Create programs

Applies to: SP-MIS

What you will learn

This guide explains the core concepts of OpenSPP programs. By the end, you will understand:

• What a program is and what information it contains

• How to create a new program using the wizard

• How programs, cycles, and entitlements connect

• The different states a program can be in

• How to navigate the program interface

What is a program?

A program is a social protection intervention that delivers benefits to eligible registrants. Examples include:

• Monthly cash transfers to low-income households

• Food assistance for families with children under 5

• Emergency relief payments during disasters

Each program defines:

Component	Purpose
Target type	Who can enroll (individuals or groups/households)
Eligibility rules	Criteria that determine who qualifies
Entitlement rules	How benefit amounts are calculated
Cycles	Time periods for benefit distribution

How programs, cycles, and entitlements connect

Program
   |
   +-- Beneficiaries (enrolled registrants)
   |
   +-- Cycle 1 (January 2025)
   |      |
   |      +-- Entitlement for Beneficiary A
   |      +-- Entitlement for Beneficiary B
   |      +-- Entitlement for Beneficiary C
   |
   +-- Cycle 2 (February 2025)
   |      |
   |      +-- Entitlement for Beneficiary A
   |      +-- Entitlement for Beneficiary B
   |      +-- Entitlement for Beneficiary C
   |
   +-- Cycle 3 (March 2025)
          |
          +-- (entitlements generated when cycle is prepared)

The relationship works like this:

1. Registrants are imported into a program

2. Eligibility is verified to confirm they qualify

3. Verified registrants become beneficiaries

4. For each cycle, entitlements are generated for all beneficiaries

5. Entitlements are approved and benefits are distributed

Navigate the program interface

Finding programs

1. Click Programs in the main menu.

   

2. Click Programs in the submenu.

   

3. The program list shows all programs you have access to.

Program List Columns

Column	Description
Name	Program name
Target Type	Group (households) or Individual
Beneficiaries	Number of enrolled beneficiaries
Cycles	Number of cycles created
State	Active or Ended

Opening a program

Click on a program row to open the program form.

Creating a new program

To create a new program, you'll use a step-by-step wizard that guides you through configuring all the necessary settings.

Accessing the creation wizard

1. Navigate to the Programs list (see Finding Programs above).

2. Click the Create button in the top-left corner of the Programs list.

3. The program creation wizard will open.

Note

Permissions required: You must have System Administrator or Program Manager role to create programs. If you don't see the Create button or it's grayed out, contact your administrator.

Step 1: Basic program information

The first step collects essential details about your program:

Field	Description	Required
Program Name	A descriptive name for your program (e.g., "Cash Transfer for Vulnerable Families")	Yes
Target Type	Choose who the program targets:	Yes
	• Group: Evaluates entire families/households for eligibility
	• Individual: Evaluates individual people regardless of family
Benefit Type	Type of benefit to be distributed: Cash for monetary programs, or In-Kind for goods or services (e.g., food rations, hygiene kits)	Yes
Currency	The currency used for this program (e.g., USD, PHP, EUR). Required for Cash programs; not used for In-Kind.	Yes (for Cash)

When you choose In-Kind, you will define which products and quantities beneficiaries receive in the Items step. Those products must be created first under Programs > In-Kind > Products (see Manage in-kind products).

Example (Cash):

• Program Name: "Monthly Food Assistance Program"

• Target Type: Group (households)

• Benefit Type: Cash

• Currency: USD

Example (In-Kind):

• Program Name: "Emergency Food Ration Program"

• Target Type: Group (households)

• Benefit Type: In-Kind

• Currency: (optional for in-kind)

After filling in these fields, click Next: Configure Program to proceed.

Step 2: Configure eligibility

This step defines who is eligible to participate in your program. The wizard shows a tab labeled Who Qualifies?.

Eligibility criteria options

You can configure eligibility in two ways:

1. Predefined criteria (Dropdown selection):

   • Select from common eligibility rules like:

     • "Households with Children Under 5"

     • "Elderly Individuals (65+)"

     • "Single Parent Households"

     • And other predefined options

   

2. Advanced criteria (Custom expressions):

   • Click Advanced to reveal a text field

   • Enter custom eligibility expressions using registry field names

   • Example: members.exists(m, m.income < 10000) (Groups with at least one member that has income < 10000)

   

Step 3: Configure entitlements

Click the Entitlements tab to define what beneficiaries will receive.

Adding an entitlement line

1. Click Add a line at the bottom of the entitlements section.

   

2. A popup window appears with the following fields:

Field	Description	Options
Amount Formula	How the benefit amount is calculated	• Fixed Amount: Same amount for everyone • Formula-based: Calculated using expressions
Base Amount	The fixed amount (if using Fixed Amount)	Enter a number (e.g., 1200)
Currency	Currency for this entitlement	Usually matches program currency

Example:

• Amount Formula: Fixed Amount

• Base Amount: 1200

• Currency: USD

Click Save & Close after configuring the entitlement.

Note

You can add multiple entitlement lines if your program provides different types of benefits or uses different formulas for different beneficiary groups.

Configuring approval workflow

The approval workflow determines which user role can approve entitlements for this program. When you select an approver group, only users with that role will be able to approve entitlements.

1. In the entitlements configuration, locate the Approver Group field.

2. Select the user role that should have approval authority for entitlements in this program.

Important

Role restriction: The role you select in the Approver Group field will be the only role that can approve entitlements for this program. Users with other roles will not see the approval option, even if they have program management permissions.

Example:

• Approver Group: Program Cycle Approvers

• Only users assigned the "Program Cycle Approvers" role can approve entitlements for this program.

Step 3 (continued): In-kind programs — configuring items

If you selected Benefit Type: In-Kind in Step 1, the wizard shows additional In-Kind Settings and an Items tab. Use these to define which products beneficiaries receive and in what quantity.

Note

Prerequisite: Before creating an in-kind program, an administrator (or user with Stock Manager access) must create the products under Programs > In-Kind > Products. Those products appear in the Product dropdown when you add lines in the Items tab. See Manage in-kind products.

In-Kind Settings

Option	Description
Manage stock movements (inventory)	When enabled, the system tracks inventory and can trigger stock movements when entitlements are approved. An Inventory Settings tab appears where you select a warehouse.
Evaluate one item	When enabled, entitlement rules are evaluated per item (e.g., for conditional quantities).

Items tab

In the Items tab, add one or more lines that define what each beneficiary receives:

Field	Description
Product	Select a product from the in-kind product catalog (the same list as Programs > In-Kind > Products). You cannot create new products here; they must exist in the catalog first.
Quantity	Number of units per beneficiary (e.g., 2 boxes, 5 kg).
UoM	Unit of measure (usually filled from the product).
Multiplier field (optional)	Registry field used to multiply quantity (e.g., number of household members).
Max multiplier (optional)	Cap on the multiplier value.

1. Click Add a line in the Items list.

2. Choose a Product from the dropdown.

3. Enter Quantity and confirm UoM.

4. Optionally set Multiplier field and Max multiplier if quantities depend on beneficiary attributes.

5. Save the line. Add more lines as needed for multiple products per beneficiary.

Inventory Settings tab (when "Manage stock movements" is enabled)

If you enabled Manage stock movements (inventory) in In-Kind Settings, an Inventory Settings tab appears. Select the Warehouse from which stock will be reserved or moved when in-kind entitlements are approved.

Step 4: Configure distribution schedule

Click the Schedule tab to set how often benefits are distributed.

Field	Description	Options
Recurrence	How often cycles are created	• Daily • Weekly • Monthly • Yearly
Day of Month	When monthly cycles start (if Monthly selected)	• Specific date (e.g., 3rd of each month) • Day of week (e.g., first Monday)
Day of Week	Which day(s) for weekly distribution (if Weekly selected)	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.
One-time Distribution	Check this if the program runs only once	Creates a single cycle with no recurrence
Cycle Approval	Approval definition configured from the Approvals section. This is where you define which role approves cycles. Select an approval workflow or use auto-approve	• Cycle Approval: Requires approval before distribution (select an approval definition)

Example:

• Recurrence: Monthly

• Day of Month: 1st of each month

• Cycle Approval: Cycle Approval (requires manual approval)

• Approver Group: Program Cycle Approvers

• Only users assigned the "Program Cycle Approvers" role can approve cycles for this program.

Important

Role Restriction: The role you select in the Approver Group field will be the only role that can approve cycles for this program. Users with other roles will not see the approval option, even if they have program management permissions.

One-time distribution

When you enable the One-time Distribution slider, the program will automatically:

1. Generate a single cycle - One cycle is created immediately when the program is created

2. Auto-import all enrolled beneficiaries - All beneficiaries currently enrolled in the program are automatically added to this cycle

3. Use the schedule fields for timing - The cycle's date and timing are based on the values you entered in the Day of Month, Day of Week, and other schedule fields

Important

Important limitations: When one-time distribution is enabled:

• No additional cycles will be automatically generated after the initial cycle

• The program will not create recurring cycles based on the recurrence settings

• This is ideal for emergency relief programs, one-time grants, or special distribution events

When to use one-time distribution:

• Emergency relief payments

• One-time grants or bonuses

• Special event distributions

• Programs that don't require recurring payments

Completing program creation

1. Review all your settings in the wizard.

2. Click Create Program at the bottom of the wizard.

   

3. The program will be created and you'll be taken to the program form.

4. The program status will show as Active.

   

What happens after creation?

Once created, your program will:

• Appear in the Programs list

• Be ready to accept beneficiary enrollments

• Have all the configuration settings you defined available in the Configuration tab

• Allow you to create cycles according to your schedule settings

You can edit any of these settings later by opening the program and going to the Configuration tab.

Program form overview

The program form has four main tabs:

Overview tab

Shows basic program information and recent cycles:

Field	Description
Name	Program name
Target Type	Group or Individual
Company	Organization running the program (if multi-company)
Beneficiaries	Total number of registered beneficiaries
Eligible Beneficiaries	Number currently enrolled

The Recent Cycles section shows the most recent cycles with their status.

Beneficiaries tab

Lists all registrants associated with this program:

Column	Description
Registrant	Name of the beneficiary
Enrollment Date	When they were enrolled
State	Draft, Enrolled, Paused, Exited, Not Eligible, or Duplicated

Configuration tab

Program Managers can view and edit program settings here. This tab is not visible to all users.

History tab

Shows audit information: who created and last modified the program.

Smart buttons

At the top of the program form, smart buttons provide quick access to related information:

Button	Shows
Beneficiaries	Opens the full beneficiary list
Cycles	Opens the list of all cycles
Duplicates	Opens the list of duplicate records (if any exist)

Program actions

The header bar shows actions you can perform (based on your role):

Button	What It Does	When Available
Import Eligible	Import registrants matching eligibility criteria	Active programs
Enroll Eligible	Enroll all eligible registrants	Active programs with beneficiaries
Verify Eligibility	Re-check eligibility for all beneficiaries	Active programs
New Cycle	Create a new distribution cycle	Active programs with enrollees
Deduplicate	Find and mark duplicate beneficiaries	Active programs
Notify	Send notifications to beneficiaries	Active programs

Are you stuck?

Cannot see the Configuration tab? This tab is only visible to Program Managers and Administrators.

Beneficiaries count shows zero but you added people? Registrants must be enrolled (not just imported). Run Enroll Eligible to move them from draft to enrolled status.

Cannot see any action buttons? Your role may not have permission to perform program actions. Contact your administrator.

Program shows a warning about missing journal? This is an accounting configuration issue. Contact your Program Manager or Administrator.

Next steps

• Work with program cycles - Learn how to work with program cycles

• Enroll beneficiaries - Add registrants to a program