Groups

Open Institution → Groups in the sidebar (or press Ctrl+K and type "groups"). You need group-viewing permission — if the menu item is missing, ask your administrator.

The group list

Groups appear in a table showing name, account number, office, status, and staff.

• Search by name with the box above the table — results update as you type.
• Office, staff, and external ID narrow the list further.
• Sort by clicking the Name or Office column headers.
• Pages — use the controls under the table; you can show 10, 25, 50, or 100 rows.
• Open a group by clicking anywhere on its row.
• The address bar always reflects your current view — bookmark or share the URL and it reopens exactly this filtered, sorted page.

Exporting

The Export button downloads the entire filtered list (not just the visible page) as a CSV or Excel file. Searching or filtering first narrows what's exported. Exports are recorded for auditing.

Importing

Import downloads an Excel template you fill in, then uploads that workbook to create groups in bulk. You need group-creation permission to upload. Download is available to anyone who can view the list.

Creating a group

Press New group at the top of the group list (you need group-creation permission to see it). One form collects:

• Name and office — required. Members, staff, and an optional center must belong to this office.
• Staff — optional. The list is limited to employees at the selected office.
• Center — optional. Search for a center in the same office if this group sits in a village-style center. You only see this field if you can view centers.
• External ID — optional reference from another system.
• Submitted on — the registration date; it cannot be in the future.
• Activate now — active groups can be used right away. If you leave this off, the group stays pending until you activate it from Actions. Activating now also needs an activation date (not in the future).
• Members — optional. Search for clients and add them before you save.

Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*). After you save, you land on the new group's page.

Group details

Open a group from the list. The page keeps the name, account number, status, office, and staff at the top, then splits into sections:

• Overview — office, staff, external ID, and important dates (submitted, activated, closed) plus who recorded them when that is on file. If the group belongs to a center, that name links to the center.
• Members — clients in the group. Click a name to open that client when you can view clients.
• Group loans — loans on the group itself, plus linked member loans under one group loan.
• Member loans — loans opened for members of this group.
• Group savings — savings on the group itself, plus linked member savings under one group savings account.
• Member savings — savings opened for members of this group.
• Meetings — the collection meeting used for the collection sheet.
• Collection sheet — attendance, repayments, and disbursements for a meeting date.
• Notes and Documents — staff notes and files attached to the group.
• Extra data — custom fields your institution attached to groups. This section appears only when at least one extra table is available to you. Sections you don't have permission to see never appear in the menu.

On a wide screen the sections sit in a left-hand list. On a tablet they become a row of tabs.

Members

Members must belong to the same office as the group. Add members searches for clients and adds them in a docked sidebar. Remove a member from the row — their own accounts are not deleted.

From a member's row menu you can:

• Assign or change a role — pick a group role (for example chair or secretary) in a docked sidebar. Removing a role does not remove the member.
• Transfer to another group — move the member to a group in the same office. You can keep the destination group's officer on their accounts and move open group loans with them.

You can add or remove members while the group is pending or active. Closed groups keep their member list but you cannot change it here.

Group loans

Loans opened on the group itself. Turn on Show closed to include closed accounts. Open a group loan opens the same full-page application wizard as a client loan (product, optional external ID, terms, charges, schedule, review), without collateral or guarantors — those need a client. The header shows this group's name on every step. The first step defaults the officer to the group's staff when they are in the list, and can attach the collection meeting so repayments follow meeting dates. You can also link group savings when a group savings account exists. The group must be active. Close (X) in the top bar returns you to this list; Back and Continue sit at the bottom. After you submit, you land on that loan. The loan header names this group and links back here.

Linked member loans

Open linked member loans opens a full-page wizard: choose a product and terms, then tick members and enter each principal. The header shows this group's name. If the product sets a minimum or maximum principal or interest rate, that range appears under those fields. That creates one loan per selected member, tied together as a group loan. The group must be active and have members. After you submit, you return to Group loans. Linked child loans open on the loan workspace.

Member loans

Loans opened for members of this group. Turn on Show closed to include closed accounts.

To open a joint-liability loan for a member, pick that client at the bottom of the page. You land on that client's open-account wizard with the group already linked. The header shows that client's name — the loan is on the member, not the group. The group must be active.

Group savings

Savings opened on the group itself. Open group savings opens a docked sidebar (required product and date, optional product overrides) — the group must be active. Cancel closes the sidebar. After you submit, you open that account’s savings workspace. Click a row to open the same workspace.

Linked member savings

Open linked member savings opens a full-page wizard: choose a product and date, then tick members. The header shows this group's name. That creates linked savings for those members under one group savings account. After you submit, you return to Group savings. Linked child accounts open the savings workspace.

Member savings

Savings opened for members of this group. Open savings for a member the same way as a joint-liability loan: pick the client at the bottom of the page. That opens the savings sidebar on that client. Existing member savings open the savings workspace.

Meetings

A collection meeting is the repeating calendar this group uses for collection sheets. Add meeting collects a short title, start date, and optional repeat rule (weekly needs a weekday; monthly needs which week of the month). The meeting type is always a collection meeting.

If this group belongs to a center that already has a collection meeting, that calendar is inherited and read-only here. Change it on the center instead.

Delete a meeting you created on the group when you no longer need it. You cannot generate a collection sheet until another collection meeting exists.

Collection sheet

The sheet table is empty until you generate. Generate opens a sidebar for the meeting date (usually the next eligible date). Submit to load clients, attendance, and amounts. Mark attendance, enter repayment amounts, and enter disbursements when a loan is ready to disburse. Save collection sheet on the results toolbar posts those amounts. You need permission to save the sheet.

If there is no collection meeting yet, add one from Meetings first. The institution-wide collection sheet finds every center meeting that day. Individual (non-JLG) loans use the individual collection sheet.

Notes

Staff notes on this group. Add, edit, or delete a note from this section. Notes are visible to staff who can view group notes.

Documents

Files attached to this group. Upload a file with a name (and optional description), download it from the row, or delete it. A new upload needs a file; editing can keep the existing one. Files can be at most 10 MB.

Extra data

Custom fields your institution attached to groups. Each table is listed separately. Add or edit in a docked sidebar; delete asks you to confirm. A table that allows more than one row lets you add another. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*). This section is hidden when no extra tables are available to you.

Editing and status

Edit changes the name or external ID in a docked sidebar. The office cannot be changed after create. Assign or unassign staff from Actions, not Edit.

Actions depend on status and your permissions. Commands that need a date or other details open a docked sidebar; delete and unassign staff ask you to confirm.

• Pending — edit, activate, assign or unassign staff, or delete when the group has no members. Activation can be refused if there are too few or too many members — the message explains why.
• Active — edit, close (date and reason), assign or unassign staff.
• Closed — the group is read-only here.

If a command is not allowed, the reason from the core banking system is shown.

Troubleshooting