Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You have specific questions about Margill? Send us an e-mail

Also consult :

• "Industry" in the right section of the page
• "Calculations" in the right section of the page
• "User's Manual" which may be found in the "Help" tab (PDF document)
• "Tips and Tricks" in Margill itself

CONTACTS

To reach us

SETTINGS

Problem with date formats

Problem with years prior to 2000

Currencies

VALUABLE TRICKS

How to open the same calculation window

The power of the right mouse click in a Margill results table

Can I EXPORT the results?

LOAN REGULATIONS

Does Margill respect various consumer loan regulations?

Does Margill calculate APR (Annual Percentage Rate)?

SIMPLE AND COMPLEX CALCULATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

How can I do the following calculations?

Mortgages

Regular mortgage

• USA, Europe, Australia...
• Canada

Irregular mortgage with lump sum payments

Variable interest rate mortgage

Variable-rate mortgage with payments adjusted according to the interest rates in force

Mortgage that includes unknown future interest rates with payments adjusted as these rates become known (Loan example)

Reverse mortgage

APR disclosure

Loans / Line of credit

Loan with regular payments

Irregular loan - including:

• Interest only
• Fixed principal
• Missed payment
• Reduced payment
• New principal
• Late payments
• NSF check
• Variable interest rates

Line of credit

Calculation of the unknown interest rate applicable to a loan with irregular refunds

APR disclosure

Collection

Collection of unpaid accounts receivable

Collection of judgment awards by recurring payments

Late / unpaid rent, alimony or other amounts due that accrue over time

Late tax payments

Asset finance / Leasing

Asset finance / Leasing

Decision to purchase equipment or real-estate or not to buy based on purchase price and future profits generated

Court / Judgment calculations

Interest following a judgment (variable interest rates)

Interest following a judgment (unique interest rate)

Interest following a judgment (unique interest rate using the rate applicable at the start of the procedures among variable interest rates)

Partial payments paid before the judgment

Collection of judgment awards by recurring payments

Today value of an historical judgment (indexation)

Unpaid salaries indexed according to an agreement

Late / unpaid rent, alimony or other amounts due that accrue over time

Hypothesis of a lump sum to be paid to the plaintiff instead of a structured settlement over time

Investment calculations

Value of historical investment in the Stock market vs. investment in treasuries

Present value of investment providing projected future returns

Future value of regular and irregular periodic investments over time

Annual Rate of return

Annual Rate of return in complex situations (regular or irregular investments and payouts)

Various

Indexation of an amount based on a fluctuating indexation table

Creation of an indexation table from variable payments

Nominal interest rate - effective (real) interest rate converter

Various date calculations

International sales tax calculations

To reach us : Click here

I cannot enter the dates that I want...

• Margill uses the calendar as its basis (365 or 366-day years)(Margill can also use a 360-day year). Since Margill uses your Windows settings, these must be properly configured in Control Panel, Regional Settings, Date.

• You should make sure to have 2 digits for the day and month and 4 digits for the year.

• Proper configuration looks like this for the Short Date Format : yyyy/MM/dd, MM-dd-yyyy, DD/MM/yyyy or any other combination using the separator of your choice (/ , -, etc.).

• Use 4 y's (yyyy) for "Short date format" in Windows Control Panel, Regional Settings, Date.

• Yes. Margill supports ALL currencies supported by Windows. In the Windows Control Panel, Regional Settings, Currency, indicate your specific currency. If no currency is specified, the dollar ($) will be used. You may specify the currency of your choice.

• Simply click on the Margill icon and open a second copy of the software. Margill can be executed many times from the same station.

• In Recurring Payments and Accrual by Installment calculations, once a results table is produced, this schedule may be completely edited. Lines may be added, deleted and modified.

• Select the appropriate lines with the Shift key and left click of the mouse (or the Ctrl key and left click of the mouse if non contiguous lines are to be changed) and right click with the mouse. A pop-up menu appears providing many options.

• Lines may be changed all at once (payments, rates), information may be retrieved (capital and interest accumulated) and the tables exported directly to Word, Excel or to the XML (Internet compatible) format.

I wish to export calculation results (amortization schedule or other) into another software (administrative software or other). Is this possible?

Yes. All results tables may be exported to Text, Word, Excel or XML (Internet) format.

Once the results screen appears, two options are available:

• To export to Text only format (.TXT) use the Export icon appearing on the screen.
• To export to Word, Excel or XML, use the right click of the mouse and the menu will offer the three formats above.
• To export to RTF (Rich Text Format) or HTML, print and Print to file.

Once a table is exported to Excel, it may easily be converted into a .CSV format (comma separated value) which is often used as an import format in other software.

Does Margill respect various consumer loan regulations?

Yes. Margill, uses the 4 most common day count conventions (the nomenclature below is that used by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)):

• Actual/Actual (also known as Actual/365)
• Actual/365(Fixed)
• Actual/360
• 30/360

Margill respects:

• International standards and recognized principles for the calculation of interest (Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa)
• United States banking rules (Regulation Z, Truth in Lending Act)
• European Community rules (Directive 98/7/CE)
• Canadian banking rules

Does Margill calculate APR (Annual Percentage Rate)?

• Margill easily calculates APR for normal (regular) loans and mortgages. This is done in the "Recurring payments (Amortization)" calculation.

• As can be seen in the screen shot below, the fees may be financed or paid up front. Depending on each case, the APR will vary slightly.

• Lending legislation usually allow between 1/8% to 1/4% tolerance (maximum discrepancy) between quoted APR and the true APR (based on the various legislative formulae).