Limits
What Ironwooddoes not do
Every one of these is something a competing rep would raise in a meeting we are not in. You should hear it from us first, with the reason behind it, so you can decide before you spend time on a call.
The limits
01
It is Excel, and macros have to be enabled
The suite is a set of macro enabled Excel workbooks. Your IT department has to trust the folder location for the macros to run.
That is what lets the formulas stay open and lets your bank own the file forever. A closed application would hide the math your examiner wants to see.
02
There is no loan origination system integration
Ironwood does not push or pull data from your core, your loan origination system, or your imaging platform. Output leaves as a printed or saved memo.
An integration means vendor access to your environment and a dependency that breaks on their upgrade cycle. We chose no access over convenient access.
03
Scanned returns depend on scan quality
The tax extractor reads clean digital returns well. A crooked, faint, or low resolution scan will produce pages it cannot reconcile.
When a page does not reconcile, the reader refuses it and tells you which page. It does not guess a number into a credit file.
04
The global file has an entity cap
The global relationship workbook consolidates a fixed number of entities. Past that count the file has to be split or rebuilt.
Every consolidated entity multiplies the calculation load in a workbook. We capped it where performance stays acceptable on ordinary bank hardware.
05
Mac Excel behaves differently
The suite is built and tested on Excel for Windows. Some macro behavior and print formatting differ on Mac Excel.
Community bank credit departments run Windows almost without exception, so that is where the testing hours go.
06
It hosts nothing, so there is no portal or app
There is no web dashboard, no mobile app, and no login. The borrower statement is a form they fill and send back.
Nothing hosted is the entire security posture. Borrower financial statements and tax returns never leave your network because there is nowhere for them to go.
07
It does not make the credit decision
Ironwood spreads, grades against your policy limits, and generates the memo. The loan officer writes the narrative and the committee decides.
A model that decides is a model your bank has to defend. A model that calculates against your own stated policy is one your bank already owns.
Still a fit
If none of that is a dealbreaker
The price is published and the walkthrough is fifteen minutes on a complete credit file.