What CRM do mortgage brokers use in the UK?
There's no single dominant system. Directly authorised firms choose between a handful of broker platforms, most of which bundle sourcing, criteria or compliance with the CRM. Appointed representatives use the network's system.
| Platform | What it covers | What we'd check before building |
|---|---|---|
| Smartr365 | A broker platform with CRM, client onboarding and AI-assisted admin; describes itself as the UK's number one. | Which lead and document routes it accepts from outside. |
| Acre | Fact find to completion, with direct lender connections for DIPs and applications. | How new enquiries and documents get into a case. |
| Mortgage Brain | CRM bundled with sourcing, criteria and affordability tools. | Whether we write to it directly or hand over by email. |
| Twenty7tec | A sourcing system with CRM, used by many independents as their main tool. | What the CRM side exposes beyond sourcing. |
| 360 Lifecycle | Practice management and back office for mortgage and insurance brokers. | The same: routes in for leads and documents. |
| Network systems (Openwork, PRIMIS, Stonebridge, HL Partnership and others) | Set by the network for its appointed representatives. | What the network allows. Some have no API link to lead platforms at all. |
From vendor sites and published broker comparisons, September 2026. Links under Sources.
Adviser IQ, JammJar, Mortgage Magic, ClientTree and Finova's Broker CRM are newer or smaller options, several built around AI from the start. If one of them already covers what you need, you don't need us for it.
We're an appointed representative. Can we add anything to the network's CRM?
Usually not inside it. The network decides the CRM and what connects to it, and one broker who reviewed the main systems notes that his network's CRM has no API link to lead platforms. That leaves plenty outside it, which is where most of the lost time is anyway.
- Your phone line and website enquiries, answered and booked into your diary.
- WhatsApp and email chasing for documents, with a clean summary to key into the network system.
- Your own list of past clients and rate-end dates, kept in a tool you control, where the network allows it.
We check your network's rules on data and client communications before we suggest anything. If it needs sign-off from the network's compliance team, we write the description of it for them.
How do we get to a new enquiry before they ring another broker?
Mortgage enquiries arrive from estate agent referrals, your website, lead sites and past clients' friends. Someone who has just had an offer accepted wants a DIP this week and will ring whoever answers first.
- An instant reply that asks what they need: purchase, remortgage, buy-to-let, first home.
- A few fact-find basics: deposit, employed or self-employed, rough timescale.
- A slot in the right adviser's diary, and the answers added to the case.
- A nudge if they don't book, and a note to the adviser if they reply.
The assistant never recommends a lender, a product or a rate. That stays with your advisers. How we build this in general is on our speed-to-lead page.
How do we stop chasing clients for payslips and bank statements?
A case stalls while a client forgets to send the last three months' statements. For a self-employed client it's SA302s and tax year overviews; for a company director it's accounts too. Chasing it is the job nobody enjoys.
A checklist per case type
Employed, self-employed, director, contractor, buy-to-let: each gets its own list, set by you.
Chased on the channel they answer
WhatsApp or email, with a secure upload link, until each item is in.
Marked off on the case
Each document is filed against the case, and the adviser hears when the pack is complete.
Checked before it lands
Obvious gaps flagged early: a statement that's two months old or a payslip with the wrong name.
How do we catch clients before their fixed rate ends?
Past clients are the easiest remortgage business to win, and the risk is that their lender offers them a product transfer directly, or another broker gets there first. Most brokers know this and still keep the dates in a spreadsheet.
We build the reminders from the completion data you already hold: contact months before the deal ends, a booking link for a review, and a follow-up if they don't reply. The same run can prompt protection and buildings insurance reviews. More on this on our reactivation page.
Can an AI receptionist answer calls for a mortgage broker?
Yes, for the admin part of the call. It shouldn't advise, and it doesn't. It takes the details, answers questions about how you work and what you charge, books the appointment, and passes anything else to an adviser.
| The call | Voicemail | Answering service | AI receptionist |
|---|---|---|---|
| "We've just had an offer accepted" | Call back later | Takes a message | Takes the details and books an adviser |
| "What's your fee?" | No answer | Reads your script | Answers from what you've approved |
| "Which lender is best for me?" | No answer | Takes a message | Books an adviser; gives no advice |
| An existing client chasing their offer | Call back later | Takes a message | Reads the case status where it can, or passes it on |
| Record of the call | The voicemail | An email | A summary on the case |
Under the FCA's Consumer Duty, what you tell customers has to be clear and support good outcomes, so every script and message is yours to approve. More on how we build these on the AI receptionist page.