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Submissions Brain: User Guide (Standalone)
Submissions Brain: User Guide (Standalone)

Help using the standalone version of Submissions Brain

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Written by Hayden Richardson
Updated over 3 years ago

In this guide:

Please note that you can expand any of the screenshots by clicking them (they will open in a new tab) and that the applicable screenshot follows each sentence.

Introduction

Submissions Brain is the delivery channel for mortgage application and submission processes. Compliant, efficient, FREE and simple to use, Submissions Brain is designed to offer advisers decisions direct from the lender without the need to re-key any information.

It provides:

  • One login for all lenders

  • Submissions directly to lenders

  • Faster and more efficient than lender websites

  • Integrated with Mortgage Brain Sourcing and The Key

Registration

Before you begin using Submissions Brain, it is necessary to register your details on the User Registration Database (URD). If you are submitting business to Nationwide, then you are already registered on the URD as they use the same process.

If you are not already registered, then contact our Customer Service support desk on 0208 665 3200 who will be happy to assist you in the registration process.

You will need to select a password and pin number. You will then receive emails confirming your personal details. This will also include your unique URD ID.

Your URD ID and password will be needed when you log into Submissions Brain for the first time only. This is to authenticate your version of Submissions Brain. The pin number you have chosen will be needed each time you send and track applications through Submissions Brain.

Logging on to Submissions Brain Standalone

If you are using Submissions Brain as a standalone system, then you will be taken to the screen top right where you will need to log in to access the software.

You will first need to enter your Username (email address) and Password, which you will have been provided with.

On logging in for the first time, you will then see the following screen. This screen will need to be completed with your unique URD ID and password. This is required for the software to authenticate you as a user. Subsequent use of the software will not require this information to be entered again.

If you cannot remember your URD ID or URD Password, then by clicking on the links, this will take you back to the Submissions Brain registration website where you will be given a ‘hint’ to remind yourself.

Completing an Application Form

Once logged in, you will be presented with the Home Page. Initially this screen will be blank, but will then display all applications that are in progress as you will see below.

New Application Form

From the Home page, first click on New Application from the top of the screen. This will allow you to select an application form for completion for a new client. The form can be either an AIP or an FMA.

Simply select the form that you wish to complete from the relevant tab and click OK. For demonstration purposes, this guide shows an AIP being completed.

On opening the form, the screen is divided into two sections, the Action List on the left hand side with the form on the right. You can choose to click on the Action List items which will ‘jump’ you to the relevant fields within the form itself. Alternatively, you can simply complete the form by navigating to the next question.

Although Submissions Brain is browser-based, there is no requirement for you to complete the form all at once. If it is not convenient for you to complete the whole form, or you are waiting for information from the client before full completion, then the form can still be saved and edited as many times as required before sending to the lender.

The Action List details all the mandatory fields which must be completed before your form can be submitted to the lender. As you answer these questions and move to the next, you will notice that the action list item changes to green on the left hand side of the screen to indicate that the question has been completed.

At any time, you can refresh the Action List items to see if the form is Valid, meaning the mandatory fields are all complete.

You can also save and edit the form as many times as is necessary. So, if you have to wait for the client to provide further information, simply save the form and return to it at a later stage once you have received the required information.

You will also notice, as you work your way through the form, that each of the forms contains hide and reveal sections. Depending on the answer provided to a question depends on whether there are further questions to answer. For example, if your client is ‘employed’, further questions will appear asking about their employment history. If your client is ‘self-employed’, further questions will appear asking about the number of years’ accounts available, etc.

Once all of the action list questions have been completed, click on the validate button to confirm the form is complete.

Next, save the form and close it down. The form is then entered into the main grid of Submissions Brain and will show that the form is Ready to Send (see Status) but it has not yet been sent to the lender (see Sent).

Editing an application form

If you wish to edit an existing form to amend information, then this can be done as many times as is required before the form is sent to the lender. Simply ensure that the form is highlighted in the grid and click on Actions > Edit to open it up.

Viewing an application form

If you simply wish to view information contained within an application form, then this can be done by using View found in the Actions drop down list. Submissions Brain will open up the form in a PDF format, allowing you to view the information and/or print the document out.

Sending an application form to the lender

Once you are ready to send a form, and the Status column states Ready to Send, then click on the Ready to Send option in the Status column or use the Send/Track All function at the top of the screen.

Submissions Brain will then pick up all applications that are ready to be sent, whether to the same lender, or different lenders, and display them on the screen. If you wish to send all of the applications together, to the relevant lenders, then once the following window is displayed, simply enter your Pin number and click Begin. You can, however, select just the forms you wish to send at this stage by deselecting the tick in the box adjacent to the form entry.

You will also notice that Submissions Brain will also ‘track’ the response from the lender. Once the application has reached the lender, Submissions Brain will automatically pole for a response from the lender, returning the acceptance or decline back to the main grid, therefore ensuring that you have a record of submission and response all in one place.

Once all of the forms have been sent and tracked, return back to the main grid as prompted.

Looking at the form grid, you will notice that adjacent to some of your client’s forms there will be an envelope. Open the envelope by clicking on it. Inside will be messages from the lender, together with any instructions detailing what to do next.

The lender has the ability to send you back further information on how to progress the case. This may require you to attach documents and send them back, or just to continue tracking the case for status updates.

Completing an application form for an existing client

If you have an existing client, already in Submissions Brain that you need to complete another lender form for, then the View Client List option is available for you to select the existing client.

Having chosen this option, a list of all of your available clients is then displayed on the screen. There is also a search function making it easier to find a particular client.

Once selected, this becomes your ‘current’ client and their information will automatically be pre-populated into the application form.

Converting AIPs to Full Applications

Once you have submitted an AIP to the lender, it is very easy to convert this to a full application form. This ensures you retain the existing pre-population so that you don’t have to re-key client information again.

To do this, click on the Action button adjacent to the client entry and select the Convert Application option. The lender Full Application form will open with the clients details carried over from the AIP.

Please note this functionality is available for the lenders listed below, for any lenders that are not listed you will have to access the broker portal to submit a full mortgage application.

  • Coventry

  • Platform

  • Virgin Money

  • Nationwide

Managing your Submissions Brain work list

If the application has completed and there is no more action to be taken, then it’s a good idea to archive these applications to keep your working grid tidy and up to date.

Simply click to highlight the client’s form that you wish to move and the click on the Action button and select Archive Application. The form is automatically moved to the Archived Cases page.

All archived applications can be viewed by selecting the Archived Cases function at the top of the screen.

Holding Applications

Submissions Brain will automatically submit an application to the lender if it is completed and ready to be sent. However, there may be occasions when you wish to hold the application from being sent immediately.

Submissions Brain allows you to hold the application for as long as you require. You can do this either by selecting Hold Application from within the Actions button for each client entry.

Or alternatively, an application can be put on hold by deselecting the ‘tick’ adjacent to the client entry when you have selected the Send/Track All function.

You will notice that once you have put an application on hold, the status of that application will change and it will clearly display that it is on hold.

When you are ready to send the application form, simply select the Action button and deselect the Hold Application option. The status will be changed back and the form will be ready to submit to the lender.

When your list of application forms gets longer, it may be harder to find the client you require. By simply clicking on the column heading you can reorder your forms by sorting the information into numerical or alphabetical order. An arrow appears in the column heading to indicate which way the column can be reordered next time.

Attaching Documents to Applications

Some lenders allow you to attach documents to the application and resubmit to the lender via Submissions Brain.

Once you have submitted an application to the lender, click on the envelope icon to see the lender messages.

The lender message shows the list of documents required.

Documents can be attached using the Attach Documents function within the Actions button, as shown below:

This then opens the following screen where the documents can be attached.

To do this, by clicking the Attach button adjacent to each entry, the following screen allows the user to browse to where the document has been previously stored.

Once a document is uploaded, it appears on the Attachments screen:

Send to Lender

Once all the documents are attached and any form amendments have been made, the send-track process can be used again to send the attached documents to the Lender:

Icons and Navigation

Home Screen Icons

Action Button - Home Grid

Case Details – shows headline information on the client’s data.

New – provides the ability to create a New form for the existing client.

Edit – the function to edit an existing form.

Convert – functionality to allow the conversion of an AIP to an FMA.

View – the ability to view a completed application form.

Archive – functionality to move a completed case to the Archived page for safe storage.

Hold or Release – to either hold a form from being sent to a lender or release a form that has previously been on hold.

Delete – delete a form from Submissions Brain. This is included in the audit trail and a reason must be given.

Application Form Completion Page

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