Documentation
Complete guide to Capto CRM.
New here? Read our guide to mortgage lead generation for loan officers to see how Capto turns inbound leads into booked calls.
Table of Contents
Welcome to Capto CRM
Capto is a CRM built specifically for mortgage and loan officers. It brings together contacts, pipeline tracking, SMS conversations, email campaigns, AI automation, and Google My Business management into a single platform — so you can close more deals with less effort.
Creating Your Account
Sign up with your email and verify it to get started. Every new account gets a 14-day free trial with full access to all features — no credit card required. After signing up, you'll be guided through onboarding to set up your first business profile.
Businesses & Teams
Capto supports multiple businesses under one account. You can create additional businesses from the sidebar and switch between them at any time. Invite team members with roles: Owner (full control), Admin (manage members and settings), or Member (standard access).
Managing Contacts
Add contacts manually or import them via CSV. Each contact stores first name, last name, phone, email, source, status, and notes. Contacts belong to the active business and are automatically scoped by your team. The contacts table shows First Name and Last Name as separate, independently sortable columns.
CSV Import
Click Import on the Contacts page and drop a CSV file. Capto maps common column headers (first name, last name, phone, email, source, notes) automatically — you can confirm or adjust the mapping before importing. Every import is assigned to a list: pick an existing list, create a new one on the fly, or leave the field blank and Capto will place them into a system list called 'Unassigned'. The Unassigned list is hidden from the sidebar until it actually contains contacts, and disappears again once every contact in it has been assigned to a real list.
Contact Lists
Organize contacts into lists (e.g., 'Past Clients', 'Hot Leads', 'Referral Partners'). Lists can be color-coded and used as audience selectors when creating campaigns. Clicking a list in the sidebar loads that list's full contact set directly — even on large lists with thousands of members — so you always see every contact in the selected list.
Contact Detail Page
Click any contact to see their full profile — including activity timeline, conversation history, pipeline deals, and list memberships. You can start a new SMS conversation directly from the contact page.
Search & Filter
Use the contacts page search bar to find contacts by name, email, or phone. Sort the table by first name or last name independently. The global dashboard search also searches across contacts, deals, and conversations.
Two-Way SMS
Send and receive SMS messages directly within Capto using your Twilio phone number. Conversations are threaded per contact, so you can see the full message history at a glance.
Setting Up Twilio (Bring Your Own)
Capto uses a bring-your-own-Twilio model: you create a free Twilio account, register your brand/campaign for 10DLC (or submit Toll-Free Verification), buy your number, then paste your Account SID, Auth Token, and phone number into Settings → Messaging. You own the Twilio relationship and billing — Capto never marks up per-message fees. A fully Capto-managed flow is on the roadmap. See the step-by-step guide at /messaging-setup.
Choosing a Number (10DLC vs Toll-Free)
Most loan officers should use 10DLC (a local long code) for 1:1 lead follow-up — better deliverability and lower cost. Toll-free is best for national presence or higher-volume notifications. See the full guide at /messaging-setup, including how to port a number you already own.
AI Auto-Reply
When the AI Agent is enabled, incoming SMS messages are answered automatically using your voice settings, writing samples, business info, and (if the contact is replying to a recent campaign) the original campaign context. Replies are sent back through your Twilio number and stored in the conversation thread marked as AI-generated. On the Solo plan, AI auto-replies are capped at 750 per calendar month per account; Pro, Team and trial accounts are unlimited. The cap resets on the 1st of each month UTC.
Webhook Setup (required for inbound SMS)
For Capto to receive incoming texts, your Twilio phone number's Messaging webhook must be set to HTTP POST https://usecapto.com/api/public/twilio/incoming. Set it in the Twilio Console → Phone Numbers → your number → Messaging Configuration. Without this, outbound from Capto works but replies will never reach your inbox. Full walkthrough at /messaging-setup.
Starting a Conversation
You can start a new conversation from the Conversations page or directly from a contact's detail page. Just select a contact and type your message.
What it does
When someone calls your Twilio number, Capto can automatically text them back — optionally after first trying to forward the call to your real cell phone. Great for capturing leads who'd otherwise hang up on voicemail.
Enable it
Go to Settings → Twilio → toggle on 'Missed Call Auto-Text'. Optionally enter a Forward-To number (your cell) and a ring timeout (5–60 seconds). Customize the auto-text message — keep it short and friendly.
Twilio Voice webhook (required)
In the Twilio Console for your number, set the Voice 'A call comes in' webhook to HTTP POST https://usecapto.com/api/public/twilio/voice. Capto handles the status callback automatically — you do not need to set it manually.
How the flow works
If forwarding is set, Capto rings your cell for the configured timeout. If you don't answer (busy, no-answer, declined, failed), the auto-text fires to the caller. If forwarding is off, the caller hears a short greeting and gets the SMS immediately.
Deal Stages
Track deals across stages: New Lead → Contacted → Application → Processing → Underwriting → Approved → Closed. Each deal is linked to a contact and shows the deal value, loan type, expected close date, and notes.
Drag & Drop
Move deals between stages by dragging and dropping them on the Kanban board. Stage changes are saved immediately and trigger notifications if configured.
Deal Details
Each deal card shows the contact name, deal value, loan type, and expected close date. Click a deal to edit its details or add notes.
Campaign Types
Create one-time campaigns or drip sequences. Choose between SMS and Email channels. Drip campaigns let you define multiple steps with delays between each message.
Email Builder
The built-in visual email builder lets you compose rich HTML emails with a block-based editor. Add text, headings, buttons, images, dividers, and spacers. Switch between Visual, HTML, and Preview modes. Use personalization variables like {{first_name}}, {{last_name}}, and {{email}}.
Recipient Selection
Add recipients individually by searching contacts, or add entire contact lists at once. The recipient picker shows contact details and prevents duplicates.
Sending a Campaign
Once your campaign is ready, hit Send. SMS campaigns are sent immediately via Twilio. Email campaigns are queued and processed in the background with automatic retry on failure.
Scheduling
Schedule SMS or email campaigns for a future date and time. A background job runs every 5 minutes to pick up due campaigns and dispatch them — so actual send time may be up to ~5 minutes after the scheduled minute. You can cancel a scheduled campaign before it sends by editing it back to draft.
Email Templates
Save frequently used email designs as templates. Templates store the subject line and body content, and can be loaded when creating a new campaign.
Overview
The AI Agent is your automated assistant for handling inbound SMS. Configure it once in Settings → AI Agent with your persona, voice, and writing samples, and it will reply on your behalf to incoming texts.
Voice & Tone
Choose a tone (Friendly Casual, Professional, Direct, or Enthusiastic) and emoji usage (None, Occasional, Frequent). Set 'Respond as' to your name and add your company name, NMLS number, and specialties — the AI uses these to sign off and stay on-brand.
Writing Samples (most important)
Paste 3–10 real text messages you've sent in the past into Settings → AI Agent → Writing Samples. The AI mirrors your phrasing, sentence length, capitalization, and slang. This is what makes replies sound like you instead of a generic bot. Samples can be activated/deactivated individually.
Campaign-Aware Replies
When a contact replies to an SMS you sent via a campaign, the AI automatically pulls in the original campaign name, subject, and body as context so it stays on-topic.
Pre-Built Actions
Capto comes with pre-configured AI actions including: Missed Call Follow-Up, New Lead Welcome, Rate Quote Request, Application Status Update, Review Request, Referral Thank You, Birthday/Anniversary, Open House Invite, Pre-Approval Nudge, Closing Day Celebration, and more.
Custom Actions
Create your own AI agent behaviors with a custom title, description, category, and example message. Custom actions are saved per business and can be toggled on or off.
Auto-Booking Appointments
When a lead asks to schedule a call, the AI checks your live Google Calendar availability, offers a numbered list of open time slots that fit your configured business hours, and books the slot the moment the lead picks one. It also sends the lead a secure booking link (usecapto.com/book/…) so they can pick a time in a mobile-friendly picker instead of texting. On confirmation, Capto creates the calendar event, sends the lead an SMS confirmation with a reschedule link, and notifies you in-app and by SMS. The AI never invents times — it only offers slots your calendar actually shows as free.
Escalation Rules
Define when the AI should stop responding and alert you instead — for example, if a contact asks to speak with a human, mentions a complaint, or the AI is unsure how to respond.
Plan Limits
Solo plan: 750 AI auto-replies per month per account. Pro, Team and 14-day trial: unlimited. Usage resets monthly. Manual messages you send yourself don't count.
Overview
The Appointments page lists every upcoming and past consultation. Appointments can be booked by you manually, by a lead through their booking link, or automatically by the AI Agent when a lead picks a time over SMS.
Google Calendar 2-Way Sync
Connect your Google account in Settings → Integrations. Once connected, every appointment booked in Capto creates a real Google Calendar event with the lead as an invitee, and existing calendar events are treated as busy time so leads can never double-book you.
Availability Rules
In Settings → Availability, set which weekdays you take calls, the start/end time for each day, your default slot duration (e.g. 30 min), and your timezone. The AI and public booking picker only offer slots that fall inside these rules AND are free on your calendar, with a minimum 1-hour lead time.
Public Booking Links
Every SMS thread can generate a secure, expiring booking link (valid 14 days, one-time use). Leads open the link on their phone, see your real availability, and confirm a time in two taps. Reschedule links (usecapto.com/reschedule/…) are included in every confirmation SMS.
Reminders
Capto sends appointment reminders automatically before each consultation so no-shows drop. Reminders go to the lead via SMS from your Twilio number.
Deal Detail Page
Click any deal card to open its full detail page at /pipeline/{deal}. This page shows the loan milestone timeline, document checklist, deal-level notes, and every SMS/email exchange with the contact — all in one place. The pipeline drawer remains a compact summary; the detail page is where you actually work the deal.
Loan Milestone Timeline
Each deal tracks standard mortgage milestones (Application, Disclosures, Appraisal, Underwriting, Conditional Approval, Clear to Close, Funded). Mark milestones complete as the loan progresses; projected close dates update automatically.
Document Checklist
Every deal has a checklist of required borrower documents (pay stubs, W-2s, bank statements, ID, etc.). Check items off as they arrive. Missing-doc counts surface on the pipeline board and in the Stuck Deals card on the Pro dashboard.
Milestone Templates
In Settings, edit the default milestone and document templates once — every new deal you create inherits them, so you don't rebuild the checklist for each borrower.
What's included
Pro accounts get an enhanced dashboard with: Today's Agenda (appointments + priority follow-ups), AI-ranked Priority Contacts, Stuck Deals detection, AI Needs Review queue, monthly Goal Ring, Response-Time analytics, activity sparklines, and Lead Source breakdown.
Today's Agenda & Rate-Lock Alerts
Shows every appointment scheduled for today plus any borrowers whose rate locks are expiring soon so you can act before they slip.
Priority Contacts
Capto scores contacts by recency, deal value, and engagement, then surfaces the top few you should call or text next.
Stuck Deals & AI Review
Any deal that hasn't moved stage in a set window shows up in Stuck Deals. The AI Review queue holds inbound replies where the AI wasn't confident enough to respond automatically, so you can review and send.
Goal Tracker & Response Time
Set a monthly deals-closed or pipeline-value goal and watch the ring fill through the month. Response-time analytics show how fast you (and your AI) reply to inbound leads — speed-to-lead is the single biggest driver of conversion.
Connecting Your Account
Link your Google My Business account in the GMB section. Enter your Google email and connect to start managing your business posts from within Capto.
AI Post Generation
Use AI to generate engaging Google My Business posts. Describe what you want to post about and the AI will craft professional content with optional call-to-action buttons.
Post Scheduling
Schedule posts for future dates. View all your posts (draft, scheduled, and published) in a single list with status indicators.
Real-Time Alerts
Capto sends real-time notifications for key events: new SMS received, deal stage changed, and campaign sent. Notifications appear in the bell icon in the top navigation.
Preferences
Customize which notifications you receive in Settings → Notifications. Toggle alerts for SMS received, deal stage changes, and campaign completions.
Inviting Team Members
Go to Settings → Team to invite colleagues by email. Choose their role: Admin (can manage team and settings) or Member (standard CRM access). Invitations expire after 7 days.
Roles
Owner: Full control including billing and business deletion. Admin: Can manage team members and business settings. Member: Can use all CRM features but cannot manage team or settings.
Switching Businesses
If you belong to multiple businesses, use the business switcher in the sidebar to switch between them. All data (contacts, deals, conversations) is scoped to the active business.
Dashboard Overview
The dashboard shows key stats at a glance: total contacts, active deals, pipeline value, and recent conversations. It also displays AI agent status and pipeline stage distribution.
Global Search
The search bar at the top of the dashboard searches across contacts, pipeline deals, and conversations. Results are grouped by type and link directly to the relevant page.
Profile
Update your display name, job title, company, and NMLS number. Upload a profile avatar. Manage your email and password.
Security
Enable two-factor authentication (MFA) for an extra layer of security. Manage your password and linked authentication methods.
Twilio Integration
Enter your Twilio credentials (Account SID, Auth Token, Phone Number) to enable SMS and voice features. You can connect multiple numbers and label them (e.g. 'Main', 'Marketing'), set one as default, and route specific workflows (campaigns, AI auto-reply, missed-call) to specific numbers. Toggle 'Missed Call Auto-Text' and set an optional forward-to number + custom missed-call message. Don't forget to configure the Messaging and Voice webhooks in Twilio — see the SMS Conversations and Missed Call sections above.
Notification Preferences
Toggle notifications for: new SMS received, deal stage changes, and campaign sent events.
Free Trial
Every new account starts with a 14-day free trial. During the trial you have full access to all features. A banner at the top shows your remaining trial days.
Upgrading
When your trial ends, visit the Upgrade page to choose a plan and continue using Capto without interruption.
Submitting Requests
Visit the Roadmap page and click 'Have a feature request?' to submit ideas. Provide a title and optional description. The Capto team reviews submissions and incorporates popular requests into the product roadmap.