IVA CRM SYSTEM
Product Development
My Debt Plan
15 months
PM, Design Owner, Finance Manager
Chreo — a purpose-built CRM for the UK IVA debt management industry. Designed to replace legacy systems like Hubsolv with a modern, modular platform covering client management, multi-channel communications, compliance workflows, and financial calculations for Individual Voluntary Arrangement providers.
Project Overview
UK debt advisory firms managing IVA processes need specialized CRM systems that understand industry-specific workflows, compliance requirements, and financial calculations. Generic CRMs don't map to the actual processes, creating inefficiencies and compliance risks.
The Challenge
- 01 Industry Complexity - strict regulatory requirements and workflows
- 02 Data Sensitivity - financial and personal data requiring robust security
- 03 Integrations - credit bureaus, payment processors, document management
- 04 Timeline - fixed 15-month deadline for initial deployment
- 05 Stakeholders - balancing debt advisors, compliance, and management
The Approach
We broke the system into 7 discrete modules built and deployed sequentially with a team of 7 developers:
- 1 Document Verification - Client identity verification and upload
- 2 Document Processing - Automated extraction of financial docs
- 3 SIP3 - Standard Financial Statement processing
- 4 Drafting - IVA proposal creation and calculation
- 5 IP Review - Insolvency Practitioner review workflows
- 6 MOC - Compliance tracking and resolution
- 7 Reporting - Dashboard and analytics
Technical Implementation
React-based interface with role-based views for advisors, compliance, and management.
Custom API handling calculations, document processing, and workflow automation.
PostgreSQL with proper audit trails and data encryption.
Multi-channel comms (Email, SMS, WhatsApp), Royal Mail address lookup, Zamzar document conversion, Equifax credit checks, and custom CRM data migration from Hubsolv.
Key Outcomes
- 15-month build timeline, sprint-based delivery with weekly demos
- 7 integrated modules covering the full IVA client lifecycle
- 7-person development team — backend, frontend, design, and QA
- Multi-channel communications: Email, SMS, and WhatsApp all live
- Several milestones delivered ahead of schedule
- Compliance and audit trail requirements met for UK debt advisory industry
Lessons Learned
Project Management: Managing a 7-person team across 15 months requires constant communication, clear priorities, and flexibility when requirements evolve. Regular stakeholder updates prevented scope creep.
Design Ownership: Owning design direction without doing the design work yourself means clear communication of intent, detailed feedback on mockups, and trusting your team's execution.
Industry-Specific Software: Building for regulated industries requires deep understanding of compliance requirements from day one - retrofitting compliance is expensive and risky.