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.
Written by
Charlotte BrownRole
Mortgage Industry Writer
A sourcing system and a mortgage CRM do different jobs. A sourcing system helps you find and compare products for a client. A mortgage CRM, which is really a case management platform, runs the case from first enquiry to completion and keeps the record you have to produce later. You usually need both, because neither does the other's job. This guide sets out what each one is for, where the two meet, and where the handover costs you time.
Features vary by supplier, so read this as the typical split rather than a product comparison.
| Job | Sourcing system | Mortgage CRM or case management |
|---|---|---|
| Compare products and rates | Yes, this is its purpose | No |
| Check lender criteria and affordability | Often, depending on the supplier | No |
| Hold the fact-find and client details | Takes a copy of what it needs to search | Yes, as the working record |
| Request and store documents | Not its job | Yes |
| Client portal and messages | Not its job | Yes |
| Case stages and who owns what | Not its job | Yes |
| Audit trail and the advice file | Not its job | Yes |
| Proc fees and commission | Not its job | Yes |
| Renewal and review reminders | Not its job | Yes |
The overlap is small: both hold client details, because research needs them and the case needs them. That overlap is where the re-keying comes from.
A typical case touches both in a fixed order.
The research stays in the sourcing tool. Everything before and after it belongs to the case. If you are moving off spreadsheets, the migration checklist shows how the case system takes over the tracking, and the essential tools guide covers where each kind of tool fits.
If the two systems are not connected, someone carries information between them. In that set-up it is usually the adviser, twice per case.
| Handover | What moves | Keeping it small |
|---|---|---|
| Into the sourcing tool | Client details, income, deposit, objectives | Complete the fact-find first so the details are in one place before you start |
| Back to the case | Lender, product, rate, fees, lender reference, offer dates | Do it at recommendation, not at completion, while the detail is fresh |
| The comparison itself | The research output | Save it to the case as a file rather than retyping it |
Ask any supplier what, if anything, moves between their product and others, in which direction, and what still needs doing by hand. Their own documentation is the right source for that. Treat any claim about connections as the supplier's statement until you have seen it work with your set-up. That handover is the real cost of keeping the two tools separate, and the next section covers what you get for it.
The sourcing tool does the research, but the regulator looks at the advice. Under MCOB 4.7A, where your range includes more than one suitable contract, MCOB 4.7A.23A R requires you to compare costs, and if the contract you advise is not the cheapest suitable one, to explain why. MCOB 4.7A.25R(1)(d) requires a record of that explanation. Check the full text for how the rules apply to your range and your firm.
The practical point is where the evidence lives. A comparison that exists only inside a sourcing tool, or in a screenshot in someone's inbox, is hard to produce later. A comparison saved to the case, with the reasoning written next to it, is the record. That is a job for the case system, and it is one reason the two tools are not interchangeable. Writing file notes that hold up covers the reasoning side.
You do not always need to buy both at once.
| Firm | What you need | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sole adviser, directly authorised | A way to research the market, and a case system | You can start with the case system and keep using lender sites or an existing sourcing licence |
| Appointed representative with a network | Whatever the network mandates, plus anything you add | Check what you must record and where before adding a system. Directly authorised or appointed representative covers the difference |
| Small firm adding an adviser | A shared case system | A sourcing licence per adviser is a separate question from where the cases live |
If you are choosing a case system, the roundup of mortgage CRM options compares them on the features that matter, and the 30-day implementation plan covers getting the team to use it.
Some suppliers sell sourcing and case management together, and some connect the two. That can remove the handover, which is a fair reason to choose a suite. The question is what else comes with it.
| Bundled suite | Separate tools | |
|---|---|---|
| Suppliers | One contract and one support line | Two, each chosen for its own job |
| Handover between research and case | Fewer manual steps where the connection covers your set-up | Done by hand, usually twice per case |
| Changing one later | A change to one half may mean changing both | Change the sourcing tool or the case system on its own |
| Choice | The pair as it is sold | Each picked on its merits |
| Mandated tools | Works if the suite is the one you are told to use | Works whatever your network or principal mandates |
A bundle is the better choice when:
Separate tools suit you better when:
A simple test: count the handovers per case and how long each takes, then ask which costs you more, doing them by hand or taking one supplier's case tools because you chose its sourcing. If the handovers cost more, a connected suite is worth testing. If the tie costs more, keep the two apart. The roundup of mortgage CRM options compares both routes.
Cleera is a case management platform for UK mortgage and protection advisers. It is not a sourcing or comparison engine, and it does not connect to lender portals or sourcing tools. It sits alongside the one you use, which makes it a fit for the separate-tools route. This is what it holds once you have a recommendation.
| Step | In Cleera |
|---|---|
| Research | Stays in your sourcing tool. Save the output to the case files, which has a category for sourcing and research. |
| Record the placed product | The adviser enters the lender, product, rate and rate type, initial rate period, term, fees, lender reference and lender phone number. |
| Dates | Offer accepted, offer expiry, target completion and the product end date. |
| Proc fees | Recorded gross and net, with status from written to banked. |
| Renewals | A completed case with a product end date can schedule a renewal reminder, with a lead time you set for the firm. This needs Solo Pro or above and the firm's automation settings turned on. |
| Export | A PDF summary of the case, or a zip of the PDF and the case files. |
To see how a case runs from first enquiry to renewal, visit the mortgage CRM page or look at the full feature list.
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Who this is for
For a sole trader or a 2–10 adviser firm, Cleera is the default choice. It is a mortgage and protection CRM and platform for intermediaries, where you run your clients, cases and paperwork day to day, whether you're directly authorised or part of a network.
Running cases on your own? Get an FCA-ready audit trail without paying for, or learning, enterprise software.
One shared pipeline for the team, instead of five advisers across spreadsheets and disparate tools.
Keep your network's system for submissions and file checks. Run everything else in Cleera.
Works with whichever sourcing tool you already use.
A sourcing system helps you find and compare products for a client. A mortgage CRM, more accurately a case management platform, runs the case once you have a recommendation: the fact-find, the documents, the client journey, the lender and fee details, and the record you have to keep afterwards. They do different jobs, and a firm usually needs both.
Usually, because researching products and running cases are separate jobs. You need some way to research the market, whether that is a paid sourcing tool or lender sites. You also need somewhere to hold the case and the evidence. A CRM does not replace research, and a sourcing tool does not replace the case record.
No. A case management platform is not a comparison engine and should not be sold as one. You keep researching in your sourcing tool, then record the placed product, rate, fees and lender reference against the case and save the research output to the case file.
It depends on what you value. A bundled suite gives you one supplier and fewer manual steps where its connection covers your set-up. Separate tools let you choose each for its job, change one without the other, and fit whatever your network mandates. Count the handovers per case and decide which costs you more: doing them by hand, or taking one supplier's case tools because you chose its sourcing.
It depends on the two suppliers, and it is the first thing to ask about. In the simplest set-up the adviser carries the details across by hand: the client's details go into the sourcing tool, and the lender, product, rate, fees and reference come back to the case. Some suppliers offer direct connections. Ask each one exactly what moves, in which direction and whether it needs manual steps.
In the case file. The sourcing output is research, but MCOB 4.7A requires a firm to explain a recommendation that is not the cheapest suitable contract in its range, and to keep a record of that explanation. Save the comparison to the case and write the reasoning there.
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