Do you remember our article back in 2022 on Electronic Loan File Stacking, a.k.a ELFS? Maybe not – 2022 was a long time ago!
In that article, we covered nine essential steps to establish a robust system for tracking electronic files, replacing those stacks of paper files:
Getting the team’s input
Starting with the end in mind
Defining a universal “file tree”
Defining naming conventions
Tracking updates
Building templates
Establishing a process
Managing correspondence
Recovering from an ELFS mishap
You can read the details of each step in the original article here.
We’re happy to say that, as a Lender Service Provider, we’re seeing a huge improvement in using file trees and meaningful naming conventions.
Kudos to our clients – and to all of you reading this who have adopted these standards for tracking your electronic files!
That said, as anyone who's ever used a computer knows, things sometimes escape the process guardrails. Let’s look at a few of the most common mishaps we’ve seen.
Got … random files? This is something we can all admit to! Even with the most robust processes in place, every now and then a document will land somewhere unexpected. When you find these strays, you’ll definitely want to do whatever research is necessary to corral it back to its proper place.
Got … mis-named files? With just one or two mis-typed keystrokes, it’s easy to end up with a file out of sync with your naming standards. These inconsistencies make it hard to find a file you need – and possibly have files out of sequence in the electronic SBA loan package. Obviously, when you find something with an incorrect or inconsistent name, you’ll fix it!
Got … multiple copies of the same document? Wait. Don’t delete what appears to be duplicates. Instead, verify which is the most up-to-date, and only then delete extras.
Got … lost files? We really, really hope you’re backing up your files every night; this is something your IT department should be doing just as a matter of course. Knowing how to access those backups can be crucial if – for instance – someone has deleted the wrong duplicated file!
Got … ginormous documents? Yeah, we do too. The larger your SBA portfolio grows, the more likely you are to have extensive documentation to manage, and that often means combining multiple PDFs (such as a set of closing docs) into a single file. Or you may have a large file with specific pages needing review (such as an environmental report, RE appraisals, a purchase agreement, or a lease).
Do yourself, and everyone on your team, a huge favor: create bookmarks within the PDF for important sections that might need review, or those sections used for underwriting or eligibility, or sections for SBA compliance. Here’s a link to Adobe Acrobat’s help documentation for creating bookmarks; whatever PDF file manager you use, the process is almost certain to be similar.
Electronic loan file stacking is a giant leap forward from the old paper file systems (and yes, we’ve been around long enough to know!). It’s not foolproof, but it’s a lot less mistake-prone than those paper files – and if you follow the steps we outlined in our previous article, and then keep an eye on what we’ve described here, you should be in good shape.
Want some help with that? We can review your current process, offer suggestions, and even come help with SBA loan processor training to make sure your entire team is up to speed. Give us a call at 877-576-0819, or drop us a note through our contact form. We’re always happy to talk about processes, procedures, and systems, and how to make them better!
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