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Broker CRMs - Newspage Raw

ended 17. September 2026

Lewis Maxwell of Adviser IQ, a broker CRM platform, asked brokers questions about the state of the CRM market in 2026, the CRMs they use, how they feel about the technology solutions available and what prevents them from moving. Some really interesting findings emerged -

  • Some brokers said they'd switch tomorrow for the right system but don't shop around, because the churn isn't worth it. Brokers are openly criticising their systems and staying anyway. Essentially, the market is locked by migration, not by product quality. One broker took three years to move off Smartr365 because of the volume of data.
  • One broker says his CRM, which he describes as "antiquated" and built "for compliance, not for growing a business", is chosen by his network. Again, interesting revelation.
  • One broker says CRMs are launching before they're ready, with brokers as the beta testers — and a CRM provider agrees, saying advisers tell him daily that every system they have tested is riddled with issues. He also claims BDMs run demos showing only part of the system, and that providers offer only partial access to staging environments. "As a tech industry, we need to do better."
  • Some brokers have built their own bespoke CRM systems over many years
  • Other brokers have used AI to build their own CRMs rapidly and update them, sometimes weekly

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Oliver JordanVerified
Director at Check Financial
We built our own CRM using AI Tool, Lovable, with all data back-ended to Supabase. This allowed us a huge amount of flexibility with functions, design, and workflows.

1 - Automations such as simplified compliance notes, automatic note taking from calls/meetings, follow-up reminders (Automating everyday admin).
Reporting for pipeline and commissions. Introducer communication on ongoing cases/progress updates.

2 - Limitations would be for larger, existing companies, to start building their own. We are a brand new company so had no back book, existing clients.

3 - API links to more external platforms that we use every day.

4 - Nothing however we eventually plan on take existing code to a software developer with improvements we cannot affect presently. With AI progress, we may be able to do this ourselves.

5 - No

6 - We regularly make changes to our CRM. On a monthly if not weekly basis. This can include small updates to function, task systems, and compliance records.
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Matt CoulsonVerified
Founder at Heron Financial
Our answer comes from the build-your-own side of the fence. We built Everglades because nothing off the shelf was genuinely fit for purpose for how we work. Eight years on, it doesn't just run the business, our customers and our introducers rely on it too. What most brokers actually want is a system that fits how they work, and that last mile, the part specific to your firm, is usually where the bought-in options fall short. There's a high degree of AI capability built into ours now, and we see it as the platform that carries us into an era of people and AI working together, with the technology doing the heavy lifting and the human keeping the judgment. It's been a genuine labour of love and a serious investment, but a worthwhile one. Building your own isn't right for every firm, but for us it has taken away the whole question of what would ever make us switch.
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Nouran MoustafaVerified
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
1. I want a CRM to reduce work, not simply document it. It should connect the client journey, compliance, communications, reviews, documents and management information in one place.

2. Too many CRMs still feel like digital filing cabinets. The data exists, but advisers repeatedly enter, search for and interpret it.

3. I want more intelligent automation: identifying missing information, upcoming reviews, mortgage expiries, protection gaps and cases requiring attention before I go looking for them.

4. I would change if another system genuinely saved adviser time without compromising compliance or data security.

5. Yes. Technology moves too quickly for firms to assume today's system remains tomorrow's best option.

6. One thing? A CRM that could reliably turn client data into the next action, rather than simply storing the last one.

The future CRM should think like an assistant, not behave like a filing cabinet.
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Justin MoyVerified
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
1. From any CRM i want to be able to tailor the process I follow, make it easy and avoid the need to use too many external tools
2. OMS has a lot of integration options, but I would like the ability to use something like Pipedrive, where a lot of my marketing is used.
3. As above, really, be able to send data in and out of the CRM without manual intervention, but other than that I'm really pleased with OMS.
4. Not a lot, cost is not much of a consideration, the sheer amount of data to move is a limitation. Took me 3 years to move away from Smartr365, given the job of migration.
5. I have a look, just to see if there is anything significant changing, but at the cost of features i have, it would take a lot to change.
6. A change back to AR / Network - you would have to fall in line.
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Craig FishVerified
Director at Lodestone Mortgages
As brokers, we want one thing: a system that actually does the job. That means a database that flags when clients are due for contact, holds full details of their current mortgage, lets us run marketing straight from it, and gives proper management information on performance.Our current CRM, provided by our network, is antiquated. No AI, poor marketing tools, and it's really only built for the mortgage in hand rather than the client relationship. It exists for compliance, not for growing a business.I don't regularly shop around, because no system out there does everything we need, so the churn hasn't felt worth it. But show me a well priced CRM that combines contact reminders, full mortgage details, marketing functionality and solid reporting, and I'd switch tomorrow.
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Michelle LawsonVerified
Director at Lawson Financial
Broker software is an ongoing challenge. There are many good systems but not one singular one that is fantastic. Some are over complicated, others very expensive but one thing most miss is basic functionality. I’ve ben wanting to change for a while and many are great on the broker processing bug there are flaws from and administrative process. We are seeing CRMs being launched well before they should be with brokers effectively being the beta testers. Many firms don’t change regularly because it’s also a faff with data migration.

Simple things get missed like a provider business contact directory or good diary system over continued integration.

Sometimes simpler is best.
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Lewis MaxwellVerified
Director at Adviser IQ
It's painful to see so many advisers either resort to creating their own CRM system, because the one they use isn't fit for purpose, or get stuck with their current system due to the sheer amount of work and trust needed to move to a new one. We're removing most of the legwork when it comes to switching systems: all data imports are managed by us, along with branding, permissions and automations, so you can log in and crack on. For too long, advisers have put up with sub-par tech.

Michelle couldn’t be more accurate. The amount of advisers I speak to on a daily basis, all say they have tested every CRM, and all of them are riddled with issues. BDMs running demos only showing part of the system or systems only offering partial access to staging environments, just shows as a tech industry, we need to do better.