The broker tech stack at a glance
| Job | Examples | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregator CRM and platform | Mercury Nexus (Connective), MyCRM (LMG), Infynity (Finsure), Suite360 and BrokerEngine Plus (AFG) | Usually comes with your aggregator. Check how data gets out if you ever change aggregator, and what the compliance workflow covers |
| Independent CRM and workflow | Salestrekker, BrokerEngine, Effi | Whether your aggregator supports it, whether it lodges directly, and how much double entry is left |
| Electronic lodgement | ApplyOnline (NextGen), Loanapp (Simpology) | Mostly decided by the lender and aggregator. Check which lenders on your panel each one reaches |
| Serviceability and product comparison | Quickli, plus the calculators and product search inside your CRM | Lender coverage, how current the calculators are, and whether you can save the output to the client file |
| Document collection | The client portal in your CRM, FinanceVault (BrokerEngine), FileInvite | Reminders, a clear checklist for the client, and where the documents are stored |
| Bank statements and open banking | illion BankStatements, Frollo for Brokers | Client consent, how the data is retrieved, and whether expenses are categorised for your assessment |
| Identity verification | Often built into the aggregator platform or the lender's process | What your lenders and aggregator accept, and a record of how and when identity was checked |
| E-signing | DigiSign in Mercury Nexus, Docusign, signing tools inside lodgement platforms | Which documents each lender accepts with an electronic signature, and the audit trail |
| Phone and meetings | A business phone system such as Aircall or Dialpad, Microsoft Teams, Zoom | Call transcripts, mobile app quality, and how recording consent is handled |
| File notes and compliance records | Notes typed into the CRM, note tools built into some CRMs, CallNote | Whether the note shows the options explained and the reasons, and whether it can be changed later |
Aggregator CRMs: the centre of the stack
For most brokers the main system is chosen when they choose an aggregator. The aggregator's platform holds the client record, the loan application, the compliance documents and the commission data. Each of the large aggregators describes its own platform on its website.
- Mercury Nexus (Connective). Connective describes it as an all-in-one platform for brokers, provided to members at no extra cost. Its site lists client management, a client portal, application lodgement, built-in compliance prompts, credit checks, open banking, borrowing capacity calculators, analytics, DigiSign, and an open API.
- MyCRM (LMG). LMG describes MyCRM as its in-house platform covering residential, commercial and asset finance in one place. Its site lists digital forms, compliance tracking, voice-to-text notes, and a tool called MyNoteWriter that it says creates audit-ready best interests duty notes and client summaries.
- Infynity (Finsure). Finsure names Infynity as its CRM for brokers.
- Suite360 and BrokerEngine Plus (AFG). AFG describes Suite360 as its single stop for broker technology and BrokerEngine Plus as its software for deal lodgement, customer management and product selection.
What to look for. You will rarely choose an aggregator on software alone, but ask three things. Can you export your client data and notes in a usable format if you leave? Does the compliance workflow produce the documents your licensee audits, or only prompt you to attach them? And does it connect to other tools through an API or integrations, or is everything expected to happen inside it?
Independent CRMs and workflow tools
Some brokers add, or substitute, a CRM that is not owned by their aggregator. The usual reasons are team workflow, automation and keeping the same system if they move.
- Salestrekker. A CRM built for finance and mortgage brokers. Its site describes home loan, asset finance and commercial lending tools, visual workflow boards, SMS and email, a client portal, built-in finance calculators, and product comparison, recommendation and compliance documents.
- BrokerEngine. Describes itself as mortgage broker workflow software. Its site lists customisable workflows, the FinanceVault client portal for collecting documents, and a reviews dashboard that prompts a client review when a fixed rate or interest-only period ends. It says it now supports direct lodgement to ApplyOnline, being rolled out to AFG brokers first, with credit guide and credit proposal features for AFG brokers. Its site has pages for brokers at AFG, Connective, Finsure and LMG.
- Effi. A CRM and software platform for mortgage and finance brokers. Its site lists chatbot and SMS automation, a client portal, AI-powered document management and an AI notetaker.
What to look for. Ask your aggregator first whether it supports the tool, because lodgement and commission data usually still run through the aggregator's platform. Then count the double entry. A second CRM that needs every client typed twice costs more time than it saves.
Electronic lodgement
Lodgement platforms carry the application from the broker to the lender. You usually reach them through your CRM. ApplyOnline, from NextGen, says it powers digital lodgement for more than 60 lenders. Loanapp, from Simpology, is an electronic loan application lodgement platform for lenders and brokers, and Simpology describes a gateway that connects services such as identity validation, valuations, digital signatures and open banking.
What to look for. This layer is mostly chosen for you by the lender and your aggregator. What matters to you is how cleanly your CRM passes data into it, so the fact find you already completed is not re-keyed.
See what a finished file note looks like.
Pick your line of work and we'll send a sample note written from a mocked call. No account, no card, and nothing from your own client files.
One sample note, plus the occasional CallNote update. Unsubscribe any time by replying. We never ask for your call recordings or client files.
Serviceability and product comparison
Before recommending anything, a broker has to know which lenders will lend the amount and what each loan will cost. Quickli is a serviceability tool for brokers. Its site says it runs serviceability checks across more than 50 lenders. Mercury Nexus and Salestrekker also list calculators, and Salestrekker lists product comparison.
What to look for. Coverage of your panel, how quickly calculators are updated when a lender changes policy, and whether you can save the result. That last point matters for compliance. ASIC's Regulatory Guide 273 lists the outputs of product and feature comparison tools as one of the forms a broker's records can take (RG 273.167(e)), and RG 273.54 says a recommendation of a higher cost loan needs to be supported by evidence. A saved comparison is that evidence. A tool can tell you which loans are available and what they cost. It cannot tell you which one is in this client's best interests under s 158LA of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (NCCP Act). That is your judgement, and it needs to be written down.
Document collection, bank statements and open banking
Before making the preliminary assessment, s 117 of the NCCP Act requires a licensee providing credit assistance to make reasonable inquiries about the client's requirements and objectives and their financial situation, and to take reasonable steps to verify that financial situation. In practice that means payslips, tax returns, statements and ID, collected and stored where an auditor can find them.
- Client portals. Mercury Nexus, Salestrekker and Effi each list a client portal, and BrokerEngine has FinanceVault. For most brokers this is where documents arrive.
- Standalone collection. FileInvite is a document collection platform with automated reminders. Its site is aimed mainly at commercial and complex lending.
- Bank statement retrieval. illion BankStatements lets lenders and brokers retrieve a client's statements through a link sent to the client. Its site says each retrieval comes with a report that breaks down the client's monthly living expenses.
- Open banking. Frollo for Brokers is a free open banking portal for mortgage brokers, with client consent periods of 3, 6 or 12 months. Mercury Nexus also lists open banking.
What to look for. How the client gives consent, where the documents and data are stored, and whether the output helps with the living expenses part of your assessment. Our guide to responsible lending inquiries and file notes covers what the record should show.
Identity verification and e-signing
Lenders set their own rules for how a borrower's identity must be verified and which documents they accept with an electronic signature. Because of that, these two jobs are often handled inside the aggregator platform or the lodgement path. Mercury Nexus lists DigiSign, and Simpology lists identity validation and digital signatures among its connected services. General e-signature products such as Docusign are also used for documents the broker controls.
What to look for. Start with what your lenders and aggregator accept, then check that the tool leaves a record: who was verified, how, when, and what was signed. We have not named standalone identity products here because we could not confirm their current details on their own sites.
Phone systems and meetings
Much of a broker's advice is given on the phone. Teams tend to move to a business phone system such as Aircall or Dialpad, or to Microsoft Teams, because calls can be routed, logged against the client and, on the right plan, transcribed.
What to look for. A usable mobile app, call logging, and whether the system produces a transcript. If calls are recorded or transcribed, consent rules apply. As general information, not legal advice: the listening devices and surveillance devices laws in New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT generally require all parties to consent to recording a private conversation, while Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory generally allow a party to the conversation to record. Phone calls are also covered by the federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. Telling the client at the start of the call is the safe habit everywhere. See is it legal to record phone calls in Australia.
File notes and compliance records
This is the layer that gets the least software and the most scrutiny. ASIC's RG 273.21 says it expects evidence of compliance with the best interests duty to come predominantly from the broker's records, and RG 273.165 lists relevant conversations with the consumer, the options and recommendation given, and the reasons why. Most of that happens in conversation, so it has to be written up.
Brokers do this in a few ways:
- Typing into the CRM notes field. Free and already there. Quality depends on how soon after the call it is done.
- Note features inside the CRM. LMG lists voice-to-text notes and MyNoteWriter in MyCRM, and Effi lists an AI notetaker. If your platform has this, try it first, because the note is already on the client record.
- A dedicated file note tool. This is where CallNote sits.
Where CallNote fits, and where it does not
CallNote does one job. It takes a call or meeting transcript that already exists and turns it into a structured file note in your own format. Transcripts arrive automatically from Aircall, Dialpad or Microsoft Teams, or you paste one in, upload a .vtt or .txt file, forward it by email, or dictate a voice memo after an in-person meeting. It never records calls and never stores call audio. You can build the template from one of your own past notes, or start from the mortgage template. You review the note, publish it, and it is sealed with a checksum. Later changes are added as amendments and there is an audit log. Data is hosted in Sydney. Pricing is A$149 a month for Solo and A$99 per seat a month for Team, with a 14-day free trial.
Where it does not fit: CallNote is not a CRM, and it does not lodge loans, check serviceability, compare products, collect documents, verify identity or handle signing. It has no native integration with Mercury Nexus, MyCRM, Salestrekker or the other broker platforms above. The note gets into your aggregator CRM by copy and paste or as a PDF. It publishes directly to HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics 365 if your business uses one of those (a note goes to the one CRM you have connected), and to other systems through Zapier where they support it. If you work alone, take few calls and already write good notes into your CRM the same day, you may not need it. More detail is in AI note takers for mortgage brokers and our comparison of file note software for mortgage brokers.
How the pieces show up on one file
A file note is where the output of the other tools gets tied together. This fictional example shows a note that refers to the serviceability run, the comparison and the documents requested. The client and figures are invented.
- What the client wants
Marcus owes about $520,000 on his home loan with his current lender. He wants lower repayments. He does not want to extend the loan term, which has 24 years left. He would like an offset account if it does not cost more overall.
- Information gathered
- Employed full time as an electrician, same employer for six years. Income confirmed verbally. Two recent payslips requested.
- One car loan with about $9,000 owing. One credit card with a $6,000 limit, paid in full each month.
- Estimated property value $780,000, a loan-to-value ratio (LVR, the loan as a share of the property's value) of about 67 per cent. To be confirmed by valuation.
- Work done on the call
Ran a serviceability check across the panel while on the call. Marcus services the current loan amount with the three lenders shortlisted. Saved the result to the client file. Explained that refinancing has costs, including a discharge fee from his current lender and government registration fees, and that the saving needs to outweigh them.
- Options discussed
Explained three paths: ask his current lender for a better rate, refinance to a basic variable loan, or refinance to a loan with an offset account. Marcus holds about $15,000 in savings. Explained that at that balance an offset account with an annual fee may not save more than it costs, and that this would be worked through with real figures before any recommendation.
- Next steps
- Broker to request a pricing review from the current lender first.
- Document request sent through the client portal: two payslips, the latest home loan statement, and three months of transaction statements.
- Broker to prepare a written comparison of the three paths, including refinance costs and the break-even point.
- Follow-up call booked for Thursday 1 October 2026. No recommendation made on this call.
The note points to the saved serviceability result and the document request without repeating them. For what a full recommendation note needs, see best interests duty file notes and refinance file notes.
How to choose without overbuying
- Start with what your aggregator already gives you. Most of the stack is included. List what the platform does before you pay for anything else.
- Find the slowest step in your own week. For some brokers it is chasing documents. For others it is writing up calls or re-keying data. Buy for that step only.
- Ask where the data lives and how it gets out. Client financial data is sensitive. Check where it is hosted, who can see it, and whether you can export it.
- Check the record it leaves. For anything that touches compliance, ask what an auditor would see: the saved comparison, the document trail, the note and when it was written.
- Trial it on real files. Run two or three live clients through a tool before you commit.
ASIC is reviewing how brokers meet the best interests duty and has said it expects to report before the end of 2026. Documentation is one of the areas it has looked at. Our page on ASIC's best interests duty review has the current status. The mortgage broker compliance audit checklist lists what a file review usually asks for, and our mortgage brokers page shows how CallNote handles a broker call.
Common questions
What software do Australian mortgage brokers use?
Most use the CRM and platform their aggregator provides, such as Mercury Nexus at Connective, MyCRM at LMG, Infynity at Finsure, or Suite360 and BrokerEngine Plus at AFG. Some add an independent CRM such as Salestrekker, BrokerEngine or Effi. Loans are lodged through platforms such as ApplyOnline and Loanapp. Around that sit tools for serviceability, document collection, bank statements, identity checks, e-signing, phones and file notes.
What CRM do mortgage brokers use in Australia?
It usually depends on the aggregator. Connective provides Mercury Nexus, LMG provides MyCRM, Finsure provides Infynity and AFG provides Suite360 with BrokerEngine Plus. Salestrekker is an independent CRM built for finance and mortgage brokers. Check with your aggregator which systems it supports before choosing a separate CRM.
What is ApplyOnline?
ApplyOnline is an electronic lodgement platform from NextGen. NextGen says it powers digital lodgement for more than 60 lenders in Australia. Brokers usually reach it through their CRM or aggregator platform when they submit a loan application to a lender.
Does serviceability software satisfy the best interests duty?
No. A serviceability or comparison tool shows which lenders will lend and what each loan costs. The best interests duty in s 158LA of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 requires the broker to act in the client's best interests, and ASIC's RG 273 expects records of the options and the reasons for the recommendation. Save the tool's output to the file, then record your reasoning in a file note.
Does CallNote integrate with Mercury Nexus, MyCRM or Salestrekker?
No. CallNote has no native integration with Mercury Nexus, MyCRM, Salestrekker or other broker CRMs. Brokers copy the finished note into the client record or attach the PDF. CallNote publishes directly to HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365, and connects to other systems through Zapier where they support it.
Do mortgage brokers need separate file note software?
Not always. If you write clear notes into your CRM on the day of the call, or your CRM has a note feature that works for you, that can be enough. A dedicated tool helps when calls are frequent, notes are written late or thin, or several brokers need a consistent format. What matters is that the note records the options explained and why the recommendation suits the client.