Better Business  

'We built our own back office after getting frustrated with tech providers'

From there, the next phases will focus on adding and refining features, in line with adviser feedback.

It's been a long and hard process but the result is gratifying, the two directors say.

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"When we started the journey pretty much the last thing we wanted to do was build our own. It just sort of evolved," says Heath.

"Having built what we've built, it's been great to see exactly what we want come to life, rather than having to make do."

'From the initial design that we had, we've actually got everything we wanted' (Screenshot/Corbel Partners)

The thing that got away was a valuation tool. Currently they get valuations from the individual providers and put them together for clients.

"It would be lovely to have some sort of consolidated valuation platform," says O'Hara.

The problem, he says, is the ones that are out there usually don't work with all providers in the market.

So they've shelved it "until it's actually practical to have it".

But overall, he says, "from the initial design that we had, we've actually got everything we wanted.

"The onboarding is better than we ever dreamed it would be, the cash flow thing is fantastic, because the industry is sort of crying out for that."

Smooth but expensive

Corbel Partners worked with a tech firm called Navos Technologies.

The process of working with them was smooth, they say. They got regular updates and the product was delivered in time, within eight or so months.

Polishing the prototype was another three-month process. Then they launched the next phases within mere months.

They set up a feedback facility for the advisers and gradually over the next few months worked to iron out any issues raised.

"Once they understood we weren't trying to replace the adviser, which was, again, a hurdle to get over, actually all fell into place quite well," says Heath.

"By and large, it's actually been not as painful as we expected."

Despite this they would not recommend this process to their peers.

"It's expensive," says O'Hara, and "it's incredibly time-consuming."

Heath says they did not bring in a person or team responsible for the project, as they wanted to stay in control, "so it has been quite a drain on us".

He says for a small firm to do a project like this it is "nigh on impossible to end up with a system that's any good. Partly because of the cost, partly because of the time."

But, he adds, there should be no need for most smaller firms to do it as there is a lot of good tech available, if they don't insist on things like working with the whole of the market.

Corbel hasn't had financial backing for the project, like many others who have built their own systems, but Heath says "because we knew exactly what we wanted, we've been able to keep a lid on it."