Decision emails are one of the most important communication points in MCA and small business lending workflows. They contain final outcomes (approvals, declines, counteroffers, or requests for additional documentation) from funders back to brokers.
These messages often come through shared inboxes filled with hundreds of daily submissions, and managing them manually introduces major inefficiencies. Deals can be missed, delayed, or misclassified if decision information isn’t logged accurately and immediately.
Heron automates intake for decision emails by capturing, classifying, and parsing every decision-related message in real time.
The system detects whether a message represents an approval, decline, or stipulation request, extracts the relevant deal terms, and pushes the structured data directly into the CRM.
This process eliminates manual inbox triage, keeps records clean, and allows underwriting teams to focus on moving deals forward rather than searching for decision messages.
By automating this critical step, Heron ensures decisions are recorded, acted upon, and routed correctly, every time, at scale.
Use Cases
- Capture decision responses automatically: Heron ingests incoming messages from underwriting or approval inboxes without user intervention.
- Detect decision type: The platform identifies whether a message signals an approval, decline, or conditional offer.
- Extract deal terms: Pulls out funding amount, factor rate, holdback percentage, stipulations, and repayment details from the message or attached PDF.
- Sync with CRM: Writes parsed fields directly into the deal record, instantly updating status and next steps.
- Route notifications: Sends alerts to brokers or account managers as soon as new decisions are processed.
- Maintain an audit trail: Archives the full decision email and structured summary for compliance and future reference.
These use cases remove the need for manual forwarding or data entry, saving time and eliminating errors in decision communication.
Operational Impact
Automating decision email intake transforms how brokers and funders manage deal decisions.
- Speed: Decisions move from inbox to CRM in seconds, allowing immediate broker response.
- Accuracy: Each decision is logged precisely, minimizing the risk of missed updates or misapplied statuses.
- Scalability: Handles surges in decision volume, such as batch approvals, without slowing down operations.
- Transparency: Everyone involved in the deal sees the same, up-to-date status.
- Efficiency: Reduces manual email monitoring and data entry, freeing staff for underwriting and funding tasks.
Funders using Heron typically report 70–90% reductions in inbox management time and higher decision accuracy across their pipelines.
How Decision Email Intake Works in Heron
Heron’s decision email intake process connects directly to shared inboxes, running continuous scans for new messages.
- Inbox monitoring: Emails sent to underwriting@, approvals@, or decision@ addresses are automatically captured.
- Classification and parsing: The AI model detects keywords, phrases, and structured data to determine the decision outcome.
- Data extraction: Key terms, like funding amount, rate, term, and stipulations, are extracted and normalized into structured fields.
- Record linking: Heron identifies which merchant or deal the decision applies to and links it to the corresponding CRM entry.
- Status update: The CRM record is updated automatically with the decision type and extracted deal terms.
- Notifications and routing: The system alerts the appropriate broker or account manager and, if applicable, routes conditions to a stipulations queue.
This streamlined flow replaces hours of manual email review with automated, reliable updates that keep every deal current.
Decision Workflow Integration
Decision email intake works best as part of Heron’s end-to-end funding automation workflow.
- Upstream: After applications are scrubbed, parsed, and validated, the decision intake acts as the next step in the lifecycle.
- Downstream: Once the decision is logged, Heron can automatically trigger workflows, such as notifying brokers, creating stipulation tasks, or marking the deal “Ready to Fund.”
- Cross-checks: Heron verifies that decision details (like funding amount or rate) align with earlier application data for consistency.
- Audit logging: Every decision is timestamped and stored for full traceability across systems.
This integrated approach reduces context switching, accelerates decisions, and enhances accuracy across teams.
Data Integrity and Compliance
Heron’s intake process operates under the same strict security and audit standards as the rest of its automation platform.
- SOC 2 Type II compliance: All email data and attachments are processed securely.
- Encryption: Every message is encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Audit trail: Decision emails, parsed data, and CRM updates are logged with timestamps and user identifiers.
- Data validation: Inconsistent or low-confidence fields are flagged and routed for review before CRM updates.
- Retention policies: Messages and decisions can be stored according to funder-specific retention rules.
This makes sure that decision automation remains safe, compliant, and fully auditable.
Performance Metrics
Decision intake automation improves measurable outcomes across key operational metrics.
- Turnaround time (TAT): Time from decision email receipt to CRM update is reduced by over 90%.
- Exception rate: Less than 5% of decision messages require manual review.
- Accuracy rate: Exceeds 98% for decision type classification and field extraction.
- Touches per submission: Drops to zero for inbox-based tasks.
- Throughput: Teams can process double the daily deal volume without hiring additional staff.
These results demonstrate why decision intake is one of the most impactful automations for MCA and small business funding teams.
Benefits of Using Heron for Decision Email Intake
- Speed: Instantly processes and logs decision messages without manual effort.
- Accuracy: Extracts and records all key terms reliably.
- Scalability: Handles high email volumes effortlessly.
- Transparency: Keeps everyone updated in real time on deal statuses.
- Audit readiness: Maintains a complete, timestamped decision history for every deal.
Heron transforms chaotic decision inboxes into a structured, auditable workflow that scales with deal flow and team growth.
FAQs About Intake for Decision Emails
How does Heron detect and process decision emails?
Heron monitors designated inboxes, scanning subjects and message bodies for decision keywords like “Approved,” “Declined,” or “Offer.” It extracts relevant data and updates the corresponding CRM records automatically.
Can Heron handle multiple decision formats or templates?
Yes. Heron’s AI models adapt to various funder formats, including free-text messages and attached decision letters, without requiring manual template training.
What happens if a decision email doesn’t match a deal record?
Heron flags the message and routes it to an exception queue for review. Once linked manually, future decisions from that sender are matched automatically.
How does decision intake support compliance?
All decisions are logged with timestamps, source metadata, and parsed fields to create a permanent audit record that satisfies regulatory requirements.
How does this feature improve broker communication?
By syncing decisions instantly, brokers receive faster, more accurate updates, reducing confusion, duplicate follow-ups, and delays in closing deals.
