Buyers' agents
Systems for buyers' agents: briefs, shortlists and due diligence
A buyers' agency sells judgement and access, but clients experience it as communication: the brief, the shortlist, inspection notes, due diligence and the negotiation. Most agencies run that through email, spreadsheets and a CRM built for selling agents. Since July 2026 there's AML/CTF due diligence on every client too. A purpose-built client portal pulls it into one place.
Rather just ask someone? Talk to usIn short
Buyers' agents usually outgrow email and spreadsheets before anything else. A client portal holds the brief, a live shortlist with inspection notes and photos, due diligence status for each property, and documents, so clients follow along without constant calls. Since 1 July 2026 buyers' agents are AML/CTF reporting entities, so customer due diligence records belong there too.
General information about systems and processes, current as at November 2026. It isn't legal or compliance advice: check how the rules apply to your business with your regulator, professional body or adviser.
- What is a buyer's brief?
- The written description of what a client wants to buy: location, budget, property type, must-haves, deal-breakers and timing. It's the reference point for every shortlist and recommendation, so keeping it current and visible to both agent and client avoids wasted inspections.
What actually works
The brief should be a living record
Clients change their minds after the first few inspections. A brief they can see and the agent updates, with the date of each change, keeps the search honest and the shortlist relevant.
Shortlists clients can actually use
Each property with the agent's notes, photos, comparable sales, risks and a recommendation, viewable on a phone and ranked. Clients respond faster, and decisions are recorded.
Track due diligence per property
Building and pest, strata reports, contract review, council and planning checks, finance and valuation: a simple status board per property shows what's back, what's outstanding and what it found.
AML/CTF is part of onboarding now
AUSTRAC's guidance names buyers' agents as providing a designated service. Verifying the client, understanding who's behind a company or trust buyer, and keeping the record for seven years belongs in onboarding, not a separate folder.
Off-market access depends on relationships, not software
No portal replaces a selling agent's trust. What a system can do is remember: which agents you've worked with, what they've offered you, and which clients each property might suit.
What a buyers' agency system should hold
Per client, in one place.
- The current brief, with a history of changes
- A shortlist with notes, photos and a recommendation for each property
- Due diligence status per property
- Signed engagement terms and fee arrangements
- AML/CTF due diligence records
- Every offer, counter-offer and outcome
Where we'd tell you otherwise
A small buyers' agency handling a few clients at a time can run well on a good CRM and shared folders. A portal is worth building once client numbers grow, when clients are investors or interstate buyers who can't attend inspections, or when the agency's service is its differentiator.
Tell us how your files move
Describe the software you run and where work gets typed twice, chased by phone or held up waiting on a client. We'll tell you what we'd do first, including when the answer is a setting in software you already pay for.
Common questions
Yes. AUSTRAC's guidance says you're likely to provide a designated service if you work as a buyer's or seller's agent, so buyers' agencies must enrol, run an AML/CTF program and carry out customer due diligence since 1 July 2026.
There are CRMs and some purpose-built tools, and many agencies adapt general CRMs. They handle contacts and pipelines well. Custom work usually focuses on the client-facing side: briefs, shortlists and due diligence tracking clients can follow.
Yes, and they should. Most clients check a shortlist between other things, often straight after an inspection, so the portal is designed for phones first.
It depends on what it holds and connects to, so we quote a fixed price after a short call. Ongoing hosting, updates and small changes run on a retainer from $750 per month.
See it working
Software we'd build, running with a fictional business and sample data. Use it, then decide.
Also worth a look
- AML/CTF for Agents and Conveyancers: Systems
- Websites and Systems for Mortgage Brokers
- Real Estate Agency Websites That Win Listings
- Holding client IDs and trust money? Security reviews for code, cloud and integrations
Last reviewed . General information, not legal advice. Prices are indicative Australian ranges, not quotes.