How to use Lendpile: add loans, set interest and amortization, and see your schedule.
Lendpile calculates from the loan details you enter: start date, amount, interest rates, interest changes, loan changes, payments, and the selected interest calculation method. Once those inputs are defined, each row follows a ledger equation: starting debt, plus any loan increases and unpaid interest, minus principal paid, equals ending debt.
New loans default to Actual/365. Existing older loans that were created before this setting keep the old 30/360 style unless you edit the loan and choose another method.
Short version: choose Actual/365 for most personal or family/friend loans, 30/360 for simple monthly agreements, and Actual/360 only when your agreement specifically uses that commercial convention.
| Method | How it works | Usually useful for | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual/365 | Uses real calendar days and divides by 365: debt * rate * days / 365. |
Family/friend loans and personal agreements where every real day should count naturally. | Most intuitive, but monthly interest can vary because months have different lengths. |
| 30/360 | Treats each month as 30 days and the year as 360 days. For a full month this is the same as rate / 12. |
Simple monthly agreements and older Lendpile loans. | Very predictable, but not based on actual calendar days. |
| Actual/360 | Uses real calendar days and divides by 360: debt * rate * days / 360. |
Commercial or money-market-style lending when the agreement says Actual/360. | Usually charges slightly more interest than Actual/365 for the same rate and dates. |
Click Add Loan on the main screen. Enter the loan name, start date, amount, currency, interest calculation method, and at least one interest rate with a date. For a fixed rate from the start, one interest row is enough. Save when done.
When adding or editing a loan, use the Interest section. Add a row for each change: date and rate (%). The table and chart will use the rate that applies on each date. Use the three-dot menu on a row to edit or delete it.
Loan changes are extra drawdowns or repayments that change the principal (the amount you owe). Add them in the Loan changes section with a date and amount (positive for more borrowing, negative for a repayment). They affect the remaining debt and the rest of the schedule.
Open a loan, go to the Amortizations tab, and click Add Amortization. Choose One-time for a single extra payment on a date, or Scheduled for recurring payments (e.g. monthly on the 27th). Set amount, start date, and optionally an end date.
One-time is a single payment on a chosen date. Scheduled repeats (e.g. every month or every two weeks) from a start date until you say otherwise or add an end date. You can have both on the same loan.
It’s the total payment due in the current month. If a schedule hasn’t started yet (e.g. starts next month), this month’s value can be zero while the amortization card still shows the future monthly amount and when it starts.
Open the loan, open the three-dot menu (top right), and choose Share loan. Create a link and set whether the recipient can only view or can edit. Send them the link. When they open it, they see who shared it and which loan before signing in. After they sign in, the shared loan appears in their list (one source of truth—they see your loan, not a copy). You can revoke or change the link later from the same Share loan dialog (under “Active links for this loan”). The recipient can remove the share from their list (three-dot menu → Remove from my list), which revokes it for everyone.
You can open the loan and use the three-dot menu: Edit opens the loan form in read-only mode (all fields are locked so you can see everything but not change it). There you’ll see “View-only. Request edit access from [owner]?” and a Request edit access button. If you click it, the owner will see your request when they next open the app (in a banner and in the Share loan dialog for that loan). They can approve or decline. After they decide, you’ll see a banner on your next login or refresh: “Your edit access request was approved” or “was declined.” If approved, you’ll then have edit access and can save changes to the owner’s loan. You can also Duplicate to add a copy to your own loans, or Remove from my list to revoke the share.
If you don’t sign in, data stays in your browser (local storage). If you sign in, it’s stored in your account so you can use it on other devices. You can export your data from the account/settings area anytime. When you confirm your email via the link we send, you’ll see a short “Email verified. Welcome!” message and then the app as usual.
When adding the loan, choose I am lending. The same fields apply: you’re the lender and the “remaining debt” is what’s owed to you. The summary can show “Owed to you” and “Incoming this month” instead of “Remaining debt” and “Payment this month”. On the main list, each loan shows a label (Borrowing or Lending) and the list is grouped: borrowing loans first, then lending.