Amortization Schedules

View and generate payment schedules showing the principal and interest breakdown for every payment period across the life of a loan.

Amortization Types

CEF Core supports three amortization types. The type is set during loan origination and determines how the payment schedule is calculated.

FULLY_AMORTIZING

The most common type for church building loans. Each payment includes both principal and interest, calculated so the loan is fully repaid by the maturity date. Early payments are interest-heavy; later payments are principal-heavy.

Use case: Standard term loans where the borrower makes equal periodic payments until the balance reaches zero.

INTEREST_ONLY

Payments cover only the accrued interest for each period. The entire principal balance remains outstanding until maturity, when a lump-sum principal payment is due.

Use case: Lines of credit, construction-phase loans, or bridge financing where the borrower needs lower payments during a project period.

BALLOON

Payments are calculated as if the loan had a longer amortization period (e.g., 25 years), but the loan matures earlier (e.g., 7 years). The remaining balance at maturity is due as a single balloon payment.

Use case: Church loans where the congregation expects to refinance or pay off the balance from a capital campaign before the balloon date.

Day Count Conventions

The day count convention determines how interest is calculated for each payment period. Different conventions produce slightly different interest amounts because they define how many days are in each period and how many days are in a year.

ConventionPeriod DaysYear DaysDescription
30/36030 per month360Assumes 30-day months and 360-day years. The most common convention for church loans. Produces predictable, equal interest amounts each month.
ACT/360Actual360Uses actual calendar days in the period but divides by 360. Produces slightly higher interest than 30/360 for 31-day months.
ACT/365Actual365Uses actual calendar days divided by 365. Does not adjust for leap years.
ACT/ACTActualActualUses actual calendar days divided by the actual number of days in the year (365 or 366). The most precise convention.

Pro Tip: Most CEF loans use 30/360 for simplicity. If your fund documents specify a different convention, set it during loan origination. The convention cannot be changed after the first payment is recorded.

Viewing a Schedule

CEF Core generates the amortization schedule on demand based on the loan terms. The schedule is recalculated each time you view it, reflecting any payments already recorded.

  1. Navigate to the loan: Open Loans from the sidebar and click on the loan you want to view.
  2. Open the Schedule tab: In the loan detail view, click the Amortization tab.
  3. Review the schedule: The table displays one row per payment period with the following columns.
ColumnDescription
periodPayment number (1, 2, 3, ...)
payment_dateScheduled date for the payment
beginning_balanceOutstanding balance at the start of the period
principal_paymentAmount of the payment applied to principal
interest_paymentAmount of the payment applied to interest
ending_balanceOutstanding balance after the payment is applied

Payment Frequencies

The payment frequency determines how often payments are due and how many periods appear on the schedule. The frequency is set during loan origination.

MONTHLY

12 payments per year. The most common frequency for church loans. A 60-month term produces 60 schedule rows.

QUARTERLY

4 payments per year. Payments fall every 3 months from the first payment date.

SEMI_ANNUAL

2 payments per year. Payments fall every 6 months from the first payment date.

ANNUAL

1 payment per year. Used for specialized loan structures with annual balloon or interest-only payments.

Balloon Payments and Interest-Only Periods

Balloon Payments

For loans with the BALLOON amortization type, the schedule calculates regular payments based on a longer amortization period, then shows the remaining balance as a lump-sum balloon payment on the maturity date.

Example: A $500,000 loan at 5.00% with a 7-year term amortized over 25 years:

  • Monthly payment: $2,922.95 (based on 25-year amortization)
  • Payments 1-83: Regular monthly principal + interest
  • Payment 84 (maturity): Balloon payment of remaining balance (~$421,000)

Interest-Only Periods

For INTEREST_ONLY loans, every scheduled payment shows zero principal and full interest. The beginning and ending balances remain equal throughout the schedule until the final period, where the full principal is due.

Example: A $200,000 loan at 4.75% with monthly interest-only payments:

  • Monthly interest payment: $791.67 (30/360 convention)
  • Principal payment each period: $0.00
  • Beginning and ending balance: $200,000.00 every period
  • Final period: $200,791.67 (principal + last interest payment)

API Reference

MethodEndpointDescription
GET/api/v1/loans/:id/scheduleFull amortization schedule with all periods
GET/api/v1/loans/:id/amortizationAmortization summary with totals

Both endpoints return JSON arrays. Each row in the array represents one payment period. The schedule endpoint is used by the loan detail view to render the amortization table.

Pro Tip: Use the amortization schedule to verify that a borrower's payment amount matches the expected principal + interest split. Discrepancies usually indicate the payment was recorded with incorrect component amounts.

Daily Interest Accrual

CEF Core accrues interest daily on all active loans. The accrual engine runs every 15 minutes via the tenantAccrualCheck scheduled job and calculates:

  • Daily interest = Outstanding balance x (annual rate / days-in-year per convention)
  • Accrued interest accumulates until a payment is recorded or the accrual period ends
  • Catch-up accrual runs for any missed days (e.g., if the server was down)

Non-Accrual: Loans that are 90 or more days past due are automatically placed on non-accrual status. Interest stops accruing, and the loan is flagged for review. See the Late Fees and Collections guide for details.

Managing Delinquent Loans

Learn how to configure late fees, track delinquency status, and manage collections for past-due loans.

Late Fees and Collections Guide