By Tami Aschwege, Solutions Engineer, Suntell
In my last post, I shared how I went from teller to Solutions Engineer. Along the way, I discovered that one of the biggest barriers to adopting technology wasn’t cost or complexity—it was a mindset.
I used to work in a community bank, and we were used to doing everything with spreadsheets, Word documents, and a lot of manual processes. At first, a complete commercial lending software platform sounded like something only big banks could use.
The truth is, Suntell’s Square 1 Credit Suite was designed with institutions of all sizes in mind. In fact, many of our most successful customers are smaller community banks and credit unions that started with just one or two components of the system and grew from there.
Start Small and Grow at Your Pace
When you implement the Square 1 Credit Suite, you do not have to adopt every feature on day one. Many institutions start with the area they need most, such as:
- Credit analysis and spreading: If your biggest need is to analyze financials and streamline credit decision-making, we can start there.
- Loan presentations: If you want to improve loan committee packages, we can configure the presentation tools to match your institution’s format.
- Document tracking: If you want better compliance tracking and fewer missed items, we can start with document management.
Once your team is comfortable, you can add more modules when you are ready. This staged approach allows you to see results quickly while avoiding the overwhelm that can come with a large technology change.
The Efficiency Boost for Smaller Institutions
I know the hesitation. You might think, “We have a small team. We can’t take on a big project.” The reality is that smaller teams benefit the most from streamlining. Instead of entering the same customer information into multiple systems, you enter it once in the loan management system, and it flows through credit analysis, loan presentations, and document tracking automatically.
When I worked in a bank, I spent countless hours entering the same information into multiple places. With Suntell, you save that time, which means your small team can focus on serving customers instead of pushing paper.
Support You Can Count On
Another reason small institutions hesitate is fear of being left on their own after implementation. That is where Suntell stands out. Our team answers calls in real time, schedules WebEx sessions when needed, and tracks response times to ensure you get the help you need. Many of us, like me, have sat in your seat on the banking side, so we know the challenges you face.
“Too Small” is Just a Myth
You do not have to be a large bank to benefit from advanced commercial lending software. The Square 1 Credit Suite is flexible, scalable, and built to support the way community banks and credit unions work. Starting small and growing over time ensures you get the right tools at the right time for your institution.
The bottom line is this: if you think your institution is too small for Suntell, you might be exactly the kind of organization we can help the most.
Proving that size doesn’t determine your ability to innovate is only part of the story. In my next post, I’ll explain why having the right vendor support can make, or break, your technology investment.
