Connections
Connections is a hub for services integrated with LoanPro, giving you a centralized location to manage your payment with third-party services.
Setup and configuration in LMS
Your LoanPro tenant should come pre-configured with a Connections account, which you can view from within LoanPro. Navigate to Settings > Company > Plugins > Connections. If the account is linked, it will look like this:
Account info
If you don't have a Connections account linked, you'll see this:
If no Connections account is linked, you have the option to either create a new one or link an existing one.
Create a New Account
To create a new account, click the 'Create An Account' link. This is an external link and will take you to a Connections sign-up page.
Enter an email address that will be used as the username for the account. Enter and confirm the password you would like for the account. Be sure your password meets the password requirements. Enter your company information and click 'Sign Up'. You should see a confirmation like the one below:
Now you can follow the steps in the 'Link an Existing Account' section below.
Link an Existing Account
To link an existing account, click the 'I Already Have One' link.
Enter your login credentials and click 'Save' to link your account.
Settings
Once you have a linked Connections account, you can manage your Connections settings and services directly inside LMS.
The settings area controls when and how money will be added to your account:
- Low point – This dollar amount is the lowest balance your Connections account can reach before funds are automatically added to your Connections account. These funds will be pulled from the payment profile you have on file with Connections.
- Amount – This is the dollar amount that will be automatically pulled from your card on file and added to your Connections balance when the balance reaches the specified low point.
- Payment profile – Here you can choose which of the payment profiles in your Connections account should be used to add money to your Connections balance.
- Notification by email – This setting lets you choose whether to receive an email each time funds are added to your Connections account.
Services
The Services tab lets you choose which of the services should be available to users of your LoanPro account.
Use the toggle switches to turn services on or off. If a service is turned off, the functionality will not work inside LoanPro. This is the best way to make sure you don’t accidentally use a service you don’t intend to.
You can also view and edit all of these services and options in Connections.
Navigation
You can log in to Connections from your LoanPro account. Click on your profile name in the top right corner of LMS. Then, click on Connections.
If your LoanPro and Connections accounts are linked via the same email address, clicking the link will open Connections without requiring you to log in again. After logging in, you will be directed to the Dashboard page.
Dashboard
The Dashboard section shows an overview of your Connections. The Analytics will show basic usage of services in your Connections account.
Company
The Company section shows basic contact information and allows you to edit that information as needed.
- Company
- Contact
- Phone
- Address
Services
The Services section shows all the services available in Connections along with small summaries of what they do. The On/Off toggle allows you to turn a specific service on or off.
Services are sorted into three tabs: Contact Information, Collateral, and Background Research.
Service | Tab | Description |
USPS ZIP Code Decode | Contact Information | If you input a borrower's ZIP code, LoanPro will automatically input their city and state. |
USPS – Standardization and Abbreviation | Contact Information | Automatically match borrower addresses to USPS standards, making mail deliveries faster and more reliable. |
Email Service | Contact Information | Send out email to your customers. |
Mail House | Contact Information | Send physical documents directly to your customers via USPS. |
VINLink | Collateral | When input a vehicle's VIN, LoanPro will automatically retrieve the year, make, model, and trim. |
OFAC InstaCheck | Background Research | Instantly test a customer's information against the OFAC SDN list, fulfilling compliance obligations. |
Email — SES and SMTP
By default, Connections uses an in-house account with Amazon’s SES to provide email services. While this is the default, it isn’t the only option. Connections users can add their own SES credentials or SMTP information to use a different email account or service.
Click the settings icon on the right of the email service row.
Choose an option from the Select Provider drop-down.
- If you select the SES option, you will be asked to enter your Access Key ID and Secret Access Key. You can also check the box to set you SES account as the default email provider.
- If you select SMTP, you will be asked to enter the host, username, and password. You can also check the box to set this as your default email provider.
Once you have entered the information, click ‘Save’.
Payment profile
The payment profile section lists all the payment profiles associated to your Connections account. Your preferred payment profile will have a red star next to it.
Payment history
The payment history section shows all Connections payments made, with each entry listing the amount charged and balance before and after. You can also make a payment by click on the yellow card button in the top right of the page.
Contract
The contract section allows you to view your Connections contract and see its signature history.
Preferences
The Preferences section allows you to set specific preferences related to billing.
Setting | Description |
Billing in arrears | If billing in arrears in enabled, you can use Connections services that you haven't yet paid for. If it's disabled, you'll only have access to services if there are funds in your account. |
Low point | If your balance reaches this low point, funds will automatically be added to your account. |
Amount | When you hit the low point and automatically add funds, this is the amount that will be added. |
Payment profile | Select the payment profile that will be used to add new funds to your account. |
Notification by email | Toggling this on when send you an email notification when funds are automatically added. |
User settings
The User Settings section lets you update your existing Connections password.
Reports
The Reports section shows usage history related to the Connections account as well as Smart Mail House.
Usage history report
The usage history reports allows you to see the amount of money that has been spent on any of the Connections services.
The report will automatically show you all of the Connections services you've used for the current month, but you have the option to change the date range or narrow the results down to a specific service type in the upper left corner of the main screen.
Each listed item will contain the following information:
- ID – This is the identification number of the transaction.
- Date – This is the date and time when the transaction was completed.
- Service – This is the type of Connections service that was used.
-
Details – These are the details of the transaction, which can include two items:
- Charges – The cost of the transaction.
- Service response – The results of the transaction.
Smart Mail House report
The Smart Mail House Report is designed to give details of the mail house service usage within your company for a selected date range. To open the Smart Mail House Report, navigate to Reports > Smart Mail House inside of connections and select a date range.
The report shows information for each letter sent to your customers using the mail house service. The report displays the following information:
- ID – This is the identification number of the mail house event.
- Date – This is the date and time when the event was created.
- From – This is the From address that was listed on the letter.
- To – This is the address that the letter was sent to.
- Details – This column gives a few more details regarding the letter.
Select 'Get CSV File' to download an excel file with the same information contained in the report. Select 'More' to see more details regarding the sent letter:
Information lookup
The Information Lookup section of Connections allows you to pull information on borrowers or potential borrowers. It is split up into three sub-sections: Contact Information, Background Research, and Collateral Tracking. Within the subsections, you can access the related services.
Contact information
The Contact Information section provides all of the related services to contacting borrowers or potential borrowers.
Address services
On the Address Services page, you can standardize an address, decode a zip code, and upload and send a letter via Smart Mail House. Click the Make Request button next to the service you wish to use and a popup box will appear for you to enter in the necessary information.
Email services
On the Email Services page, you have to the ability to send emails and attach files on the Emails tab. You can verify to see if an email address is actually a real email address on the Verified Emails page. Additionally, you can search emails that have already been sent using the UUID. To search by UUID, change the “Filter By:” drop down to “UUID”.
Webhook settings
On the Webhook Settings tab, you can set a URL and Secret Token for webhooks. You can update or delete the existing webhook as needed.
Phone services
On the Phone Services page, you can enter in a valid phone number and it will return the specific carrier name for that phone number.
Profile services
On the Profile Services page, you can enter in an email address and it will return social media profiles linked to that email address.
Smart Mail House services
On the Smart Mail House Services page, you can create lists of addresses and add template letters to send to those specific address lists. You can also set specific schedules for the templates to be sent to the lists of addresses.
Background research
The background research section provides background information on borrowers or potential borrowers.
Collateral tracking
The collateral tracking section allows currently allows you to decode VIN numbers for cars being used as collateral by borrowers.
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