Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.keystn.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Suggested Order of Operations
We recommend completing the setup steps in the following order, since later steps depend on earlier ones:
- Configure Company Settings — Set your company name, NMLS number, LOS, and payroll settings.
- Create Branches — Define your office locations or organizational units.
- Add Employees — Add your loan officers, processors, assistants, and managers.
- Add Lenders — Register the wholesale lenders and correspondents you work with.
- Add Lead Sources — Define where your loans originate (referrals, web leads, etc.).
- Set Up Chart of Accounts — Initialize your accounting structure.
- Create Commission Templates — Build the compensation plans for your team.
Note: You can revisit and modify any of these settings at any time. This order is a recommendation to make the process as smooth as possible, since later steps (like assigning employees to branches, or creating commission rules that reference lenders) depend on the foundational data being in place first.
Navigate to Administration > Company Settings in the sidebar.
Company Settings is where you define core information about your organization. There are several sections to configure:
- Company Name — The legal or display name of your mortgage company.
- NMLS Number — Your company’s Nationwide Multistate Licensing System number (optional but recommended).
Loan Origination System (LOS)
Select the loan origination system your company uses. Keystone currently has a live integration with Arive — loan data syncs automatically when Arive is selected. All other LOS options (LendingPad, Encompass, BytePro, and Other) are supported for manual data entry but do not have an automated integration.
Payroll Settings
Payroll settings control how commission and draw periods are calculated. Configure the following:
Commission Schedule
- Commission Period Type — How often commissions are calculated. Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Semi-Monthly, or Monthly.
- Commission Period Day — The day of the week the period starts (for Weekly/Biweekly).
- Semi-Monthly Type — For semi-monthly periods, choose between First & Fifteenth, Fifteenth & Last, or Custom dates.
- Monthly Type — For monthly periods, choose First of month, Last of month, or Custom.
- Custom Period Start/End — If using custom dates, specify the day of the month (1—31).
Payroll/Draw Schedule
- Pay Period Type — How often payroll runs. Options: Weekly, Biweekly, Semi-Monthly, or Monthly.
- Payroll Period Day — The day of the week (for Weekly/Biweekly).
- Semi-Monthly Type — Same options as commission schedule.
- Monthly Type — Same options as commission schedule.
Draw Settings
- Draw Calculation Type — The default draw method: None, Hourly, or Flat Amount.
- Draw Balances Enabled — Whether to track running draw balances that carry over between periods.
Other
- Daily Payroll Enabled — Enable or disable daily payroll processing.
- Paycheck Date Offset — Number of days between the end of a period and the paycheck date (0—31).
How to Save
After making changes to any section, click the Save button at the bottom of that section. Changes are applied immediately.
2. Create Branches
Navigate to Administration > Branches in the sidebar.
Branches represent physical office locations or organizational units within your company. Every employee can be assigned to a branch, and commission rules can be scoped to specific branches.
Adding a Branch
- On the Branches page, click the Add Branch button (or equivalent).
- Fill in the branch details:
- Branch Name (required) — A descriptive name for the branch (e.g., “San Diego Office”, “Northeast Division”).
- Branch Manager — Select an existing employee with the Branch Manager role. If you have not added employees yet, you can leave this blank and assign a manager later.
- Click Save to create the branch.
Managing Branches
From the Branches list, you can:
- Edit a branch to change its name or reassign the manager.
- Delete a branch if it is no longer needed. Note that you should reassign any employees belonging to that branch before deleting it.
- View employee count — The branches list shows how many employees are assigned to each branch.
Note: You must create at least one branch before you can assign employees to branches. However, branch assignment is optional for employees.
3. Add Employees
Navigate to Directories > People in the sidebar.
Employees are the core user records in Keystone. Every person in your organization — loan officers, processors, assistants, branch managers, and contractors — is represented as an employee.
Adding an Employee
- On the People directory page, click Add Employee (or equivalent).
- Fill in the employee details:
Basic Information
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|
| First Name | Yes | Employee’s first name |
| Last Name | Yes | Employee’s last name |
| Email | No | Work email address. Used to link the employee to a Keystone login. |
| Mobile Number | No | Mobile phone number |
| Custom Title | No | A custom job title (up to 100 characters), e.g., “Senior Loan Officer” |
| NMLS Number | No | The employee’s individual NMLS number |
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Roles | One or more roles from: Loan Officer, Loan Officer Assistant, Processor, Contractor, Branch Manager. An employee can hold multiple roles simultaneously. |
| Tax Classification | W2 (employee) or 1099 (independent contractor). Affects how commissions and draws are calculated and reported. |
| Branch | Assign the employee to one of your branches (optional). |
| Start Date | The date the employee started (optional). |
| Termination Date | If the employee has been terminated, record the date here (optional). |
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Draw Calculation Type | None (no draw), Hourly (based on hours worked), or Flat Amount (fixed draw amount per period). |
| Draw Amount | For Flat Amount draws, the dollar amount per period. |
| Hourly Rate | For Hourly draws, the rate per hour. |
| Hours Per Period | For Hourly draws, the number of hours per pay period. |
- Click Save to create the employee record.
Inviting employees to log in
Once you have added an employee, you can send them an invitation from the People directory. They will receive an email with a sign-in link — no password setup required.
If an employee does not need to log in (for example, a contractor whose data you track but who does not use the platform), you can leave the email field blank.
State Licenses
After creating an employee, you can add state licenses to their profile. This is especially important for loan officers who must be licensed in specific states. Navigate to the employee’s detail page to manage their licenses.
Managing Employees
From the People directory, you can:
- Search employees by name, email, or NMLS number.
- Filter by role, branch, or active/archived status.
- Edit any employee’s details from their profile page.
- Archive an employee instead of deleting them, which preserves their historical data while removing them from active lists.
4. Add Lenders
Navigate to Directories > Lenders in the sidebar.
Lenders represent the wholesale lenders and correspondent partners your company works with. Each loan in the pipeline is associated with a lender, and commission rules can be filtered by lender.
Adding a Lender
- On the Lenders directory page, click Add Lender (or equivalent).
- Fill in the lender details:
Basic Information
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|
| Name | Yes | The lender’s official name |
| Display Name | No | An alternate shorter name for display purposes |
| NMLS Number | No | The lender’s NMLS identifier |
| Corporate Address | No | The lender’s main office address |
| Portal Link | No | URL to the lender’s broker portal for quick access |
| Notes | No | Free-text notes about working with this lender |
| Logo URL | No | URL to the lender’s logo image |
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Client ID | Your company’s client/broker ID with this lender |
| FHA ID | Your FHA lender ID for this lender |
| VA ID | Your VA lender ID for this lender |
| EPO | Early Payoff terms or identifiers |
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Hazard Insurance Clause | Standard hazard insurance language for this lender |
| Title Insurance Clause | Standard title insurance language for this lender |
- Conventional
- FHA
- VA
- USDA
- Non-QM
- Reverse Mortgage
- HELOC
- Commercial
- HELOAN
- Click Save to create the lender record.
After creating a lender, you can add contact people associated with that lender. Navigate to the lender’s detail page and use the contacts section to add:
- Contact Name (required)
- Email (optional)
- Phone (optional)
- Role (optional, e.g., “Account Executive”, “Lock Desk”)
- Primary Contact — Mark one contact as the primary point of contact.
Managing Lenders
From the Lenders directory, you can:
- View all active lenders with their product types, loan count, and contact count.
- Edit any lender’s details.
- Archive a lender to remove it from active lists while preserving historical loan data.
5. Add Lead Sources
Navigate to Administration > Company Settings in the sidebar, then scroll to the Lead Sources section.
Lead sources track where your loans originate. Examples include “Zillow”, “Realtor Referral”, “Past Client”, “Company Website”, etc. Lead sources are used:
- On individual loan records to track origination.
- In commission templates to create rules based on how a loan was sourced.
- In analytics to measure marketing effectiveness.
Adding a Lead Source
- In the Lead Sources section of Company Settings, type the name of the new lead source.
- Click Add to create it.
Managing Lead Sources
- Edit — Click on an existing lead source to rename it.
- Delete — Remove a lead source if it is no longer used. Be cautious: if any loans reference this lead source, you should reassign them first.
6. Set Up Chart of Accounts
Navigate to Accounting > Chart of Accounts in the sidebar.
The Chart of Accounts is the foundation of your accounting system. It defines the categories used to classify all financial transactions — revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity.
Initializing Default Accounts
Keystone can automatically generate a default chart of accounts tailored for mortgage lending operations. On the Chart of Accounts page:
- If no accounts exist yet, you will see an option to Initialize Default Accounts.
- Click this button to seed your chart of accounts with a standard set of accounts commonly used in mortgage lending.
Note: It is strongly recommended to initialize the default accounts as a starting point. You can always add, edit, or deactivate accounts later.
Account Structure
Each account has the following properties:
| Property | Description |
|---|
| Account Number | A numeric code for the account (e.g., 1000, 4100) |
| Name | Descriptive name (e.g., “Operating Cash”, “Loan Revenue”) |
| Account Type | One of: Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, or Expense |
| Account Sub-Type | A more specific classification (e.g., CashAndBank, AccountsReceivable, OperatingRevenue, PayrollExpense) |
| Description | Optional description of the account’s purpose |
| Normal Balance | Whether the account normally carries a debit or credit balance (auto-determined by account type) |
| Parent Account | Optional parent for hierarchical organization |
Adding Custom Accounts
- Click Add Account on the Chart of Accounts page.
- Fill in the account details (name, number, type, sub-type, description).
- Optionally assign a parent account to create a hierarchical structure.
- Click Save.
Account Sub-Types
The following sub-types are available, grouped by account type:
Assets: CashAndBank, AccountsReceivable, OtherCurrentAsset, FixedAsset, OtherAsset
Liabilities: AccountsPayable, CreditCard, OtherCurrentLiability, LongTermLiability
Equity: OwnersEquity, RetainedEarnings
Revenue: OperatingRevenue, OtherRevenue
Expenses: OperatingExpense, CostOfGoodsSold, PayrollExpense, OtherExpense
7. Create Commission Templates
Navigate to Commission > Plan Templates in the sidebar.
Commission templates define how employees are compensated for each loan. Templates are the most complex part of initial setup, but they are essential for accurate payroll.
Understanding Commission Templates
A commission template defines:
- Who receives the commission (by role type).
- How much they receive (flat amount, percentage, or basis points).
- What the commission is calculated on (loan amount or broker compensation).
- Rules that modify or override the base commission based on conditions like lender, lead source, loan type, property state, or branch.
Creating a Template
- On the Plan Templates page, click Add Template (or equivalent).
- Configure the base template settings:
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Name | A descriptive name (e.g., “Standard LO Plan”, “Branch Manager Override”) |
| Role Type | The employee role this template applies to |
| Active | Whether this template is currently in use |
| Effective Date | When this template becomes active (optional) |
| End Date | When this template expires (optional) |
| Commission Basis | Calculate on Loan Amount or Broker Compensation |
| Amount Type | Flat (dollar amount), Percentage, or Bps (basis points) |
| Amount | The base commission amount |
| Minimum Commission | Floor for the calculated commission (optional) |
| Maximum Commission | Cap for the calculated commission (optional) |
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Deducts From Loan Officer | Whether this template’s amount is deducted from the LO’s commission |
| Apply File Fee First | Whether to deduct the file fee before calculating the commission percentage |
| Fee Name | A label for the file fee (e.g., “Processing Fee”, “Admin Fee”) |
| File Fee | The file fee amount |
| File Fee Type | Flat, Percentage, or Bps |
| File Fee Applied On | What the fee is calculated against: Loan Amount, Loan Revenue, Net Commission, or Gross Commission |
- Click Save to create the template.
Adding Commission Rules
After creating a template, you can add rules that modify the base commission under specific conditions. Each rule can filter on:
- Lender — Apply only to loans with a specific lender (or exclude a specific lender).
- Lead Source — Apply only to loans from a specific source.
- Branch — Apply only to loans from a specific branch.
- Loan Purpose — Purchase or Refinance.
- Loan Type — Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Non-QM, etc.
- Payer Type — Lender, Borrower, Investor, or Seller.
- Tax Classification — W2 or 1099 employees.
- Property States — Apply only to loans in specific states.
Rules also have their own amount, amount type, and commission basis settings, allowing you to create sophisticated tiered compensation structures.
Templates can include an optional Performance Booster that increases compensation based on production volume:
- Measurement Type — Volume (dollar amount) or Units (loan count).
- Duration Type — Measured “In the Last” period, “Since Beginning Of” period, or “All Time”.
- Period — Week, Month, Quarter, or Year.
- Conditions — Define thresholds and bonus amounts (e.g., “If volume exceeds $5M in the last month, add 10 bps”).
Assigning Templates to Employees
After creating commission templates, you will need to assign them to individual employees. Navigate to the employee’s profile page or use the commission template assignment features to link templates to specific loan officers, processors, or other roles.
Setup Checklist
Use this checklist to track your progress through initial setup:
Next Steps
Once your initial setup is complete, you are ready to start using Keystone for day-to-day operations:
- Import or create loans in the Loan Pipeline.
- Run commissions from the Commission section.
- Track tasks using the Tasks module.
- Review quality control with the QC templates and review system.
- Explore analytics on the Data Analytics page.
For a full guide to the application layout, see Navigation.
