Broker guide
Mortgage Broker Software: Build Your Stack in 2026
Choosing mortgage broker software starts with the jobs each system owns across Australian platforms, broker tools, handoffs and total stack costs.
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Mortgage broker software works best as a small stack where every job has one owner. Your aggregator’s platform usually holds the client record and lodges the application. A research tool shortlists lenders, and the lender’s own calculator and portal confirm the borrowing figure and price before you submit.
Check for overlap before you add a tool. Some aggregators include a customer relationship management (CRM) system, borrowing calculators and lodgement in membership, so a separately paid tool can repeat a job you already have.
This guide compares Australian broker platforms and broker tools by the work they do. It shows where data moves between them, what you keep when you leave and how to count the full annual cost before you renew.
Start With the Work
Start by giving each job in a loan file one system of record. A job with two owners creates two versions of the client’s details, and a job with no owner ends up in email.
| Job in the file | System that should own it | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Client record, fact find and compliance documents | Your CRM, often the aggregator’s platform | The client’s details, consents, credit guide and file notes |
| Lender policy research and scenario planning | A policy and scenario tool, such as Bulma | A lender shortlist, conditions, documents and borrowing power estimates |
| Final serviceability check | The selected lender’s own calculator | The figure that lender’s assessment starts from |
| Pricing | The lender’s broker portal or rate card | The rate or discount offered, with its conditions |
| Lodgement | The aggregator’s lodgement connection, such as ApplyOnline | The submitted application and its status |
Research, client management and lodgement are the three jobs that decide the rest of the stack. Choose the CRM first, because the other tools read from it or write back to it. The mortgage broker CRM guide compares client-record systems, and the loan origination software guide covers lodgement and lender connections.
Count What Your Aggregator Already Supplies
List the mortgage aggregator software that comes with your membership before you buy anything else. Aggregator platforms now cover far more than client records.
Connective says Mercury Nexus is included at no extra cost for its members, as at October 2026. It combines client management, compliance workflows, application lodgement, analytics, credit checks, open banking and borrowing capacity calculators. AFG’s BrokerEngine Plus page, as at October 2026, lists client document collection, direct lodgement to ApplyOnline, product comparison and an integrated credit guide, privacy consent and credit proposal.
Mark each job in the table above as covered, partly covered or missing. Buy separate broker software only for the missing jobs, or where a standalone tool clearly does the job better. If your brokerage also writes asset finance, the asset finance software guide covers that case workflow.
Build the Shortlist
Shortlist mortgage broker software by the task each product supports, then check whether your licence and aggregator give you access. The platforms below cover the main jobs in an Australian residential file. Their terms are as at October 2026.
| Platform | Main job | Best for | Material drawback | Access in Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury Nexus (Connective) | CRM, compliance, lodgement and borrowing calculators | Connective members who want one included platform | Tied to Connective membership, so changing aggregator means moving to a new CRM | Included for Connective members at no extra cost |
| BrokerEngine Plus (AFG) | CRM, document collection, product comparison and ApplyOnline lodgement | AFG brokers who want lodgement and client documents in one workflow | Built around AFG, so it doesn’t follow you to another aggregator | Through AFG membership |
| MyCRM (Loan Market Group) | CRM with digital forms and compliance tracking | Loan Market Group (LMG) brokers using LMG’s in-house tools | Tied to LMG membership, and its push into Quickli runs one way | Through LMG membership |
| Infynity CRM (Finsure) | Aggregator CRM | Finsure brokers who want the CRM their aggregator supports | Tied to Finsure membership | Through Finsure membership |
| BrokerEngine | Workflow automation, task queues, checklists and a client portal | Teams with several staff on each file who need tasks and deal stages tracked | Adds a second system beside the aggregator CRM, so you must decide which one holds the client record | BrokerEngine says it’s used across all major aggregators |
| Salestrekker | CRM with home loan, asset finance and commercial tools | Brokerages writing several lending types from one CRM | Lodgement integrations depend on your aggregator’s contract with the lodgement provider | Lists partner businesses on its site, and lodgement depends on your aggregator |
| ApplyOnline (NextGen) | Lodgement | Submitting to the 60+ lenders it supports | NextGen integrates a third-party platform only where that platform is contracted to your aggregator or broker group | Through your aggregator or broker group |
| Simpology | Lodgement and origination | Aggregators and lenders using its electronic lodgement platform | You reach it through the aggregator or lender that uses it, not by choice alone | Through a participating aggregator or lender |
| Quickli | Multi-lender serviceability, with rates, fees and lender spreadsheet export | Brokers who want borrowing power across 51+ lenders with product pricing beside it | Its Jiffi AI policy answers need the Pro plan, and each person’s monthly credits are shared with loan notes | Per-user subscription with a 21-day trial |
| Lender calculators | Final serviceability check at one lender | Confirming the selected lender’s figure before submission | One lender per calculator, and each needs its own data entry | Published by each lender, while lodging with that lender needs its accreditation |
| Bulma | Lender policy research and scenario planning across 52+ lenders | Residential brokers who want lender fit, borrowing power and quoted policy from one scenario | Doesn’t lodge applications or quote interest rates, fees or product pricing | Direct subscription on Solo, Team or Enterprise, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card |
Accreditation and Aggregator Access Limits
Lodging with a lender needs accreditation with that lender, and aggregators often process it. Finsure’s onboarding team finalises accreditations for new brokers. Macquarie’s broker help centre, as at October 2026, asks brokers to get its accreditation form from their aggregator and to complete an attestation form when they move aggregator.
Serviceability tools depend on the aggregator in a different way. Macquarie says the copies of its calculator hosted on aggregator platforms sometimes show small differences from the current one on its website. NextGen limits ApplyOnline integrations to platforms contracted to a specific aggregator or broker group, so a standalone CRM can’t assume it will lodge for you.
Research tools sit outside this chain. Bulma and Quickli are direct subscriptions, so they don’t depend on which aggregator you belong to.
Where Bulma Fits in the Stack
Choose Bulma for the research slot because it handles lender policy research and scenario planning in one place. Policy Advisor answers plain-English policy questions across 52+ lenders and about 50 policy areas. Scenario Planner checks the client’s whole scenario against every covered lender and groups them by standard fit, fit with conditions or needs an exception.
Each lender result comes with borrowing power from that lender’s own servicing inputs, such as the Household Expenditure Measure (HEM), buffers and income shading. Bulma also lists the conditions to meet and the documents to gather. That gives your CRM a lender shortlist and a document request before you open any lender calculator.
Every answer quotes the policy wording it relied on, with the lender, policy area and the date Bulma last updated that policy. You can copy the answer and its sources into your file notes. No lender, aggregator or broker group owns Bulma, so your research tool stays the same if you change aggregator.
Bulma includes policy research and scenario planning on every plan, with generous usage limits and up to five members on Team. Quickli, by comparison, reserves its Jiffi AI policy answers for Pro, where each person’s monthly credits are shared with loan submission notes. The Bulma vs Quickli comparison covers that choice in detail, and AI tools for mortgage brokers covers AI across the rest of the brokerage.
Test the Handoffs
A handoff is clean when the next system receives the client’s details without retyping and the output returns to the client record. Map each handoff in your stack as native, one-way or manual before you add a tool.
The fictional file below uses an LMG brokerage on MyCRM, with Quickli, Bulma and the selected lender’s calculator. It follows each vendor’s published handoff method.
In this fictional file, Mia and Josh are buying an $820,000 home with a $656,000 loan, a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 80%. Josh receives Family Tax Benefit, Mia has a HECS-HELP debt and they own an investment unit with rental expenses.
Where Data Moves and Where Rekeying Remains
The broker captures the fact find in MyCRM. Quickli’s help centre, as at October 2026, says MyCRM pushes a residential application into Quickli to create a new scenario. The push runs one way, so edits made in Quickli don’t sync back to MyCRM.
Quickli asks brokers to adjust government payments, student debt and investment expenses after the push. Mia and Josh’s file has all three, so Josh’s Family Tax Benefit, Mia’s HECS-HELP debt and the unit’s expenses need checking by hand.
Quickli’s EasyCalc export then fills a lender’s serviceability spreadsheet and shows what’s missing or assumed. The broker uploads that calculation to the deal’s documents tab in MyCRM. Bulma can load the scenario from the brokerage’s CRM, and its policy answer, with quoted wording, is copied into the MyCRM file notes.
| Handoff in the fictional file | Connection type | What still needs manual work |
|---|---|---|
| MyCRM to Quickli | Native push, one way | Review government payments, student debt and investment expenses. Edits stay in Quickli |
| Quickli to lender spreadsheet | Export | Complete the missing items and check the assumptions page |
| Lender calculation back to MyCRM | Manual upload | Attach the spreadsheet to the deal’s documents tab |
| CRM to Bulma | CRM integration | Confirm the scenario facts before you rely on the shortlist |
| Bulma answer back to MyCRM | Copy with sources | Paste the answer and its quoted policy into the file notes |
Score the File With One Set of Criteria
Score every handoff against the same five criteria so tools are compared on equal terms. Use 2 for a documented transfer with no retyping, 1 for a documented step that needs review or a manual action, and 0 where the step is retyped.
| Criterion | What earns a 2 | MyCRM to Quickli | Quickli to lender spreadsheet | Bulma to file notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data capture | Fields arrive without retyping | 1. Three income and expense areas need review | 1. Missing items are listed for completion | 2. The scenario loads from the CRM |
| Source records | The output carries its basis into the file | 1. Policy insights stay inside Quickli, and the documented record for MyCRM is the uploaded lender calculation | 2. The assumptions page shows what was assumed | 2. The answer quotes the lender’s policy wording and update date |
| Permissions | One account covers the team working on the file | 1. Each user needs a paid or trialling Quickli subscription and separate access | 1. Uses the same per-user Quickli account | 2. Team covers up to five members with shared history |
| Export | The output returns to the client record | 1. Edits don’t return to MyCRM | 1. The spreadsheet is uploaded by hand | 1. The answer is copied into file notes |
| Rekeying | No field is entered twice | 1. Named fields are rechecked | 1. Missing items are entered in the spreadsheet | 2. Changing one fact updates the shortlist without re-entering the scenario |
The lowest scores sit where data leaves the CRM and doesn’t come back. A changed fact in this file must be updated in MyCRM first, then pushed again, because Quickli’s edits don’t flow back.
What You Keep When You Leave
The records you can take with you matter as much as daily use. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) sets out best interests records in Regulatory Guide 273 (RG 273). They include the credit guide, information sent to the lender, application outcomes and the reasons for your recommendation.
ASIC’s RG 273 also lists outputs of product comparison tools and calculators as records. It says how long you keep them can depend on the loan term, any interest-only period and refinancing. Store each calculator output and policy answer in the CRM file, not only inside the tool that produced it.
Connective says, as at October 2026, that brokers own their trail book and can leave without penalty. Ask your aggregator in writing which file formats it exports, including documents, notes and the application data.
Electronic lodgement commonly uses the industry’s LIXI data standards, and aggregators generate those messages from their CRM systems. The guide to switching mortgage aggregators covers the rest of the move.
Choose the Stack
Choose the stack with the fewest owners per job and the lowest annual ownership cost. Ownership cost is every subscription seat for a year, plus onboarding and training time, plus the cost of functions you pay for twice.
The worksheet below counts units, so you can multiply them by each vendor’s current plan terms. It uses a fictional brokerage with three brokers and one administrator.
| Cost line | How to count it in annual terms | Fictional brokerage |
|---|---|---|
| Aggregator inclusions | List the jobs your aggregator’s platform already covers at no extra cost | Connective member, so Mercury Nexus covers the CRM, lodgement and borrowing calculators |
| Per-user subscriptions | Seats multiplied by 12 months, for every person who needs a login | A per-user servicing tool for four people is 48 seat-months |
| Plan-based subscriptions | Plans multiplied by 12 months, plus any extra seats | One Bulma Team plan covers all four people |
| Implementation | Hours to set up integrations, templates and data imports, priced at your staff cost | One-off in year one, then nil |
| Training | Hours per person for each tool, every year, including new starters | Repeated for every tool each person uses |
| Duplicated functions | Each job covered by more than one paid tool | Borrowing calculators in Mercury Nexus, the servicing tool and Bulma |
In this fictional brokerage, borrowing power appears in three places. The brokerage keeps Mercury Nexus as the CRM and lodgement system because it’s already included. It then chooses one research tool, not two, because Bulma’s Scenario Planner covers lender fit and borrowing power at each lender together.
Keep a second servicing subscription only for a job your research tool doesn’t cover. Bulma doesn’t quote interest rates, fees or product pricing, so a brokerage that compares products by rate on every file might keep a rates tool beside it. Running two tools means two logins, two training plans and two places to update when a client’s details change.
Serviceability Calculators and Pricing Tools
A multi-lender servicing tool narrows the lender list, while the selected lender’s own calculator confirms the figure that lender will assess. Use both in that order, finishing with the lender’s calculator before submission.
Multi-Lender Tools Compared With a Lender’s Own Calculator
The two tools treat inputs, policy updates and outputs differently. The comparison below uses Macquarie’s calculator as the lender example, as at October 2026.
| Factor | Multi-lender servicing tool | Lender’s own calculator (Macquarie example) |
|---|---|---|
| Input treatment | The tool models each lender’s rules from one set of inputs. Bulma applies each lender’s HEM, buffers and income shading | The lender’s file applies its own shading. Macquarie’s calculator shades most overtime, bonus and commission income automatically, so an entered $10,000 counts as $8,000 |
| Policy updates | The vendor updates its models. Bulma refreshes policies as lenders publish changes and alerts you when a policy you’ve asked about changes | The lender publishes a new version. Macquarie tells brokers to download its latest calculator each time, because a saved copy can give incorrect results |
| Output detail | A ranked lender list with borrowing power estimates. Bulma adds conditions, documents and the quoted policy behind each answer | One borrowing figure for one lender, built from that lender’s own model |
The selected lender’s assessment sets the final figure, so a multi-lender estimate is a shortlist tool, not the number you give the client. Quickli’s help centre, as at October 2026, says the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) online calculator and CBA spreadsheet show different results for matching inputs. Check the lender’s required calculator, in its current version, before you submit.
Pricing Requests Are Separate From Credit Approval
A pricing request asks the lender for a rate or discount. Credit approval decides whether the lender will lend. An approved price doesn’t mean the loan is approved.
Lenders handle pricing differently. As at October 2026, St.George’s BrokerHub lets brokers request pricing in the same portal they lodge through.
Macquarie’s broker help centre, as at October 2026, describes a different approach. Its published rates are available to all accredited brokers, and the discount is set at formal approval.
Record every quoted offer in the CRM file with these details:
- the borrower facts the lender priced, such as loan amount, LVR, loan purpose and repayment type
- the product and rate type the offer applies to
- the rate or discount offered
- the expiry date the lender gives
- any conditions, such as settlement timing, a package or a minimum loan size
Reconcile a Changed Liability or Expired Price
When a fact changes, update the CRM record first, then rerun every tool that used the old fact. Suppose Mia takes on a new car loan after the first assessment, and the quoted price expires before lodgement.
- Add the car loan to the client record in MyCRM.
- Push the scenario to Quickli again, because edits made in Quickli don’t return to MyCRM.
- Change the liability in Bulma’s scenario, which updates the lender list and borrowing power for each lender.
- Run the selected lender’s latest calculator with the new liability. Macquarie, as at October 2026, says rate changes made before formal approval go into the servicing calculator, either by the broker before submission or by its team during assessment.
- Request new pricing if the quoted offer has expired, and record the new expiry and conditions.
- Compare the results. Return any difference between the research estimate and the lender’s calculator to the broker before anyone presents a recommendation.
The broker decides what to recommend once the tools agree or the difference is explained. Keep the lender’s calculator output, the new price and Bulma’s quoted policy answer in the CRM file as your best interests duty record.
Your stack is ready when each job has one owner, each handoff returns its output to the client record and the lender’s own figures are checked before submission. To use Bulma for the research step, you can try Bulma free for 14 days with no credit card.
