7 Processes Document Management Software Can Improve

Between finding new clients, completing paperwork, and maintaining compliance, advisors often spend more time on back-end tasks than actually interacting with their clients. In fact, surveys have found that advisors spend nearly 40% of their time on administrative and back-office tasks.

But there’s a solution: document management software. By streamlining necessary but cumbersome processes, document management software gives advisors more time to interact with clients and grow their business.

Here are seven processes that can be improved with document management software.

Lead Generation

Generating new leads for a steady stream of new clients can be challenging for advisors, especially for the 63% actively seeking new clients. Managing lead generation can seem like a full-time job on top of an advisor’s many other responsibilities. Document management software can assist with seamless lead generation to capture new prospects and grow your business. Using lead magnet and contact form templates from Docupace and PreciseFP, advisors can easily capture the attention and information of potential clients and turn them into loyal customers.

Information Gathering

A crucial step of opening new client accounts is gathering information, especially following Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering regulations. Document management software integrates compliance efforts into the information-gathering process. It provides unique templates to guide advisors and back-office staff in gathering relevant and accurate information. The ripple effect of streamlining this process is significant and can move clients to onboarding and opening new accounts much more quickly.

Client Onboarding

Onboarding a new client is an opportunity to establish a solid advisor-client relationship and set your client up for success. But with such a lengthy process with numerous requirements, it often feels like you’re just checking boxes instead of making the most of an opportunity to set a strong foundation. A cloud-based document management system can streamline client onboarding by eliminating delays and ensuring accurate information.

Instead of sending your clients a stack of physical papers to complete, document management software allows clients to submit information digitally and automatically populates information from your CRM or other platforms. That means you can shrink processing times from days to minutes while significantly reducing NIGO submissions.

Document Retention

Regulations are continually changing, and knowing how long to keep records of various forms and communication can be challenging. Document management software helps firms of all sizes comply with SEC and FINRA Books and Records rules 17a-3 and 17a-4 and store records in WORM (Write-Once-Read-Many) format. That means that instead of manually keeping physical records or manually sorting through files to ensure everything is accurate and in compliance, firms can automate the process, saving time, and protecting records.

Fraud Detection and Prevention

Fraud is a major concern for clients and firms, especially as cyberattacks increase. One survey found that 90% of consumers worry about digital banking fraud. Ease their concerns and prevent fraud with document management software that automatically tracks user actions to identify suspicious activity and potential fraud. Cloud-based document storage also encrypts files to maintain security and compliance, meaning you and your clients can rest easier knowing their personal information and money is secure.

Audits

Audits are part of life in the financial services industry and are notorious for requiring long hours hunting down the right forms and documents to show that your firm is in compliance. With document management software, you can become your auditor’s favorite firm and give auditors access to the records they need quickly and seamlessly. Document management software ensures records are in compliance and organized and tracks who can access which records. Docupace clients reduce disclosure processes by 65%. That means you can quickly meet the audit requirements and return to the most important work of serving clients.

Advisor Transitions

The transition process of bringing on a new advisor can be daunting, often taking up to six months and thousands of forms to fully transfer a book of business to a new RIA. But with frustrating slowdowns and lost revenue, that’s a transition many advisors can’t afford to make. Document management software provides a cloud-based advisor transition solution that automatically populates transition paperwork, covers all lines of business, and securely stores the paperwork to maintain compliance. Streamlining the transition process makes your firm much more enticing for new advisors and opens the doors for incredible growth opportunities.

These are just a few of the many applications of document management software. Cloud-based tools can transform every aspect of how your firm does business — providing a better experience for advisors, employees, and clients. Docupace is a leader in cloud-based document management software.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.