Skip to main content

How to Use the Scenarios Tab | Pre-Approval Presentations | Mortgage CRM Tutorial

In this tutorial, we walk you through the Scenarios tab in Broki — your tool for presenting pre-approval scenarios side by side in the client portal so they always have a clear picture of exactly what they qualify for.

Written by Jarrett White

This document covers the Scenarios tab inside a Broki mortgage file — including how to build pre-approval scenarios, configure sale proceeds and debt payouts, add rate options, include notes, publish to the client portal, and present multiple scenarios side by side.

Sections Covered

  • 1. What the Scenarios Tab Is

  • 2. Creating a Scenario

  • 3. Configuring Mortgage Details

  • 4. Rate Options

  • 5. Down Payment & Sale Proceeds

  • 6. Closing Costs

  • 7. Debt Payouts

  • 8. Notes Section — Pre-Approval Write-Up

  • 9. Internal Notes & Disclaimer

  • 10. Publishing & Sending to the Client

  • 11. What the Client Sees

  • 12. Duplicating Scenarios

  • 13. The Portal Toggle — Hiding Fields from the Client

  • 14. Quick Reference — Where Is That Button?

1. What the Scenarios Tab Is

The Scenarios tab allows you to build detailed pre-approval scenarios and present them side by side in the client's portal. Instead of sending one long email with all your pre-approval notes, clients can see their qualification details, rate options, sale proceeds breakdown, and closing costs all in one organized view.

⚠ The Scenarios tab is for presenting information to clients — it is NOT for underwriting. Do not use this tab to determine what a client qualifies for. You already know the qualification numbers before building the scenario. This is simply a presentation and communication tool.

2. Creating a Scenario

📍 Pipeline → open file → Scenarios tab

  • Click Create Scenario.

  • Give the scenario a name that describes the situation (e.g. 'Purchasing with car paid out', 'Without car paid out', 'With 20% down').

  • Click Create.

  • The scenario editor opens where you configure all the details.

3. Configuring Mortgage Details

Amortization

Set the amortization period (e.g. 25 years, 30 years).

Mortgage amount

The maximum mortgage amount the client qualifies for based on your review.

Down payment

The down payment amount. Can be sourced from sale proceeds, savings, or a combination.

Max purchase price

The maximum property purchase price based on mortgage amount plus down payment.

Mortgage default insurance

If the mortgage requires default insurance (CMHC), a field is available to include this. The insured amount will display in the portal.

4. Rate Options

The Scenarios tab displays a rate grid showing multiple term options and their payments. You can include or exclude any term, and toggle individual fields on or off from the client portal view.

Configuring rates

  • Rate terms are available for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-year fixed, and variable.

  • Remove terms you do not want to present (e.g. 1-year and 2-year are commonly removed).

  • Add a variable rate term if relevant.

  • Enter the rate for each term you want to include. Payments calculate automatically.

  • You do not have to include rates — leave the rate field blank for any term you want to show without a specific rate.

Portal toggle on rate fields

  • Each field in the scenario has a Portal toggle button.

  • Clicking the Portal toggle on a field removes it from the client's portal view without deleting it from your scenario.

  • Use this to show the client only the information that is relevant and helpful — hide anything that might create confusion.

5. Down Payment & Sale Proceeds

If the client is selling a property, you can build a complete sale proceeds breakdown that automatically calculates how much they will have available for their down payment after all deductions.

Sale proceeds inputs

Sale price

The expected sale price of the client's current property.

Realtor fees

Automatically calculated at 7% and 3% by default. Adjustable if needed.

Mortgage balance

The remaining balance on the property being sold — deducted from proceeds.

HELOC balance

Any HELOC balance to be paid out from the sale — deducted from proceeds.

Prepayment penalty

If there is a penalty for breaking the existing mortgage — deducted from proceeds.

Additional cash

Any extra savings or investments the client is contributing to the down payment beyond the sale proceeds.

The system automatically calculates the net sale proceeds after all deductions, adds any additional cash, and shows the total available for down payment. Closing costs and debt payouts are then subtracted to give a final net available amount.

6. Closing Costs

Add the estimated closing costs for the purchase. The system includes common items which you can keep, remove, or add to.

Property transfer tax

Estimated PTT on the new property being purchased.

Legal fees

Typical range: $1,500–$3,000.

Appraisal fee

If required for the purchase or the sale.

Home inspection

Estimated cost for the inspection.

Title insurance

Typically $150–$300.

Add Cost button

Add any additional closing cost items not listed by default.

7. Debt Payouts

If any debts are being paid out as part of the transaction (e.g. a car loan, credit card, line of credit), add them here. They are deducted from the available down payment funds to show the client their true net position.

  • Click Add Debt Payout.

  • Give it a label (e.g. 'Car Loan Paid Out').

  • Enter the amount.

  • The amount is automatically deducted from the net available funds calculation.

8. Notes Section — Pre-Approval Write-Up

The notes section within the scenario is where you put your full pre-approval write-up — the content that would previously have been one long email. This appears in the client portal when they expand the scenario.

  • Click the Notes field inside the scenario.

  • Type your notes or load from a saved email template.

  • Click the template selector and choose your pre-approval template (e.g. a template covering rate info, down payment requirements, credit score, income structure, closing costs, first-time homebuyer benefits, etc.).

  • Customize the populated template for the specific client's situation.

Best practice: Build a comprehensive pre-approval notes template that covers all the standard topics — rate factors, down payment rules, first-time homebuyer benefits, closing cost breakdown, and so on. Load it for every pre-approval and then just customize the client-specific parts. This ensures consistency and saves significant time.

9. Internal Notes & Disclaimer

Internal notes

Notes that only you can see — not visible to the client in the portal. Use these to record how you underwrote the scenario or any reminders for yourself about how the numbers were derived.

Disclaimer

A standard disclaimer is included by default in every published scenario. You can customize it if needed. Always ensure an appropriate disclaimer is in place.

10. Publishing & Sending to the Client

Publishing a scenario

  • Click Save Changes on the scenario after configuring it.

  • Click Publish to make it visible in the client's portal.

  • Unpublished scenarios remain in your file but are not visible to the client.

Sending an update to the client

  • Click Update Client.

  • The module generates a snapshot of the scenario(s) — if multiple are published, both are shown side by side in the preview.

  • Select or customize the email message from your saved email templates.

  • Click Send.

Tracking sent updates

  • Click the eye icon to see how many times an update has been sent to the client — useful if you have an assistant and want to confirm whether the client has already been notified.

11. What the Client Sees

  • In the client portal, the Scenarios tab shows all published scenarios side by side.

  • Clients can expand each scenario to see the full notes, rate options with payments, and the sale proceeds breakdown.

  • Multiple scenarios are displayed simultaneously — clients can compare what they qualify for under different conditions (e.g. with vs. without a car paid out).

  • The financial summary at the bottom of each scenario shows the full breakdown of sale proceeds, deductions, and net available funds.

12. Duplicating Scenarios

When presenting multiple scenarios (e.g. with car paid out vs. without), the most efficient approach is to duplicate rather than build from scratch.

  • Click Duplicate on the completed scenario.

  • Give the duplicate a new name (e.g. 'Without car paid out').

  • Update only what changes — typically the mortgage amount, purchase price, and debt payouts.

  • Save Changes and Publish.

Most of the scenario details (sale price, rates, closing costs, notes) stay the same across scenarios — duplication means you only update the differences, which takes just a few minutes.

13. The Portal Toggle — Hiding Fields from the Client

Almost every field in the scenario editor has a Portal toggle. When toggled off, that field is removed from the client-facing view while still being saved in your scenario.

  • Use the Portal toggle to hide any field that is not relevant or helpful for the client to see.

  • Common fields to hide: internal rate calculations, fields showing $0 or N/A, or any field that might cause confusion without context.

  • The toggle does not delete the data — it only controls visibility in the portal.

14. Quick Reference — Where Is That Button?

Button / Feature

Location

What it does

Scenarios tab

Left sidebar inside a mortgage file

Access all pre-approval scenarios for this file

Create Scenario

Scenarios tab

Opens the scenario creation form — enter a name and click Create

Portal toggle

On each field inside the scenario editor

Toggles the field on or off from the client portal view

Add Cost button

Closing costs section

Add a custom closing cost item not included by default

Add Debt Payout

Debt payouts section

Add a debt being paid out that deducts from available down payment funds

Notes section

Inside the scenario editor

Write the full pre-approval content — loads from email templates

Internal notes

Inside the scenario editor

Private notes only visible to your team — not shown to the client

Disclaimer

Inside the scenario editor

Standard disclaimer shown to the client — customizable

Save Changes

Inside the scenario editor

Saves the current scenario configuration

Publish

On each scenario

Makes the scenario visible in the client portal

Unpublish

On each published scenario

Removes from portal but keeps in the file

Duplicate

On each scenario

Creates an identical copy to modify for a different scenario

Update Client

Scenarios tab

Sends client a notification with a snapshot of their scenarios

Eye icon

Scenarios tab

Shows how many times an update has been sent to the client

Did this answer your question?