Your first operations hire at a small RIA: what to hand over first
An operations hire at a small RIA takes over the repeatable work that doesn't need the adviser's judgment: paperwork and account opening, data entry, billing preparation, records filing and the compliance calendar. Hand over the most repeatable, best-documented tasks first, write each one down before the person starts, give them only the access each task needs, and check their work against a short list until it is consistently right.
The signal is usually the same. You spend Tuesday morning re-keying a new client's details into three systems, Wednesday chasing a transfer form, and Thursday building the billing file, and a prospect meeting slips to next week. You're doing work someone else could do, at the cost of the work only you can do.
What should an operations hire take over?
The repeatable work that doesn't need your judgment. In most small firms that means:
| Area | Typical tasks | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding paperwork | Account forms, transfer paperwork, chasing signatures | Adviser approves before submission |
| Data entry | New clients and accounts into your systems | Ops, checked against the source |
| Billing preparation | Building the quarterly calculation and fee file | Adviser approves before it goes to the custodian |
| Records | Filing signed documents, keeping the records map current | Ops |
| Compliance calendar | Tracking due dates, collecting reports, reminders | CCO signs off |
| Client service | Address changes, statement questions, scheduling | Ops, escalate anything about advice |
Which tasks go first?
The most repeatable and best documented. A task that happens every week and already has a checklist is a good first handover. Billing, which happens four times a year and has the most at stake, usually comes later, after the person has prepared it alongside you at least once.
What should you write down before day one?
For each task you plan to hand over, one page:
- What triggers it, and how often.
- The steps, in order, with the system used for each.
- What "done" looks like, and where the record goes.
- Who reviews it, and when.
- The common mistakes.
If you can't write it down, it isn't ready to hand over. Writing it is also how you find the steps that only exist in your head.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical solo adviser with about 80 households who hires a part-time operations assistant. The plan for the first quarter:
| Weeks | Hand over | Review |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Records filing, scheduling, address changes | Adviser spot-checks daily |
| 3 to 6 | New-client data entry, onboarding paperwork | Adviser checks every item before submission |
| 7 to 10 | Compliance calendar tracking | Weekly check-in |
| Quarter end | Prepares the billing file alongside the adviser | Adviser checks every bill and approves |
By the second quarter the assistant prepares billing alone and the adviser reviews it. Advice, client recommendations and final approvals stay with the adviser.
How should you set up access?
Give access task by task, not everything on day one. Use their own login for every system, never a shared one, so the record shows who did what. Write down what they can see and change, and how access is removed if they leave. Update your written procedures to show who does each task and who reviews it.
How do you know it's working?
- Errors caught at review fall over a few cycles.
- Your week has more client and prospect time in it.
- Tasks get done on schedule without you chasing them.
- The one-page procedures get better, because the new person spots gaps.
When is this overkill?
If the repeatable work fits in a few hours a week, a written checklist and better tools may do more than a hire. Fix the process first. A new person inherits whatever process you hand them, good or bad.
How Advorra fits
Advorra keeps clients, households, accounts, the strategy each account follows, billing and compliance records in one place, so a new operations person learns one system instead of five. See the product page, or read the client onboarding checklist and written procedures for small RIAs.
One thing to do this week: write the one-page procedure for the task you most want to stop doing yourself.
An operations guide, not legal, employment or compliance advice.
Questions advisors ask
Full-time, part-time or outsourced?
It depends on volume. Many solo advisers start part-time or with an outsourced provider, and move to a staff hire when the work fills the week. The handover steps are the same either way.
What should I never hand over?
Investment advice and client recommendations, unless the person is qualified and registered to give them. Approval of anything that goes to clients or the custodian should stay with the adviser at first.
How long until they can work alone?
For a repeatable task, after several clean cycles with your review. Quarterly tasks like billing take longer because they only come round four times a year.
Do I need to update my procedures?
Yes. Your written procedures should say who does each task now, and who reviews it. Ask your compliance consultant whether anything else changes for your firm.
Is this legal or employment advice?
No. It is an operations guide. Check employment, licensing and compliance questions with the right adviser.
See it on a demo firm
Advorra is practice software for independent RIAs: clients, models, IPS, billing and compliance records in one place, on top of the custodian you already use. Built by The CollabHub.
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