Check out David Lawrence's column, 'The Efficient Practice' in Financial Advisor Magazine. click on the logo below:
Check out David Lawrence's Technology Column in The Register, Monthly publication of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC)
Technology
Technical Systems Efficiency is when all of your technical systems (i.e.. computers, software, printers, scanners, servers, website, email, phone system, messaging systems, point-of-sale systems and in-office communication systems are all working together, communicate with each other and share data seamlessly. What frequently happens in a firm is the purchase of software and equipment on an as-needed basis. Often this means a patchwork of unrelated equipment and software that do not communicate with each other effectively or at all. We analyze your technical systems to determine what the conditions are and to point out potential shortfalls or pluses. We also analyze these items in light of how you work and how your use of them impacts your style of business.
If your firm offers financial planning, then the following example should prove to be an interesting way to increase efficiency in your firm.
Consider the process you might use to create a financial plan document. For some practices, this involves several steps that might include:
|
Step: |
Time |
|
Initial Consultation Meeting |
30 minutes to 1 hour |
|
Data Gathering Meeting |
60 - 90 minutes |
|
Data Inputs into FP Software |
2 -3 hours |
|
Case Analysis |
2 - 3 hours |
|
Document Creation |
1 -2 hours |
|
Plan Presentation |
1 hour |
|
Total time: |
11 hours or more per financial plan |
With the above example in mind, applying efficient techniques to this process could reduce the overall time by more than half. Specifically, the Data Inputs and Document Creation can be greatly reduced with more efficient methods.
Data inputs may be typed into the office computers more than once. An example of this would be where the information is typed into a Client Relationship Management (CRM) software, a portfolio management software and the financial planning software. This may be done because the practitioner is not aware of a way to share that data across divergent platforms.
Often practitioners use cut and paste methods to build the document. Frequently, they may not use proper templates or automate the production of the document so that all parts of the plan are paginated correctly, contain the same formatting, font style and size and look the same throughout. The Efficient Practice can build (or enhance) your software and technology to fully automate those parts of the financial planning process. In many cases, the time savings is substantial; cutting hours of staff work down to minutes. The residual impact of this time savings can be felt in the firm's ability to take on additional clients and do more work (or simply spend more time in relationship building with existing clients) without the necessity of hiring additional staff or working longer hours.
We work with dozens of software companies to find customized solutions that can be applied to your business. We also work with most Broker/dealers to better understand how to leverage their advisor offerings to provide greater efficiency to your practice.
To take the next step, click on our pricing link, click here!
