Cleera Insights
Practical guidance on compliance, operations, and winning more of the right clients.
47 articles
A practical checklist for reviewing a mortgage file before it goes to the lender, what the FCA rules do and do not require, and how to make it routine.
What a mortgage fact find has to establish under MCOB 4.7A, what the FCA found when advisers did not probe, and how to keep one current.
Charlotte Brown · 19 October 2026
What the FCA's mortgage rules require of a suitability report, what its 2015 review found wrong with them, and what a specific one contains.
Charlotte Brown · 16 October 2026
The management information a mortgage broker needs, how to calculate each KPI, and a monthly review that turns the numbers into decisions.
Charlotte Brown · 15 October 2026
How to record introducer terms, accrue and pay referral fees, handle disputes and stay inside the FCA's inducement rules.
Charlotte Brown · 14 October 2026
Why mortgage cases stall after a decision in principle, a follow-up routine that keeps them moving, and what to check in your own case system.
Charlotte Brown · 13 October 2026
How an appointed representative can run their own workflow alongside a network's system: what to confirm in writing first, and what it can do.
Charlotte Brown · 12 October 2026
A sourcing system finds the product. A mortgage CRM runs the case and keeps the record. What each does, where they meet and whether you need both.
Charlotte Brown · 10 October 2026
A week-by-week plan for rolling out a mortgage CRM in a small brokerage: who owns it, what to switch on first, and how to tell the team is using it.
Charlotte Brown · 9 October 2026
How a generic CRM and a mortgage case management platform differ in daily broker work: fact-finds, documents, records, fees, protection and renewals.
Charlotte Brown · 8 October 2026
What a mortgage broker needs to track for commission and proc fees, what the FCA expects you to disclose, and where accounting software fits.
Charlotte Brown · 7 October 2026
When to write a file note, what it should contain, and what the rules and the Ombudsman expect to see on a mortgage or protection file.
Charlotte Brown · 5 October 2026
Practical AI for mortgage brokers: what never goes into a public chatbot, free vs business AI tools, UK GDPR, FCA expectations and a simple AI policy.
Charlotte Brown · 2 October 2026
The mortgage broker tools a UK firm actually uses, in the order a case needs them, with the free official services every adviser should know.
Charlotte Brown · 29 September 2026
What a protection adviser does, the ICOBS rules that apply, and how to run mortgage and protection cases in one place without losing the conversation.
Charlotte Brown · 29 September 2026
What replaces the spreadsheet and inbox in a UK mortgage practice, how it sits alongside your sourcing tool and network, and how to move across.
Charlotte Brown · 28 September 2026
A client who hears nothing assumes the worst by default. Here is how a proactive update removes the need for the status call entirely.
Charlotte Brown · 17 September 2026
Why emailed payslips and bank statements create risk, what MCOB and Consumer Duty expect you to evidence, and how to collect documents once.
Charlotte Brown · 15 September 2026
Pipedrive is a well-built sales tool, but a mortgage case is a sales deal wrapped in a regulated advice obligation. Here's where the gap shows up.
Charlotte Brown · 11 September 2026
HubSpot is a capable sales and marketing CRM, but a regulated mortgage advice file is a different object to a deal in a pipeline. Here is where the gap shows up, and what it costs to paper over.
Charlotte Brown · 10 September 2026
A practical framework for mapping a broker's case workflow, spotting where it breaks, and deciding what to automate versus keep human.
Charlotte Brown · 9 September 2026
Income protection and critical illness cover solve different problems. A practical framework for recommending the right one, or both, and documenting why.
Charlotte Brown · 8 September 2026
A plain-English glossary of 30 MCOB and FCA mortgage terms, drawn directly from the FCA Handbook, built for UK mortgage advisers and brokers.
Charlotte Brown · 6 September 2026
Existing clients are a revenue opportunity most mortgage brokers miss without a systematic retention strategy. Here's how to capture it.
Charlotte Brown · 26 August 2026
What the FCA actually requires UK mortgage advisers to keep, for how long, and how to switch CRM platforms without putting any of it at risk.
Charlotte Brown · 25 August 2026
The FCA has spent 2026 quietly repositioning itself around AI, and the mortgage industry's own trade press is already arguing about what that means for advisers. A grounded look at the regulatory and adoption trendlines worth watching, and what a small firm should do about them.
Charlotte Brown · 18 August 2026
An in-depth, UK-specific comparison of five mortgage broker CRM and case management platforms advisers evaluate in 2026, Cleera, Mortgage Brain, Twenty7tec, Smartr365 and 360 Lifecycle, on compliance depth, protection handling, where AI actually sits, and how each fits alongside the sourcing and back-office systems firms already run.
Charlotte Brown · 11 August 2026
A real cost breakdown for advisers weighing the move to directly authorised: FCA fees, PI insurance, FOS and FSCS costs, compliance support, and software, with current UK figures and sources.
Charlotte Brown · 25 June 2026
A practical guide for UK mortgage advisers on handling protection refusals correctly: what to document, how to word the suitability letter, and when to revisit the conversation.
Charlotte Brown · 16 June 2026
Most mortgage advisers will encounter adverse credit cases regularly. Here is a practical framework — from getting the full credit picture through to building the case narrative and evidencing suitability under Consumer Duty.
Charlotte Brown · 15 June 2026
A practical guide for UK mortgage advisers and small firms on cutting manual admin across every case — covering fact-finds, suitability letters, FCA compliance, client communication, and retention automation.
Charlotte Brown · 24 May 2026
The FCA has moved past asking whether you implemented Consumer Duty. Now it wants proof your clients are receiving good outcomes. Here is how mortgage advisers can build a monitoring framework that actually holds up.
Charlotte Brown · 19 May 2026
A practical guide for UK mortgage advisers on handling contractor and freelancer mortgage applications. Covers day-rate underwriting, IR35 status, lender selection, documentation, and common pitfalls.
Charlotte Brown · 12 May 2026
A practical guide for UK mortgage advisers on handling self-employed clients. Covers income assessment, document gathering, lender selection, and case packaging for sole traders, limited company directors, and contractors.
Charlotte Brown · 12 May 2026
A practical guide for UK mortgage advisers on growing their client base without spending on Google or Meta ads. Covers referrals, local SEO, reviews, LinkedIn, and staying FCA compliant.
Charlotte Brown · 7 May 2026
Thinking about going DA or staying AR? This guide breaks down the real differences in compliance obligations, costs, lender access, and day-to-day running so you can make the right call for your business.
Charlotte Brown · 6 May 2026
Most mortgage advisers know referrals are their best source of new business. Fewer have a system for building them deliberately. Here is how to develop and manage a referral partner network that works for you month after month.
Charlotte Brown · 5 May 2026
What does a typical mortgage adviser's week actually look like before and after using a proper CRM? We break down where the hours go, what changes, and what becomes possible when admin stops running the show.
Charlotte Brown · 27 April 2026
A practical guide to mortgage client portal software for UK advisers. What features matter, what the FCA expects, and how to choose between a standalone portal and one built into a full CRM.
Charlotte Brown · 24 April 2026
A practical framework for comparing mortgage broker software in 2026. Nine criteria UK advisers should use to evaluate any platform — covering compliance, automation, integration, and total cost.
Charlotte Brown · 20 April 2026
Manual admin is costing UK mortgage brokers more than they realise. Discover where the hours go, what it costs your practice financially, and how to start fixing it.
Charlotte Brown · 19 April 2026
Your CRM isn't just an admin tool — it's your compliance record. This guide explains what the FCA actually requires from your mortgage case management system and how to check yours measures up.
Charlotte Brown · 17 April 2026
Over two-thirds of UK brokers have a CRM. Only 23% use it regularly. Here is what the rest of the market is actually running on, and why it matters.
Charlotte Brown · 16 April 2026
The UK mortgage CRM market is well-established — but the dominant platforms were built to serve large networks, not individual advisers. Here is what actually matters when evaluating your options in 2026.
Charlotte Brown · 15 April 2026
Most mortgage adviser onboarding processes are a patchwork of emails, spreadsheets and memory. Here is a practical, step-by-step guide to building one that is consistent, compliant and efficient.
Charlotte Brown · 14 April 2026
Nearly half of UK adults exhibit characteristics of financial vulnerability. This guide walks mortgage advisers through the full process: how to spot it, what to record, and how to build it into your workflow rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Charlotte Brown · 13 April 2026
Consumer Duty is already in force. In 2026, expect continued supervisory attention to whether firms can evidence good customer outcomes—not a new one-off deadline or a single prescribed case-file template.
Charlotte Brown · 30 March 2026