Family Loan Ledger user guide
Clear records for every family loan.
This guide walks parent lenders, co-parents, and children through the everyday parts of Family Loan Ledger—from creating an account to reviewing a balance.
Getting started
Create a parent-lender account. Select Become a parent lender, enter your family workspace and sign-in details, then submit the application.
Wait for approval. Family Loan Ledger reviews new parent-lender applications before the workspace can be used.
Sign in and add a child. From the dashboard, choose Add child, then enter the child’s name, email, loan purpose, starting APR, and a temporary password.
Share credentials privately. Give the temporary password directly to the child. They will be asked to replace it when they first sign in.
Want to look around first? The interactive demo lets you try parent and child views without creating an account.
Using the dashboard
The parent dashboard is your family’s shared financial overview. Select a child in the sidebar to see that account’s current balance, principal, repayments, APR, next interest date, and complete ledger.
Shows the combined outstanding balance, total payments, and number of active child accounts.
Shows progress for the selected loan and keeps its most important figures together.
Lists each loan, payment, adjustment, and interest posting in date order.
Use Download full ledger to save the selected account’s transaction history.
Managing the ledger
Select Add entry on a child account and choose the entry that matches what happened.
Loan records money advanced to the child and increases the balance.
Payment records money repaid and reduces the balance.
Adjustment corrects the ledger. A positive adjustment raises the balance; a negative one lowers it, such as for a family gift.
Interest is created through the interest-calculation flow and increases the balance.
Parents and co-parents can edit or remove an entry. Family Loan Ledger recalculates the running balance automatically and keeps an audit record of the change.
Interest and APR
Each child account has an annual percentage rate. Family Loan Ledger calculates interest using the outstanding balance for each day, so loans, payments, gifts, and rate changes are reflected from their effective dates.
Post monthly interest
Interest posts automatically on the family’s monthly posting day. Parents can open the selected child’s interest action beforehand to preview the exact daily calculation.
Change the APR
Choose the rate action, enter the new APR and its effective date, then save. Family Loan Ledger preserves the rate history used by the ledger.
The family’s preferred monthly posting day can be changed in Family settings. On that day, Family Loan Ledger posts calculated interest to every active loan with a positive interest-bearing balance. Duplicate posting is prevented automatically.
Family access
Manage children, entries, APRs, interest, reminders, family settings, and access.
Has the same family-administrator permissions as the parent who created the workspace.
Can sign in and view only their own balance and ledger. They cannot change financial records.
Open Family Access to add a co-parent, review family members, or update and remove access. New co-parents and children receive temporary credentials and must choose a new password at first sign-in.
Balance emails and reminders
On a child account, choose Email balance to review the recipient, current balance, and APR before sending. The email includes the balance and a sign-in link—not the full ledger.
You can also schedule a balance email for a specific day from 1 through 28 each month, or turn monthly reminders off at any time.
The child experience
A child signs in through the same sign-in page as a parent. After replacing their temporary password, they land on a read-only dashboard showing only their account.
- Review the current balance, APR, and repayment progress.
- See a dated history of loans, payments, adjustments, and interest.
- Download the ledger for personal records.
- Contact the parent directly if an entry appears incorrect.
Keeping good records
- Enter transactions promptly and use the date money actually changed hands.
- Add a short, specific note to make each entry understandable later.
- Review the calculated amount before posting interest.
- Use a unique password and share temporary credentials through a private channel.
- Download the ledger periodically if your family wants an offline copy.
Family Loan Ledger helps families maintain a shared record; it does not replace legal, tax, or financial advice. Consult a qualified financial adviser, tax professional, or legal representative, and review the Legal & Loan Disclaimer, before relying on a family loan.