A 45-minute manual intake process became a 2-minute review, reclaiming 280 hours a year.
- Every deal submission required one person to manually download files, build folders, rename documents, and check for missing items.
- Aurora automated the full pipeline: files pulled from email and web forms, client folders created, documents renamed, inventory checked, and same-day follow-up sent for missing items.
- Time per deal dropped from 45 minutes to around 2 minutes of review-only work.
- At 40 deals per month, that is approximately 280 hours reclaimed annually with near-zero file handling errors.
Every new deal submission kicked off the same manual sequence. Someone on the team had to pull files from email and web forms, build a folder structure in Dropbox, rename every document to match the firm's strict naming convention, cross-reference a checklist to see what was missing, and notify the team. One person, every deal, every time. It was the kind of work that nobody enjoys but that nobody can afford to skip, because a misfiled document or a forgotten follow-up slows the entire underwriting process.
Background
This client is a commercial finance firm that processes a steady volume of deal submissions each month. Their underwriting workflow depends on clean, complete document packages landing in the right place with the right names. As deal volume grew, intake became the bottleneck, not because the work was hard, but because it was repetitive and blocked everything downstream.
They reached out because they wanted their team focused on deals, not on filenames. The work itself was straightforward, but the manual overhead had compounded to the point where one person’s week was meaningfully shaped by it.
Before and after
- 30 to 45 minutes of manual work per deal submission
- Files scattered across inboxes and desktops until someone moved them
- Naming conventions applied inconsistently depending on who did the intake
- Missing documents caught only when a human noticed, sometimes days later
- Follow-ups to clients for missing items delayed or forgotten
- Around 2 minutes per deal, entirely review-only
- Files pulled automatically from email and web form submissions
- Client folder created and all documents renamed correctly on arrival
- Checklist run automatically against the standard document set
- Missing items flagged to the team and followed up with the client same-day
What we built
When a new deal arrives, either as an email submission or through the web intake form, the automation pulls every attached document, creates a properly named client folder in Dropbox from a template, and routes each file into the correct location with the correct name across five document categories: bank statements, financial statements, tax returns, debt schedules, and supporting documents.
From there, it runs an inventory check against the firm’s standard intake checklist. If the package is complete, the team gets a ready-for-review notification with a structured summary of everything that came in. If anything is missing, the team gets a specific list of what’s outstanding, and an automatic follow-up goes to the client requesting the missing items the same day.
Built across Gmail, Gravity Forms, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Google Sheets. All tools the firm was already using. No new platforms to adopt, no new logins for the team to manage.
The results
- 30 to 45 minutes of manual work per deal reduced to roughly 2 minutes of review
- Approximately 23 hours per month reclaimed at 40 deals per month
- Near-zero error rate on file naming and routing across all document types
- Same-day follow-up on incomplete packages with no manual action required
- Underwriting team unblocked from intake entirely, reviewing organised packages on arrival
The bigger shift is that intake is no longer a bottleneck the team has to work around. Deals land ready for underwriting. The reviewer’s job is now to glance at a pre-organised package and confirm it’s good, not build it from scratch. And incomplete packages get chased automatically, which was previously the single biggest source of deal delays.
This is the category of work that automation is best suited for: high-frequency, rule-based, low-tolerance-for-error tasks that don’t require judgment. Take those off the plate of capable people and they work on things that actually benefit from their judgment.
FAQ
How long did the implementation take?
This project was completed in under three weeks, including form setup, Dropbox integration, naming convention configuration, and checklist automation.
What happens if a document arrives in an unexpected format or via an unexpected channel?
The automation handles both email and web form submissions. Unexpected formats are flagged for manual review rather than silently misrouted.
Does the team need to change the tools they use?
No. The entire pipeline runs across Gmail, Gravity Forms, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Google Sheets, all tools the firm was already using.
How does the same-day follow-up work for missing documents?
When the inventory check finds a gap, an automated message goes to the client the same day listing the specific missing items by name.
Can this handle multiple simultaneous deal submissions?
Yes. Each submission triggers its own independent pipeline. There is no queue or dependency on a person being available.