A Better Alternative to Asset Based Lending Software

Most of the asset based lending software market caters to large teams and organizations. The result is a slew of competitors and products that all look the same: inflexible systems that try and include all the features required by their most complicated customer.

There is another private lending software solution that may be more fit for purpose for some lenders. In particular:

Loan originators that work with several different lenders
Lenders that have several loans with their solo or self-directed IRA
Lenders that don't need heavy servicing features or fund management

If you fit into this category, try Airtable to manage your loan originations, customer relationships, and for some servicing features.

What is Airtable?

Airtable is a flexible database application that allows you to build custom workflows and integrate many different 3rd party apps.

Think of it as Excel but with many more powerful features.

It consists of records (loan requests, customers, draw requests, etc.) and fields (numbers, dates, text, etc.). Each record sits in it's own table and can be linked to different types of records.

For example: a draw request, for Property XYZ, linked to Borrower 123.

It's flexibility is where the magic happens.

5 ways Airtable might be a better fit for you than traditional SaaS private lending software.

1. Airtable is a fraction of the cost

Airtable offers a free plan, and their paid options are only $10-25/month.

Asset based lending software is mostly kept a secret, with many companies requiring a series of demos to get the details.

It can cost upwards of $1,000 a month, and then don't forget about the thousands you'll pay for a month of onboarding and setup.

2. Connect your data with any application

Want to receive a Slack or email notification when you have a new loan request? Easy.

One click loan document generation? Easy.

Airtable has a number of built-in 3rd party app integrations to allow your data to easily speak with different systems. Beyond that, Zapier or Make can enable a connection with something that isn't built in, such as Quickbooks.

3. You can customize it to fit your needs

You no longer have to rely on, or pay your software provider to make custom changes to fit your needs. Do it yourself in a matter of seconds.

I previously worked with one software company that wanted to charge hundreds of dollars to add a new document template. With the built in Formstack integration, for example, this is no longer an issue.

Easily add new fields, change formatting, or customize data views to suit your needs.

4. It is a no-code / low-code product

Airtable is not hard to learn. They provide webinars, articles, and videos that make it easy for a newbie to learn.

Beyond getting familiar with the system, it is largely no-code. Point, drag, click.

Yes, you can write some custom script, but most don't need that. If you do, it's easy to hire a consultant for an hour or two to get the help you need.

5. It's fast, powerful, and mobile friendly

As a well-funded software company, I've found Airtable is extremely reliable. I can't say the same thing about my experience using a private lending software solution.

It's also fast and has a mobile app that allows you to access your data easily while on the move.

Think Airtable might be a good fit for you?