SPARK 8.1.9 Release Notes & Webinar

The SPARK 8.1.9 release is planned for Saturday, July 12th. This update includes support for click-to-order Tax Transcripts via Tax Guard, SOP 50 10 8 compliance updates, and several improvements requested by customers during our recent SPARK Summit. The maintenance window will occur from 11:00 PM CT on Saturday, July 12th through 9:00 AM CT on Sunday, July 13th.

Please join us for a release webinar on Thursday, July 17th at 11:00 AM CT, where you can see a demonstration and ask questions about the content of this release. Sign up for the release webinar using this link.

What's New

Click-to-Order Tax Transcripts

We're excited to announce our new partnership with Tax Guard that transforms how you collect IRS tax transcripts. This integration eliminates manual processes by allowing Applicants to complete IRS Form 8821 consent directly in SPARK, which automatically kicks off a tax transcript order to Tax Guard.

Key Benefits:

• Save time and reduce manual entry by centralizing tax transcript ordering directly within SPARK.

• Enhance the applicant experience by keeping the entire consent workflow within a single, seamless platform.

• Gain real-time visibility into the status of Tax Guard transcript orders for faster follow-up and decision-making.

• Strengthen data security by eliminating unnecessary uploads and downloads of sensitive data.

Here’s a preview of how the new click-to-order integration works. Your Customer Success Manager will help configure your Order Tax Transcript tasks to use this enhanced functionality.

When ordering tax transcripts, set a due date for the Applicant task and verify the Business Information that will be used to complete Form 8821.

Next, select an Authorized Signer to complete Form 8821 for the business. This individual must be an active Applicant Portal User to log into SPARK and complete the Task. Set the turnaround time for Tax Guard based on the urgency of the request.

Your Applicant will receive an email notification prompting them to complete the Task. You can customize the Task name that appears to the Applicant - such as 'Tax Transcript Consent' - which can differ from your internal Task name.

The Applicant will complete a brief workflow that includes consenting to Tax Guard’s disclosure language, downloading the populated Form 8821, and uploading a hand-signed copy of the form.

Once the Applicant submits the signed Form 8821, the order is sent to Tax Guard, and the Task status will update to Ordered.

When Tax Guard fulfills the request, SPARK will automatically update the Task and upload both the tax transcripts and the Tax Guard Tax Return Transcript Summary to the appropriate document placeholders.

This integration also supports fulfillment of personal tax transcript orders, for lenders who request them.

If you're interested in using the new SPARK <> Tax Guard click-to-order integration, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager to learn more. Note: The official rollout is still pending some final coordination with the Tax Guard team.

EPC Strategy

By customer request, we have added a new SPARK strategy for businesses with the role of Eligible Passive Company (EPC) on packages.

What's Changed

Additional SOP 50 10 8 Updates

We have made several compliance updates based on the issuance of SOP 50 10 8 with Technical Updates as well as technical requirements from E-Tran.

• We added a new validation on E-Tran Submission that ensures loans over $50,000 include documented collateral. The lender must be taking a lien position on the collateral and the collateral must have an available value > $0.

• The 'Agreement of Franchisor' section within SBA Franchise Eligibility has been retired for loans that do not already have any of these questions answered.

• Refinancing Same Institution Debt:

  • If an SBA loan has a processing method of Preferred Lending Program or SBA Express, this Eligibility section will fail. The user will see an alert that Same Institution Debt refinances must be submitted under General Processing.  

  • If the question, ‘Will the lender provide a reduced debt service and longer amortization period?’ is answered No, this Eligibility section will fail.

  • If the question ‘Will the new loan reduce the Lender's credit exposure to the applicant?’ is answered Yes, this Eligibility section will fail.

  • Three questions have been removed:

    • Is the debt an interim loan that was made for a purpose other than real estate construction?

    • Was the loan approved by the Lender within 90 days prior to the issuance of an SBA loan number?

    • Is the debt a construction loan that has not been disburse at the time the PLP loan number is issued?

• Updated Handling of Demographics: Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Veteran Status will only be sent to E-Tran if these details are disclosed by the borrower. We released a hotfix to update this behavior on July 8th following the E-Tran release of these changes.

• Spousal relationships will now be documented on loans that are submitted to E-Tran when the individuals are sent as first or second-level principals of borrowers or operating company guarantors.

• We have updated the following SPARK Strategies to align with the new SBA small loan threshold:

  • Any Commercial Real Estate on Packages > 350k Strategy 

  • Any Real Estate on Packages > 350k Strategy 

  • Construction Loan > 350k 

  • Construction Use of Proceeds > 350k 

Generate Payment Terms on SBA Form 147

For customers generating SBA Form 147 in SPARK, we now support the generation of payment terms on this form, which include:

• Fixed and variable interest rates

• One or multiple interest-only payments

• Principal and interest payments

• Standard payment clause

• Escrow option

• Rate adjustment clause

• Ceiling and floor rates

• Lender payment adjustments

• Loan prepayment clause

• Subsidy recoupment fee

• Remaining principal and accrued interest clause

• Late charge

• Net earnings recapture clause

• State interest rate reduction clause

SBA Form 148L

SPARK has been updated to support the latest version of this form.

Improvements to Dashboard Package & Task Lists

We’ve updated Package Lists across SPARK to improve consistency and usability:

• The search bar has been repositioned to the left side of the list.

• Edit Filters and Edit Columns have been consolidated into a single Edit icon for a more streamlined experience.

We’ve added new functionality to Dashboard Task Lists to improve usability:

• Use a quick filter to narrow your list to Tasks due in the next 7, 30, 60, or 90 days.

• Filter to show Tasks “Assigned to or Owned by Me.”

• Similar to Package Lists, the Edit Filters and Edit Columns actions are now combined into a single Edit icon.

• The search bar is now located on the left side of the Task List.

• We’ve removed Task Categories, allowing users to upload documents and associate fees with any Task.

Customize Days After Year-End to Show Tax Return Document Placeholders

Customize when prior year tax return placeholders appear based on your business needs. Reach out to your Customer Success Manager if you're interested in taking advantage of this new setting.

Estimated Closing Date Visibility for Applicants

Estimated Closing Dates are now hidden from Applicants on their Active Applications list.

Ad Hoc Conditions & Covenants

Internal users can now save and add another Condition when adding custom Conditions to a package.

Paste Rich Text Content as Text

We’ve improved the visibility of the 'Paste as Text' option when users paste content into SPARK commentary fields.

Default Stage on New Package Creation

Previously, if a product included a Lead master stage, manually created packages would default to the first process stage after Lead. Going forward, they will default to the first process stage, regardless of whether a Lead stage exists.

API Enhancements

• We have introduced new webhooks for when a package Source is added, updated, or deleted.

• We have added a new IsPrimaryContact indicator to the Package Extract API.

Cookies Acknowledgement

We have updated the acknowledgement for first-time SPARK users: "By using SPARK you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site usage."

What's Been Fixed

• Creating Individual Cash Flow for a Married Individual: We fixed an issue where SPARK incorrectly displayed a cash flow as joint, even when it was created as an individual cash flow for a married applicant.

• Editing SBA Form 1086 from the PDF Preview: We resolved an issue where SBA Form 1086 was not fully editable from the PDF preview. All fields are now editable.

• Adding a Placeholder from Safari: We fixed an issue that prevented lenders using Safari on iPads or iPhones from adding new document placeholders.

• Documenting Disability Insurance for Multiple Individuals: We fixed an issue that prevented lenders from adding multiple individuals to the disability insurance section in the Insurance Requirements feature.

• Deposit Requirement Field for Companion Letters: We fixed a calculation issue where the deposit requirement was not displayed correctly for companion packages.

• Debt Service Coverage Calculation in Decision Tracking: We updated the logic in Decision Tracking to ensure that only periods not marked as hidden in the financial analysis are included in the debt service coverage calculation.

• 1120 Balance Sheet in Document Analysis: We fixed an issue that prevented the Balance Sheet of an 1120 tax form from being updated after document analysis was completed.

• Franchise Validation Improvement: When preparing an E-Tran submission, if the business is a Franchise and the SBA Franchise Code is missing, SPARK will now attempt to retrieve an updated code from the Franchise Listing on SPARK's backend before displaying a validation error.

Find Out More

Stay tuned for the latest features and subscribe to your favorite categories. You can view our product roadmap at any time here.

If you have any feedback or questions, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or submit a ticket to the SPARK Support Team.