What is Encompass?
Encompass by ICE Mortgage Technology is a widely used mortgage loan origination system (LOS). Lenders, banks, and credit unions use it to manage mortgage applications from start to finish, with tools that improve efficiency and compliance.
The Shape + Encompass integration connects your CRM to your LOS, so loan officers can start loans from Shape and see loan progress in Shape without retyping information.
Requirements: You need Encompass Banker Edition and the Developer Connect addendum. Reach out to your Shape sales or implementation manager to get started.
How data flows between Shape and Encompass
The integration works in two directions, but each direction has a specific job.
| Direction | What happens |
|---|---|
| Shape → Encompass | Shape creates the loan file in Encompass once, sending the borrower and loan information from the Shape record. After that, the only thing Shape sends is approved documents from Shape’s borrower portal. |
| Encompass → Shape | After the loan exists, Encompass sends updates to Shape, including new loans, milestones, loan details, user assignments, and the loan folder. |
In short:
- Create a loan in Encompass from Shape with Sync to LOS, or automatically when a borrower completes Shape’s digital application
- Loans created directly in Encompass also create or update records in Shape
- Shape receives milestone updates, an updated MISMO 3.4 file, user assignments, the loan folder, and other loan details
- Triggers and drip campaigns only run for milestones from the last 24 hours
- Approved documents from the Shape portal are pushed to Encompass
Integration features
1. Creating loans from Shape
There are two ways to create a loan in Encompass from Shape:
- Automatically: When a borrower completes the digital 1003 application in Shape’s borrower portal, Shape creates the loan in Encompass.
- Manually: Click Sync to LOS from the LOS dropdown on the borrower’s record.
Shape sends the borrower and loan information to Encompass as a MISMO 3.4 file, and Encompass turns it into a new loan file. Only fields with values are sent, so empty fields on the Shape record are left blank in Encompass. (Some systems are set up to send an FNM file instead. Your implementation team will confirm which your system uses.)
The new loan shows “Shape” (or your Shape API user’s name) as the File Starter. Shape also assigns the loan officer, using the Encompass user ID saved in that loan officer’s Shape user profile.
You can choose the Encompass folder new loans go into on the API Integrations settings page. The folders available depend on the permissions of the Shape API user in Encompass.
2. Loans created in Encompass
When a loan is created directly in Encompass, Shape receives it and creates or updates a record in Shape with the loan details.
How Shape matches loans to records. Shape tracks each loan by its Encompass Loan GUID, a unique ID for the loan file. When a new loan arrives with a GUID Shape hasn’t seen before, Shape looks for an existing record that isn’t linked to a loan yet, matching by email or phone number. If it finds one, it adds the loan to that record, including user assignments, the MISMO file, and milestone details. If several records match, Shape uses the oldest one.
Separate loan files create separate records. Because Shape tracks loans by GUID, two separate loan files in Encompass for the same borrower become two separate records in Shape. To avoid duplicates, have your team agree on one way to start loans, such as always starting from Shape with Sync to LOS. See Best practices below.
3. Milestone updates
Shape listens for two things from Encompass: new loans and milestone changes. When a loan reaches a new milestone, Shape updates the record’s status and saves the milestone with its date and time. You’ll find milestone history in the record’s Tracking tab, under LOS Sync.
Each milestone update also brings an updated MISMO 3.4 file and additional loan fields, so the record’s loan details stay current.
Syncing only your Shape users’ loans. On the API Integrations page, you can turn on Only Sync Matched Users. When it’s on, Shape checks the users on each loan Encompass sends. If none of them match an active Shape user with a matching Encompass user ID, Shape ignores the update. You can also exclude specific Encompass folders from syncing.
Processing time. Updates usually appear within a few minutes. When Encompass sends a large volume at once, like during a bulk update, they’re processed in order and can take up to 15 minutes or longer.
4. Milestone triggers and the 24-hour rule
You can use Encompass milestones to start triggers and drip campaigns in Shape, like sending a congratulations email at Clear to Close.
To keep old milestones from setting off automation, triggers and drip campaigns only run for milestones that happened in the last 24 hours. Older milestones are still saved to the record with their dates, but they don’t start any automation.
Example: A loan that’s been in Encompass for weeks syncs to Shape for the first time. Shape saves every milestone, like Started, Submitted, and Approved, with their original dates. But it doesn’t send the welcome email, approval text, or any other automation tied to milestones from weeks ago.
This matters most for loans that sync for the first time, loans moved between users, and bulk updates in Encompass.
5. Pushing documents to Encompass
If your borrowers use Shape’s borrower portal (point of sale), Shape pushes their approved documents to a document folder in Encompass. This is the one thing Shape still sends to Encompass after the loan is created. In the record’s Portal tab, select the documents and click the Approve checkmark. The documents then appear in the loan file in Encompass. Admins choose the folder on the API Integrations page.
6. User assignment sync
Shape keeps loan assignments aligned with Encompass. Map Encompass roles to Shape departments on the Manage Departments settings page. When a user’s Encompass user ID and role match in both systems, their assignment updates in Shape automatically.
If an assignment looks wrong in Shape, check that the user is in the department that matches their Encompass role, and that the Encompass user ID in their Shape profile matches Encompass exactly.
7. Additional fields
Besides the MISMO 3.4 file, Shape receives extra loan fields from Encompass, such as appraisal dates, estimated closing dates, loan status, transaction details, and the Loan Folder.
When a loan’s folder is set or changed in Encompass, the Loan Folder field in Shape updates to match. You can use it in list views, reports, and filters, for example to see which loans are in your active pipeline or have moved to a closed or archived folder.
Common MISMO 3.4 fields
MISMO 3.4 is the standard format mortgage systems use to share loan data. The exact fields vary by system, but a MISMO 3.4 file usually includes:
| Section | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Borrower information | Name, contact information, Social Security number, date of birth, employment history, and income |
| Co-borrower information | The same details for a co-borrower, if there is one |
| Property information | Address, property type, estimated value, purchase price, and property taxes |
| Loan details | Loan amount, interest rate, loan type, term, amortization, and fees |
| Credit information | Credit scores, history, outstanding debts, and any derogatory items |
| Assets and liabilities | Bank accounts, investments, real estate, loans, and credit card balances |
| Employment and income | Employment history, current employment, and income sources |
| Declarations | The borrower’s required declarations, like intent to occupy the property |
If you have questions about how specific fields map between Encompass and Shape, contact Shape Support.
What Shape sends to Encompass when it creates a loan
When Shape creates a loan, it sends the borrower and loan information from the Shape record as a MISMO 3.4 file. Encompass converts that file into loan data and creates the loan. Because the file arrives as an import, it’s often what sets off business rules your organization has set up in Encompass, like required fields, loan templates, folder assignment, or field locks.
Shape only sends fields that have a value on the Shape record. Empty fields are left out, so they stay blank in Encompass. Depending on the record, the file can include:
| Category | What Shape can send |
|---|---|
| Borrower and co-borrower | Full name (first, middle, last, suffix) and nickname, Social Security number, date of birth, marital status, number and ages of dependents, years of schooling, email, mobile, work (with extension), and home phone, mailing address, preferred languages, military service, and citizenship |
| Residences | Current and prior addresses, whether they own or rent, how long they’ve lived there, and monthly rent |
| Employment | Current and previous employers, with employer name, address, phone, and email, position, start and end dates, primary or secondary job, self-employment and ownership share, monthly income, time on the job, and time in the line of work |
| Income | Base pay, overtime, bonus, commissions, and other income like Social Security or alimony |
| Assets | Bank accounts (type, institution, account number, and balance) and other real estate owned (address, value, mortgage balance, rental income, use, and whether it’s being kept or sold) |
| Liabilities | Creditor name and address, account number, monthly payment, balance, and months remaining |
| Declarations | The borrower’s answers to the standard application declarations, like bankruptcy, lawsuits, delinquencies, prior foreclosures or short sales, and intent to occupy |
| Demographic information | Information collected for government monitoring, like ethnicity, race, sex, and how the application was taken |
| Subject property | Address and county, estimated value, appraised value, purchase price, attached or detached, number of units, year built, and how the property will be used |
| Loan details | Loan purpose (and refinance cash-out type and purpose), loan type, loan amount, interest rate, amortization type and term, lien position, application date, renovation and construction details, mortgage insurance or funding fee, and cash to or from the borrower at closing |
| Proposed housing expenses | Principal and interest, other mortgage payments, homeowners insurance, property taxes, mortgage insurance, HOA dues, and other housing costs |
| Shape reference | A Shape reference ID for the loan, which your business rules can use to identify loans created from Shape |
Shape also assigns the loan officer using the Encompass user ID in their Shape profile, and places the loan in the folder set on the API Integrations page. The loan’s File Starter is your Shape API user.
Reviewing your business rules
Before testing, have your Encompass administrator compare this list with your business rules. Look especially for:
- Rules that require fields Shape may not send, or that run when a loan is imported
- Rules that assign a loan template or folder based on the File Starter or loan data
- Field locks or validations that could reject values in the file
- Persona permissions that limit what the Shape API user can create
Need the full sample? Contact Shape Support to request a sample payload with example data, showing exactly what Shape sends. Your Encompass administrator can use it to test business rules before you go live.
How to set up the integration
The Encompass integration isn’t self-serve. It has specific requirements and setup steps, and Shape’s team handles most of them with you.
What Shape handles
- Requesting API credentials. The API details for the integration are requested by Shape directly from ICE Mortgage Technology. They’re unique to Shape and can’t be obtained by clients. Once approved, this usually takes about 1 to 5 business days.
- Connecting the integration. When the integration is connected, Shape automatically sets up the connection that sends new loans and milestone updates from Encompass to Shape.
- Setup in Shape. Department mapping, milestone mapping, trigger setup, and adding Encompass user IDs to user profiles.
What your team handles
- Creating the Shape API user in Encompass and giving it the right permissions. Shape can’t log in to your Encompass instance, so your Encompass administrator needs to do this. See Creating the API user below.
- Providing information for mapping: each loan officer’s Encompass user ID and your Encompass milestone names.
- Reviewing business rules. Shape sends a MISMO 3.4 file, so custom business rules in your Encompass instance can affect loan creation. Have your Encompass administrator review them against the list in What Shape sends to Encompass, and request a sample payload from Shape Support to test with.
- Setting the loan template or folder. Shape doesn’t choose the loan template. Your administrator usually assigns one based on the “Shape” file starter, or sets business rules that use data in the MISMO file to choose the right folder.
How Shape subscribes to Encompass updates
Shape gets updates from Encompass through a webhook subscription: a standing request that tells Encompass to notify Shape whenever certain things happen to a loan. You don’t need to set this up yourself. Shape creates the subscription automatically when the integration is connected.
Here’s how it works:
- Shape connects to your Encompass instance using the API credentials for your organization: the Client ID, Client Secret, and Instance ID.
- Shape creates the subscription through the Encompass webhook API, with these settings:
| Setting | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Resource | Loan | Shape is notified about loans |
| Events | Create and Change | Shape is notified when a loan is created and when a loan changes |
| Filter | Milestone logs | “Change” notifications are limited to milestone changes, not every field edit |
| Endpoint | A secure Shape address unique to your Shape system | Where Encompass sends notifications |
| Signing key | A secure key unique to your system | Lets Shape verify each notification really came from your Encompass instance |
- Encompass notifies Shape when a loan is created or reaches a new milestone. The notification only identifies the loan. It doesn’t contain the loan data itself.
- Shape checks the loan. Shape uses the Loan GUID to look up the users on the loan. If Only Sync Matched Users is on and no user matches an active Shape user, Shape ignores the notification and doesn’t retrieve anything else.
- Shape retrieves the loan details for loans it keeps: the milestone information, an updated MISMO 3.4 file, user assignments, and additional fields like the Loan Folder. It then updates or creates the record in Shape.
Limiting which loans send updates. Encompass sends notifications for loans the Shape API user can access. To limit the integration to certain branches, teams, or folders, your Encompass administrator can restrict the API user’s access, for example with its organization folder, “Access to Subordinates’ Loans,” or user groups. In Shape, you can also exclude folders and turn on Only Sync Matched Users on the API Integrations page.
Why only milestones? Listening for milestone changes, rather than every field edit, keeps the integration fast and avoids sending Shape thousands of small updates. Loan details still stay current, because each milestone update brings the latest loan data with it.
How long setup takes
The configuration itself is usually straightforward. The overall timeline depends mostly on your Encompass permissions, business rules, and testing. Setting up Encompass permissions can take time, and you may need to open a ticket with ICE if business rules or customizations conflict with the API user’s permissions. Shape’s team will help along the way.
Creating the API user in Encompass
Your Encompass administrator creates the API user that Shape uses to connect. For general instructions, see ICE’s guide to adding users in Encompass.
- Choose a folder for the API user. Pick a folder high enough in your organization hierarchy to give the integration access to the right loans, such as just below Administration or a service-accounts folder. Then click Add User.
- Enter your company’s API Client ID. Checking API User on the User Details screen replaces the username and password fields with the API Client ID field.
- Review “Access to Subordinates’ Loans.” Make sure the user has the loan access the integration needs.
- Assign a unique persona. Duplicate your existing Loan Officer or Loan Opener persona (in Encompass Settings under Company/User Setup), rename it, and adjust its permissions. Don’t assign this persona to Loan Officers. If the same persona is shared, later changes for loan officers could break the integration.
- Give the persona access to LO Connect. Select the option for both the Windows Encompass client and Encompass Mobile (LO Connect) in a web browser.
- Assign user groups, if needed, to give the API user access to the right loan folders and resources.
Troubleshooting
If you see unexpected errors when creating loans or receiving updates, check these settings first. If the problem continues, open a ticket with Encompass support.
Check the API user
- The API User checkbox is selected.
- The API Client ID is entered exactly right. It’s case-sensitive.
- The correct persona is assigned.
Check the persona
- “Both Microsoft Windows Encompass Client and Encompass Mobile (LO Connect) in a web browser” is selected.
- The persona can create loans through the Import Loans option.
- Click the Import Loans link and confirm the allowed file types include the type Shape sends.
Check custom business rules
Shape sends a MISMO 3.4 file, so custom business rules in your Encompass instance can block or change loan creation. Have your administrator review any rules that apply to new loans or the Shape file starter, using the list in What Shape sends to Encompass. Shape Support can provide a sample payload to test with.
Contact Encompass support
If you’ve checked everything and still have trouble, open a support case with Encompass. Include any error messages and the steps you’ve already tried so they can help faster.
Best practices
Agree on one way to start loans. Decide whether your team starts loans from Shape with Sync to LOS or directly in Encompass, and stick with it. Starting the same borrower’s loan in both places creates separate loan files and separate records.
Make updates in Encompass after the loan is created. Encompass is the source of truth once the loan exists. Changes made only in Shape won’t reach Encompass, except approved documents from Shape’s borrower portal.
Keep Encompass user IDs current. Each loan officer’s Shape profile needs their exact Encompass user ID for loan creation and user assignments to work.
Map milestones to statuses carefully. If you add or rename milestones in Encompass, or statuses in Shape, update your milestone mapping and triggers to match.
Build milestone automation for new milestones. Because triggers and drips only run for milestones from the last 24 hours, use them for real-time follow-up, like congratulating a borrower at Clear to Close, not to catch up on past milestones.
Frequently asked questions
I updated information in Shape and clicked Sync to LOS, but the changes aren’t in Encompass. Why?+
Shape only syncs loan data to Encompass once, to create the loan file. After that, Encompass becomes the source of truth, and updates, including milestones, only flow from Encompass into Shape. The one exception is approved documents from Shape’s borrower portal, which still push to Encompass. If you click Sync to LOS on a loan that’s already been created, you’ll see a message that the loan file already exists.
The LOS dropdown is grayed out.+
Some required fields aren’t filled in yet. Fill in the required fields highlighted in red, and the dropdown will become available.
Where do loans go in Encompass when I sync from Shape?+
To the folder set on the API Integrations page in Shape, usually something like “My Pipeline” or “Prospects.” Because every Encompass system is set up differently, check with your Encompass administrator if you’re not sure.
Why didn’t the status change in Shape after I changed the milestone in Encompass?+
A few common reasons:
- The loan file is still open in Encompass. Open files are locked and don’t send updates until you save and close them.
- Updates are in a queue. Updates usually appear within 15 minutes, but bulk updates in Encompass can take longer.
- The loan isn’t linked yet. Make sure the record is synced with an Encompass loan.
- Mapping changed. If milestones or statuses were added or renamed, update your milestone mapping and triggers in Manage Triggers, or contact Shape Support.
I changed a field in Encompass, but it didn’t update in Shape. Why?+
Shape receives loan details when a new loan is created and when the loan reaches a new milestone. A field change on its own may not sync right away. It will update with the next milestone change.
A milestone synced, but my trigger or drip campaign didn’t run. Why?+
Triggers and drip campaigns only run for milestones that happened in the last 24 hours. Older milestones are still saved to the record with their dates, but they don’t start automation. This keeps loans syncing for the first time, or bulk updates, from setting off old automation.
Why does the same borrower have two records in Shape?+
Shape tracks loans by their Encompass Loan GUID. If two separate loan files were created in Encompass for the same borrower, they sync as separate records. Agree on one way to start loans to avoid this.
Does the Loan Folder sync from Encompass?+
Yes. When a loan’s folder is set or changed in Encompass, the Loan Folder field in Shape updates to match.
Can I create a new loan file from an existing Shape record?+
Yes. Use Recreate Loan from the LOS dropdown on the record. This creates a new loan in Encompass and links the Shape record to it instead of the old one. After you confirm, updates from the old loan file no longer reach the Shape record.
You can also clone the loan file in Encompass. That creates a new Shape record linked to the new loan, so you have full details for both loans.
Can I exclude some loans from syncing to Shape?+
Yes. On the API Integrations page, you can exclude specific Encompass folders and turn on Only Sync Matched Users, so Shape ignores loans that don’t belong to an active Shape user with a matching Encompass user ID.
How long does it take to get set up?+
Requesting API credentials from ICE usually takes about 1 to 5 business days once approved. After that, timing depends mostly on your Encompass permissions, business rules, and testing.
Need help?
Your Shape implementation manager or Support team can help with setup, mapping, and troubleshooting.
Email: support@setshape.com · Phone: (888) 718-6344
Related guides: Manage Triggers · Drip Campaigns · Duplicate Record Management