Real Estate Transaction Management Software for Texas Brokers
When a complaint lands or TREC opens an audit, nobody asks the agent for their inbox. They ask the broker for the file. Texas brokers must keep transaction and trust records for at least four years from closing or termination, in a format readily available to the Commission (sources: TREC license holder FAQ and 22 TAC 535.2(h)).
Full access for 14 days. The real product, your real deals, day one.
No credit card. No contract. We set it up with you - free.
A 1-minute walkthrough - listing to closed, end to end.
1,700+
real estate companies
4.6M+
transactions managed
16 years
in business
~30,000
closings last month
Four years is a long time to hope an agent's email folder holds up, or that the assistant who organized the drive still works here.
In short
Texas real estate contract software that speaks promulgated forms
A Texas residential deal does not run on freeform contracts. It runs on forms promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission, the state agency established in 1949 to protect consumers in real property transactions (source: About TREC). License holders are required to use the promulgated forms, which means every file in a Texas brokerage is built from the same predictable stack of paper.
| Form | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-18 | Adopted by reference in 22 TAC 537.28, the workhorse form for resales (sources: TREC forms library and 22 TAC 537.28). |
| Farm and Ranch Contract, TREC No. 25-16 | Adopted in 22 TAC 537.32 for land and acreage deals (source: TREC). |
| Information About Brokerage Services (IABS) | Required at first substantive communication under Texas Occupations Code 1101.558 and 22 TAC 531.20 (sources: TREC forms library and 22 TAC 531.20). |
| Seller's Disclosure Notice | Required for most single-dwelling residential sales by Texas Property Code 5.008; TREC publishes form OP-H covering the statutory minimum (source: Property Code 5.008). |
Because the paperwork is standardized, the file can be standardized too. That is the whole opportunity. Auto-applied Checklist Templates fire by deal type, side, location, and status, so a resale listing side in your Fort Worth office gets a different required-documents list than a farm and ranch buyer side out of your Weatherford office, without anyone choosing a template.
Standardized Document Names and Doc Labels then keep every contract, amendment, and notice named the same way in every file, which is what makes a four-year-old transaction searchable at all. One caution: TREC revises forms and the version numbers change with them, so confirm current versions in the TREC forms library rather than trusting a saved copy.
The TREC forms-to-file map
Here is the whole stack, mapped to where each piece lives in an audit-ready file.
| Document | When it enters the deal | Where it lives in Pipeline |
|---|---|---|
| IABS (TREC No. IABS 1-0) | At the first substantive communication with a party | A checklist item on every transaction, flagged the moment it is missing |
| Listing or buyer representation agreement | Before the offer stage | Uploaded under a Standardized Document Name and visible in review history |
| One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-18 | Offer and execution | The anchor document. Its effective date drives every Key Date in the file |
| Third Party Financing Addendum and other promulgated addenda | Attached at execution | Checklist items applied by deal type and tagged with Doc Labels |
| Seller's Disclosure Notice (Property Code 5.008 / OP-H) | On or before contract execution for covered sales | A required checklist item on covered residential resales |
| Option fee and earnest money receipts | Within 3 days after the effective date | Uploaded proof tied to auto-calculated Key Dates |
| Amendments (TREC No. 39 series) | Any renegotiation, commonly right after the option period | Version-stamped uploads with full document review history |
| Closing statements and CDA | Closing | Final checklist items before the file can be marked closed |
That is what audit-ready means in practice. Not a scanning binge the week TREC writes to you, but a file that assembled itself as the deal moved, one checklist item at a time. If you are building or tightening that list, our transaction checklist guide is a practical place to start, and everything included covers the rest of the feature set.
Option period math, done in calendar days
This is where Texas files go wrong, and the reason is that two deadlines in the same paragraph count differently.
Paragraph 5
Option fee and earnest money
- Due to the escrow agent within 3 days after the effective date.
- If day 3 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day.
The option itself
Right to terminate
- Stated in calendar days. Day one is the day after the effective date.
- Weekends count. The deadline does not roll for landing on a weekend.
- Written notice is due by 5:00 PM local time where the property is located on the last day.
Sources: TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract and Texas Real Estate Research Center, Option Period Basics.
Texas option period and earnest money deadline calculator
Enter the effective date and the option period length from Paragraph 5 of the contract.
Option fee and earnest money due
Thursday, April 9, 2026
3 days after the effective date. Legal holidays also roll the deadline forward, so check the calendar.
Day one of the option period
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
The day after the effective date. Weekends count.
Option period ends
Monday, April 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM local time
Written termination notice is due by 5:00 PM local time where the property is located.
This tool illustrates the standard TREC contract language for education only. The contract the parties signed controls. Confirm every date against the executed contract.
- Effective dateDay 0
- Option fee and earnest money due (Paragraph 5)Day 3
- Option period expires, 5:00 PM local timeDay 7
With a 7-day option period, day one is Tuesday, April 7, and the buyer's right to terminate expires at 5:00 PM local time on Monday, April 13. If the same contract had a 5-day option period, it would expire at 5:00 PM on Saturday, April 11, and Saturday still counts.
Key Dates in Paperless Pipeline auto-calculate task due dates in business days or calendar days from the dates you enter, which is exactly the distinction Texas files live and die on: the earnest money deadline behaves one way, the option period another. Dashboards surface what is due today, overdue, and upcoming across every file in the brokerage, and instant reports like Closing in 30 Days and Overdue Closings keep the pipeline honest without anyone building a spreadsheet.
When TREC audits, here is what they ask for
Brokers must maintain records for at least four years from the date of closing or termination of the contract, in a format readily available to the Commission, under 22 TAC 535.2(h), with trust account records governed by 22 TAC 535.146 (sources: TREC license holder FAQ and 22 TAC 535.146). Requests tend to arrive in the same five shapes.
- 1
"Produce the complete file for this transaction"
One transaction page holds every document under Standardized Document Names, so producing the file takes minutes rather than a week of digging through drives and inboxes. - 2
"Show who reviewed and approved these documents"
Document review history records who looked at what and when, which is the difference between having a policy and being able to evidence it. - 3
"Show us the communication trail"
Every transaction has its own Maildrop address, so deal email lands inside the file itself, and the complete audit trail logs every action taken on the transaction. - 4
"We need access for our examiner"
Optional auditor access gives an examiner read access without handing over admin keys, and granular permissions keep everyone else scoped to their own role. - 5
"What about files from three years ago, from the office you closed?"
Unlimited storage and Locations mean a closed office's files were never purged to save space, and free monthly vendor-neutral backups mean the brokerage always holds its own records.
None of that is heroic. It is just what happens when the file is built in one system instead of five. Our guide to broker audit preparation walks through the review process behind it.
Transaction coordinators in Texas: what they can do and how brokerages support them
Much of Texas transaction coordination is done by unlicensed coordinators, and TREC allows that as long as the work stays administrative: preparing and organizing files, tracking deadlines, scheduling, and relaying factual information at a license holder's direction. Unlicensed assistants cannot negotiate terms, give opinions on value, or perform any act that requires a license (source: TREC guidance on using unlicensed individuals to help with Texas real estate transactions, trec.texas.gov).
Paperless Pipeline fits that split cleanly. Granular permissions let a coordinator run checklists, documents, and dates across many agents' files without touching anything outside their lane, and because pricing is by production rather than seats, adding a coordinator never costs a seat.
Licensing
Becoming a coordinator in Texas
- Texas has no state-issued transaction coordinator license.
- TREC does not certify transaction coordinators.
- Private certification courses exist, but the real requirement is keeping the work administrative.
License required?
What triggers license law
- No license is required while the work stays administrative and a license holder directs it.
- The moment a coordinator negotiates terms or advises a party, license law applies.
- Source: TREC guidance on unlicensed individuals assisting with Texas real estate transactions.
What it costs for a Texas brokerage
Take a Dallas-Fort Worth brokerage on NTREIS closing 20 sides a month. NTREIS is the largest MLS in Texas, serving over 50,000 subscribers across North Texas (sources: NTREIS overview and GFWAR), and in 2025 the state's largest MLSs, including HAR in Houston, Unlock MLS in Austin, and SABOR's MLS in San Antonio, activated statewide data sharing (source: Real Estate News).
20
sides a month
Sample DFW brokerage
$190/mo
tier covering up to 25 transactions
$9.50
per file
At 20 sides a month
Unlimited
users, locations, and storage
Set that against what a DFW brokerage pays per file for outsourced coordination, or against the admin hours spent rebuilding a file someone else assembled badly, and the comparison is not close.
| What you get | Details |
|---|---|
| Priced by monthly production | From $69 per month for 5 transactions up to $540 per month for 250, with an Unlimited plan at $715 for 450 transactions and $1.65 per additional transaction. Unlimited users, locations, and storage on every plan. |
| Nothing to sign | No contract, free setup, and a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. |
| Add-ons, stated honestly | Pipeline eSign is usage-based in blocks of 10 signature requests with unlimited signers and documents per request. The Commission Module starts at $49 per month and handles splits, tiers, caps, CDAs sent to the closing company, and around 12 financial reports. Pipeline AI early access offers AI Doc Review at $99 per 1,000 pages. An Enterprise Portal provides multi-office roll-up for larger operations. |
See full pricing and match your own monthly production to a tier.
Texas broker FAQs
How long must a Texas broker keep transaction records?+
At least four years from the date of closing or termination of the contract, kept in a format readily available to TREC under 22 TAC 535.2(h), with trust account records governed by 22 TAC 535.146 (source: TREC license holder FAQ). That is four years of documents the broker has to be able to produce, not the agent. Unlimited storage means old and terminated files never get purged to save space, and free monthly vendor-neutral backups keep the brokerage's own copy of everything.
Does the Texas option period count weekends?+
Yes. The option period is stated in calendar days, day one is the day after the effective date, and weekends count (source: Texas Real Estate Research Center, Option Period Basics). Written termination notice is due by 5:00 PM local time where the property is located on the final day, and that deadline does not roll if it lands on a Saturday or Sunday. The separate 3-day option fee and earnest money delivery deadline in Paragraph 5 does roll to the next business day.
Can an unlicensed transaction coordinator manage TREC contract files in Texas?+
Yes, for administrative work performed at a license holder's direction: preparing and organizing files, tracking deadlines, scheduling, and relaying factual information. An unlicensed coordinator cannot negotiate terms, give opinions on value, or perform any act requiring a license (source: TREC guidance on using unlicensed individuals in Texas real estate transactions).
Does Paperless Pipeline work with NTREIS, HAR, Unlock MLS, and SABOR brokerages?+
Yes. Paperless Pipeline manages the transaction file, the checklists, and the deadlines for brokerages in any Texas market, and it does not depend on which MLS the firm belongs to. Brokerages on NTREIS in North Texas, HAR in Houston, Unlock MLS in Austin, and SABOR's MLS in San Antonio all run the same way.
What does Texas transaction management software cost?+
Paperless Pipeline is priced by monthly production rather than per user, from $69 per month for 5 transactions up to $540 for 250, with an Unlimited plan at $715 for 450 transactions and $1.65 per transaction beyond that. Every plan includes unlimited users, locations, and storage. There is no contract, setup is free, and the 14-day trial does not ask for a credit card.
Be audit-ready before TREC ever writes
Checklists that build the file as the deal moves, Key Dates that count calendar days when the contract does, and four years of records you can produce in one search.
Sources
- About TREC, trec.texas.gov
- TREC license holder FAQ on record retention
- TREC One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), No. 20-18
- TREC Farm and Ranch Contract, No. 25-16
- TREC Information About Brokerage Services (IABS)
- 22 TAC 537.28 (Cornell LII)
- 22 TAC 531.20 (Cornell LII)
- 22 TAC 535.146 (Cornell LII)
- Texas Property Code 5.008 (FindLaw)
- Texas Real Estate Research Center, Option Period Basics
- NTREIS overview
- NTREIS expansion in North Central Texas
- Real Estate News, Texas MLS data share
This page is general information about Texas practice, not legal advice. Confirm current rule text and form versions with counsel or TREC.