What Is Intake-to-Decision Time?
Intake-to-decision time refers to the elapsed period between the moment a submission packet is first received and the point where a funder issues an approval, decline, or conditional offer.
In MCA and small business lending, this is one of the most important operational KPIs, since brokers expect fast turnaround on deals and funders rely on efficiency to win business.
This metric appears across all lending workflows where speed is a differentiator. Operators track it to evaluate how smoothly submissions are handled and to compare how automation improves results against manual processes.
How Does Intake-to-Decision Time Work?
Measuring intake-to-decision time requires consistent timestamping and workflow visibility.
- Start point: The clock starts when a submission arrives through email, portal, or API.
- Workflow steps: Intake, scrubbing, completeness checks, and risk evaluations are completed.
- Decision stage: Underwriting delivers a decision, whether approval, decline, or request for conditions.
- End point: The decision is logged and communicated, marking the completion of the cycle.
In Heron, automation shortens intake-to-decision time significantly.
- Automated intake: Submissions are ingested directly from shared inboxes, portals, or APIs.
- Scrubbing: Completeness, policy, and risk checks are applied instantly, with structured outputs created.
- CRM write-back: Key fields are updated in real time, giving underwriters clean data immediately.
- Next action: Underwriters work directly with “underwriting-ready” records, reducing manual prep time.
This automation compresses hours of manual handling into minutes, helping teams handle more deals in less time.
Why Is Intake-to-Decision Time Important?
For brokers and funders, intake-to-decision time is important because it defines competitiveness. Brokers prefer funders who can deliver same-day or next-day decisions, while long delays risk losing deals to faster competitors.
Heron improves this metric by removing manual steps that typically slow down workflows. Faster intake-to-decision times mean higher broker satisfaction, more closed deals, and fewer opportunities lost to other funders.
Common Use Cases
Intake-to-decision time shows up in everyday lending operations.
- Tracking how long it takes from ISO submission arrival to a decision email.
- Measuring the impact of automation on reducing manual prep work.
- Identifying where bottlenecks occur in underwriting workflows.
- Using decision speed as a competitive advantage in broker relationships.
- Benchmarking performance across programs or broker partners.
FAQs About Intake-to-Decision Time
How does Heron shorten intake-to-decision time?
Heron automates intake, scrubbing, and CRM write-back so that underwriters can focus directly on reviewing structured data instead of manually prepping packets.
Why is intake-to-decision time such a critical metric for MCA brokers and funders?
It directly affects deal win rates, broker satisfaction, and overall funding volume. The faster the decision, the more likely a broker will continue sending deals.
What outputs should teams expect from tracking intake-to-decision time?
Teams gain clear metrics on how fast deals are processed, often expressed in hours or business days. Improvements after automation highlight reduced turnaround and fewer bottlenecks.