Guide to HUD-Approved Client Management Systems
Version 3.0
We’re here to help housing counselors across the nation.
We know housing counseling agencies rely on Client Management Systems (CMSs) to track clients and outcomes while helping families and individuals find and keep good homes, repair credit, and budget for the future.
HUD approves CMSs for reporting client data and outcomes according to their standards.
We want to help housing counseling agencies like yours choose a CMS.
Trying to compare CMS systems can be daunting, especially since many housing counseling agencies don’t have an IT department to evaluate or maintain a system.
Our Ultimate HUD-Approved CMS Guide does not seek to identify the best CMS on the market. Each housing counseling agency has their own needs. This guide is intended to provide the information needed to make the best CMS decision.
We reached out to every HUD-approved CMS. Based on their responses, we created profiles of each CMS to help housing counselors assess their options. We did not include CMSs that did not respond to our inquiries.
Guide to HUD-Approved Client Management Systems
This guide, published in September 2023, is version 3.0. Since version 2.0, numerous changes have occurred in the market, including the launch of Agency Reporting Module (ARM) 6.0, work to develop a Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) compliant Housing Counseling Data Set (HCDS), and the launch of new systems. Version 3.0 of the guide is designed to be compatible across devices and more easily updated to ensure that it continues to provide the most current information to agencies exploring CMS products.
In 2016, we published our first edition, version 1.0, in partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and with funding from the Illinois Attorney General National Foreclosure Settlement Program; this was a print publication. An update, version 2.0, was published in March 2019 to move the guide into an online format and help agencies in the process of replacing Home Counselor Online (HCO) before it was discontinued later that year.
We know you'll have questions.
Choosing a CMS is an important decision and an investment in your agency’s future. If you need one-on-one advice as you decide which CMS is best for your organization, or individual coaching on your current system, we’re here to help with that, too.
Please contact us with any questions or requests at CMS@housingactionil.org.
Thank you to Freddie Mac for making this guide possible.