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A loan with interest or EMIs
For a car, home or personal loan, add the interest rate and the end date, and Ahead works out the EMI schedule. Record each EMI as a repayment, with its principal and interest.
Adding the loan
A loan from a bank or an app
- Open Loans, press Add a loan, and choose I borrowed it.
- Enter the amount, the lender's name, and the account the money was Received into.
- Open Term, interest and notes. Enter the last EMI's date under Expected to be repaid by, the Interest rate, and the Method: Reducing balance for most bank loans, Flat only if the lender says flat.
- Press Add loan.
The EMI schedule
With a rate and an end date, the loan's page shows the EMI you pay Every month, how many instalments there are, and when the next one is due. The line under it, See all instalments, opens the full table: the principal and interest in each EMI, and what is still to pay after it.
On a Reducing balance loan, the same place shows what a lump sum would save. Enter an amount and the instalment you would pay it after, and Ahead shows the interest you would save and the months you would save.
If the rate is flat
A flat interest rate is charged on the whole amount for the whole term, even after you have paid most of it back. So it costs much more than the same rate on a reducing balance, often close to double.
Ahead shows this on the loan's page, with the reducing rate that would cost the same each month. Check it before you agree to a flat-rate loan.
Recording each EMI
Each month, when the EMI is paid
- Open the loan and press Add an event, then choose Repayment.
- Enter this EMI's Principal and Interest. They are in the schedule's table, or on your lender's statement if they differ.
- Choose the account it was Paid from, and the Category the EMI comes out of, such as Car loan EMI.
- Press Repayment.
| What happens | Your bank | Car loan EMI category | Still to pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before the EMI | ₹80,000 | ₹14,182 | ₹5,47,989 |
| You pay ₹9,905 principal and ₹4,277 interest | ₹65,818 | ₹0 | ₹5,38,084 |
Before the EMI
- Your bank
- ₹80,000
- Car loan EMI category
- ₹14,182
- Still to pay
- ₹5,47,989
You pay ₹9,905 principal and ₹4,277 interest
- Your bank
- ₹65,818
- Car loan EMI category
- ₹0
- Still to pay
- ₹5,38,084
The whole EMI comes out of the category. Only the principal lowers what you still owe. The interest is the lender's charge for the month.
Other things that happen on a loan
- The lender added interest, but I paid nothing.
- Record Interest accrued. It adds to what you owe, and no money moves. The next time you record a repayment, Ahead fills in that interest for you.
- I took more of the loan later.
- Record Draw down more. What you owe goes up, and the money comes into the account you choose.
- I typed a repayment wrong.
- Press it in the loan's Statement. Change what is wrong and press Save, or press Delete. Your account and your budget change with it. On a shared loan, the other person is asked to agree before it changes on their side. How that works.
- My balance and the lender's are a little different.
- Record an Adjustment for the difference. It changes what the loan is worth, and nothing in your budget.
Read next
- Borrowed from a friend: loan or liability?Add it as a loan, even if there is no schedule and no interest. Then you can record each repayment, and Ahead shows what you still owe.
- A card purchase turned into EMIsWhen your bank turns a card purchase into EMIs, record it with Convert to EMI. The purchase's category gets its money back, and each month's EMI is added to the card's bill.
Still stuck?
Write to us and a person answers. If you use Ahead, Support in the app is quickest.