Entrepreneurs Cara Brett of Bounce Financial and Ross Marais of Moretime Financial are bucking trends and challenging the financial planning norms of today. Both have built successful financial planning businesses with cashflow management services as the cornerstone of their service offering.
With monthly reports, quarterly in-person meetings, and an annual review, firms like Cara’s and Ross’ can charge a monthly subscription fee ranging from $200 – $400 per household, per month for cashflow services, depending on the complexity of the advice.
Today, we’re putting them in the spotlight and showcasing how they’re leveraging myprosperity to provide next level cashflow management to their clients. From increasing client engagement to streamlining reporting efficiencies, read on to find out how the portal has helped both firms add value at each step of the client relationship.
Why the first 90 days are key
The first 90 days are imperative: if engaged in the right way, they can lead to a lifelong relationship and future endorsements.
The first step in the engagement process is to meet with the client and fill in a rough budget – a really simple excel spreadsheet on how they spending their money which is used to establish their goals.
Second, clients are set up with their personal wealth portal, helping to consolidate their financial world and link bank accounts to start retrieving cashflow information.
Third, they leverage the portal’s
Once cashflow information has been consolidated and collected, the advisers can quickly identify a client’s ‘goal gap’ over time. After 3 months, a client meeting is set up to review the situation and a ‘reality check’ is undertaken to compare clients’ spending with their stated budget.
If appropriate, a plan is put in place to help them bridge the gap between their goals and current situation. With the plan in place and the client committed, they are moved to the ‘service’ phase of the engagement – monthly reports, quarterly meetings, and annual reviews.
Simplifying the end of month process
In the first 2-3 business days of every month, Moretime Financial staff review and categorise a client’s transactions for the month prior. If they’re unsure of how to categorise a particular transaction, they’ll notify the client via email, or assign it as a task using the wealth portal’s “To-do” functionality.
Though the platform can generate and email reports to clients automatically, Ross and Cara prefer to download the reports and email them to clients directly. They accompany the reports with additional insights and commentary for an even more personalised experience.
Both firms use the Cashflow Track report, and Cara’s also taken the time to personalise the report cover (which can be done through the adviser portal) for a consistent brand experience.
Engaging at Quarterly & Annual Meetings
Quarterly and annual meetings are a great opportunity to sit down with clients and review their current financial situation.
For Cara and her firm, client meetings are an opportunity to leverage the wealth portal’s built-in data feeds to analyse and track a client’s progress against their stated goals. They use this time to reassess their clients’ goals and adjust budgets accordingly.
For the annual report, Cara prints the Comprehensive Cashflow report – which outlines the client’s goals, assets, and detailed cashflow over the last 12 month – so she can talk them through it.
By leveraging the reports and live data feeds, she’s able to spend less time gathering information and instead focus on delivering tailored advice powered by up to date data.
For the advisers of tomorrow, cashflow and debt management advice are just one of a long list of services that provide value to clients. Leveraging the myprosperity portal’s cashflow features helps firms like Ross and Cara’s provide next-level cashflow management. Both firms are great examples of how ongoing engagement can create a gateway to introduce clients to other areas of service, (such as insurance and investments) and establish lifelong relationships.