Loan Manager & Amortization Schedules
Track every business loan in Kantivo, auto-generate complete amortization schedules, and record payments with automatic principal and interest journal entries.
Overview
The Loan Manager lets you record all of your business loans — term loans, lines of credit, vehicle notes, equipment financing, mortgages, and SBA loans — directly in Kantivo. Once you enter the loan terms, Kantivo generates the complete amortization schedule automatically.
Each payment you record from the schedule creates a properly split journal entry:
- A debit to the loan liability account (reducing the principal balance)
- A debit to interest expense (recognizing the interest cost for that period)
- A credit to your cash or bank account (recording the outgoing payment)
You never have to calculate the principal/interest split manually. Kantivo uses the standard amortization formula and does the math for every payment in the schedule.
Setting Up a Loan
To add a loan to Kantivo, navigate to Loans and click Add Loan. Fill in the following fields:
Required Fields
- Loan Name — A descriptive name, such as "Equipment Loan - John Deere" or "SBA 7(a) Loan 2024"
- Lender Name — The name of the lending institution
- Loan Type — Select from the 7 supported types (see Loan Types section below)
- Principal Amount — The original loan amount (or current outstanding balance if entering an existing loan)
- Annual Interest Rate — Enter as a percentage (e.g., 6.5 for 6.5%)
- Loan Term — The total number of periods (e.g., 60 months for a 5-year loan)
- Start Date — The date the loan was originated
- First Payment Date — The date the first payment is due
- Payment Frequency — Monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual
Account Mapping (Required)
Before saving, you must map the loan to three accounts in your chart of accounts:
- Loan Liability Account — The balance sheet account that holds the outstanding principal (e.g., "Loan Payable - Equipment")
- Interest Expense Account — The income statement account for interest charges (e.g., "Interest Expense")
- Payment Account — The bank or cash account payments are drawn from (e.g., "Business Checking")
Click Save Loan. Kantivo will immediately generate the full amortization schedule and display it on the loan detail page.
Viewing the Amortization Schedule
After saving a loan, the detail page shows the complete amortization table. Each row in the table represents one scheduled payment and includes:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Payment # | Sequential payment number (1, 2, 3...) |
| Payment Date | The scheduled due date for this payment |
| Payment Amount | Total payment due (principal + interest combined) |
| Principal | Portion of this payment applied to reducing the balance |
| Interest | Portion of this payment that is interest expense |
| Remaining Balance | Outstanding principal after this payment is applied |
| Status | Scheduled, Paid, or Overdue |
Payments that have been recorded show as Paid. Payments past their due date that have not been recorded show as Overdue and are highlighted in the table.
Recording Payments
To record a scheduled payment:
- Open the loan from the Loans list.
- In the amortization table, find the payment you want to record.
- Click the Record Payment button on that row.
- A confirmation dialog will show the payment date, total amount, principal split, and interest split for that specific payment.
- Verify the payment account (the bank account the payment came from).
- Optionally add a memo or reference number (e.g., your bank transaction ID).
- Click Confirm.
Kantivo will create the journal entry automatically and mark the payment as Paid in the schedule. The loan liability balance on your balance sheet decreases by the principal amount, and the interest expense posts to your income statement.
Extra Principal Payments
If you make a payment that includes additional principal beyond the scheduled amount (for example, you pay $1,500 on a $1,200 monthly payment), Kantivo handles this as an extra principal payment.
- Open the loan and click Record Extra Principal Payment (or select this option when recording a payment).
- Enter the total payment amount.
- Kantivo will apply the scheduled interest amount for that period first, then apply the remainder to principal reduction.
- The amortization schedule recalculates automatically from that point forward, showing revised payment amounts and a new payoff date based on the reduced balance.
Account Mapping
Each loan is mapped to three accounts when it is created. You can update this mapping at any time from the loan's Settings tab without affecting past journal entries.
Recommended Account Types
| Mapping | Account Type | Example Account Name |
|---|---|---|
| Loan Liability | Long-Term Liability (or Current Liability) | Loan Payable - Equipment |
| Interest Expense | Expense | Interest Expense |
| Payment Account | Bank / Cash | Business Checking |
If you have multiple loans, you can map each to a separate liability account for detailed balance sheet reporting, or map them all to a single "Loans Payable" account if you prefer a combined view.
Loan Types
Kantivo supports seven loan types. Select the type that most closely matches your loan agreement:
| Loan Type | Description | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| Term Loan | Fixed principal with regular equal payments over a set term | General business financing, working capital |
| Line of Credit | Revolving credit with variable balance; interest charged on outstanding amount | Operating cash flow, short-term needs |
| Mortgage | Real property loan with long amortization period | Commercial property purchase |
| Vehicle Loan | Fixed-term loan for vehicle purchase | Company cars, trucks, delivery vehicles |
| Equipment Loan | Fixed-term loan for equipment purchase | Machinery, computers, tools |
| SBA Loan | Small Business Administration guaranteed loan | SBA 7(a), 504, microloans |
| Other | Any loan type not covered by the above categories | Shareholder loans, inter-company loans, custom structures |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I enter a loan that is already partially paid down?
Yes. Enter the current outstanding balance in the Principal Amount field rather than the original loan amount. Kantivo will generate the amortization schedule from that balance forward. If you also want historical payment records in Kantivo, you can enter the original principal and manually mark past payments as paid to rebuild the history.
What happens if I record a payment on the wrong date?
You can void and re-record a payment if you made a mistake. Open the loan, find the incorrectly recorded payment in the schedule (it will show as Paid), and click Void Payment. This reverses the journal entry and returns the payment to Scheduled status, allowing you to record it correctly.
How do I handle a balloon payment loan?
Set up the loan as a Term Loan with the regular payment amount and term. If a large balloon payment is due at the end, record it as an extra principal payment in the final period. The schedule will show the correct balance leading up to the balloon payment date.
Can I have multiple loans per company?
Yes. There is no limit to the number of loans you can add to a company. Each loan has its own schedule and its own account mapping. The Loans dashboard shows a summary of all active loans including total outstanding principal across all loans.
Does Loan Manager work with multi-currency?
If your company uses multi-currency, you can select the loan currency when setting up the loan. The amortization schedule and journal entries will use the selected currency. Exchange rate effects are handled through your company's standard multi-currency settings.