Planning next year's operations at a small RIA: one page, three priorities, a calendar
A small RIA can plan next year's operations on one page: look back at what slowed the firm down this year, pick no more than three operations priorities with an owner and a finish date each, put the fixed compliance and billing dates in the calendar, and name one thing to stop doing. Review the page at the end of each quarter.
Most small firms start the year with good intentions and a long list. By March, client work has taken over, and the list is quietly forgotten until next December. One page with three priorities and a calendar of fixed dates does more than a long list ever does.
Step 1: look back (30 minutes)
- What took longer than it should have this year?
- Which client complaints or near-misses came from operations?
- What did you rebuild from scratch more than once?
- Where did the same information live in more than one place?
Step 2: pick three priorities
| Priority | Owner | Done when | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example: one record for clients, models, IPS and billing | Operations lead | The billing spreadsheet is retired after a matching quarter | End of Q1 |
| Example: written service standards | Owner | A one-page standard in every welcome pack | End of Q2 |
| Example: records drill twice a year | Operations lead | Two drills run, gaps fixed | End of Q4 |
Step 3: put the fixed dates in the calendar
- Quarterly billing runs.
- Form ADV annual amendment and brochure delivery.
- The annual compliance review.
- Personal securities reporting deadlines.
- Client review season and IPS review dates coming due.
- Twelve monthly operations closes.
Step 4: name one thing to stop
A duplicate spreadsheet, a report nobody reads, a tool nobody opens. Stopping something frees the time the three priorities need.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical two-person RIA planning in late November. The look-back finds three pain points: billing took two days every quarter, IPS documents were hard to find, and the compliance review was rebuilt from scratch. The page names three priorities with owners and dates, puts every fixed date in the shared calendar, and stops a monthly report the owner never reads. At the end of each quarter the two of them spend fifteen minutes checking the page.
What are the common gaps?
- A list of ten priorities with no owners.
- Fixed dates remembered only when they arrive.
- Never stopping anything, so nothing new fits.
When is this overkill?
It isn't. It's an hour a year, and the quarterly check is fifteen minutes.
How Advorra fits
Several of the usual priorities, such as one record for clients, models, IPS and billing, an IPS review clock, and compliance registers kept as you work, are what Advorra is built for. If one of your three priorities is consolidating tools, we set firms up by hand and help migrate data from the current CRM. See the product page, or read about a compliance calendar and the one-hour stack audit.
One thing to do this week: book one hour in late November to plan next year's operations.
A planning routine, not legal or compliance advice.
Questions advisors ask
When should we plan next year's operations?
November or early December works for most firms, before year-end billing and ADV season.
Why only three priorities?
A two-person firm can finish three things in a year alongside client work. Ten priorities usually means none get done.
What goes in the calendar?
Fixed dates: quarterly billing, ADV annual amendment, brochure delivery, annual compliance review, personal trading report deadlines, client review season.
What should we stop doing?
Anything kept going out of habit: a duplicate spreadsheet, a report nobody reads, a tool nobody uses.
Is this compliance advice?
No. It is a planning routine. Your compliance consultant confirms your firm's required dates.
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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