How to Streamline the SBA Loan Application Process

Complete more loan applications and SBA submissions in less time

Completing an SBA loan application can be a complex process, from both the borrower’s and the lender’s perspective. For the applicant, there are many documents to be assembled and forms to fill out. For economic development organizations, loan officers need to process all this information and submit it to the SBA. Today, this process can be cumbersome, slow and error-prone—but it doesn’t have to be.

Loan Document & Data Challenges

As a borrower, it can be confusing to manage what documents are needed and which have already been provided. Filling out forms can be a hassle, fields are often not completed properly and the original documents can be misplaced.

As a lender, keeping track of which documents have been received and what is remaining can also be quite daunting and unproductive. Lenders must also key in all loan information into their loan management system. Considering one in every 20 keystrokes is an error on average, this time-consuming process can lead to a lot of mistakes.

Streamline the Process

Web-based document management offers a place where borrowers can easily upload all of their loan documents. This documentation is tracked by a customizable checklist so both borrower and lender can instantly see what documents have been submitted and what is still due. Borrowers can also enter their data directly into "the cloud" via electronic forms.

How do you know which cloud document management application is the best fit? You’ll want to find one that has been customized to include a loan documentation checklist, automatically alerts users when documents are uploaded or missing, and one that has been integrated with existing loan management systems. This integration prevents lenders from having to re-key the information already entered by the borrower, which saves a lot of time and headache.

By managing loan processing with cloud document management offering loan management integration, there is no more faxing, emailing or messing about with file shares or FTP. All documents are in one place, electronically checked off one by one, and all data is entered just once.

As a result, loan officers quickly process and submit higher quality loan applications, which leads to more loans being approved, faster.

Dave Mortensen is the author of this article on Cloud Document Management. Find more information, about Loan Management Integration here