Trail alternatives
Trail alternatives for NZ and Australian businesses
Trail: Quoted privately per adviser, plus $150+GST an hour for reports and $750 to $2,500+GST to migrate in.
- check_circleYour data in a database you own
- check_circleOpen source, no lock-in
- check_circleBuilt and run by Enterprise DNA
The options
What people compare Trail with
Trail's adviser licence fee is quoted privately after a demo, and bringing your own data in costs $750 to $2,500+GST on top, over two to four weeks, with bespoke reporting billed at $150+GST an hour. Owners start looking for an alternative once they realise the client list, the commission ledger and the refix dates belong to their business, yet pulling them out or asking a new question means paying Trail again.
Often compared
MyCRM
Bundled with the aggregation relationship at NZFSG. It is free to use inside that bundle, but the records are not portable if you later want to change aggregators.
Often compared
Mercury Nexus
Bundled with the aggregation relationship at Connective. Also free within that bundle, with the same non-portability trade off if you leave.
Often compared
Salestrekker
A mortgage broking CRM whose export can be brought across directly, alongside a Trail or Mercury export, when moving your book into a new system.
Yours to own
Mortgage Broking for Claude Code
The open-source mortgage broker system that is just a database and Claude Code. Built around your business, with your Trail data brought across.
See how it worksWe also replace
Paying for something other than Trail?
Mortgage Broking for Claude Code replaces these too, with your records brought across.
How to choose
How to choose a Trail alternative
- 1
What the bill is tied to
Trail's licence fee is a custom quote per adviser, and it grows with headcount either way. Bespoke reporting adds an hourly charge on top, invoiced up front, so asking a new question of your own data can mean a fresh bill and a two week queue.
- 2
Whether your records stay yours
Exporting the full client list needs organisation admin access, so an ordinary adviser seat cannot pull its own book out of the system holding it. Check whether you can get your clients, loans and expiry dates out whenever you decide to, not only when an administrator agrees.
- 3
Whether it fits your own rules
Clawback windows and commission splits differ by lender and are not standard across the industry. Ask whether the tool lets you edit those figures and add the fields your business actually tracks, rather than working around a fixed screen someone else built.
- 4
What the switch actually involves
Trail's own migration is a fixed fee per practice that grows with adviser count, taking two to four weeks. Before you commit anywhere, find out what your contacts, documents and notes export as, and how long you go without them while it runs.
The option that fits
Own the version built around your business
Mortgage Broking for Claude Code is built around how your practice runs, not a screen every advice firm shares. Enterprise DNA brings your Trail data across, sets up your refix book, pipeline and commission ledger, and runs it for you. You pay one setup fee, then a monthly retainer, with no per adviser licence and no hourly meter on your own reports.
- check One setup fee, then a monthly retainer
- check Your Trail data brought across for you
- check Built around your rules, your fields, your business
Make it yours
Design your own Trail replacement
Everything starts from the open-source base. Then it gets your name, the parts you run, your rules and your data from Trail. Try it here, and we build the real one.
2. What it runs
3. Make it fit
4. Your colour
Answered from your own database
Good morning. Here is what needs you today.
We build it from the open-source base, bring your Trail data across and run it for you.
Questions
Trail alternatives, answered
How much does Trail actually cost a small practice? expand_more
Trail has no public price list. You get a custom licence quote per adviser after a demo, with bigger discounts for bigger teams. On top, bringing your data in costs $750 to $2,500+GST over two to four weeks, and any report Trail doesn't already offer is billed at $150+GST an hour, invoiced up front.
Can I get my client list out of Trail whenever I need to? expand_more
Not on an ordinary seat. Exporting the full client list needs organisation admin access, so an adviser cannot pull their own book out without an administrator's help. Trail does let you export contacts and documents by date range, and offers a documented way for other systems to connect to it, so the data itself is not locked away entirely.
What are the usual alternatives people compare Trail with? expand_more
The other adviser CRMs in this market, like MyCRM and Mercury Nexus, come bundled with an aggregation relationship, at NZFSG and Connective respectively. They are free to use inside that bundle, but the trade off is that your records are not portable if you ever want to change aggregators.
What does switching away from Trail actually involve? expand_more
You export your contacts and lending report while you still have admin access, then bring that data into your new system, testing the import first. Compliance dates and advice files usually arrive empty, because the old system never tracked them completely either, so you backfill what a proper check flags as missing.
Done comparing? Own the one that fits.
30 minutes with Sam. Bring what Trail costs you a year and how you run. We show you what your own version looks like, and if it is a fit, we build it and bring your data across.
Get your version builtDone paying for Trail?
Get your version built