WHICH LOAN ORIGINATION SYSTEM SOFTWARE IS BEST FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION?

It’s an exciting time to be in the lending industry. Major technological advances in loan origination system software have made it easier than ever to process loan applications and automate decisioning. Computers are now doing most of the tedious work, saving organizations hours of potentially wasted time and countless resources.

There’s also plenty of confusion and misinformation around which loan origination system (LOS) software is best. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your existing LOS or researching LOS software for the very first time, you need to cut through the noise.

Loan Origination System Software Must-Haves

There are three essential measures of an excellent loan origination system software:

1. Speedy deployment that blends seamlessly with your existing systems and workflows;
2. Versatile features that improve decisioning and daily operations; and
3. A future-proof design that will evolve and expand alongside your organization.

A fast and simple deployment period enables you to get the software up and running right away. This means less downtime and staff training as well as a quicker return on investment (ROI).

Comprehensive features like decisioning, automation, data integration, analytics, configuration, and secure data storage help you stay competitive and provide the best services to your clients.

Configurable, future-proof software design lets you stick with the same software for many years. This saves time and future deployment costs, and makes your organization more agile and flexible.

When you choose loan origination system software, think about the past, present, and future of your organization. Great software will take all three of these vital aspects into account.

Fast, Simple Deployment 

A loan origination system software is useless if it’s too complicated or costly to implement. You could have inventive software that’s stacked with clever tools but a confusing user interface. No matter how brilliant the software is, your staff won’t use it.

Besides ease-of-use, you’ll need a sense of how much the deployment process will cost and how quickly you can get the LOS working.

The best software includes:

• Fast implementation, the software may even work straight out of the box;
• No required infrastructure, such as servers in dedicated data centers;
• No additional on-premise IT staff or IT costs;
• Cloud-based features accessible instantly through a secure network connection;
• Desktop and mobile applications;
• Individual user accounts and authorizations, with user-configured, role-based permissions;
• Configurable user interfaces to match your staff’s preferences and level of IT experience;
• Customizable features like dashboards, workflows, report templates, decision rules, and data fields;
• Dashboards and menus that change based on loan type or user; and
• Detailed configuration change records so you can roll back changes that don’t work.

Your new loan origination system software should meet all of these criteria. Out-of-the-box features, customizable interfaces, limited infrastructure requirements, and lower IT costs decrease your time to market and deployment expenses. You can take advantage of your new system immediately.

Software Packed with Innovative Features 

While deployment time and costs are important, you can’t miss out on the power of a feature-rich loan origination system software either. Once you’ve verified that the software would be easy to deploy, look at the features it offers. The software must include:

• Automation to speed up decisioning;
• Automatic loan structuring based on detailed historical data and trends;
• Detailed customer lending profiles;
• Funding and underwriting workflows;
• A clear audit trail;
• Notifications that flag denials or alert staff when data falls outside of the normal range;
• Both credit bureau and alternative credit data;
• Advanced data analysis, including predictive trends;
• Visualizations of complex data sets
• Automatic data normalization;
• Data blending;
• Accurate loan scoring based on hundreds of individual categories;
• Fully digital communications between staff and customers;
• Staff performance and loan tracking;
• Robust data security and compliance with current industry regulations.

A loan origination system software that has all of these features will make it easier for your underwriters, loan officers, managers, and other employees to perform their daily tasks. They can focus on the customer-centered aspects of their jobs, rather than spending hours performing calculations by hand. This also improves loan structuring. Structures and decisions are based on detailed data analysis and compelling evidence.

Forward-Thinking Design and Tools 

Your LOS may meet all of your current needs, but what about five years from now? How about ten years? You need a software system that will evolve as technology does. The best software is:

• Scalable: You should be able to add branches in new regions or increase application volume without making significant changes to your software;
• Predictive: Data analysis and predictive modeling identify trends so that you can pivot to more profitable loan categories or business strategies;
• Trackable: Software that tracks performance metrics and system changes help identify the processes that work and eliminate ones that don’t; and
• Reliable: The software vendor should publish patches and important updates regularly.

No loan origination system software is fully future-proof, but working with a LOS vendor that uses a forward-thinking design, your organization will become much more agile and competitive.

A Loan Origination Software System That Checks All the Boxes 

Many loan origination systems take months to get up and running, or lack features that will improve decisioning and increase portfolio value. Some use technology that becomes obsolete quickly. An LOS is a serious investment with a big impact on your business. Make sure it’s worth it by getting one that’s easy to deploy, improves decisioning, and is built for the future.