The following topics are for system administrators and Mifos specialists configuring Mifos who are deploying Mifos.

Table of Contents

• Mifos Configuration

• Overview

• Before you run Mifos...

  • About the One-Time Settings

  • Using a Custom Chart of Accounts

  • Creating your own Financial Action Mappings

  • Customizing the Application Configuration File

    • Locale

    • Accounting

    • Calendar

    • Clients

    • Process

    • Reporting

    • Batch Jobs

  • Adjusting Session Timeout

  • Scheduling Batch Jobs

  • Customizing your Database Connection

    • Mifos version 1.2 and older

    • Mifos versions greater than 1.2 and upgrades

  • Database-Configured Settings

• Before your users access Mifos...

  • Starting Mifos

  • Customizing the User Interface

    • User Interface Labels

    • List Box Items (Look-Up Options)

    • Required and Hidden Fields

    • Create Additional Fields

  • Defining Office Hierarchy

  • Creating Roles

  • Creating Users

  • Configuring Payment Types

  • Configuring Payment Order

  • Setting Lateness and Dormancy Definitions

  • Defining Holidays

  • Information on Reporting and PPI Surveys

  • Configuring Mifos to work with Cloud Foundry

The topics assume that you have installed Mifos and configured its third-party applications as described in Installing Mifos, and that you are ready to configure the administrative settings in Mifos. After you configure these settings, your Mifos deployment will be ready for you or someone else to create loan and savings products, add new clients and groups, open accounts for clients and groups, and configure reporting.

The administrative configuration process involves two groups of settings, which should be configured at two different times:

• Before you run Mifos: Certain administrative settings can only be configured when Mifos is not running. Among them are settings whose default values you have only one opportunity to change-before you run Mifos for the first time.

• Before your users access Mifos: There are also administrative settings you should configure before your users access Mifos. You configure these settings via the Mifos user interface, on the Admin tab.

Note for version 1.0 users: Changes since Mifos version 1.0 include moving install-time settings out of the database and into plain-text files. If you are using Mifos version 1.0, see Configuring Mifos version 1.0.

This section describes the install-time settings in Mifos, or those that can only be configured when Mifos is not running. It also describes install-time settings whose values can only be changed to non-default values once, before you run Mifos for the first time.

When Mifos runs for the first time, it writes values to its database. Although many of these values can be changed later, some cannot. Specifically, the values from the Chart of Accounts can only be written to the database once. Similarly, TRAPDOOR properties in the application configuration file can only be assigned non-default values once, before you run Mifos for the first time. After that point, a TRAPDOOR property value can only be changed to its default setting.

The Chart of Accounts used by Mifos can be customized to exclude certain General Ledger (GL) accounts or use a different hierarchy of accounts. Note that you have only one opportunity to make these customizations, before you run Mifos for the first time.

To customize the Chart of Accounts:

1. Create a copy of the default Chart of Accounts configuration file that ships with Mifos and name itmifosChartOfAccounts.custom.xml.

2. Customize mifosChartofAccounts.custom.xml as described in Chart of Accounts.

3. Mifos 1.6.x and earlier: Place your customized file on the app server classpath before you run your first instance of Mifos in your final, production environment.

4. Mifos versions greater than 1.6.x and trunk development:: Place your customized file in one of the MifosConfigurationLocations before you run your first instance of Mifos in your final, production environment.

Note: Once Mifos is deployed, you won't be able to delete GL accounts or change the account hierarchy. See the bulleted lists below for more information.

After Mifos is deployed, you can only make the following changes to your GL accounts:

• Add new GL accounts (excluding top-level accounts)

• Change account names (excluding top-level accounts)

You cannot make the following GL account changes after Mifos is deployed:

• Delete GL accounts

• Create new top-level accounts

• Modify top-level account names

• Modify the account hierarchy (moving parents/children)

• Modify GL codes

Unlike the Chart of Accounts, financial action mappings can be customized any time Mifos is not running.

GL accounts are used in conjunction with particular actions. For example, when principal is added to a new loan account (a credit), Mifos choses a GL account based on a mapping. The default mappings that Mifos uses are stored in applicationContext.xml, a file that ships with Mifos. For Mifos to function correctly, all actions must be mapped to an existing GL account.

To customize the financial action mappings:

1. Create a file named mifosBeanConfig.custom.xml.

2. Customize mifosBeanConfig.custom.xml (see the example below).

3. Mifos 1.6.x and earlier: Place your customized file on the app server classpath before you run your first instance of Mifos in your final, production environment.

4. Mifos versions greater than 1.6.x and trunk development:: Place your customized file in one of the MifosConfigurationLocations before you run your first instance of Mifos in your final, production environment.

5. The mappings will take effect once Mifos is restarted.