You're Right to Watch Tech Costs, But That's Not Where You Start

From Supree Periasamy:

Cost control is a critical part of running a lending business. And with margins as tight as they are today, it makes sense that lenders are continuously evaluating technology through a cost lens.

But here’s the trap: starting your technology strategy with a spreadsheet leads you to optimize for price, not value. And that’s where things can go sideways.

The better approach? Start with your business.

Look at how your people spend their time. Look at the bottlenecks, rework, delays, and dropped handoffs. You’ll find that the true inefficiencies are baked into the process. Once you see the friction clearly, your perspective on what kind of technology you actually need will shift.

Instead of asking, “What’s the cheapest tech that does X?”, you’ll be asking, “What solution removes the need for X altogether?”

That’s what Charlie was built for.

With Charlie, we didn't just build a prettier LOS or POS — we rethought how work gets done. By breaking tasks into atomic units and enabling real-time, role-based workflows with embedded automation, Charlie doesn't just reduce costs; it removes entire layers of manual effort that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Yes, technology cost matters. But if your tech decision is based only on price, you’re likely overpaying in hidden ways—patchwork integrations, duplicate work, more headcount, and delays that cost you business.

So, before you start slashing budget lines, take a good look at how your business is actually operating. Then invest in the right solution—not the cheapest one—and you’ll find those “nickel and dime” costs take care of themselves.