Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to some of the most common questions here.
What is Finology Software?
Finology Software is a financial technology platform that empowers financial advisors with advanced tools to manage and plan student loan repayment for their clients alongside personal debt.
How does Finology Software help financial advisors?
The platform offers seamless data import from the NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System), enables personalized repayment strategies through federal IDR simulation and comparison tools, and provides comprehensive management and analytics for client loan data.
What are the key features of Finology Software?
The core of Finology Software’s Liability Planner, includes easy data import (NSLDS), comprehensive loan management, optimized repayment strategy simulations, and advanced planning capabilities using savable pro forma income scenarios.
What is the Finology Software Liability Planner?
The Finology Software platform delivers a Liability Planner that has various sophisticated tools the Federal Loan Simulator to adjust and calculate federal IDR Plans and the IDR Comparison tool to evaluate client Scenarios from the Federal Loan Simulator.
Can Finology Software simulate different repayment options?
Yes, the Liability Planner allows financial advisors to simulate various income-driven repayment plans and explore loan forgiveness scenarios such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
How does the platform ensure user-friendliness?
Finology Software features a user-friendly interface designed for ease of use, ensuring financial advisors can quickly navigate through the tools and resources available.
How can new users start with Finology Software?
New users can sign up for a seven-day trial no credit card required to experience the platform. After the trial, annual subscriptions are available starting at $1,068 per year or $99 a month.
Where can I learn more about Finology Software?
Visit our website at finology.tech, where you can request a personalized demo, access our resource center, and find more information about our services.
How can I contact Finology Software for more assistance?
You can contact our dedicated support team via email at info@finology.tech for any specific questions or additional support.
How does data import work in Finology Software?
Our platform integrates seamlessly with the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) which is a database from the U.S. Department of Education that contains student loan information about borrower federal student financial aid. It tracks federal student aid loans throughout their entire lifecycle. Financial advisors can use this database to import student debt details into Finology Software.
What are income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and how can Finology simulate these?
IDR plans base your monthly payment on your income and family size. Finology Software enables advisors to simulate various IDR plans, providing clients with personalized, strategic repayment options.
Can Finology Software help track loan forgiveness programs?
Yes, the platform supports simulations and tracking for loan forgiveness eligibility, particularly for programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), ensuring clients meet the necessary number of certified payments for discharging their federal student loans.
What are the benefits of using Finology Software for financial advisors?
Finology Software saves time with automated calculations, enhances client relationships with personalized advice for their debt, and supports advisors with comprehensive analytics and scenario planning tools for federal student loans.
How secure is client data on Finology Software?
We prioritize data security with high-standard encryption and compliance measures to protect all personal and financial information processed through our platform. If you have any additional questions email info@finology.tech.
What kind of customer support does Finology Software offer?
Finology Software provides robust customer support, including a resource center, FAQs, and a dedicated team available via email or phone to assist with platform navigation, web chat, troubleshooting, and strategic advice.
How do I access educational resources on Finology Software?
Our resource center delivers educational content on the capabilities of the Finology Software platform. Finology Software recommends financial advisors acquire a CCFC designation from AICFFC.org to improve their ongoing education. Finology Software also published informational and educational blog content on our website. Also visit studentloanhelpnetwork.com for more information.
What specific income-driven repayment (IDR) plans does Finology Software’s Federal Loan Simulator support?
Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans adjust your student loan payments based on your income and family size, making them more affordable. The main types of IDR plans are:
Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) OBBB compliant
Income-Based Repayment (IBR): 10-15% of your discretionary income
Pay As You Earn (PAYE): 10% of your discretionary income
Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE): 10% of your discretionary income
Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR): The lesser of 20% of your discretionary income or a fixed amount over 12 years
SAVE Plan – Formerly REPAYE effective date of July 1st, 2024 adjusts federal student loan payments to 5% of undergraduate debt and 10% for graduate debt. Interest does not capitalize on this new plan.
What does ‘loan deferment’ mean?
Loan deferment is a temporary postponement of student loan payments. During this period, borrowers are not required to make payments, and interest typically does not accrue on subsidized loans (though it may on unsubsidized loans). Deferment is often granted for situations like returning to school, experiencing economic hardship, or undergoing medical treatment.
How can I track Loans with Finology Software?
Finology Software helps financial advisors monitor their clients’ loan repayment. Advisors can see when a deferment starts and ends, and whether interest is accruing during this period. This tracking allows advisors to update financial plans in real-time, ensuring clients receive the most accurate and beneficial advice based on their current loan situation. Finology Software can also simulate different scenarios, helping clients understand the impact of deferment on their long-term repayment strategy.
How does the platform handle loan consolidation options?
Finology Software allows advisors to analyze loans from the NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System) and simulate various scenarios, helping clients simplify payments and potentially reduce interest rates. New Versions of Client Loans can include the weighted average rate for new Consolidated Loans and simulations of these loans in the Liability Planner.
Can the platform simulate the impact of capitalization on a student loan?
Yes, Finology Software can simulate how unpaid interest added to the principal balance of a loan—known as capitalization—affects future monthly payments and total interest paid over the life of the loan. As well as the benefits of the SAVE Plan which does not capitalize for borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program
The PSLF program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working for a qualifying employer, such as government or non-profit organizations.
Tracking with Finology
Finology Software automatically helps financial advisors track PSLF eligibility and progress when client data originates from an NSLDS file.
How are ‘discretionary income’ calculations handled in Finology Software?
Discretionary income is the amount of your income left over after covering essential expenses like taxes, rent, and basic living costs. It’s crucial for determining payments under many Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans for student loans.
Data Collection: Finology Software has inputs for financial advisors to onboard essential client data, including income, family size, and tax information.
Calculation: The software uses this data to automatically calculate discretionary income as well as any future increases of income as a %. This calculator also subtracts a certain percentage of the federal poverty guideline for the client’s family size and state from their total income.
Repayment Planning: Using the calculated discretionary income, Finology Software helps advisors identify the most suitable IDR plan for their clients, ensuring affordability and alignment with their financial goals. By automating these calculations with the Federal Loan Simulator and IDR Comparison, Finology Software streamlines the process, making it easier for financial advisors to provide their clients with insight.
Does Finology Software provide support for handling loans in default?
Finology does not provide support.
What security measures does Finology Software implement to protect client data?
Finology Software uses advanced encryption and security protocols to ensure all client data is protected from unauthorized access, maintaining confidentiality and integrity of financial information.
How can I invite my client to add their own loan information?
The first step is for them to go to studentaid.gov to obtain their NSLDS file. Attached is a downloadable file with the steps for obtaining by a borrower.
Why is my PDF of the NSLDS file not uploading?
A file format of .txt is required for the NSLDS upload into Finology Software.
How do I change the IDR plans in Finology Software?
The ability to calculate simulations of an IDR plan can be selected in the Federal Loan Simulator on the dropdown on the right side where the plans are labeled. For bulk changing of IDR visit the Loan Summary Page and select a loan to convert all loans to the desired IDR plan. We also recommend creating a new version of this report.
Can anyone move from Repaye to SAVE? Will everyone be moved to SAVE automatically in July?
Everyone who is on REPAYE will automatically be placed on SAVE July 1, 2024. It is not certain if the NSLDS file will be updated with this information on this date. This will need to be verified by reviewing the client’s file.
Why am I not able to see forgiveness amounts when time based forgiveness is toggled on?
To see forgiveness currently take the following steps:
In the Federal Loan summary section, change all of the loans that have an IDR anniversary date less than 10 years to today’s date. For example, if the IDR anniversary date is 9/2015, it will need to be changed to 9/2013 to show forgiveness.Each loan will need to have this changed manually to get to the total forgiveness amountThen run simulation.
Why am I not able to select Extended as a repayment option?
If the borrower has not consolidated their federal loans, they are eligible for a 25-year repayment term if the total loan balance is $30,000 or more.
Do you have a due diligence and compliance document for SOC2?
Yes, Finology leverages the SOC2 from our public cloud provider. To receive a copy, please request it from your account manager.
How long is client data stored?
As long as the client is active or if the request requests the data to be deleted
What information do you keep on record for clients?
Physical address, Email address, Credit card information, Physical address, Information regarding the professional certifications, Website and business information, Finology Collects PII data either from Borrowers directly or supplied by a Financial AdvisorUser’s IP address, Full NameFamily and Dependent information, Salary and income, Expenses information, Loan Data, Physical address, Email address, Phone number.
What outside systems do you integrate with (and transmit data with) that isn’t client/user initiated?
None
Who is your parent company, if any?
None
Do you have a board?
No.
What do I need to do if I want to model Married Filing Separately for the SAVE Plan?
In the Finology Software platform client dashboard and select the desired tax filing type and then select the SAVE plan below in the Federal Loans Summary and then use the Liability Planner, adjustments to both of these inputs can be modified there as well.
Can we include additional payments in the scenarios?
Yes, additional payments through contributing a monthly amount or % of leftover income paid to the highest interest rate or lowest balance (debt snowball or avalanche).
Is there a way to see the advisor profile I created for the public facing site?
Yes, here is the site where you will be seen. https://finology.tech/borrowers/find-an-advisor. Also, make sure that you’ve checked the “Enable Find an Advisor Listing” box at the bottom of the edit profile page under ‘My profile’.
I can’t remember my password. What should I do?
Use the forgot password: https://identity.finology.tech/Account/Login
Is there a report I can download or share with my client?
We recommend you take screenshots of the scenarios and charts you want to share with your client. Additional support and tools will be released moving forward.
What does the Total Monthly Payment include on the Client Dashboard?
It includes federal and private loan payments.
Is there a limit to the number of scenarios I can add to each client?
No, there is no limit.
How many clients can I manage under my Finology Software account?
There is no limit to the number of clients at this time.
Does Finology Software have relationships with lenders who work with advisors to refinance student loans?
No, we do not have any lender relationships.
I have a client who consolidated their loans, but it’s showing the old loans still have payments. Can I just delete the old loans or is there something my clients need to do to ensure those loans are closed?
You can duplicate the NSLDS file using Versions and delete out the old loans for the model as desired.