Short answer: No — unless you have exceptional technical skills, deep security knowledge, and the time to maintain it properly.
Vibe coding — using AI tools to rapidly generate software from prompts — has exploded in popularity. And on the surface, it looks perfect for brokers:
- ✨ Spin up a CRM fast
- 🤖 Let AI “handle the code”
- 💸 Save on SaaS subscriptions
- 🧩 Build something custom to your workflow
We get the appeal. We tried it ourselves.
But after running our own vibe coding experiment, the reality becomes very clear:
A Broker CRM is not a side project.
And it’s definitely not “just another web app”.
(insert video link)
What Vibe Coding Is (and What It Isn’t)
Vibe coding tools are genuinely impressive at:
- Generating front-end UI and layouts
- Building forms and dashboards
- Creating basic CRUD applications
- Making something look production-ready very quickly
Where they fall down is where broker CRMs actually live — the backend.
Using the same prompt, different AI tools produced:
- Completely different database schemas
- Conflicting data relationships
- Inconsistent assumptions about permissions
- Different approaches to file storage and security
That’s not a flaw in the tools — it’s how probabilistic AI works.
For financial services software, that inconsistency is not innovation.
It’s risk.
The Big Misconception: “It Works” ≠ “It’s Safe”
Most vibe-coded applications appear to work:
- Forms submit
- Data saves
- Dashboards load
- Clients can log in
But broker CRMs aren’t judged by how they look — they’re judged by how safely they handle data.
A Broker CRM must securely manage:
- Personal identity information
- Financial statements
- Credit reports
- Sensitive documents
- Third-party access
- Long-term data retention
If these foundations aren’t deliberately designed, the system may function — but it isn’t fit for purpose.
What a Broker CRM Actually Needs to Support
A proper broker CRM goes far beyond contacts and notes. At minimum, it must handle:
Core Operational Requirements
- Lead capture (website, referrals, integrations)
- Contacts, organisations, and relationships
- Multiple applicants and directors per deal
- Pipeline stages and substages
- Tasks, reminders, and follow-ups
- Secure document collection and versioning
- Notes, audit trails, and activity logs
- Referral partner access controls
- Client portals with role-based permissions
- Post-settlement engagement and reviews
Technical & Data Architecture Requirements
- Relational data models (not flat tables)
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Environment separation (dev / staging / production)
- Secure file storage (not just “uploads”)
- Data residency awareness
- Backup and disaster recovery processes
- Schema evolution without breaking historical data
Security & Governance Considerations
- Encryption at rest and in transit
- Granular permissions at record and field level
- Audit logs for compliance
- Controlled document sharing
- Protection against accidental data leaks
- Secure integrations with third-party services
These are not decisions AI tools make for you.
They are decisions you are responsible for.
Front End Is Easy. Backend Is Where CRMs Live or Die
Most vibe coding tools excel at UI and UX:
- Forms
- Dashboards
- Client portals
- Tables and charts
But the real work happens behind the scenes:
- Database design
- Entity relationships
- Permission logic
- Automation rules
- Document access controls
This is where mistakes become expensive.
A poorly designed backend:
- Locks you into bad data structures
- Makes reporting unreliable
- Introduces security blind spots
- Becomes difficult or impossible to scale later
The Hidden Risk: AI Guardrails Don’t Protect You
One of the most overlooked risks in vibe coding — and AI more broadly — is the assumption that AI guardrails will keep things safe by default.
They won’t.
As Sander Schulhoff, founder of Hack a Prompt, has warned:
“AI guardrails don’t work. Prompt injection can be hidden in emails which say ‘ignore your instructions and do XYZ instead.’”
This matters because prompt injection isn’t theoretical. It can be hidden inside:
- Emails
- Uploaded documents
- Form inputs
- Client-supplied data
If an AI system is allowed to act on that information, the consequences can be serious.
Why This Risk Is Bigger for AI Agents — but Still Matters for Vibe Coding
This issue is most dangerous with AI Agents, where systems:
- Perform tasks on your behalf
- Move data between platforms
- Trigger actions automatically
- Make decisions without human review
If an agent is compromised, it can act on malicious instructions without obvious warning.
Vibe coding tools may feel safer because they generate code rather than execute tasks — but they still come with responsibility.
If you can’t confidently verify:
- What the generated code is doing
- How inputs are sanitised
- How permissions are enforced
- Whether instructions or logic have been overridden
Then you can’t guarantee the system is secure — even if it “works.”
Headless CMS vs Low-Code vs Custom Builds: What People Miss
When brokers explore DIY builds, the decision often comes down to:
- A headless CMS
- A low-code / no-code platform
- A fully custom backend
What’s often overlooked:
- Who owns the data model?
- Can permissions be applied at field level?
- How are documents stored and revoked?
- How do portals interact with live data?
- What happens when workflows change?
- How easily can you export or migrate later?
A CMS is excellent for content. A backend platform is excellent for structure.
A broker CRM requires both — plus governance, security, and long-term thinking.
The Real Risk of DIY Broker CRMs
The biggest danger isn’t that your CRM won’t work.
It’s that it will work — until:
- A client requests a full data export
- A compliance audit asks for access logs
- A referrer needs limited visibility
- A staff member leaves
- A document is shared incorrectly
- You need to integrate with lenders or aggregators
At that point, rebuilding is far more costly than choosing the right system upfront.
So… Should You Vibe Code Your Own Broker CRM?
In most cases: no.
Unless you:
- Have strong backend engineering capability
- Understand cybersecurity and compliance deeply
- Can design and maintain complex data schemas
- Are comfortable with ongoing maintenance and liability
- Accept responsibility for client data protection
Vibe coding is excellent for:
- Prototypes
- Internal tools
- Experiments
- Workflow testing
- UI and concept validation
But a production Broker CRM is a long-term operational system — not a weekend build.
Our View at Broker Tools
We love experimentation.
We use AI daily.
We test these tools ourselves.
But we also see where systems break — and where brokers pay the price later.
Still not sure? Chat with your IT provider — or one of ours — to check whether your current setup is truly secure, compliant, and built to scale
