Automation for financial advisers

Where the hours actually go

Ask any advice firm where the time disappears and it is rarely the advice. It is everything around it.

• Onboarding a new client: fact-find, ID and anti-money-laundering checks, letters of authority and getting them set up on your systems
• Drafting suitability reports that follow the same structure every time, from data you have already captured
• Re-keying the same details between your CRM, your back-office system and the platforms
• Scheduling annual reviews, preparing the packs, and reminding clients so they actually happen
• Evidencing ongoing service under Consumer Duty: proving the review took place and what was covered
• Reconciling adviser charges and fees, then chasing the ones that do not match

None of this is the advice. It is the tax that sits on top of it. And as your client bank grows, that tax grows with it.

What we'd automate first

We don't arrive with a product to sell you. We sit down with the people who do the work, find the repetitive admin that is eating their week, and build something that fits the way your firm already runs. For most advice firms, the early wins look like this:

• Client onboarding. Fact-find, checks, letters of authority and setup handled in the right order, with the back-and-forth managed for you
• Suitability report drafting. A first draft built from the data you have already captured, ready to review and sign off rather than write from scratch
• Annual reviews and ongoing service. Scheduling, client packs, reminders and the record that the review happened, so Consumer Duty is evidenced consistently
• Data moving between systems. Details flow between CRM, back-office and platforms without anyone re-typing them, which removes both the time and the errors
• Fee reconciliation. Adviser charges matched and flagged automatically, so mismatches surface early instead of at year end

What you get

Advisers and paraplanners back on advice instead of report production. Annual reviews that actually happen, on time, with the evidence kept for you. A consistent compliance trail that is ready at file review rather than reconstructed. And the capacity to serve more clients well without hiring purely to keep up with the admin.

The real win isn't the hours saved, though you will get those too. It is being able to grow the client bank without the admin growing at the same rate.

Questions advisers ask

Is my practice too small for this?

Smaller advice firms often get the most out of it, because there is no paraplanning or admin team to absorb the work. When the adviser is also the administrator, every hour saved on paperwork goes back into client work. We scope projects so the cost matches the size of the problem, not the size of the firm.

Will it work with my back-office system and platforms?

Yes. We don't ask you to replace Intelliflo, Iress, Plannr or whatever back-office system you run today. We connect to it and to the platforms and tools you already use, so information is captured once and flows where it is needed, instead of being re-keyed between systems.

Will this replace my advisers or paraplanners?

No. It takes the repetitive admin off their plate so they can do the work that needs qualified judgement: advice and client relationships. Most firms we talk to aren't trying to cut people. They are trying to stop advisers and paraplanners drowning in report production and review paperwork.

Is client data safe, and does this help with FCA compliance?

Both matter, so we treat them that way. We build privacy controls in from the start and keep your data inside systems you control. Automation also makes compliance more consistent: suitability evidence, disclosures and records are produced the same way every time, with a clear trail you can show at file review.

Can it help with annual reviews and Consumer Duty?

Yes, and it is one of the strongest cases for automation in advice. Review scheduling, client packs, reminders and the record that the review took place and what was covered can be handled automatically, so ongoing service is delivered and evidenced consistently rather than slipping in a busy month.

How much does it cost, and when does it pay for itself?

Projects typically start where the pain is sharpest and the payback is quickest, so the first piece earns its keep before you commit to the next. If you want a rough sense of what a single manual process is already costing you, our calculator gives you a number in about a minute.

Is this right for you?

This works well when:

• Your advisers spend more time on report production than with clients
• The same details get typed into your CRM, back-office and the platforms
• Annual reviews slip in busy months, or the evidence is hard to pull together
• Consumer Duty has added ongoing-service obligations you are meeting by hand
• You want to serve more clients well without growing your admin to match

Industries we work with

Automation for financial advisers is one of several sectors we focus on. If you run an owner-managed business in a related field, you may find one of these a closer fit:

• Solicitors and law firms
• Accountancy practices
• Insurance and mortgage brokers
• Estate agents
• Architecture, surveying and planning
• Recruitment agencies
• Marketing and creative agencies
• Renewables, clean-tech and environmental

Curious what your manual processes are really costing? Try the process cost calculator. This is one application of our business process automation work; the usual starting point is to map your business first.