Overview
The Broki application client flow is the path a borrower follows from opening their broker's application link to submitting the application and, when documents are needed, landing in the client portal to upload them. Submitting creates or updates the mortgage file, stores the signed consent documents, sends the borrower a confirmation email, and creates document requests from your Smart Docs rules.
Clients follow this flow on their own device. Brokers use this article to know what the client sees, what happens to the mortgage file after submission, and what to check if something doesn't arrive.
Also called: online mortgage application.
At a glance
This is the path from the application link to the file, the email, and the portal.
The client agrees on Start your mortgage journey, completes the steps, and selects Submit Application.
The client portal opens when client-visible document requests or questions are outstanding. Otherwise the client sees Application Submitted!.
Submitting creates or updates the mortgage file, stores the signed consent documents, emails a confirmation once, and runs your Smart Docs rules.
Before you begin
These are the things the client and the broker need before the application starts.
The client needs the application link from their broker. Brokers send it with Send application link from the Leads or Contacts page (choose Broki Native, or a BC link where applicable), or copy it from Settings > Applications. See Client journey and application links.
Brokers: sending the link from Broki needs a connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox.
Clients: use one browser and device for the whole application. Progress is saved in that browser only.
The application holds up to four people: the primary borrower and up to three co-borrowers.
Step-by-step instructions
The steps below follow the client from the consent cover through submit, then what the broker receives.
Start the application (client)
Starting the application means opening the broker's link and agreeing on Start your mortgage journey.
Open the link your broker sent. You see "Preparing your secure online application" while it loads.
On the Start your mortgage journey screen, tick "I confirm I have read and agree to the Application Terms, Privacy Policy, and Consent to Use Electronic Signatures and Records."
Select Get started.
The header shows "Mortgage application", the current step, an EN / FR language switch, your progress (for example "3 / 9"), a help button that opens the Contact & help panel, and Reset.
Work through the steps (client)
The application steps run from Goal through Review & Submit, and you can go back to any step you have already reached.
The steps appear in this order:
Goal: Purchase, Refinance or Renewal, the property details, and how many people are on the application.
For each borrower: their details, then Income & Employment, Assets and Debts & Liabilities.
Owned Properties: other real estate you own.
Consent & Compliance: CASL consent, credit check authorization and the PEP declaration.
Signatures: each person signs, or a co-borrower is set to sign later by email.
Review & Submit.
Use Continue to move on and Back to return. On a computer, the step list on the left lets you jump back to any step you've already reached. For field-by-field guidance, see Filling out the Broki application.
Submit the application (client)
Submit Application sends the application to the broker, and the next screen depends on whether documents are waiting.
On Review & Submit, check your answers.
Select Submit Application (Submit on a phone).
Before you continue: submitting sends your application to your broker. It also emails your confirmation and, if you chose that option, sends signing links to any co-borrowers who weren't present.
What happens next depends on whether your broker has documents waiting for you:
Documents are needed: you see "Application submitted! Redirecting you to your portal…" and the client portal opens so you can upload them.
Nothing to upload yet: you see Application Submitted! with "Thanks for completing the online application. Our team will be in contact with a list of documents required within the next little while. Please be on standby—we appreciate your patience."
Use the confirmation email (client)
The confirmation email "Your mortgage application — continue anytime" is how you reopen the application and, when documents are needed, open the portal.
After you submit, you receive one email titled "Your mortgage application — continue anytime".
Continue my application reopens your application so you can update your answers. The email says how long the link works.
When documents are needed, the email also says "A few documents are ready for you to upload in your secure client portal:" with an Upload documents button.
Keep the email private. Anyone with these links can open your application and portal.
Update a submitted application (client)
Continue my application updates the same mortgage file.
Select Continue my application in the confirmation email.
Change your answers and submit again.
Your changes update the same mortgage file. Reset is not available in this mode.
Check what the broker receives after submit (broker)
After submit, the broker gets a mortgage file, contacts, signed consent documents, Smart Docs requests, and a notification to the link owner.
When the client submits:
A new mortgage file is created in the application received stage, owned by the team member whose link was used, with a loan code that starts with "APP-". If the link was tied to an existing mortgage file (for example, sent from a lead that already has a file), that file is updated instead.
A contact is created or matched for each borrower.
The signed Client Consent Form and PEP Declaration (plus Form 1A on BC links) are stored for each borrower on the Compliance tab. See Application signing flow (BC MSA and consent).
Your active Smart Docs rules run and add document requests that the client can see in the portal.
The link owner is notified of the new application.
Practical examples and other ways to use it
These examples show a new purchase, an existing file, a correction after submit, and the client journey invite.
New purchase client. Send Alex Sample a Broki Native link. Alex applies for a $450,000 purchase with Jordan Example as co-borrower. Because your Smart Docs rules request a pay stub and ID, Alex lands in the client portal straight after submitting.
Existing file. Send the link from a lead that already has a mortgage file so the application fills in that file instead of creating a second one. The borrowers' names, emails and phone numbers already on the file are prefilled.
Client wants to fix an answer. Ask them to use Continue my application from their confirmation email rather than starting a fresh application.
Client journey invite. One way to start a client before they apply: the client journey invite email has both Start Application and Upload Documents buttons, so the client can upload early and apply when ready.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
These mistakes cover a different device, Reset, a second file, and the confirmation email address.
Mistake: switching devices mid-application. Progress is stored in the browser, so a different device or browser starts from the beginning. Fix: go back to the original browser. Prevent: tell clients to finish on one device.
Mistake: selecting Reset. Reset clears the answers saved in this browser. Prevent: use Back to change earlier answers instead.
Mistake: sending a fresh link to change a submitted application. A fresh link without a mortgage file behind it creates a new file. Fix: use Continue my application from the confirmation email, or send the link from the client's lead so it's tied to the existing file.
Mistake: wrong email for the primary borrower. The confirmation email goes to the primary borrower's email entered in the application, once. Prevent: check the email on the Review & Submit step.
Troubleshooting
Each heading below is what happens after submit, or a message on the submit screen, with the fix under it.
The client submitted but didn't get the confirmation email
This is the case when the client submitted and the "Your mortgage application — continue anytime" email did not arrive.
Possible causes
The primary borrower's email in the application has a typo.
The email was already sent once for this mortgage file. It is not sent again for later updates.
Check first
The borrower's email on the mortgage file.
To fix
Ask the client to check spam and other folders for "Your mortgage application — continue anytime".
If they need the portal, send it from the mortgage file: open the actions menu and select Copy portal link.
Contact support if
The email is correct and the client received nothing. Include the loan code, the borrower's name, and the approximate submission time.
"Submission failed. Please try again."
This message means the application could not be saved at that moment, and the answers stay in this browser.
Possible causes
The application couldn't be saved at that moment.
To fix
Stay on the page. Your answers are kept in this browser.
Select Submit Application again.
Contact support if
It fails again. Include the broker's name, the approximate time, and a screenshot of the message.
"Your application was received but could not be completed. Please contact your broker."
This message means the application was saved, and the primary borrower could not be linked to the file.
Possible causes
The application was saved, but the primary borrower couldn't be linked to the file.
To fix
Client: contact your broker. Don't submit again.
Broker: open the new mortgage file and check the borrower on the file's contacts.
Contact support if
The file has no primary borrower. Include the loan code and submission time.
"Failed to update mortgage file. You may need to use a new application link."
This message means the link was tied to a mortgage file that could not be updated.
Possible causes
The link was tied to a mortgage file that could not be updated.
To fix
Broker: send a new application link with Send application link from the client's lead.
The client went to the thank-you screen, not the portal
This is the case when the client sees Application Submitted! and the portal does not open.
Possible causes
No client-visible document requests or questions were outstanding when they submitted. Your Smart Docs rules may not match their answers.
To fix
Broker: add document requests on the file's Documents tab.
Send the portal link with Copy portal link from the file's actions menu.
For link errors such as "Link Not Found", see Application link not working.
Tips and best practices
These tips keep submissions on the right file and tell you when the portal will open.
When the client already has a mortgage file, send the link from their lead. It prevents duplicate files and prefills the borrowers.
Review your Smart Docs rules before you send links. They decide whether the client lands in the portal right away.
Tell co-borrowers to watch for their own signing email if they won't be present.
Limitations and important behavior
These limits cover how many people fit, where the draft is saved, and when the portal opens.
Up to four people per application.
The in-progress draft is saved in the client's browser only. It doesn't follow them to another device.
The Continue my application link works for 14 days after it was last sent, and never more than 30 days after it was first created.
The confirmation email is sent once per mortgage file, to the primary borrower's email captured at submission.
Smart Docs rules run when a Broki application is submitted. Duplicate requests are skipped.
The portal redirect counts every outstanding client-visible request, including ones the broker added before the client applied.
Resubmitting updates the existing file's answers, prices, dates, address and lender. It does not create a second file.
Frequently asked questions
These questions cover saving, French, and whether an account is required.
Can I save the application and come back later? Before submitting, yes, in the same browser. After submitting, use Continue my application in the confirmation email.
Can I fill out the application in French? Yes. Use the EN / FR switch in the header. The confirmation email follows the language used.
Do I need an account to apply or open the portal? No. The application and client portal open from private links.
Related articles
These articles cover the form fields, signing, the portal, and link problems.