Financial Statement Presentation (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Financial Statement Presentation (Policies)	Sep. 30, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Description of Operations	Description of Operations – Novation Companies, Inc. (“NCI” or the “Company”) acquires and operates technology-enabled service businesses, with a focus on building and developing these businesses to create long term value. The Company owns 91% of StreetLinks LLC (“StreetLinks”), a national residential appraisal and mortgage real estate valuation management services company. The majority of StreetLinks' business is generated from managing the process of fulfilling an appraisal order and performing a quality control review of all appraisals. StreetLinks also provides other real estate valuation management services, such as field reviews, value validation, and automated appraisal risk management. StreetLinks charges a fee for these services which is collected from lenders and borrowers. The Company owns 100% of Advent Financial Services LLC (“Advent”). As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned 78% of Advent. For discussion regarding the change in ownership interest, see Note 4 to the condensed consolidation financial statements. Advent, along with its distribution partners, provides financial settlement services, mainly for income tax preparation businesses, and also provides access to tailored banking accounts and related services via its prepaid debit card designed to meet the needs of low and moderate-income level individuals. Advent is not a bank, but it acts as an intermediary for banking products on behalf of other banking institutions. The primary distribution channel for Advent is by way of settlement services to electronic income tax return originators. Advent provides a process for the originators to collect refunds from the Internal Revenue Service, distribute fees to various service providers and deliver the net refund to individuals. Individuals may elect to have the net refund dollars deposited into Advent's prepaid debit card. Individuals also have the option to have the net refund dollars paid by check or to an existing bank account. Regardless of the settlement method, Advent receives a fee from the originator for providing the settlement service. If the refund is deposited to the prepaid debit card offered by Advent, Advent earns additional fee income. The Company owns 67% of Mango Moving, LLC ("Mango"), which was formerly a third-party logistics provider within the household goods industry. However, as a result of continued capital demands and difficulties generating positive cash flows or earnings, the Company and non-controlling owners agreed to dissolve Mango and abandon its operations during the first quarter of 2013. As discussed in Note 3, the operations of Mango have been classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented. On October 2, 2012, the Company acquired 85% of the membership interests in IVR Central, LLC ("IVR"). Subsequent to the acquisition, IVR changed its name to CorvisaCloud LLC ("CorvisaCloud"). CorvisaCloud is a technology company in the call center communications industry, whose primary products include interactive voice response, automated call distribution, call dialing and call recording using cloud technology. See Note 4 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for additional information regarding this acquisition.
Consolidation, Policy	The condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company include the accounts of all wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company's condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all necessary adjustments have been made, which were of a normal and recurring nature, for a fair presentation of the condensed consolidated financial statements. The Company's condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the consolidated financial statements of the Company and the notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]	Cash equivalents consist of liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less. Amounts due from banks and credit card companies of $0.3 million for the settlement of credit card transactions are included in cash and cash equivalents as of both September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, as they are generally collected within three business days. Cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair value.
Notes Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts	Notes receivable are considered impaired if, based on current information and events, it is probable that the Company will be unable to collect all amounts due that are contractually obligated. The Company determines the required allowance for doubtful accounts using information such as the borrower's financial condition and economic trends and conditions.
Property and Equipment, Net	All of the Company's property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. The estimated useful lives of the Company's property and equipment are the lesser of 5 years or remaining lease term for leasehold improvements, 5 years for furniture and fixtures, 3 to 5 years for office and computer equipment, and 3 years for software. Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense. Major renewals and improvements are capitalized. Gains and losses on dispositions are credited or charged to earnings as incurred.
Goodwill, Policy	Goodwill is tested for impairment at least annually as of November 30, or when events or circumstances suggest that an impairment may exist. Goodwill is tested for impairment using a two-step process that begins with an estimation of fair value. The first step compares the estimated fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the estimated fair value exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill is not considered impaired. However, if the carrying amount exceeds its estimated fair value, a second step is performed, comparing the implied fair value to the carrying amount of goodwill. An impairment loss is recorded in the consolidated statement of operations to the extent that the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value. For tax purposes, goodwill is included in the Company's basis in its investment in StreetLinks as StreetLinks is a limited liability company. Therefore, it will be non-deductible for tax purposes as long as the Company holds its investment.
Valuation Methods and Processes	Mortgage securities – available-for-sale – Mortgage securities classified as available-for-sale are reported at their estimated fair value with unrealized gains and losses reported in accumulated other comprehensive income. To the extent that the cost basis of mortgage securities exceeds the fair value and the unrealized loss is considered to be other than temporary, an impairment charge is recognized and the amount recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss is reclassified to earnings as a realized loss. The specific identification method is used in computing realized gains or losses. The Company uses the discount rate methodology for determining the fair value of its residual securities. The fair value of the residual securities is estimated based on the present value of future expected cash flows to be received. Management's best estimate of key assumptions, including credit losses, prepayment speeds, forward yield curves and discount rates commensurate with the risks involved, are used in estimating future cash flows. Contingent consideration – The Company estimated the fair value of the Corvisa contingent consideration using projected revenue over the earn-out period, and applied a discount rate commensurate with the risks involved to the projected earn-out payments. The key inputs for the projected revenue analysis were the number of units completed and the average amount of revenue per unit.
Earnings per Share	Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net earnings available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share include the effect of conversions of stock options and nonvested shares. The Company used the treasury method to calculate earnings per share for all periods presented.

Disclosure of accounting policy for cash and cash equivalents, including the policy for determining which items are treated as cash equivalents. Other information that may be disclosed includes (1) the nature of any restrictions on the entity's use of its cash and cash equivalents, (2) whether the entity's cash and cash equivalents are insured or expose the entity to credit risk, (3) the classification of any negative balance accounts (overdrafts), and (4) the carrying basis of cash equivalents (for example, at cost) and whether the carrying amount of cash equivalents approximates fair value.

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- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy regarding (1) the principles it follows in consolidating or combining the separate financial statements, including the principles followed in determining the inclusion or exclusion of subsidiaries or other entities in the consolidated or combined financial statements and (2) its treatment of interests (for example, common stock, a partnership interest or other means of exerting influence) in other entities, for example consolidation or use of the equity or cost methods of accounting. The accounting policy may also address the accounting treatment for intercompany accounts and transactions, noncontrolling interest, and the income statement treatment in consolidation for issuances of stock by a subsidiary.

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- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for computing basic and diluted earnings or loss per share for each class of common stock and participating security. Addresses all significant policy factors, including any antidilutive items that have been excluded from the computation and takes into account stock dividends, splits and reverse splits that occur after the balance sheet date of the latest reporting period but before the issuance of the financial statements.

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- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for long-lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale. Includes, but is not limited to, basis of assets, depreciation and depletion methods used, including composite deprecation, estimated useful lives, capitalization policy, accounting treatment for costs incurred for repairs and maintenance, capitalized interest and the method it is calculated, disposals and impairments.

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