SPARK 8.2.0 Release Notes & Webinar

The SPARK 8.2.0 release is planned for Saturday, August 2nd. This update includes integrated SAM.gov Exclusion Checks, a new SPARK Knowledge Assistant powered by AI, and redirect links to custom documentation for Applicants and Referral Partners. The maintenance window will occur from 11:00 PM CT on Saturday, August 2nd through 9:00 AM CT on Sunday, August 3rd.

Please join us for a release webinar on Thursday July 31st, at 11:00 AM CT, where you can see a demonstration and ask questions about the content of this release. A recording of the webinar is available here.

What's New

Introducing SBA Compliance Analysis for CAIVRS & SAM Searches

You asked for it and we listened! The new SBA Compliance Analysis feature is here, which brings CAIVRS Checks and SAM Exclusion Searches into one unified, streamlined experience for SBA loans.

If you previously used CAIVRS Analysis, you’re all set - SAM Exclusion Analysis has already been enabled automatically.

When you work in loan packages following the release, you’ll see two tabs within SBA Compliance Analysis: CAIVRS checks are found on the first tab, with SAM Exclusion searches on the second tab.

SAM Searches Integrated with SAM.gov

We're introducing a brand-new integration with SAM.gov. This allows you to run SAM exclusion searches inside SPARK without leaving the platform.

When you run a SAM Exclusion Search, SPARK uses the entity’s name and Tax ID (if provided) to fetch results directly from SAM.gov.

Results are grouped by required entities—such as borrowers, all 20%+ beneficial owners, and referral partners—and secondary entities. If a Tax ID is missing, SPARK will display a warning, but you can still proceed with the search.

Include Referral Partners & Referral Partner Companies in SAM Exclusion Searches

Referral Partner and Referral Partner Company records now support Tax ID and SSN fields, so you can include them in SAM Exclusion Searches too. If the Referral Partner Company is marked as internal, the Company and associated Referral Partner will be automatically be excluded from the SAM Exclusion Search list.

Review & Manage Search Results

Once a search is complete, a new document placeholder called SAM.gov Search Results is automatically generated.

If a SAM Exclusion Search returns one or more results, you’ll be prompted to review and confirm whether any of them match the entity. If none are a match, you can manually confirm that no exclusions were found for the entity on SAM.gov.

Search results also appear in the Credit Memo under SAM.gov Exclusions, so approvers have full visibility when making a credit decision. There is also a new rich text commentary area for SAM Exclusion Analysis that flows to your Credit Memo.

New Stage Validator

We also have new SAM Exclusion Analysis Validators, which verify that all required entities have completed SAM exclusion searches and no exclusions exist.

Automate SAM Exclusion Searches

For customers using SPARK Automation, you can automatically run SAM Exclusion Searches in your workflows. Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager to learn more.

SPARK Knowledge Assistant

Save time and get instant, accurate answers to your SPARK questions with AI-powered assistance and direct links to citation sources in our Knowledge Base.

If you already use our SBA Knowledge Assistant, both Assistants will appear in the same SPARK AI window. Select the Assistant best suited for your question and switch between them at any time.

See commonly asked questions when you open the Assistant and click any sample question to instantly see how it works.

Get detailed answers with clickable source citations that show the actual article title and open in a new tab. Copy responses for easy sharing or future reference.

Rate responses using thumbs up/down to help us improve quality. We keep all content current with the latest SPARK documentation for 24/7 self-service support.

Add Your Own Help Documentation to Applicant & Referral Partner Portals

At SPARK Summit, multiple customers voiced the need to share institution-specific guidance with Applicants and Referral Partners.

You can now add custom help guide links directly to the Applicant and Referral Partner portals - making it easier for external users to access relevant documentation. Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager for assistance to configure these links in your environment.

Automation Triggers

For customers using SPARK Automation, we’ve added two new triggers requested by customers. Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager to add these triggers to your workflows.

• Package Status Changed: Allows an automation workflow to be triggered when a package is Declined, Withdrawn, or Restored.

• Decision Request Approved: Allows an automation workflow to be triggered when a Decision Request is approved (Initial Approval, Amendment, or Reapproval).

What's Changed

General Availability for the SBA Knowledge Assistant

Our beta period for the AI-powered SBA Knowledge Assistant has ended, and with this release, the SBA Knowledge Assistant will be available to all internal SPARK users. You can read more about this in prior release notes and the SPARK Knowledge Base.

First Payment Date is Now Customizable

You can now optionally set a First Payment Date when creating or editing Terms and Sources that support terms. SPARK will use this date to calculate the estimated amortization schedule. If left blank, the system will continue to auto-calculate the date using existing logic.

Improved Control Over Autogenerated Tasks

Previously, Tasks could be autogenerated based on associated Document Placeholders, even if the Task Type wasn’t explicitly associated with the product on that package. With this update, Tasks will only autogenerate if the Task Type is specifically configured for the product - giving you more precise control over task creation.

What's Been Fixed

• Updating Tasks on Withdrawn or Declined Packages: A hotfix was deployed to fix an issue related to updating a task on a withdrawn or declined package.

• Adding Screen Shots to Credit Memo Comments: A hotfix was deployed to fix an issue related to adding screen shots to ad hoc credit memo commentary. In addition to this fix, we had to remove the ability to "paste as plain text" in credit memos as it was causing issues with pasting images.

• E-Tran & Business History Questions for Entity Owners that are Borrowers: A hotfix was deployed to resolve an issue where 1919/business history questions were not being sent for entity owners also listed as Borrowers.

• Improved Franchise Updates: SPARK now includes a new synchronization process to keep the franchise list up to date with newly approved SBA franchises.

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.