A different article shows how to complete and submit a lodgement to AOL. This article answers some of the most common questions we get from BrokerEngine clients who participated in the AOL submission pilot.
General Features & Processes
Do I need to have the Credit Guide and Credit Proposal Signed/Acknowledged before opening AOL?
To open AOL the Credit Guide must be acknowledged, uploaded or marked as not required.
The Credit Proposal needs to be generated but does not need to be acknowledged or signed to access AOL. However you are of course required to get it acknowledged or signed prior to submitting to the lender.
What happens to commission payments?
When submitting to AOL from BE, it still generates a full Application record in FLEX. Therefore, all of your FLEX features, including commission payments, will continue to work as they do now.
I am used to tracking metrics in FLEX. Can I still do this?
Yes, submitting to AOL from BE will generate a full Application record in FLEX, so you can continue tracking metrics just as you do now.
How do I use Smart Marketing?
And as soon as you create the AOL record in BrokerEngine, it will automatically create an Application in FLEX, including adding your contacts to Smart Marketing.
Please note, as at 24/10 you may end up with duplicate contacts. This is being addressed and we hope to have a fix out early February 2025.
I want to upload the supporting documents to FLEX for Audit Purposes
Once you submit an application to AOL, a record is created in FLEX. You can upload the documents there if you wish, as per your normal process.
Deal Management
What if I change the lender or product after submitting the deal to AOL?
If you change the lender after submitting to AOL, you’ll need to clone the deal in BrokerEngine, import the product selection, and complete the Credit Proposal page. Essentially, clone, update, and resubmit. You can import the product selection from the old deal, and all other data (fact find, funding position, compliance notes) will carry over.
If you change the product after submitting, you'll also need to follow this process. This is a current bug and will be fixed soon.
NB. Importing the product scenario is easy, heres how; 'Import a Product Scenario into a Lead/Deal'
Can I copy data from the Legacy Funding Position to the Lodgement Funding section?
No. You should continue using the legacy funding position for quick calculations, reports, post-settlement activities, etc. The new Lodgement Funding section is for Direct Lodgement only.
Does Lodgement Funding better manage more scenarios like multiple properties?
Yes, Lodgement Funding covers almost all 42 identified scenarios, including multiple securities, land and build loans, internal refinances, favorable purchases, etc.
I have data filled out in one deal and want to reuse it. How do I do this?
Applicant details (address history, employment history, etc.) are stored in the contact record, but fact find data like assets, liabilities, and living expenses are deal-specific. To reuse all data, you will need to clone the deal. When creating a new deal with the same applicants, only the contact-level details will carry over.
How do Product Fees work?
The product fees in the Credit Proposal come from the Product Scenario Feature in BrokerEngine. If you need to edit the fees (e.g., reduce an application fee to zero or remove a duplicate fee), do so in product selection.
What if the Interest Rate Changed after I have already created the product scenario?
You will need to (for now) redo the Product Selection from scratch - so remove the products from the Scenario builder and then re-add them and auto build.
Will data I update in AOL flow back into BrokerEngine?
No, there is no backwards sync from AOL back to BrokerEngine.
Special Features & Scenarios
How do Guarantor Loans work?
You can add guarantors to the deal as usual, generate the Credit Proposal and submission etc. Note that Security Guarantors do not need to have the Credit Proposal signed/acknowledged.
Note that Guarantors do not need to complete living expenses, so you will not see a household > Living Expenses for Guarantors in BrokerEngine.
If you have a servicing guarantor, you will need to add them in as a co-applicant (for now).
How do I include Self-Employed Add Backs in income calculations?
For now, include all Add Backs in either the "Profit Before Tax" or "Director's Wage" fields.
Note that currently we do not support negative add backs or negative values (eg, where the company is making a loss). The work around would be to remove this income manually from other income the client is making, until we fix this.
System & Data Management
Can I use the data in the Legacy Classic Fact Find?
Unfortunately, no. You will need to copy the data to the new fact find for Direct Lodgement to work. Alternatively, you can sync the Classic Fact Find to FLEX as you do now.
Will the Product Selection and the Lodgement Funding be better integrated?
Yes, work is already underway to more tightly integrate the Product and Lodgement Funding features.
How do I compare servicing across multiple products in BrokerEngine?
Currently, BrokerEngine calculates affordability for the selected products only. You should continue using your usual methods for calculating borrowing capacity across multiple lenders and upload the lender’s calculator under the Credit Proposal > Affordability section.
Why is lender-calculated affordability showing significantly lower for commitments?
This is often due to missing expiry dates/loan maturity dates for existing commitments that are not being refinanced. Be sure to enter an expiry date set in the future for any ongoing commitments. This ensures the lender’s affordability calculation reflects these commitments accurately.
Why does the lender calculator show positive servicing, but BrokerEngine shows a negative surplus?
Our calculator isn’t 100% precise and may sometimes indicate that the deal does not service when the lender’s calculator shows it does, especially when there is Negative Gearing involved. In these cases, simply upload a copy of the lender’s calculator to verify positive servicing and make a comment to confirm reason for proceeding.
Technical Questions & Future Features
How do Back Channel Messages (BCMs) work?
They work the same way they do now—if you currently receive email updates from FLEX when a BCM is sent, you will continue to do so. Soon, these BCMs will be available inside BrokerEngine, and eventually, they will allow for automated stage moves within the system and update of the lender reference number.
Will the data mapping to AOL be improved?
Yes, this is an ongoing effort. Expect continuous improvements to ensure better data mapping between BrokerEngine and AOL.
Will documents automatically be sent from FinanceVault to AOL?
Not yet, but this is our next high-priority feature. Stay tuned—this feature is going to be a game-changer!
Where are the fees coming from in the Funding Position?
The fees showing in the Funding Position section in the Credit Proposal is a combination of the fees in the 'Lodgment Funding' and 'Products' tab. If there is a discrepancy, it’s likely due to a fee attached to a product. Please review the fees in the 'Products' page for accuracy.
Here's a quick video from Craig - CLICK HERE