Step-by-Step: Opening a Collection Sheet

The Collection Sheet Create Flow (/sheets/new or <sheet-create-page>) opens a new daily collection round for an officer’s borrower portfolio or branch center. It stages scheduled loan installments, pre-populates due amounts, and prepares the operational register for field cash recovery and cashier counter reconciliation.

1. Prerequisites & Access Controls

  • Permitted Roles: Loan Officers (officer), Branch Managers (manager), Tellers (teller), and Administrators (admin).
  • Automatic Portfolio Scoping:
    • Loan Officers: The branch station and officer portfolio automatically pre-populate and lock to your logged-in credentials.
    • Branch Managers & Tellers: The branch is pre-selected to your branch station; you can select any active loan officer within your branch to prepare their collection round.
    • Platform Administrators: Can select any branch station and officer across the institution.
  • Empty Sheet Safeguard: The system automatically verifies that active loans with collectible dues exist for the selected station and officer. You cannot open a collection sheet if there are zero collectible loans in the portfolio.

2. Operational Dispatch Models in Banking

Depending on institutional policy, collection sheets support two standard operational workflows:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MODEL A: BRANCH MANAGER MORNING DISPATCH (Strict Dual Control)              │
│                                                                             │
│ 1. Manager opens `/sheets/new` at 8:00 AM for each route officer.          │
│ 2. Manager reviews scheduled dues, adjusts targets, and opens the sheet.    │
│ 3. Manager prints the official Field Collection Voucher with dual stamps.    │
│ 4. Officer receives printed voucher, conducts field visits, and collects.   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MODEL B: FIELD OFFICER SELF-SERVICE (Decentralized Autonomy)                │
│                                                                             │
│ 1. Officer logs in on mobile/tablet in the field and opens `/sheets/new`.   │
│ 2. System automatically loads officer's scheduled due installments.         │
│ 3. Officer selects route borrowers, confirms targets, and opens the sheet.  │
│ 4. Officer collects cash, updates actuals, and brings cash to branch.       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

3. The 3-Stage Creation Flow

┌──────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────┐         ┌──────────────────┐
│     Stage 1      │  ────►  │     Stage 2      │  ────►  │     Stage 3      │
│    The Round     │         │ Due Installments │         │  Confirm & Open  │
│(Station, Officer)│         │(Select Borrowers)│         │ (Pre-Staged Post)│
└──────────────────┘         └──────────────────┘         └──────────────────┘

Stage 1: The Round (Station, Officer, Day)

  1. Station / Branch:
    • For branch staff (officer, teller, manager), your assigned station is pre-selected and locked.
    • For platform administrators, pick the target branch station from the dropdown.
  2. Officer:
    • For loan officers, automatically locked to your assigned staff account.
    • For managers, select which loan officer’s portfolio the round belongs to.
  3. Round Day:
    • Defaults to the current date (YYYY-MM-DD). Can be scheduled for a future field meeting.
  4. Portfolio Status Indicator:
    • Shows active loan count and dues available for collection. If zero collectible loans are found, an error banner blocks advancement to prevent opening empty rounds.
  5. Click Continue ›.

Stage 2: Due Installments (Borrower Selection & Target Setting)

The system automatically queries /api/v1/sheets/fresh and renders all active facilities with pending dues:

  1. Borrower Information Card:
    • Identity: Full Name, KYC verification badge (✓), National ID number, Phone number, and Client Account number.
    • Facility Details: Loan account reference (#LOX...), Product name, and Installment sequence (e.g. Inst #3 of 12).
    • Due Date & Arrears: Scheduled maturity/installment due date, plus DPD overdue tag (e.g. 14d late) if delinquent.
  2. Financials & Target Input:
    • Owed Balance: Total outstanding balance remaining on the facility.
    • Expected Amount: Scheduled installment amount due on this round.
    • Target Input (KES): Pre-filled automatically to the expected installment amount. The officer or manager can adjust the target if a partial or custom payment was agreed upon.
  3. Batch Selection Controls:
    • Individual Checkbox: Select or deselect individual borrowers to include on this specific round.
    • Select All / Deselect All: Toggle the entire portfolio roster in one click.
    • Summary Bar: Real-time counter showing X of Y selected · KES Z target.
  4. Click Continue ›.

Stage 3: Confirm & Open

  1. Summary Particulars:
    • Station name, scheduled date, and assigned officer name (e.g. Head Office · 18 Sep 2026 · Amina Njeri’s round).
    • Collection Target Tile: Total aggregate KES targeted across all selected lines.
    • Borrowers Selected Tile: Total count of facilities staged.
    • Status Badge: draft (ready for field collection).
  2. Commit Action:
    • Click Open the sheet (POST /sheets with pre-staged lines).
    • The platform creates the collection sheet record with all selected borrower lines, targets, and expected amounts atomically saved to the database.
  3. Completion Screen:
    • Displays confirmation: “Sheet CSX… is ready with its collection lines staged.”
    • Tap View sheet to enter the Collection Sheet Console (<sheet-page>), or tap All sheets to return to the registry feed.

4. In-Sheet Dues Synchronization (“Sync Dues”)

If a draft sheet was opened earlier or if new installments became due while the sheet was in draft:

  1. Open the collection sheet in <sheet-page>.
  2. Click the Sync Dues button (available in both the toolbar and the empty sheet banner).
  3. Auto-Persist Sync:
    • The platform queries /api/v1/sheets/fresh for any un-staged loans belonging to that officer.
    • It stages the missing facilities with their expected installment amounts.
    • It automatically saves and persists the updated lines directly to PostgreSQL via PATCH /sheets/:hex and refreshes the console.
    • No manual “Save” click is needed; borrower identities, installments, and targets immediately appear.

5. Why Field Officers See “Awaiting Counter Post”

In compliance with prudential microfinance regulations and dual-control governance:

  • Field Loan Officers are authorized to create sheets, stage borrowers, and record field collections (can('create'), can('stage')).
  • Field Loan Officers cannot post sheets to the General Ledger. If officers could post their own collections, they could record fictitious cash or conceal shortages.
  • On the sheet console, the action bar displays: $$\boxed{\text{Awaiting counter post}}$$
  • To complete the round, the officer brings physical cash and the signed collection sheet to the Branch Teller Counter. The Teller verifies the currency denominations against the sheet total and posts the batch atomically to the General Ledger.

6. Official Printable PDF Dossier

Clicking Print or Export $\to$ PDF generates an institutional-grade, certified A4 collection sheet containing:

  1. Stationery Header: Official institution branding, division identity, document control reference, and sheet number.
  2. KPI Ribbon: Staged Collection Total, Expected Demand, Collection Rate %, and Register Status (Draft / Posted).
  3. Deployment Particulars: Branch station, officer contact, operations manager, and round date.
  4. Borrower Installment Register:
    • Borrower Full Name, KYC rosette, National ID, Phone, and Account Code.
    • Loan Account Reference, Product Name, and Installment Progression (Inst #X of Y, Due Date).
    • Expected Installment (KES), including overdue arrears breakdown if delinquent.
    • Staged Target / Collected Cash (KES) and payment allocation breakdown (Principal, Interest, Fees, Penalties).
    • Outstanding Loan Balance (KES) and DPD Delinquency status.
    • Borrower Signature line for physical sign-off in the field.
  5. Vault Denomination Reconciliation: Currency breakdown table for KES 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50 notes and coins.
  6. Tripartite Authorization Block: Official signature and timestamp blocks for Role 01 (Credit Officer), Role 02 (Receiving Cashier), and Role 03 (Branch Operations Manager).