The verdict in three sentences
Managing 140 introducers on spreadsheets costs a sales team about 12 hours of admin a week and generates commission disputes every month. A custom referral partner portal built by a London agency typically costs £16,000 to £30,000 (2026 ballpark) and ships in 10 to 14 weeks. Against PRM subscriptions at USD 500 to 2,000 a month, custom wins as soon as your commission rules depend on the lender, the loan size and each partner's volume.
What a partner portal for a mortgage broker must do
A London mortgage or commercial finance broker works with estate agents, solicitors, developers and wealth managers who pass on clients. Every introducer wants the same three things: submit a lead in two minutes, see where the case stands and get paid without chasing. Management cares about something else: commission rules applied without errors, a clear audit trail of introducer agreements and a clean export for the accountants.
The table below breaks a typical portal into modules, with their estimated share of the budget and build time.
| Module | What it does | Share of budget (estimate) | Build time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introducer onboarding | Company details, bank details, signed introducer agreement, FCA status where relevant | 10 to 15 % | 1.5 weeks |
| Lead submission | Mobile form, attachments, duplicate check on email and phone | 15 to 20 % | 2 weeks |
| Case tracking | Status synced from the CRM: received, in underwriting, offered, completed | 15 % | 2 weeks |
| Commission engine | Rate per lender, volume tiers, quarterly bonus, caps | 20 to 25 % | 2.5 weeks |
| Statements and self-billing | Monthly PDF statement, invoice raised on the introducer's behalf | 10 % | 1.5 weeks |
| Accounting export | Journals for Xero or Sage, BACS payment file | 5 to 10 % | 1 week |
| Management back office | Approvals, disputes, per-partner dashboard | 10 % | 1.5 weeks |
The module that drives cost is the commission engine. A flat 0.3 % of the loan amount takes a day to configure. Rules combining the lender, a tier from 10 cases per quarter and a bonus for cases completing within 45 days need versioned, tested and logged rules, so that a commission calculated in March can still be explained in September.
A compliance point to design in from day one: introducers who are not authorised can only make introductions, not give advice. The portal should separate partner types and restrict the fields that would amount to regulated activity, and keep a record of the disclosure made to the client.
Spreadsheets, PRM platforms or custom: three-year comparison
PRM platforms such as PartnerStack, Impact.com or Allbound are built for software affiliates and resellers: recurring commission on subscriptions, tracked links, multi-currency payouts. They handle poorly a three-month lending cycle with several lenders where commission is only due on completion.
| Option | Upfront cost | Annual cost | 3-year cost | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheets and email | £0 | about £18,000 of internal time | about £54,000 | Errors, no visibility for introducers |
| PRM SaaS (PartnerStack, Impact.com, Allbound) | USD 0 to 5,000 setup | USD 6,000 to 24,000 subscription | USD 18,000 to 77,000 | Lending commission logic poorly covered |
| Freelancer on a no-code tool | £5,000 to £10,000 | £2,000 to £4,000 | £11,000 to £22,000 | Key-person risk, calculation limits |
| London agency, custom build | £16,000 to £30,000 | 15 to 20 % of build for maintenance | £23,000 to £48,000 | 10 to 14 weeks lead time |
| Kolonell, medium-complexity application | 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) | maintenance 75,000 FCFA a month (114 EUR) | see quote | Scope agreed in writing before build |
| Kolonell, complex application (multi-lender, CRM API) | 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) | maintenance 120,000 FCFA a month (183 EUR) | see quote | Scoping workshop required |
Agency and SaaS figures are 2026 market ballparks. The real decision criterion is ownership: with custom software, your commission history belongs to you and can be audited line by line.
Where the 12 hours a week come back
The time saving comes from three automations. First, introducers enter their own leads, with duplicate checks, so nobody retypes from an email or a text message. Second, case status flows from the CRM to the portal, which kills the « any news on my client? » calls that often take 4 to 5 hours a week across 140 partners. Third, the monthly statement and self-billed invoice are produced in one click, with the BACS file ready to upload to the bank.
Add a dashboard for the sales director: leads per introducer, conversion rate, average time to completion and average commission. This is usually where you discover that 20 introducers generate 70 % of revenue and deserve their own tier.
Mini case study
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Tom, sales director of a mortgage broker in London, manages 140 introducers sending about 90 cases a month. He and his assistant spend 12 hours a week logging leads, answering chasers and working out commissions.
- Internal time: 12 h x 46 weeks x £32 loaded cost = £17,664 a year.
- Errors and disputes: 1 % of the £500,000 of commission paid each year, i.e. £5,000.
- Annual cost of the status quo: £22,664.
With a portal billed £26,000 by a local agency, payback comes in 26,000 / 22,664 = 1.15 years, or about 14 months, before counting the effect on recruiting new introducers. Built on Kolonell's complex application grid, break-even comes sooner, but the calculation must be redone on the exact scope agreed in the workshop.
FAQ
How long does it take to launch a partner portal?
Allow 10 to 14 weeks for a complete first version, including 2 weeks to model the commission rules. A two-step launch also works: lead submission and tracking in 6 weeks, commission engine afterwards.
Can the portal connect to our existing CRM?
Yes, most broker CRMs expose an API or a scheduled export. The connector usually accounts for 10 to 15 % of the budget and is tested on 50 to 100 real cases before go-live.
How does self-billing work for introducers?
Each introducer signs a self-billing agreement, accepted in the portal at onboarding. The monthly statement then generates a numbered invoice in the introducer's name, removing 100 % of paper invoices to reconcile.
Isn't a PRM platform enough for 140 introducers?
A PRM at USD 500 a month is enough if commission is a fixed percentage of a single sale. Once it depends on the lender, completion and quarterly tiers, spreadsheet workarounds come back and the saving disappears.
Where is introducer data hosted?
With a custom build you choose UK or EU hosting, which simplifies UK GDPR compliance for bank details and ID documents. Set a defined retention period, for example 6 years after the agreement ends.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current commission rules and the number of active introducers, and we will map the priority modules and a go-live plan over 10 to 14 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
