What Are Email Forwarding Rules?
Email forwarding rules are simple filters created in an email system to reroute messages based on conditions like sender, subject, or attachment type. In MCA and small business lending, these rules are often set up to make sure submissions from brokers and ISOs go straight to the right intake inbox.
Email forwarding rules typically appear when organizations want to automate submission flow without requiring new portals or tools. Operators use them to make sure all deal-related emails are automatically funneled into Heron for processing.
How Do Email Forwarding Rules Work?
At a neutral level, forwarding rules follow a straightforward sequence:
- Input: A submission email arrives in the broker’s or ISO’s mailbox.
- Core action: The rule matches it against criteria such as “all messages with attachments” or “all messages from broker domains.”
- Output: The email is forwarded to another address automatically.
- Follow-on: The message is received in the new inbox and processed.
In the Heron workflow, forwarding rules are the easiest way to connect existing email traffic to automation:
- Intake: Emails sent to underwriting@ or subs@ are automatically forwarded into Heron.
- Scrub/Checks: Heron scrubs each forwarded email for completeness, eligibility, duplicates, and potential risk.
- Write-Back: Clean submission data, such as applicant names, deal IDs, and timestamps, are written directly to the CRM.
- Next Action: Heron routes complete deals to underwriting or sends missing-info requests back to brokers if packets are incomplete.
Forwarding rules allow teams to adopt Heron without redesigning their intake infrastructure.
Why Is Email Forwarding Rules Important?
For brokers and funders, forwarding rules are critical because they create a seamless link between how brokers already send deals and how Heron processes them. They make sure nothing gets stuck in a personal inbox and every submission enters the automation loop.
They also cut down on repetitive manual work. Staff no longer need to download, rename, and forward documents, which reduces errors and keeps turnaround times short. For brokers and funders, forwarding rules make adoption of Heron fast and low-friction.
Common Use Cases
Forwarding rules support multiple intake setups across high-volume lending environments.
- Forwarding all emails from underwriting@ into Heron for automated capture and triage.
- Routing decision emails from funders directly into the right deal record.
- Sending ISO packets into Heron without staff manually moving files.
- Forwarding supporting documents like IDs and statements to attach them to existing deals.
- Managing multiple broker email addresses by funneling everything into one Heron intake.
FAQs About Email Forwarding Rules
How does email forwarding reduce manual work for brokers/funders?
Forwarding rules remove the need for staff to manually forward, download, or copy emails into a shared inbox. With Heron connected, every submission flows directly into the system of record with no extra steps.
Where in the Heron workflow does email forwarding happen?
Forwarding happens right at the intake stage. Emails are rerouted into Heron before scrubbing, write-back, and next action steps take place.
What happens if a forwarding rule is not set up correctly?
If a rule fails, the email remains in the original inbox. During setup, teams should monitor both inboxes to make sure rules work correctly before relying on them fully.