Scheduling client reviews across your whole book, so nobody slips a year
A small RIA can keep reviews on schedule by giving every household a review month, spreading those months across the year, pulling a list at the start of each month of who is due, and checking once a quarter who is overdue. When a client declines or can't meet, record the offer and the date, and suggest another time. That way no household quietly goes two years without a review.
Most small firms say they review every client once a year. Then someone counts. Forty households were seen in November and December. Twelve haven't had a review in eighteen months. Three have never had one since they signed. Nobody decided to skip them. They just never came up.
Give every household a review month
The simplest fix is to assign one month to each household and spread them out. A firm with 60 households ends up with about five reviews a month instead of thirty in one season.
| Choose review months that | Why |
|---|---|
| Spread evenly across the year | A steady load instead of a crunch |
| Avoid billing weeks and tax season | Those months are full already |
| Fit the client | Some clients want a review before their own year-end or a known event |
The monthly routine
- At the start of each month, pull the list of households due.
- Send invitations in the first week.
- Hold the review, and write notes on the client's record the same day.
- If a client declines, record the offer, the date and their answer.
- Once a quarter, list anyone whose last review is older than your procedures allow.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical two-person RIA with 72 households, almost all reviewed in the fourth quarter. It gives each household a review month based on when the client joined, moving a few out of January, April, July and October because those are billing months. Each month now has five to eight reviews. In the first quarterly check, four households turn up overdue; three book quickly and one declines, which is recorded with the date.
What are the common gaps?
- Reviews bunched into one season.
- No list of who's overdue, so gaps stay hidden.
- Declined reviews with nothing on the record.
- Review notes kept in a notebook rather than on the client's record.
When is this overkill?
With fifteen households you can probably keep it in your head. Past thirty, give everyone a month.
How Advorra fits
Advorra keeps clients, households, member-level suitability and communications together, with a 36-month suitability clock so reviews that are falling behind show up. See the product page, or read about the annual client review agenda and suitability reviews.
One thing to do this week: count how many of your households had a review in the last twelve months.
An operations routine, not legal or compliance advice. Your written procedures set how often reviews happen.
Questions advisors ask
How should we pick each household's review month?
Spread them evenly, and avoid your busiest months, such as billing weeks or tax season. Many firms use the month the client joined.
What if a client doesn't want a review?
Record that you offered it, the date, and what they said. Offer again later.
How do we know who's overdue?
Once a quarter, list households whose last review is more than a year old, or whatever your procedures say.
What should count as a review?
Whatever your written procedures define, usually a conversation about goals, circumstances and the account's strategy, with notes.
Is this compliance advice?
No. It is an operations routine. Your procedures set the review frequency.
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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