PAWNSHOP INVENTORY WITH AUTOMATED PAYMENT

SYSTEM

An IT Capstone Thesis Template

Presented to
The Faculty of Meridian International College
Business, Arts and Technology
East Ortigas, Pasig City

In Partial Fulfillment
Of
The Requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

By

MIGUEL TEREL KABIGTING

JOHN IMBONG
IT CAPSTONE 1 ADVISER

MAY 12, 2020

 A. Introduction

Background Information

Maria Theresa Pawnshop and Remittance Agent was established

in 1996. It is owned and personally managed by husband and wife, Mr.
Rinimichael S. Kabigitng and Mrs. Maria Theresa L. Kabigting. The owners
grew up in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija whose both of their families were in the
business of buying and selling of palay and rice. After college, they
decided to put up a business that was not yet existing in their town during
that time. They saw the needs of the people of their hometown for an easy
and fast access to immediate financial help in times of emergency. Thus,
they decided to put up a pawnshop. Despite of the ups and downs in its
operation for a couple of years after it was established, it is now one of the
most respected and trusted pawnshops in town of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. In
2007, it became a sub-agent of Western Union Money Transfer under
PeraHub Inc. Then in 2015, it became an outlet of Electronic Commerce
Payments Inc. (ECPay) for its bills payment service, electronic mobile
loading and electronic wallet money.

Thesis Statement
 Because the non-bank financial institutions like pawnshops are the

most popular place where people go to for their urgent needs of emergency

funds, these business establishments always need to adopt a new and

latest technology to be of great service to the people who are in midst of

financial needs.

B. Arguments
Arguments

Every day of long line in the counter of the pawnshop, filing up of

forms, inaccurate entries of pawn transactions, and erroneous summary of

transactions report are some of the major reasons why I came up to the

idea of computerization of MTPRA pawnshop. In this project, I will develop

and design a website and a system portal to help the owners solve those

problems. The website will be a tool for the pawnshop for its customer

account recording. The system portal will be a user-friendly one. It will be

used for its daily transactions from pawning, renewing, redeeming, and

recording of items pawned. Thus, the portal will truly speed up all of these

activities. Moreover, the owners of the pawnshop and their employees will

no longer have a hard time recording the transactions made each day and

the daily/monthly/yearly reports will be better and accurate than the usual

old way.

Key Points

With the existing problems of the pawnshop, many customers are not

satisfied with the service that they get. Thus, a major revamp in the entire

operation will definitely make customers come back again and get more

potential customers to try its service.

Assessment

The owners should be open to the idea of modernization of its business.

Computerization is the only key to stay long in the pawnshop industry.

Customers now are more demanding. They always look for fast and

efficient service. To be able to cope with the changes in the business

environment nowadays, using the new technology like computers is a must.

C. Case Studies and Literature Reviews

Previous Attempts

Few years ago, the owners made a contract with a local company

that would do the computerization of the over-all system of the pawnshop.

However, the program and the system were not user-friendly and the

programmer did not give them the copy of the program. Until one day, the

owners found out that the company who made the program went out of

business. Therefore, it turned out to be a bad investment on the part of the

owners.
Supporting Evidence

After its first attempt of making a computerized system for the

pawnshop, the owners did not have a chance to get e a new one because

they have become too busy with engaging to other businesses like

remittance and bills payment service because the competition in the

pawnshop industry has become so great. In fact, all of the big companies

in the pawnshop industry such as M. Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier, Palawan

Pawnshop, Sinag Pawnshop, RD Pawnshop and others have already

expanded its operation in the town of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija.

 D. Solution

Description

The website and system portal to be designed and developed will

focus on making a Pawnshop Inventory with Automated Payment System

that will ease up the over-all transactions of the pawnshop operation.

Market Acceptance

The usual beneficiary of the whole system to be developed is the

clients as well as the employee of the pawnshop. It will be very user-

friendly and will have unique features. It will give an option to the clients to

pay its obligation to the pawnshop through e-money like Globe G-cash and

Smart Money and it will also give an option to a home-delivery service of

their pawned items once redeemed. This features I will add to the system

will definitely boost clients’ satisfaction and will surely increase pawning

transactions.
Supporting Evidence

We can see and notice that home delivery service and online

payments are very popular nowadays because the lifestyle of the people

now has drastically changed through the years. Most adult members of the

family now are all working. Most of the time, they are busy. Thus, online

businesses are a big thing now. Pawnshops also need to go with the trend

to meet the demands of the people. They will surely avail of the service of

paying their obligation to the pawnshop through online and having their

redeemed pawned articles delivered to their homes.

Overview of Technological Tools

Documenting the personal data or information of the clients in this

new system will be fast, easy and efficient. In the website that I will design,

there will be a feature where new clients of the pawnshop can make his

own account. The records of clients will then be stored and saved directly

to the server. Thus, on their first visit to the pawnshop, the employee will

just input his/her unique customer account number or name to the system

and then the customer records will automatically appear on the monitor

and the employee will just choose from the option buttons which

transactions are going to be made on that day. However, if the new clients

have not yet created an account on the website, the employee will do it for

the new clients. With this new system, more clients will be accommodated

and served in a short period of time.

 E. Working Technology

Summary

Since the other services of the pawnshop namely the Western

Union Money Transfer and the bills payment services are with the

partnership with other companies, the systems used in these are already

provided by their partners. Thus, the pawnshop operation is the one that

needs a new and latest technology since it is still using a manual system of

operation.

Technology

The technology I am going to use to create my system are Python

and Django which will run a dynamic website and service portal online.

Alternatives

The alternative way to develop the system is by using the Java

and PHP.
 F. Conclusion

Upon further assessment, the developer has concluded that a latest,

simple and easy to use website and system portal are immediately needed

by the pawnshop to become more productive and more effective in

delivering its services to their valued clients. With this modernization in the

whole system, the developer can assure the owners that they will have a

time saving and a cost effective new system that will guarantee more

customer satisfaction and increase its efficiency in its overall operation and

management of the pawnshop.

G. Suggestions for Future Research

It is a fact that pawnshops are the most common place that people

go to for their urgent and immediate needs for short-term loans. This

is because of their convenient location, fast service, and the other

corollary businesses they are offering now like money transfer,

foreign exchange service, electronic load selling and bills payment

service. In the future, pawnshops may need to add more online

services to meet the growing demands of the people for a one-stop

financial center that is efficient, reliable, and convenient.

Appendix
 A website and a Pawnshop Inventory with Automated

Payment System Portal Survey Questionnaire

(For the Administrator and employees)

Name:
Designation:

Please put a check on your answer on each question.

1. Is your pawnshop business still
profitable despite of the manual
system of operation you are still
using now?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

2. Do you think your current

system of operation is still
efficient in delivering a fast
and great service to your
clients?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
3. Have you encountered any major problems with your current
system?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

4. Are you aware of the common

complaints of your clients to your service?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

5. Do you think your pawnshop is competitive with the system

you are using now?

o Yes
o No
If either yes or no, please specify the reason:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
6. Do you consider updating/changing your system since
your competitors are now using a new and more
advanced modern technology for its processing of
transactions?
o Yes
o No
If either yes or no, please specify the reason:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________

7. Are you willing to invest in a computerized system for the

operation of the pawnshop?
o Yes
o No
If yes, how much are you willing to spend?
o 10,000-50,000 pesos
o 51,0000-100,000 pesos
o More than 100,000 pesos

8. Do you think a computerize system will be beneficial to your

business as well as to your clients?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
9. Do you think an automation with the system of operation is
urgently needed now by your pawnshop?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

10. Are you willing to have a website of your business?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

11. Do you think a website of your own will attract more clients to
avail all of the services of your business?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

12. Are you willing to give an optional free delivery service of the
redeemed pawned article of the clients?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

13. Do you think an automated payment system will be beneficial

to your business as well as to your clients?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

14. Do you think this automatic payment system will be able to

provide more customer satisfaction?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

15. Do you think your valued clients are capable of using cashless
payment for their transaction?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
16. Do you think computerization of the system of operation of
your pawnshop will be the most cost-effective solution to meet the
present and future requirements of your business?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

17. Do you think your employee have the technical know-how to

use a computerized system?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

18. Are you willing pay for the training cost of your employee to be
able to use a computerized system?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
19. Do you think a computerization of your operation will solve all
of your accounting problems?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

20. With the proposed company website and a pawnshop

automated payment system portal offered to you, do you believe
that these will be the long-term solution to all of your existing
business problems?

o Yes
o No
Please state your reason to your answer:
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
 A website and A Pawnshop Inventory with Automated Payment System Portal Survey Questionnaire
(For Clients)

Name:
Address:

Instruction: Please check your answer

1. Are you a regular client of Maria Theresa Pawnshop and Remittance Agent (MTPRA)?
o Yes
o No

Please state your reason to your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Do you always go to MTPRA for your urgent needs of funds?

o Yes
o No

Please state your reason to your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Are you satisfied with the manual system of operation of MTPRA?

o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Have you experienced any inconvenience with the service

of MTPRA?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Has there been a time where MTPRA wrongly miscalculate your payment for the interest of your loan?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Have you ever encountered a slow processing of transaction at MTPRA?

o Yes
o No
Please explain your answer:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Do you think that the jewelry appraisal of MTPRA is reasonable?

o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Is the 4 percent monthly interest of MTPRA affordable to you as a client?

o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Do you believe that the use of the latest technology in the business will improve its service to the clients?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Would you like MTPRA to computerize the processing of its transactions?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Do you think computerization of the operation of MTPRA will be beneficial to the clients?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

12. Do you think a website is important to a pawnshop business?

o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

13. If MTPRA will have a website, are you going to use it for your redemption or renewal of your loan?
o Yes
o No
Please explain your answer:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

14. Would you avail of the free delivery service of MTPRA for your redemption of your pawned jewelry?
o Yes
o No
Please explain your answer:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
15. Do you use cashless payment for your daily needs like purchasing of groceries, medicine, etc?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

16. Do you use G-Cash as a mode of payment for your purchases or bill payments?
o Yes
o No

If your answer is no, please specify what do you use for your cashless payment:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

17. Do you avail of the other services of MTPRA like money transfer, foreign money exchange and bills payment?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

18. Do you recommend MTPRA to your family, relatives, and friends?

o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

19. In the future, will you still go to MTPRA for your pawning transaction rather than to the big pawnshops?
o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

20. Are you happy with the overall service of MTPRA?

o Yes
o No

Please explain your answer:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1st survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXDVQl9utas-c_RLSFagH4gjw6dOf-
QS9rNu6G2gokHdhb6w/viewform?usp=sf_link

2nd survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfxhloKpCIKs9teYrgpI0MXQsyQ3Vn2OXB6LrxZLnhulzj1vg/viewfo
rm?usp=sf_link

3rd survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdi3nz2Siz2lBR0kXD6IVNcjTyzevH4lEYWotFppJE4YAZCaA/viewf
orm?usp=sf_link

A. Bibliography
 D.K. Gifford, L. C. Stewart, A. C. Payne, G.W. Treese(1995), Payment

Switches for open networks; IEEE COMPCON.

C.Neuman(1995), Security Payment, and Privacy for Network

Commerce: IEEE Journal on selected areas of communication 13/8

(1995) 1523-1531.

T. Pedersen(1995), Electronic payments of small amounts; Technical

Report, Aarhus University, Computer Science Department.