There are many great reasons to adopt a fee-for-service approach and several ways to seamlessly implement it into your business. If you’re currently using an Assets Under Management model, fee-for-service can be a great complement for your existing structure. No matter what approach you take, you can leverage AdvicePay to expand your client pool, add flexibility to your fee structure, and innovate your service offerings.
Our goal is to help improve how every firm does business! Whether it's invoicing for one-time advising sessions or fully compliant RIA billing, AdvicePay expands the ways you can serve your clients — all while managing client payments efficiently.
1. Quickstart sessions and one-time plans
For some new or potential clients, a complete financial plan or long-term commitment may not be the best. That's why we suggest offering Quickstart Sessions as a way to ease clients into the idea of holistic financial planning. You can provide your client with a short but meaningful one-time financial planning session to address their most pressing questions and needs while still earning revenue to help grow your firm.
The relationship doesn't have to end after a single plan or session. If you add value to their financial lives, there’s a great chance you’ll be the person they turn to the next time a financial question arises. Over time, you can help them understand the advantages of a full holistic financial plan and become their permanent advisor.
2. 401(k) or budgeting advice
When developing comprehensive financial plans with your clients, you’re likely advising them on many financial topics and providing investment management services. This can include 401(k) accounts that can’t be moved from their employer, where you cannot directly debit fees from As a result, many advisors give 401(k) management advice away for free.
In other instances, you may provide detailed budgeting services to help clients manage cash flow. This can be vital to a client’s long term financial success, but this advice is often given away for no cost.
AdvicePay makes it simple for you to send a one-time invoice for these types of services. It's secure and convenient for your client, allowing them to pay without creating an AdvicePay account.
AdvicePay saves you time, too, with features like the ability to set up a bulk request for one-time payments from multiple clients.
3. Advising adult children of current clients
There's a real opportunity for advisors to grow their business by building a direct relationship with the adult children their clients may transfer wealth to. You can become a trusted source for them and work with them to establish a financial relationship.
While many financial planners take on the accounts of their clients' adult children as a courtesy, AdvicePay opens the door for easy one-time fees for these services. You can also begin a monthly subscription for them at a reasonable price based on their income or the service level they require. As their financial situation evolves, so might the relationship.
Looking beyond the ongoing business, this allows you to develop a trusted relationship with a new generation of clients, and their parents will be happy too!
4. Insurance monitoring and management
Making sure clients have proper insurance coverage and monitoring any changes in policies is an important aspect of financial planning and is something AdvicePay's advanced billing systems can ensure you're compensated for.
Using set fees for your insurance management services also helps clients trust you to deliver unbiased advice, since you'll be paid without commission for selling a specific insurance product.
5. Avoiding "giving away" free financial planning
For many investment managers, providing financial planning advice to clients without charging for it might feel like part of the job, but getting paid for these services doesn't have to be a hassle.
Traditionally, this meant extra headaches; for example, having online access to your clients' accounts can be considered custody, which comes with a number of additional regulatory requirements and compliance issues.
With AdvicePay, you can avoid these regulatory requirements! Since you’ll be unable to view client banking information or withdraw funds without client approval, you won’t trigger custody.
And, since we only cater to the financial industry, we’re in the know with ever-changing regulations to make sure your billing is always compliant.
Financial planning can be a complex business that calls for unique, flexible, and reliable solutions. That's what AdvicePay is here to provide whatever works for you and clients.
You can integrate AdvicePay in big or little ways, for some or all of your services. No matter how you put us to work, we know we can make a big difference.