Balance sheets are fundamental documents for MCA brokers and funders. They show a business’s financial position (assets, liabilities, and equity) at a specific point in time. Funders rely on balance sheets to assess financial stability and capital structure.
However, collecting and managing these documents manually is slow and error-prone. Brokers send them in various formats, often mixed with other attachments, and operations teams spend hours sorting and filing them.
Heron automates the intake process for balance sheets. Submissions arrive by email, portal, or API and flow directly into Heron’s intake pipeline. The platform detects, classifies, and logs balance sheets automatically, preparing them for scrubbing, validation, and write-back.
This eliminates manual sorting and creates a streamlined workflow that moves deals faster from the inbox to underwriting.
Use Cases
- Capture submissions from shared inboxes: Heron monitors underwriting@ or subs@ mailboxes and extracts balance sheets automatically.
- Classify incoming files: The system recognizes balance sheets even when they are part of mixed document packets.
- Route to correct deal record: Intake identifies the merchant or deal ID and attaches the balance sheet to the right CRM record.
- Detect missing documents: When a balance sheet is absent from the submission packet, Heron can trigger a missing-info request.
- Timestamp and archive: Intake logs each document’s arrival time for turnaround tracking and compliance.
- Prepare for scrubbing: Once captured, balance sheets move seamlessly into scrubbing for validation and data extraction.
Each of these use cases reduces manual inbox management and keeps underwriting pipelines moving efficiently.
Operational Impact
Automated intake improves operational speed, consistency, and accuracy across funding workflows.
- Shorter queue times: Submissions reach the system of record instantly, bypassing manual triage.
- Higher accuracy: Automation eliminates misplaced or misfiled balance sheets.
- Improved visibility: Every intake is timestamped and searchable.
- Increased capacity: Teams can process more deals without additional staff.
- Better broker experience: Brokers receive confirmation that their submissions were received and routed correctly.
With Heron’s intake automation, funders can handle spikes in volume while maintaining accuracy and turnaround standards.
Data Flow and Process Logic
The balance sheet intake process follows a structured path that maintains consistency and traceability.
- Document ingestion: Balance sheets arrive through shared inboxes, portal uploads, or API pushes.
- Recognition and classification: Heron’s AI models identify document type and isolate balance sheets from mixed attachments.
- Association: The system matches each document with the corresponding deal record or merchant in the CRM.
- Metadata capture: Key identifiers such as merchant name, broker ID, and timestamp are recorded automatically.
- Routing and storage: The document is routed to the correct queue or underwriting folder for the next processing step.
- Logging: Each action is logged in an immutable record for auditing and reporting.
This flow guarantees that every document reaches its destination without delays or errors.
Integration and Configuration
Heron intake connects easily with existing communication and CRM systems, allowing seamless adoption.
- Email forwarding setup: Brokers forward their underwriting or submission inboxes to Heron.
- Portal or API connection: Submissions can also be uploaded or sent directly via API for zero-touch intake.
- CRM synchronization: Balance sheets are automatically linked to the correct merchant records in Salesforce, HubSpot, or similar systems.
- Custom routing rules: Teams can set up filters for different programs, partners, or geographies.
- Notification options: Alerts confirm document intake or flag missing or unreadable submissions.
- Access controls: Only authorized roles can modify routing logic or access intake logs.
These integrations make Heron’s intake process flexible and secure across varied operational setups.
Governance and Security
Heron protects sensitive financial data throughout the intake process.
- Encryption in transit and at rest: Every document is securely transferred and stored.
- Access logging: All views and actions are recorded for traceability.
- SOC 2-aligned workflows: Heron adheres to industry standards for data integrity and confidentiality.
- Duplicate prevention: The platform prevents duplicate uploads from clogging queues.
- Error handling: If an intake fails, Heron flags it and triggers an alert for immediate correction.
- Retention control: Teams can configure retention periods according to policy or regulation.
This governance framework gives funders confidence that document intake meets compliance and audit requirements.
Reporting and Analytics
Balance sheet intake data powers valuable operational insights.
- Volume tracking: Monitor how many balance sheets are received daily or weekly.
- Turnaround metrics: Measure time from document arrival to underwriting-ready status.
- Exception reporting: Identify brokers or partners who frequently send incomplete submissions.
- Duplicate rates: Track how often the same balance sheet is submitted multiple times.
- Queue visibility: View intake performance across programs or broker groups.
- Compliance reporting: Export intake logs for internal or regulatory review.
By using these metrics, funders can continuously optimize intake efficiency and quality.
Implementation Best Practices
Teams can maximize automation success with a few key practices.
- Standardize broker communication: Instruct brokers to send one submission per merchant per email thread.
- Use consistent subject lines: Helps Heron’s routing models recognize and match deals more accurately.
- Monitor first 30 days: Check exception reports to fine-tune rules and document routing.
- Assign internal champions: Designate one intake owner per team to manage configurations.
- Establish review cadence: Audit a small sample weekly to confirm accurate classification.
- Document SOPs: Create clear intake procedures to keep teams aligned as volume grows.
These steps help operations teams launch and scale Heron’s automation confidently.
Benefits of Using Heron for Intake of Balance Sheets
- Speed: Instant document capture reduces time to underwriting readiness.
- Accuracy: Correct matching and metadata eliminate misplaced documents.
- Scalability: Handles spikes in submission volume without staffing increases.
- Compliance: Maintains full audit trails and access logs for every submission.
- Transparency: Every broker and funder can track document status in real time.
Heron’s intake automation ensures that every balance sheet is received, identified, and routed correctly, enabling faster and cleaner underwriting workflows.
FAQs About Intake for Balance Sheets
How does Heron handle incoming balance sheets?
Heron monitors shared inboxes and portals, automatically identifying and extracting balance sheets. It classifies and attaches each file to the correct merchant record in the CRM.
What happens if a balance sheet is missing from a packet?
If Heron detects that a packet lacks a required document, it triggers a missing-info request to the broker automatically, reducing delays in deal processing.
Can intake handle multiple document formats?
Yes. Heron recognizes various layouts, including PDFs, spreadsheets, and accountant-prepared exports. It applies classification rules to standardize intake across sources.
How does automation affect data accuracy?
By eliminating manual sorting and rekeying, Heron removes common human errors. Every intake event is logged, timestamped, and cross-verified with CRM data.
How quickly does Heron process incoming documents?
Heron processes balance sheets in real time. Most submissions are classified and routed within minutes, keeping underwriting queues constantly up to date.
