The Basics
empowOR is offered by CSST Software and is designed for non-profit organizations with multiple program areas. empowOR offers optional features for HHS Headstart, CSBG, and NeighborWorks programs. empowOR has a modular design and can be structured around organizational roles, allowing organizations to select what features are included in their system and provide users with access to only the tools they need.
Costs
One-Time Costs: Starts at about $1200 and varies with the number of programs, number of people to be trained, and data complexity.
Annual Fee: Starts at $1,650 a year and varies with the number of users and selected functionality. A typical small agency with 3 to 5 users would be $2,950 annually.
Contact CSST at jmeo@empoworbycsst.com for a demo of the product and pricing based upon your agency’s needs.
Training & Technical Support
Training is provided to three levels of users during the onboarding process: administrators, managers, and end users.
IT Hours: 8:00AM – 8:00PM ET
| Live Help Desk Support | |
| Support Ticket System | |
| Webinars | |
| Forums |
Platform & Setup
empowOR is a web-based system. Setup of the system is conducted remotely and, if only migrating a housing counseling program, can take about four weeks. If data from more programs is being imported, it can take eight weeks or longer.
Counseling & Group Education Features
| Track hours spent counseling | |
| Capture all fields required by HUD | |
| Distinguish between potential/prospective clients and actual clients | |
| Track case funding | |
| Track various fees charged by agency | |
| Link to credit reporting agencies | |
| Soft credit pull | |
| Track changes in credit score | |
| Document storage for client files | |
| Track changes in budgeting habits | |
| Follow up reminders | |
| Automated reminders of upcoming appointment/workshops | |
| Client/Case summary form | |
| Populate debts off the credit report | |
| Track real estate owned, either primary residence or rental property | |
| Track First-Generation Homebuyer | |
| Email/text communications with clients and/or lenders/creditors |
One-on-One Tools
| Loan comparison | |
| Financial calculators | |
| Budgeting tools | |
| Credit improvement tools |
Group Education Features
| Track all fields required by HUD | |
| Registration/rosters | |
| Course logistics (including instructors and locations) | |
| Track funding | |
| Track fees charged by agency | |
| Mail merge to create Certificates of Completion |
Output Documents
| RMA | |
| UBA | |
| Budget | |
| Hardship letter | |
| Action plan | |
| Signed intake | |
| Signed disclosures/authorizations |
Program/Tool Interactions
empowOR has optional integrations built in for a range of functionalities available from third parties for additional fees, including Task CMS, calendaring, and SMS functionality.
| eHome America | |
| Framework | |
| Other homebuyer education platform/materials | |
| Any other education/webinar platform | |
| Hope LoanPortal | |
| HomeCoach or AUS | |
| Lender communications | |
| Online consumer authorization | |
| Any consumer permissioned data functionality or other API |
Administration Management Features
| Separate staff can be assigned to same client | |
| Staff training records tracking | |
| Staff certifications tracking | |
| HUD individual certification tracking | |
| FHA Connection | |
| Counselor (user) time sheets can be created (including tie client/time to grants) | |
| Internal calendar/appointment functionality | |
| External calendar/appointment functionality | |
| Admins able to add or remove staff/counselors |
Workflow Features
| Dashboards | |
| Ability to sort and filter cases | |
| Ability to export records | |
| Ability to export records to Hope LoanPortal | |
| Ability to import client cases |
Client Interface
In addition to client intake, counselors can send documents to and request documents from clients through the client portal.
| Portal for Client to input data | |
| Client can register for group education or one-on-one appointments | |
| Can send client satisfaction surveys | |
| Can email clients or lenders and other stakeholders | |
| Can chat with counselor/staff in real time |
Reports and Customization
| HUD-9902 | |
| Other pre-packaged reports | |
| Customizable reports | |
| Client satisfaction survey results |
9902 Reporting
| Error messages identify specific error and location | |
| Edits can be made from 9902 preview | |
| Submitted as single or multiple packages | SINGLE |
Customizable Fields
| Counseling outcomes | |
| Counseling type | |
| Counseling status | |
| Referral source | |
| Funding organization/source |