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Sacco Loan Appraisal and Approval in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Applies to: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

Audience: Loan Officers, Credit/Appraisal Analysts, Branch Managers/Approvers, System Admins Version: 2025-11-05

Overview

This guide is a complete user reference for Sacco loan Appraisal and Approval processes in Business Central. It follows Microsoft Learn style, detailing prerequisites, step-by-step procedures, fields, controls, troubleshooting, and FAQs. Use Tell Me (Alt+Q) to find pages.

Process Flow

  1. Initiated Application Intake
  2. Appraisal (data capture, eligibility)
  3. Generate Payment Schedule
  4. Appraisal Report
  5. Send for Approval
  6. Approver Decision
  7. Ready for Disbursement

Step 1 — Start the Appraisal from the Loan Application

  • On the Loan Application card, click the Appraisal action to expose the appraisal tools.
  • Visual: Appraisal action button
  • Outcome: I can now access Eligibility Breakdown, Generate Payment Schedule, and Generate Appraisal Report.

Step 2 — Capture the appraisal details (financials, collateral, guarantors)

  • Enter member income, other recurring income, existing loan obligations, deductions/expenses, and then capture collateral and guarantors as needed.
  • Use our standard appraisal form to double‑check inputs and attach it to the application.
  • Visuals for the card/views I worked on:

Step 3 — Run the Eligibility Breakdown and read the KPIs

  • Choose Appraisal > Eligibility Breakdown to calculate eligibility based on the captured financials and product rules.
  • Compare what you see on screen to the PDF to validate figures (share multiple cap, DTI, recommended amount/term, and any exception flags).
  • Visuals:
  • What to check before moving on:
    • Requested vs. share‑multiple cap
    • DTI against product threshold (note any exception)
    • Recommended amount/term and conditions I must enforce

Step 4 — Generate a Payment Schedule to validate affordability

  • Click Appraisal > Generate Payment Schedule and confirm Principal, Rate, Term, Frequency, Grace (if any), and First Installment Date.
  • Make sure installments, dates, and totals look right for the method (reducing/flat) before I commit.
  • Visual: Generate Payment Schedule dialog

Step 5 — Generate and attach the Appraisal Report

  • Use Appraisal > Generate Appraisal Report to compile the formal memo for approval.
  • Verify it includes member profile, incomes/obligations, collateral/guarantors, eligibility KPIs, schedule summary, and any conditions; then I attach the PDF to the application.
  • Visuals:
    • Action: Generate Appraisal Report action
    • Preview: Preview of Appraisal Report

Step 6 — Send the appraised loan for approval

  • From the application, click Send for Approval and add a short message: recommended amount/term, any exceptions, and key conditions (e.g., extra guarantor, share top‑up).
  • Visual: Send for Approval action
  • Result: Approval Entries are created and the document locks while it’s pending.

Step 7 — How the approver acts on the request

  • The approver opens Approvals > Requests to Approve, opens the loan, and reviews my Header, Appraisal/Financials, Collateral/Guarantors, Schedule, Attachments, and the Appraisal Report.
  • Visual: Approval actions available to approver
  • Actions they can take (as shown): Approve, Reject (with a comment), Delegate, or Request Changes. I always read their comments for the audit trail and re‑submit if asked.

What each screenshot proves in my flow

  • appraisal button.png — Where I access the Appraisal menu on the application card.
  • Loan Appraisal Breakdown.png — The live eligibility KPIs I reviewed (share multiple, DTI, recommended amount/term).
  • loan eligibility breakdown.pdf — The detailed numbers I relied on for the memo.
  • Generate Payment Schedule.png — The exact parameter dialog I used to validate affordability.
  • generate appraisal report.png & preview Appraisal Report.png — The report action and the preview I checked before attaching.
  • send loan for approval.png — The action I used to trigger the workflow.
  • Approval actions.png — The approver’s decision buttons I expect them to use.
  • Screenshot 2025-10-31 *.png — The application pages/tabs I edited and double‑checked during appraisal.

The data I make sure to capture before approval

  • Member & Product: Member No./Name; Product Code/Name
  • Amount & Tenor: Requested vs. Recommended Amount; Requested vs. Recommended Term
  • Income & Obligations: Gross/Net monthly income; other recurring income; existing installments; deductions/expenses
  • Eligibility KPIs: Share‑multiple cap; DTI; net pay/allowable deduction; exceptions and rationale
  • Collateral/Guarantors: Values and coverage %; guarantor exposure/limits
  • Schedule summary: Frequency; first installment date; total interest/repayment
  • Attachments: Appraisal Report PDF; appraisal form; eligibility breakdown PDF; KYC evidence

How I keep control and a clean audit trail

  • I rely on maker‑checker via approvals so my document locks while pending.
  • I put concise, decision‑ready comments in the approval message and attach the PDFs.
  • I keep all adjustments (like conditions or exceptions) written in both the report and approval comments.

If I hit a snag (what I do)

  • Appraisal actions not visible → I confirm I’m on a Loan Application card, have permission, and the product is Released.
  • Eligibility Breakdown empty → I re‑enter missing income/obligations/product data and run it again.
  • Can’t generate schedule → I fill principal, rate, term, frequency, and first installment date; then retry.
  • Appraisal Report won’t open → I check that the report is published and allow pop‑ups.
  • Can’t send for approval → I confirm Approver User Setup, workflow activation, and approver limits.
  • Approver can’t act → I check Approval Entries for delegation or substitutes and nudge the current assignee.

Appendix — The exact images and documents I used