#USA #New York #Automation #Heron Data #Broker Suite

Heron Expands into SMB Credit Broker Market

Heron Data, an innovative AI platform dedicated to automating workflows in the finance sector, has made a significant stride in the small business credit brokerage industry with the launch of its new service, the Heron Broker Suite. This comprehensive solution aims to streamline the entire deal flow process, effectively transforming how brokers operate by moving away from manual and repetitive tasks.

The Challenge Facing Brokers

Traditionally, brokers have faced a daunting workflow that is tedious and labor-intensive. They are tasked with scrubbing through bank statements, matching deals to funding providers, filling out various online portals, and sorting through numerous emails to find indispensable approvals. This typical day could entail:

• - 5-20 minutes dedicated to scrubbing bank statements and assessing light underwriting requirements.
• - 10-15 minutes spent matching each deal with lenders according to internal criteria.
• - 3-5 minutes per funder portal for over 50 submissions in a single day.
• - Managing hundreds of decision emails every day while dealing with the clutter of approvals, declines, and unsolicited messages.

As a result, many brokerages find themselves incurring costs ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per month just to sustain operations through offshore and data entry teams. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, deals can easily fall through the cracks, hamper growth, and lead to overwhelmed team members.

Introducing the Solution

Heron Broker Suite has emerged as a game changer in this landscape, providing brokers with full workflow automation that simplifies the arduous tasks into just four streamlined steps:

1. Scrubbing Bank Statements: Instantly extracting relevant data such as revenue, positions, non-sufficient funds (NSFs), and fraud signals.
2. Smart Lender Matching: Efficiently routing deals to appropriate funders based on criteria set by brokers.
3. Auto-Filling Funder Portals: Submitting applications seamlessly via portals, emails, or APIs to match funder requirements.
4. Processing Funder Offers: Reading decision emails automatically and syncing responses to the customer relationship management (CRM) system in real-time.

With this automation, brokers can transition from days of manual efforts to instantaneous processing. Responses that once took hours can now occur in mere minutes, thereby increasing the volume of deals closed without the necessity for additional headcount.

The Impact of Automation

Adoption of the Heron system has yielded impressive results for early users, showcasing immediate and tangible benefits such as:

• - An 80% reduction in processing costs.
• - A drastic improvement in offer-to-rep response times, now reliably under 60 seconds.
• - Assurance of zero missed approvals due to automatic syncing systems.
• - Increased capacity for processing deals by 2-3 times without expanding teams.

For instance, Big Think Capital, a major brokerage in New York, experienced a 98% reduction in offer-to-rep times, moving from over 30 minutes to less than a minute. Their VP of Operations, Chris Forsberg, highlights the importance of speed and automation, stating, “The first broker to get the best approval is the one that’s going to win the deal.” Similarly, TFS Financial has automated approximately 4,000 monthly decisions, freeing their team from data entry to focus on ensuring the efficiency of their operations.

A New Era for Brokers

For many years, Heron has been instrumental in optimizing bank statement analysis and underwriting processes for funders, processing an astounding 500,000 files weekly for over 150 clients, including major banks and insurers. With their entry into the brokerage segment, they are poised to assist brokers in overcoming similar challenges by offering the same level of automation.

In the words of Heron’s CEO, Johannes Jaeckle, “Brokers didn’t establish their businesses to engage in manual data entry. They exist to facilitate funding for small businesses. Our goal is to regain their valuable time.” The Heron Broker Suite is tailored for quickly growing brokerages aiming to leverage AI right from the start, transforming operational bottlenecks into a streamlined advantage.

Moreover, Heron’s solution is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing workflows, linking with platforms like Salesforce and LendSaaS to enhance operational efficiency without disrupting current processes.

As Heron Data embarks on this exciting expansion, it sets a promising path to help brokers reclaim thousands of hours annually, revitalizing their focus on what truly matters: helping small businesses achieve financial success.

About Heron Data

Founded with the mission to eliminate repetitive manual work within the lending, insurance, and finance sectors, Heron Data has established itself as a leader in innovative automation. With recent funding of $16.5 million in Series A, led by Insight Partners and Y Combinator, Heron is set to expand its impact in the financial services realm. Discover more at herondata.io.