / administrator
Where: Customers & accounts → Savings & susu

In Savings & susu, add an account for the customer and choose savings or susu. Where required, link its pricing product under Deposit products → Savings Terms.
Select Deposit after receiving the funds. Enter the amount, payment account and unique reference, then save or complete any required review. Open the account statement or receipt to check the recorded movement.
For a payout, select Withdraw and submit the amount, payment account and reason. A different authorized reviewer decides it in Approvals and confirms the payout. Approval records the withdrawal immediately.
Review the account statement and balance. An authorized manager can use Freeze when transactions must be stopped, and Unfreeze when the account may operate again.

Keep in mindInsufficient funds, frozen accounts, minimum balances and reserved amounts can prevent withdrawals. Do not approve a withdrawal as a promise of a later payment.

Savings and susu account table showing a sample account balance and deposit and withdrawal actions. — Savings & susu shows account balances, movement history and withdrawal requests.

Interest, reserved funds and closure

Owners configure interest, fees and minimum balances in Deposit products. Use Savings Terms to set or release a lien, meaning an amount reserved against withdrawal, or post completed-period interest.
Before closure, post all completed funded interest and fee periods and release reserved funds. Request final withdrawal & close for a remaining balance; a different reviewer confirms the payout. Use Close empty savings account only when its balance and other closure requirements allow it.

08 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Manage investors and loan funding

Investor records connect the person providing funds with their accounts, movements and loan funding reservations.

Who: Owner · Administrator · Accountant
Where: Customers & accounts → Investors

Add the investor’s profile. Create an investor product in Deposit Products with the agreed interest, fees and minimum balance.
In Investor Accounts, add an account linked to the investor and product. Use Record deposit after funds are received; products requiring review leave the deposit pending until independently approved.
Use Investments to reserve eligible investor funds against a loan. Release a reservation when it is no longer needed; a reservation is not a new customer payout.
Request withdrawals from the account. A different authorized reviewer opens Financial Requests, checks the funds and confirms the payout before approving. Review Investor Movements and statements afterward.

Investor Accounts tab showing a sample investor account and deposit, withdrawal and interest actions. — Investor accounts keep balances and actions separate from investor profile information.

Interest, freezing and closing investor accounts

Post completed-period interest from the account action, and inspect the resulting movements. Use Freeze or Activate to control transactions.
Release funding reservations and complete required interest and fee postings before requesting a final withdrawal and closure. A different reviewer confirms the payout; an eligible empty account can be closed directly.
Use Portal access to invite the investor to view their own accounts and statements.

09 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Record funds, match statements and close the day

Accounting records where money came from and where it went. Loan, savings and payment actions create their own linked entries.

Who: Owner · Administrator · Accountant · Cashier for daily closing
Where: Reports & portfolio → Accounting · Work & approvals → Cashier

Use Capital, Expense or Transfer in Accounting for the appropriate confirmed movement. Choose the amount and payment account, add a clear description and save.
Review the account ledger to follow entries and running balances. For a bank or mobile-money journal, select Reconcile and match the exact statement amount and reference.
Finish the day’s transactions before selecting Daily close in Accounting or Cashier. Choose the payment account, enter the counted or verified closing balance and explain any difference.
Check the closing record. Closing locks that payment account against further manual same-day postings. A difference is recorded without automatically changing the balance; verified online collections can still be recorded.

Accounting screen with payment account balances, capital, expense and transfer controls, and ledger entries. — Accounting connects recorded balances, journals, statement matching and daily closing.

Income, expenses and recurring entries

Open Income & expenses, add the category, description, amount, payment account and any related loan. Add supporting files through the record details.
For a recurring entry, set its recurrence and next due date. When it is due, confirm the actual payment through its request and independent review. A recurring schedule does not prove that a bank payment happened.

Fixed assets and depreciation

Open Fixed assets and record the purchase, cost, acquisition date, expected useful life and remaining value. Confirm acquisition from the chosen payment account.
Post depreciation as permitted, or enable the scheduled process. Depreciation spreads the asset’s cost over its useful life, starting in the month after acquisition. Record a confirmed disposal when the asset is sold or retired.

10 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Review reports and the activity history

Reports explain portfolio activity; the audit history records who made important changes and decisions.

Who: Owners · Managers · Accountants · Auditors · Other roles within their access
Where: Reports & portfolio → Reports · Audit history

Open Reports and choose the operating, analysis or financial report you need. Set the dates and any available branch or officer filters.
Review disbursements, collections, repayment performance and aged arrears. Aged arrears groups unpaid amounts by how long they are overdue; portfolio at risk measures outstanding principal on overdue loans.
Review the ledger, trial balance, income statement or balance sheet for the selected dates. Use available CSV or Excel exports, or PDF statements, to share the required report.
Open Audit history to inspect the actor, action and recorded changes. Compare the related approval, payment or customer record when investigating an entry.

Keep in mindRead the date explanation on each report. Payments, reversals, actual payouts and record creation can fall on different dates. Exports include all matching records, not just the visible table page.

Reports and statements screen with operating report filters and analysis and export options. — Choose the report and dates first, then review or export the matching results.

11 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Receive enquiries and give account holders access

Public forms collect information from visitors. Invited account holders use a separate portal to view their own records.

Who: Owner / administrator · Authorized staff · Customers and investors
Where: Configuration → Public forms · Access → Portal access

In Public forms, create a form with clearly named fields, mark required answers and activate it. Open the form’s details to copy its public address or use it in your website’s embed block.
Review incoming Submissions. Where appropriate, use Create customer or the loan conversion action, complete the required details and save. Loan records still follow the normal review and payout process.
In Portal access, select Invite account holder. Choose the customer or investor, check that their profile has the correct email, then select Email portal invitation.
The recipient opens the invitation and sets a password. They later use customer / investor sign in to view their own balances, schedules, payments, documents and statements. Customers can submit loan applications for staff review.

Keep in mindPortal invitations expire after three days. Staff can revoke access. Secured portal applications remain drafts until staff completes the collateral details and evidence.

Portal access screen listing a sample customer’s active portal account and its revoke action. — Staff manages invitations and account access without sharing staff sign-in details.

Customer portal showing only Sample Customer A’s loan, payment schedule and savings information. — An invited customer sees their own accounts. Investors receive their own account view.

12 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Bring in existing records and check uploaded files

A CSV is a spreadsheet saved as plain rows and columns. Use the provided template so Branch can read each field correctly.

Who: Staff with permission for the relevant records
Where: Customers → Import customers · Configuration → Bulk imports

For customers, select Import customers in Customers. For loans, payments, savings, expenses or repayment schedules, open Bulk imports and choose the matching type. Download its template.
Fill the template with up to 500 rows and save it as CSV UTF-8, no larger than 2 MB. Keep phone and identification columns as text to preserve leading zeros; use existing branch codes and staff emails.
Upload the file and select Preview import or Preview batch. Wait for the file check, then review every row and correct all errors. A preview does not create business records.
Confirm the valid, unchanged preview within ten minutes. Review the saved records and any pending approvals. Use CSV upload history to find retained source files, and Blocked uploads to inspect rejected files.

Keep in mindConfirm financial imports only for actual payments or receipts. Importing does not bypass approval requirements, and existing financial records are not overwritten. Add customer photos, files and guarantors separately afterward.

Bulk imports screen with separate import-type tabs and the Import or enter records control. — Select the matching import type before downloading a template or previewing a batch.

Enter a small batch without a file

In Bulk imports, open Import or enter records, then select Enter several records. Enter up to 30 rows and add rows as needed.
Preview the batch, fix errors and confirm it using the same review process as a file upload.

13 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Adapt records, documents and access

Use company controls to collect the right information and give staff appropriate responsibilities.

Who: Owner · Administrator
Where: Configuration → Custom fields / Branch rules · Access → Access controls

In Custom fields, choose the record type and add a clearly named field with the correct type and required status. New forms and supported imports use these fields.
Use the Numbering and Branding tabs to set record references, document names and date and number formats.
In Document Templates, create an inactive template, upload its Word file and then activate it. Check the generated agreement or statement from a relevant record before using it operationally.
In Access controls, copy a default role or create a custom role, select its permitted actions and assign it to staff. Use Staff Access for working hours, network or country restrictions; use Staff Profiles for staff details and files.

Keep in mindA staff member’s role, branch, assigned customers and company controls determine which records and actions they can see. If an action is missing, ask the company administrator to check access.

Read-only Branch manager default role showing its work limits and permission descriptions. — Inspect the permissions and limits of a standard role before creating a company-specific copy.

Inspect and copy a default role

In Access controls, scroll to Default roles and choose a role to inspect its read-only permissions and operating limits.
Select Create custom role from the chosen default. Give the copy a name and review each permission independently; View permissions, collateral verification, loan approval and disbursement are separate actions.
Use Expand or Open in page to review the form comfortably. Save the custom role only after checking the selected permissions, then assign the appropriate staff scope and approval limits.

Expanded custom-role editor copied from Branch manager, with a sample role name and individually selectable loan permissions. — A company-specific role can start from a default and be refined in the expanded editor. This sample role has not been saved.

14 / APPLICATION GUIDE

Connect payments, messages and other services

Check connection status before relying on online payments or message delivery. Some services require provider setup by your administrator.

Who: Owner · Administrator · Authorized operators
Where: Configuration → Connections / API & webhooks · Work & approvals → Messages & automation

Open Connections to inspect email, SMS and payment status. In Email delivery, an owner or administrator can save and test the company’s SMTP email connection, or remove it to use the platform service.
In Messages & automation, select Compose messages. Choose recipients and filters, write the message, then select Preview recipients & messages. Check each preview before queuing delivery.
Review Message Dispatches for results. Add event or scheduled Message Rules and enable only the financial Scheduled Jobs the company needs. Scheduled work requires the background service to be running.
Open Settings → Plan & access to check company usage, staff and branch limits and the displayed billing status. Follow the billing controls only when they are available for your company.

Keep in mindA logged SMS in dry-run mode has not been sent. Accepted means the provider accepted a message, not that the recipient received it. For an unknown delivery result, check with the provider before resending.

Connections screen reporting email, customer payment, SMS and subscription connection status. — Connections explains which services are ready and which still need configuration.

Connect another system

Ask a technical administrator to use API & webhooks. They create a key for a named staff member, choose its records and branch, and allow writes only if required. Copy the generated key once and store it privately.
For outgoing event notifications, create an inactive webhook, configure the receiving system with its signing secret, then activate it. Review Webhook Deliveries and investigate failed or uncertain results before retrying. Keys remain limited by the associated staff member’s access.

Platform administration and billing

Platform administrators use the separate /platform sign-in to manage company suspension, reactivation, plans and quotas. Company owners and staff do not receive platform administrator access from a staff invitation.
If subscription billing is enabled, the owner can follow Plan & access to the configured Paystack plan or management page. A company with free access does not need a subscription payment. External payment and messaging providers may charge for their own services.

Ready for your next task?

Open your workspace and follow the relevant steps. If a page or action is unavailable, ask your company administrator to check your role and company settings.

Understand the work.Follow every step.