FiniteTerm Specification

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FiniteTerm

Financing You Can Model.

FiniteTerm is a modular, open source specification for deterministic financing across industries and products, excluding education. The specification provides a common financing framework where terms, calculations, qualification requirements, payment structures, lifecycle events, and settlement conditions can be explicitly defined, modeled, and audited.

FiniteTerm separates universal financing rules from industry and product-specific requirements. The Core Financing Module establishes the fundamental financing framework, while industry, product, and optional plugin modules extend the specification for specific applications without requiring changes to the core.

Specification

FiniteTerm is designed around the principle that financing should be predictable and modelable. Given the same inputs, applicable modules, and defined rules, a compliant implementation should produce the same financing result.

The specification establishes a maximum financing term of 30 years. The financing term is also limited to 67% of the expected useful life of the financed product. The applicable interest rate is determined by the financier and applied through the defined financing calculations.

FiniteTerm supports both secured and unsecured financing and can incorporate affordability, cost of living, insurance, payment variation, cost escalation, portability, refinancing, and other requirements through modular components.

Education financing is specifically outside the scope of FiniteTerm.

Modular Design

FiniteTerm uses a layered modular architecture.

Core

The Core defines universal financing behavior that applies regardless of industry or product.

Industry Modules

Industry Modules define requirements and characteristics specific to an industry.

Examples include:

Automotive
Real Estate
Healthcare
Energy
Agriculture
Construction
Manufacturing
Technology
Telecommunications
Transportation
Consumer Goods
Business Equipment
Infrastructure
Marine
Aviation
Recreation
Hospitality
Retail
Professional Services

Product Modules

Product Modules define financing characteristics for specific products or product classes within an industry.

Examples include:

Automobiles
Commercial Vehicles
Solar Systems
Battery Storage
HVAC Systems
Manufacturing Equipment
Computers
Servers
Agricultural Equipment
Medical Equipment
Infrastructure Systems

New industries and products can be added without modifying the Core.

Core Modules

Core Financing Module

Defines the universal financing framework
Calculates principal
Calculates interest
Calculates financing charges
Calculates payment amounts
Supports payment frequencies
Generates amortization schedules
Tracks outstanding principal
Tracks accrued interest
Tracks fees and charges
Calculates total financing cost
Calculates remaining balances
Calculates payoff amounts
Defines financing states
Defines financing lifecycle
Records financing events
Produces reproducible financing calculations

Industry Module

Defines industry-specific financing requirements
Defines industry-specific asset characteristics
Defines applicable industry rules
Supports industry-specific qualification requirements
Allows industries to be added independently of the Core
Provides industry-specific inputs to the financing system

Product Module

Identifies the financed product
Defines product characteristics
Defines expected useful life
Defines applicable product requirements
Defines product-specific qualification requirements
Provides product-specific financing inputs
Supports individual products and product classes

Product Life Expectancy Module

Records expected useful life
Determines maximum financing term
Limits financing to 67% of expected useful life
Enforces the 30-year absolute maximum
Supports manufacturer-defined useful life
Supports industry-defined useful life
Supports independently established useful life
Accounts for remaining useful life
Prevents financing terms from exceeding defined lifecycle limits

Interest Rate Module

Allows the financier to establish the interest rate
Records the applicable interest rate
Applies the rate through defined financing formulas
Supports fixed interest rates
Supports variable interest rates where permitted
Records applicable rate changes
Maintains an auditable rate history
Does not impose a universal interest rate

Affordability Module

Determines financing affordability
Evaluates payment capacity
Evaluates income
Evaluates existing financial obligations
Evaluates required expenses
Evaluates available disposable income
Supports affordability thresholds
Produces deterministic affordability results
Allows financiers to define applicable affordability rules
Can be activated when required

Cost of Living Module

Evaluates required living expenses
Accounts for household size
Accounts for housing expenses
Accounts for utilities
Accounts for transportation
Accounts for insurance
Accounts for required household expenses
Supports geographic cost-of-living data
Calculates required minimum living costs
Provides inputs to the Affordability Module
Can be activated when required

Secured Financing Module

Defines secured financing arrangements
Identifies collateral
Verifies collateral ownership
Records collateral value
Calculates loan-to-value ratios
Records security interests
Defines collateral requirements
Defines collateral insurance requirements
Tracks collateral status
Defines collateral release conditions
Supports collateral substitution where permitted
Defines predetermined default procedures

Insurance Module

Identifies required insurance
Defines minimum coverage requirements
Records insurance policies
Verifies coverage
Tracks policy expiration
Tracks policy renewal
Records insurance status
Defines financing responses to coverage lapses
Supports asset-specific insurance requirements
Supports liability insurance requirements
Supports collateral insurance requirements

Payment Variation Module

Supports predefined payment variations
Supports fixed payments
Supports increasing payments
Supports decreasing payments
Supports seasonal payments
Supports milestone payments
Supports revenue-based payments
Supports predetermined irregular payment schedules
Defines payment changes in advance
Establishes rules governing payment changes
Prevents arbitrary payment changes outside defined rules
Models payment variations across the financing lifecycle

Cost Escalation Module

Models future changes in financing-related costs
Accounts for insurance increases
Accounts for maintenance increases
Accounts for taxes
Accounts for utilities
Accounts for operating expenses
Supports explicitly defined escalation assumptions
Separates projected costs from guaranteed costs
Models future affordability
Supports cost escalation scenarios

Asset Condition Module

Records asset condition
Records asset age
Records usage
Records mileage where applicable
Records maintenance history
Determines remaining useful life
Adjusts applicable financing characteristics based on remaining life
Supports used-asset financing
Prevents new-asset assumptions from automatically applying to existing assets

Residual Value Module

Estimates expected value at financing maturity
Records expected residual value
Supports product-specific residual-value models
Supports industry-specific valuation rules
Supports end-of-term valuation
Supports residual-value scenarios
Provides inputs for financing and refinancing calculations

Depreciation Module

Records applicable depreciation methodology
Calculates projected depreciation
Models asset value over time
Supports product-specific depreciation rules
Supports industry-specific depreciation rules
Provides asset-value projections
Provides inputs to residual-value calculations

Maintenance Module

Defines required maintenance
Records maintenance schedules
Estimates maintenance costs
Tracks maintenance events
Tracks maintenance compliance
Supports asset-specific maintenance requirements
Supports industry-specific maintenance requirements
Provides maintenance information for lifecycle modeling

Revenue Module

Supports financing tied to revenue-generating assets
Records projected revenue
Records actual revenue
Supports revenue-based payments
Supports payment percentage formulas
Supports minimum payment requirements
Supports maximum payment limits
Models revenue variation
Tracks revenue-related financing performance

Guarantee Module

Supports personal guarantees
Supports corporate guarantees
Supports third-party guarantees
Records guarantee terms
Records guarantor obligations
Defines guarantee activation conditions
Tracks guarantee status
Defines guarantee termination conditions

Refinancing Module

Models existing financing
Calculates remaining principal
Calculates remaining financing costs
Calculates early payoff requirements
Models replacement financing
Compares existing and replacement financing
Calculates refinancing costs
Calculates new payment obligations
Calculates new financing terms
Records refinancing events

Early Payoff Module

Calculates current payoff amount
Calculates remaining principal
Calculates applicable payoff fees
Calculates interest avoided
Calculates total savings
Determines payoff date
Updates financing status
Produces an auditable payoff calculation

Lifecycle Module

Defines financing lifecycle states
Supports proposed financing
Supports qualified financing
Supports approved financing
Supports activated financing
Supports performing financing
Supports modified financing
Supports delinquent financing
Supports defaulted financing
Supports recovery
Supports completed financing
Defines transitions between states
Records lifecycle events

Event Ledger Module

Records financing events
Records payments
Records missed payments
Records rate changes
Records fees
Records modifications
Records collateral changes
Records insurance changes
Records refinancing
Records default events
Records settlement
Maintains an auditable chronological history

Explainability Module

Explains financing calculations
Identifies calculation inputs
Identifies applicable rules
Identifies applicable modules
Identifies calculation versions
Shows how payment amounts were determined
Shows how financing terms were determined
Shows how qualification results were determined
Provides machine-readable calculation explanations
Prevents unexplained financing outcomes

Versioning Module

Versions financing rules
Versions industry modules
Versions product modules
Records the version used to create financing
Preserves historical financing rules
Prevents unauthorized silent changes
Defines rules for permitted updates
Maintains module compatibility

Interoperability Module

Defines standardized financing data
Defines standardized financing fields
Defines standardized calculation outputs
Supports communication between financing systems
Supports standardized financing records
Enables integration with accounting systems
Enables integration with financial management systems

Portability Module

Allows financing records to be transferred
Preserves original financing terms
Preserves payment history
Preserves current balance
Preserves applicable rules
Preserves interest rate information
Preserves collateral information
Preserves modification history
Preserves financing status
Supports transfers between compatible systems
Supports refinancing and financing-provider changes
Prevents financing records from being locked to a single platform

Comparison Module

Standardizes financing offers
Compares financing amounts
Compares interest rates
Compares terms
Compares payment amounts
Compares total financing costs
Compares fees
Compares collateral requirements
Compares insurance requirements
Compares early payoff conditions
Produces standardized financing comparisons

Marketplace Module

Allows financiers to respond to standardized financing requests
Allows multiple financing offers to be modeled
Standardizes financing offer presentation
Allows financing offers to be compared
Separates financing rules from financier-specific pricing
Allows financiers to compete using compatible financing structures

Regulatory Rules Module

Supports jurisdiction-specific rules
Supports federal requirements
Supports state requirements
Supports local requirements
Supports industry requirements
Separates regulatory rules from the Core
Allows jurisdiction-specific modules to be added
Allows regulatory rules to be versioned
Provides auditable records of applicable requirements

Human Override Module

Allows explicitly authorized exceptions
Requires overrides to be recorded
Identifies the authorizing person or entity
Records the original deterministic result
Records the modified result
Records the reason for the override
Records the applicable authority
Records the date and time
Preserves the original financing calculation
Makes overrides auditable
Prevents undocumented changes to financing outcomes
Allows organizations to define which rules may or may not be overridden

Dispute Module

Records financing disputes
Identifies disputed calculations
Preserves the original financing state
Preserves applicable rules
Provides calculation history
Provides event history
Supports documented dispute resolution
Records modifications resulting from resolution
Maintains an auditable dispute record

Security and Integrity Module

Protects financing records
Maintains data integrity
Detects unauthorized changes
Records changes to financial data
Supports cryptographic verification where implemented
Preserves calculation integrity
Prevents silent modification of historical financing records

Modeling Module

Models financing before execution
Calculates expected payments
Calculates total financing costs
Models asset lifecycle
Models payment schedules
Models cost escalation
Models affordability
Models refinancing
Models early payoff
Models adverse scenarios
Models alternative financing structures
Produces reproducible results from identical inputs and rules

Settlement Module

Determines when financing is complete
Calculates final payment
Calculates final balance
Releases applicable collateral
Terminates applicable guarantees
Records final settlement
Archives the financing record
Preserves complete financing history
Produces a final settlement record

Optional Plugin Modules

FiniteTerm supports optional plugin modules that extend functionality without changing the Core specification.

Scenario Analysis Plugin

Creates alternative financing scenarios
Models base-case outcomes
Models favorable outcomes
Models adverse outcomes
Models early payoff
Models refinancing
Models asset sale
Models payment changes
Models cost changes
Compares financing outcomes

Stress Testing Plugin

Tests financing against adverse conditions
Models income reductions
Models revenue reductions
Models increased expenses
Models increased insurance costs
Models increased maintenance costs
Models asset-value reductions
Models financial shocks
Measures financing resilience
Identifies conditions that could impair affordability

Inflation Modeling Plugin

Models inflation
Models future purchasing power
Models real financing costs
Models future operating expenses
Models future income
Models future maintenance costs
Provides inflation-adjusted scenarios

Tax Modeling Plugin

Models applicable taxes
Models property taxes
Models transaction taxes
Models recurring taxes
Separates tax assumptions from financing calculations
Provides tax-related financing scenarios

Asset Valuation Plugin

Provides asset valuation models
Supports market-value inputs
Supports replacement-cost inputs
Supports industry valuation methodologies
Supports valuation updates
Provides valuation history
Provides valuation inputs for secured financing

Revenue Forecasting Plugin

Models future revenue
Supports historical revenue analysis
Supports projected revenue
Supports seasonal revenue
Supports revenue growth assumptions
Supports revenue decline scenarios
Provides inputs to revenue-based financing

Insurance Risk Plugin

Evaluates insurance requirements
Models insurance cost changes
Evaluates coverage adequacy
Models insurance availability
Identifies coverage risks
Integrates with the Insurance Module

Maintenance Forecasting Plugin

Projects maintenance requirements
Projects maintenance costs
Models maintenance schedules
Models major replacement events
Provides maintenance cost scenarios
Integrates with the Maintenance Module

Data Verification Plugin

Verifies financing inputs
Verifies product information
Verifies asset information
Verifies ownership information
Verifies valuation information
Verifies insurance information
Records verification results

Identity Verification Plugin

Supports identity verification
Supports entity verification
Records verification status
Provides verified identity inputs
Integrates with applicable qualification modules

AI Analysis Plugin

Assists with financing analysis
Identifies unusual financing conditions
Detects potential calculation anomalies
Assists with scenario generation
Assists with data classification
Provides analytical recommendations
Does not independently modify deterministic financing rules
Requires defined authorization for actions affecting financing outcomes

Reporting Plugin

Generates financing reports
Generates amortization reports
Generates cost reports
Generates affordability reports
Generates lifecycle reports
Generates audit reports
Generates comparison reports
Generates settlement reports

Notification Plugin

Provides payment notifications
Provides insurance notifications
Provides maintenance notifications
Provides financing status notifications
Provides approaching maturity notifications
Provides default-condition notifications
Provides settlement notifications

Integration Plugin

Connects FiniteTerm to external financial systems
Connects to accounting systems
Connects to payment systems
Connects to asset management systems
Connects to insurance systems
Connects to business management systems
Supports standardized data exchange

Fundamental Rules

Every financing arrangement must have a defined beginning and end.
No financing term may exceed 30 years.
The financing term may not exceed 67% of the financed product’s expected useful life.
The financier determines the applicable interest rate.
Financing calculations must be reproducible from their defined inputs and rules.
Industry and product characteristics are defined through modular specifications.
Optional modules may be activated when applicable.
Exceptions must be explicitly recorded through the Human Override Module.
Financing records must remain portable between compatible implementations.
The complete financing lifecycle must be auditable.
Education financing is outside the scope of FiniteTerm.
New industries and products must be able to be added without modifying the Core.
Specialized modules must not silently alter universal Core rules.
Identical inputs and applicable rules should produce identical deterministic outputs.
Financing terms, costs, qualification requirements, and lifecycle conditions should be modelable before execution.

Specification Branding License (SBL)

Standard

Fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant system
Copyleft enforced for network deployments
Required attribution:
- Roxanne Ardary
- https://www.roxanneardary.com/

Optional

Specification Branding License (SBL)
- Attribution-free commercial deployment
- Pricing based on scale, usage, and deployment scope
- https://roxanneardary.com/finiteterm/

License & Notice Requirements

FiniteTerm is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).
By contributing to any Open Arsenal project, you agree that your contributions will also be released under this license.

Please note the following:

All contributions must comply with the AGPL-3.0+ terms.
Under Section 7 of the license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works must preserve attribution to: Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
FiniteTerm specifications are free to use with attribution. A Specification Branding License can be negotiated upon request.
The project’s notice.md file tracks attribution requirements and contributor acknowledgments. Any update that adds new contributors or modifies attribution should also update notice.md.
When submitting a pull request, ensure that any new files maintain the attribution headers where applicable.
Network-deployed versions of this software must also remain fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant, including exposure of source code modifications when applicable under the license.

For full legal details, please refer to the AGPL-3.0+ license and the project’s notice.md file.

Notice – FiniteTerm

Attribution Requirement: Under Section 7 of the AGPL 3.0+ license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works, including network-deployed versions of this project, must provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.

Contributors

This file tracks contributors and their specific contributions to the project.

Roxanne Ardary, roxanneardary.com – August 10, 2026
Created the repository for FiniteTerm. Created the modular deterministic financing specification for financing across industries and products, including defined financing terms, product life expectancy requirements, affordability, insurance, payment variation, cost escalation, portability, human overrides, and financing lifecycle management.
Add other contributors here – [Date]
[Describe contribution in one sentence]

License – FiniteTerm

This repository is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).

Key Points

You are free to use, modify, and distribute the code.
All redistributions, forks, and derivative works or network-deployed versions must also be licensed under AGPL-3.0+ and provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com as required under Section 7 of the license.
The software is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind.

For the full license text, see GNU AGPL-3.0 License.