DreamInsights Glossary
Definitions and Formulas for Terms found in DreamSave Insights
Last Updated: November, 20, 2025
Below is a list of terms (in alphabetical order) from DreamInsights along with their descriptions and formulas. If you can’t find what you’re looking for or have a suggestion, please submit a ticket here on the support portal!
Metric
Description
Formula
% of Loans Written Off
Percentage of all loans given that groups have decided to write-off. The group selected that the member cannot repay the loan so the outstanding balance is recorded as a loss and deducted from the group’s loan fund.
# of loans written-off / # of all loans *100
% of Members who Have Taken a Loan
Percentage of members who have ever taken a loan
# of members who have taken at least 1 loan / total # of members
% of Members with Outstanding Loans
Percentage of registered members who currently have a loan balance due to the group
# of members / # of members with outstanding loan
Age
Members' ages according to their registration.
# of members aged 18-34# of members aged 35-44# of members aged 46+
Assets
Capital and other things of value possessed by the group
loan fund balance + value of loans outstanding + social fund balance
Attendance in Person
Percentage of total members who attended in person, averaged over the previous 4 meetings
(# members attended in person / # total members * 100) averaged over past 4 meetings
Attendance with Representative
Percentage of total members who were absent but sent contributions through a representative, averaged over the previous 4 meetings
(# members attended with a representative/ # total members * 100) averaged over past 4 meetings
Average # of Loans Given
Average number of loans given per group
# of loans given / total # of groups
Average # of Members / Group
Number of members in the average group
# of members/ # of groups
Average Loan Size
Average amount of individual loans given to members (principal only)
cumulative value of loans given / # of loans
Average Savings per Member
Average amount each member has saved; includes savings contributions only, not any profit from group activities
cumulative savings / total # of members
Average Social Fund Payout
Average payout amount that groups give to a person, group, community, etc.
total amount of Social Fund Payouts / # of payouts
Backup Status
The *estimated* number of meetings that have passed since the last time a group backed their data up to the cloud. This assumes that a group follows the meeting schedule they set in their constitution. For example, if a group sets their meeting schedule for weekly meetings, Insights determines the date of the last meeting which SHOULD have been held and subtracts that from today's date.
n/a
Bank Balance
Amount of money group has outside of the group, e.g. in formal bank or other institution
DreamStart doesn't currently record bank balance
Country Data Access
The country/countries a user has permission to view. This was assigned by whomever invited this user and may be changed by anyone with a higher permission level.
n/a
Cumulative Savings
Total amount saved. Includes savings contributions only, not profit from group activities
sum of all members' current savings
Cumulative Savings, Annualized
Total amount saved, including savings contributions only, not profit from group activities. Annualized to account for groups in different phases of their cycle
Cumulative Savings*52 / Average age of groups (in weeks)
Cumulative Value of Loans Given
Total amount lent to members (principal only)
Sum of all loan principal
Dream Star Leader Board
Groups with the greatest number of Dream Stars. Dream Stars are awarded to members for: contributing maximum savings, attending 4 meetings in a row, repaying loans on time, and repaying loans early
list of top 5 groups with highest aggregated Dream Star amount
Dropout Rate
Percentage of registered members who permanently leave their group after first savings meeting (group removes the member in DreamSave app)
# of members removed after a group starts saving / # of members originally registered in that group * 100
Education
Members' education according to their registration
# of "no formal education"/total # members# of "primary school"/total # members# of "secondary school"/total # members# of "college"/total # members
Equity
Assets minus Liabilities
assets - liabilities
External Debts
Amount the group owes to institutions outside the group such as to a bank or MFI
DreamStart doesn't currently record external debts
Gender
Members' genders according to their registration
# of female members/total # members# of male members/total # members
Group Age The number of cycles a group has undergone # of cycles
Group Expenses
Any money spent from the loan fund, not including loans (e.g. funds used to start a group business, money used to buy a cashbox)
Sum of groups' "Total Expenses"
Group Goal Achievement
Percentage of members making "great progress", "good progress", or are "a little behind" in progress towards their established individual goal
# of groups classified as "great progress" / total # of groups# of groups classified as "good progress" / total # of groups# of groups classified as "a little behind" / total # of groups
Group ID
Alpha-numeric code generated by the DreamSave app when a group registers (e.g. ZM-123-456)
n/a
Group Income
Any incoming money to the loan fund not already accounted for as savings, fines, or loan interest (e.g. profit from a group business)
Sum of groups' "Total Income"
Group Status
A way your organization can further categorize groups such as supervised, self-managed, graduated. Your organization can edit the status and description.
n/a
Groups Formed
Current number of savings groups registered in DreamSave
count of all groups
Implementing Partner
Another organization or entity that is creating and/or supporting savings groups on your behalf; could be a sub-awardee, sub-grantee, etc.
n/a
Inactivity Rate
Percentage of registered members who haven't attended or saved in any of the last 4 meetings
# of members who were absent and didn't save from all of last 4 meetings / # members
Insights Access Start Date
The date from which this user has access to Insights
n/a
Job Role
The role within the organization, assigned by another user in the organization. This is established at the time users are invited and is not an Insights-generated title.
n/a
Last Login
The last date and time (mm/dd/yy) and time that this user logged into Insights
n/a
Last Meeting
The group's most recent, synced savings meeting, as recorded in DreamSave.
n/a
Liabilities
Money or other things of value the group owes
sum of external debts
Loan Fund Balance
Amount of cash available to members for loans; excludes Social Fund and other money the group doesn't intend to lend to members
previous balance + savings for this meeting + fines + loan repayment + miscellaneous group income – loans given this meeting – miscellaneous group expenses
Loan Fund Utilization
Percentage of the available funds which is currently lent out to members
Value of loans outstanding / (value of loans outstanding + loan fund balance) * 100
Loan Repayment Rate
Percentage of loans that are repaid by the loan date (not counting current outstanding loans)
#loans paid on time or before loan date / #total loans given - current loans
Loan to Savings Ratio
The amount of loans given out in proportion to cumulative savings. Often groups allow a member to borrow up to 3 times what that member has saved.
value of loans given / cumulative savings
Loan Types
The types of loans members indicate when requesting a loan: Business, Education, Household, Medical, Other
# of "business" loan types / total # loans# of "education" loan types / total # loans# of "household" loan types / total # loans# of "medical" loan types / total # loans# of "other" loan types / total # loans
Location
The location assigned to this user by another user in the organization. This is established at the time users are invited and are not precise geo-locations
n/a
Meeting Frequency
How often a group formally meets, as defined in their Constitution. Options are weekly, bi-weekly, monthly.
n/a
Net Profit
Financial gain of groups, earned from loan interest, fines, and group income
Interest + Fines + Group Income - Group Expenses
Number of Loans Given
Total number of loans given
# of loans given
Number of Members
Current number of registered members in groups. A member who has dropped out or was removed by the group would not be counted.
# of registered members
Overall Attendance
Percentage of total members who either attended in person or sent their contributions through a representative, averaged over the previous 4 meetings (Attendance in Person Rate + Attendance w/ Rep Rate)
(# members attended in person + # members attended with a rep / # total members) averaged over past 4 meetings
Permission Level
The permission level set for this user; options are Owner, Country Level, Project Level, and Limited Access.
n/a
Personal Goal Achievement
Percentage of members making Great Progress (90% or above), Good Progress (between 75-90%), or are A Little Behind (less than 75%) towards their established individual goal. # of individuals classified as "great progress" / total # of members in group# of individuals classified as "good progress" / total # of members in group# of individuals classified as "a little behind" / total # of members in group
Personal Goal Types
The types of goals members select when registering: Business, Education, Household, Land, Livestock, Vehicle, Technology, Travel
# of "business" goals / total # members# of "education" goals / total # members# of "household" goals / total # members# of "land" goals / total # members# of "livestock" goals / total # members# of "vehicle" goals / total # members# of "technology" goals / total # members# of "travel" goals / total # members
Portfolio at Risk
Portion of theloans given that are at risk of not being repaid
Value of loans past due/
Value of loans outstanding
Project
A collection of groups that your NGO wants to analyze or report on as a collective unit. You can organize projects by country, by grants, or in other ways.
n/a
Property at Start of Cycle
Amount of possessions groups collectively had at the beginning of their respective cycles (e.g. land, commodities, cashbox, etc.)
DreamStart doesn't currently record property
Property Now
Amount of possessions groups collectively has such as land, commodities, cashbox, etc.
DreamStart doesn't currently record property
Registered Date Timestamp date (Group Created date) Timestamp date (Group Created date)
Return on Savings An average member's financial profit compared to their savings [(Interest + Fines + Group income - Group expenses)/ Total Group Savings]*100
Savings Leader Board
Groups with the highest cumulative savings
list of top 5 groups with highest cumulative savings
Social Fund Balance
Total amount of cash held by the group in any other fund separate from the loan fund
total contributions into Social Fund (or funds) - payouts from social fund
Social Fund Utilization Rate
Percentage of the available money in the Social Fund(s) which has been paid out
Total Amount of Social Fund Payouts / Total Social Fund Contributions * 100
Start Date
The date that Facilitator starts working with the organization
n/a
Supervised By
Enter the person who oversees the user's/facilitator's savings group work
n/a
User ID
Every Insights user is assigned a four-digit User ID as a unique identifier that can be used to search for that user in Insights and help ensure duplicate users aren’t entered with different spellings, etc.
n/a
Value of Loans Outstanding
Amount owed to group from loans given to members; includes amount due from principal + accrued interest
total amount of remaining loan principal + remaining interest