News and Updates| Advantage Systems, Inc

Advantage Systems Provides Branch Reporting Capabilities to UMortgage

IRVINE, Calif., June 6, 2023 – Advantage Systems, a provider of accounting and financial management tools for the mortgage industry, announced today that Philadelphia-based, UMortgage, has licensed the recently enhanced AMB Sierra platform’s branch reporting feature across its nationwide branch network.

As a purpose-driven mortgage company committed to powering loan originators with long-term, sustainable success, UMortgage has selected AMB Sierra to enhance the company’s modern toolkit as a value-add that the lender provides to its branch managers. The modern reporting tool helps support branch network growth by providing branch managers with loan-level detail within their sales pipelines, as well as the ability to view their income at any time – without the need for custom programming or additional, third-party reporting products.

“We pride ourselves on being a technology-first mortgage company and AMB is an integral part of our software suite as it offers a profound understanding of our business performance, thus enabling better-informed decision making,” said Gil Arbitsman, Chief Financial Officer, UMortgage. “The Sierra Branch Reporting feature offers flexibility to UMortgage’s nationwide branch managers, affording them the ability to run their own reports for improved data control and enabling a swifter response to their business needs.”

Branch reporting is part of the recently enhanced AMB Sierra’s Expense Management Branch income feature that provides mortgage lenders with greater levels of transparency to calculate individual branch liability balances more quickly and accurately. This tool helps branch managers readily monitor and manage balances calculated on their behalf while also accelerating the speed of reporting. By generating meaningful operational efficiencies and improved reporting capabilities, the branch reporting tool further promotes consistency across the branch network from a corporate accounting standpoint.

“Too often, branch managers are forced to operate on accounting or ERP systems that are simply not built with modern reporting tools,” said Brian Lynch, president of Advantage Systems. “UMortgage is committed to accelerating the time-to-close by providing its branch managers with the latest web-based tools to enable their loan officers to work effectively from any location. With AMB Sierra’s branch reporting capabilities, UMortgage’s branch managers have the level of visibility and control that they need to manage their loan pipelines more effectively.”

About UMortgage
UMortgage is a mortgage platform built to help loan originators scale their businesses and create life-changing opportunities through homeownership. With LOs licensed nationwide, UMortgage is providing opportunities to create strong communities through financial literacy, support, and homeownership advocacy.

About Advantage Systems
Founded in 1986, Irvine, Calif.-based Advantage Systems is a provider of accounting and contract management tools for the mortgage and real estate industries. Advantage Systems’ Accounting for Mortgage Bankers (AMB) was developed in response to the need the company saw for a general ledger accounting product that could eliminate the spread sheets and manage the loan level detail required by the mortgage banking industry. In so doing, AMB gives its users the tool they need to be confident about the data being reported to management and others. For more information, visit www.mortgageaccounting.com.

Media Contact:

Augusta Bauknight

William Mills Agency

678-781-7214

augusta@williammills.com

Joe Ludlow of Advantage Systems: In a Tighter Market, Lenders Need Real-Time Data Across the Enterprise

“Despite embracing modernization when it comes to borrower experience and loan processing in the origination phase, many mortgage lenders still find themselves reliant on an outdated batch processing approach when it comes to back office operations and management of their branch network. This is especially pervasive within lenders’ accounting departments and is often based on the fallacy that batch processing provides a greater level of control over accounting data. The reality is that operating with a “batch mentality” only creates an illusion of control due to its primitive constraints – something that is exacerbated in a tighter lending market like we see today.”

Joe Ludlow of Advantage Systems: Cost Savings Considerations for Lenders in 2023

“As lenders budget for 2023 and factor in cost savings, they are realizing the importance of having branch-level profit and loss (P&L) data, especially as they are managing reductions of both fixed and variable costs. To learn more, MortgageOrb recently interviewed Joe Ludlow, vice president for Advantage Systems, a provider of accounting and financial management tools for the mortgage industry.”

Authored by Michael Bates

January 17, 2023

2022 MBA AFM Conference

Advantage Systems attended the MBA Accounting & Financial Management Conference on November 8-10, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advantage Systems Announces Expense Management Branch Income Feature Within AMB Sierra; Accelerates Speed of Reporting for Mortgage Lenders

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 24, 2022 – In the current purchase market, where access to faster reporting is imperative to lenders’ branch profitability, Advantage Systems, a provider of accounting and financial management tools for the mortgage industry, announced today the availability of its new Expense Management Branch income feature as part of the recently enhanced AMB Sierra platform.

The term “expense management branch” refers to those in which the branch manager also originates loans, and due to the Dodd-Frank Act, cannot be compensated based on a term or condition of the loan. These regulations require that branch income must be based on loan volume, yet most accounting or ERP systems are incapable of managing the rates per branch, or the loan volume to provide this vital reporting to each branch.

The capability to manage the rate of income applied to a branch’s loan volume is an integral component of the AMB system. The recently enhanced AMB Sierra platform allows management to incorporate these values into an income statement that can be easily accessed by branch managers, regional managers, and C-level executives, as well as the accounting and financial management personnel within the firm. This new capability equips branch managers to view their income at any time, while also allowing management to bring best-of-breed reporting to those who need it while eliminating the need for custom programming and third-party reporting products.

AMB Sierra’s Expense Management Branch income feature provides mortgage lenders with greater levels of transparency to more quickly and accurately calculate individual branch liability balances, ensuring that branch managers have confidence in the balances calculated on their behalf. From a corporate accounting standpoint, this provides meaningful operational efficiencies and improved reporting capabilities, while ensuring consistency across the branch network.

“Mortgage lenders value efficiency and precision, and must invest thoughtfully in technology and resources that support their branch teams,” said Brian Lynch, president of Advantage Systems. “With AMB Sierra’s capability to provide financial reporting to expense management branches, mortgage lenders are able to satisfy existing branch managers and attract others.”

About Advantage Systems
Founded in 1986, Irvine, Calif.-based Advantage Systems is a provider of accounting and contract management tools for the mortgage and real estate industries. Advantage Systems’ Accounting for Mortgage Bankers (AMB) was developed in response to the need the company saw for a general ledger accounting product that could eliminate the spreadsheets and manage the loan level detail required by the mortgage banking industry. In so doing, AMB gives its users the tool they need to be confident about the data being reported to management and others. For more information, visit www.mortgageaccounting.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Augusta Bauknight
William Mills Agency
678-781-7214
augusta@williammills.com

New Technology Accelerates The Speed Of Reporting For Mortgage Lenders

“In the current purchase market, where access to faster reporting is imperative to lenders’ branch profitability, Advantage Systems, a provider of accounting and financial management tools for the mortgage industry, announced today the availability of its new Expense Management Branch income feature as part of the recently enhanced AMB Sierra platform.”

Read more on Progress in Lending Association

October 23, 2022

Joe Ludlow of Advantage Systems: The Role of Enhanced Branch Reporting in a Purchase Market

AMB | The Role of Enhanced Branch Reporting

“The key to lowering existing operational costs to efficiently manage “the spend” lies in equipping lenders with access to faster reporting, including detailed insight into loan volumes or margins and profits, for each branch within their network. Automated reporting capabilities not only set up lenders to move loans more quickly and efficiently through the origination pipeline to closing, but as the lender closes more volume, it also elicits potential for greater savings through the evaluation of each invoice.”

Joe Ludlow of Advantage Systems: Better Vendor Management Can Provide Immediate Results

“As lenders carefully evaluate their personnel and operating expenses, one area of focus that should be included is expense control. Too often, both loan and non-loan expense approval and reconciliation is managed through a labor-intensive, error-prone, manual set of processes. Particularly during high volume periods like the industry has seen over the past few years, the focus is understandably on moving loans through the origination pipeline to closing. As a result, it is virtually impossible for lenders to review all of their vendors and invoices.”

Read more on Progress in Lending Association.

August 25, 2022

Joe Ludlow of Advantage Systems: For financial institutions in growth mode, loan-level detail is key

Whenever two institutions are consolidated into one, it presents a litany of logistical and operational challenges, and as the lifeblood of most institutions, particular attention must be paid to lending departments. Profitability drives growth and whether as part of an M&A initiative, or simply a bank that is organically growing, bankers are recognizing the value of having the ability to centralize their loan level accounting and reporting along with their commission calculation capabilities within a single software system.

Joe Ludlow of Advantage Systems: The Importance of Tracking Every Dime in a Rising-Rate, Recessionary Mortgage Market

“Mortgage lending has always been a volume game. Traditionally, narrow profit margins have made it necessary for lenders to originate as much as they can at the lowest cost in order to stay profitable — a task that is aided when loan volume is easy to capture. If volumes are large enough, lenders can still make money even if their cost to originate is high. The reality is that most lenders will see their volumes drop regardless of what they do, so they are also looking for additional strategies for staying profitable; one place to affect meaningful change is in lowering existing operational costs.”