Auditing your firm's software stack: a one-hour review for small RIAs
To audit its software stack, a small RIA should list every tool it pays for or relies on, write down which record each one holds, who uses it and how often, and mark every place where the same fact, such as a client's strategy or fee rate, is typed into more than one tool. Then decide for each tool whether to keep it, combine it with another, or drop it, starting with the duplicates. One hour a year is usually enough.
Most small firms didn't design their software stack. They collected it. A CRM when the client list outgrew a spreadsheet, a billing sheet when fees got complicated, a folder for compliance, a portfolio tool, a document tool, an e-signature service. Each made sense on the day. Nobody ever looked at all of them together.
How do you run the audit?
- List every tool the firm pays for or relies on, including spreadsheets and shared folders.
- For each, write down: the record it holds, who uses it, how often, and roughly what it costs a year.
- Mark the duplicates: every fact that lives in more than one tool.
- Mark the gaps: records that live nowhere except someone's memory or inbox.
- Decide: keep, combine or drop each tool, starting with the duplicates.
What does a typical result look like?
| Tool | Holds | Duplicates |
|---|---|---|
| CRM | Contacts, notes, tasks | Household members, strategy name |
| Billing spreadsheet | Fee rates, exclusions, calculations | Household grouping, account list |
| Word templates | IPS documents | Allocation, benchmark, strategy |
| Portfolio tool | Models, holdings | Strategy, account list |
| Shared folder | Procedures, logs | Nothing, but nobody knows what's current |
In this example the client's strategy appears in four places. That's the first thing to fix.
Which facts matter most?
- Which model each account follows, and since when.
- How households are grouped.
- Each client's fee rate and exclusions.
- Which IPS is in force.
If those four agree everywhere, most day-to-day errors go away.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical two-person RIA. The audit lists eight tools. Four of them hold a version of each client's strategy, and the billing spreadsheet has its own household grouping that differs from the CRM's for three families. The firm decides to keep the CRM for now, move models, IPS documents and billing onto one record, and retire the billing spreadsheet once a quarter's bills match. The shared folder's procedures get an owner and a review date.
What are the common gaps?
- Spreadsheets nobody counts as "software", holding the most important numbers.
- Tools paid for but barely used.
- No one owns the connection between tools.
When is this overkill?
If you run on two or three tools and nothing is typed twice, a quick yearly glance is enough.
How Advorra fits
Advorra is built to be the record the rest reads from: clients and households, versioned models with a dated strategy of record, IPS documents that fill from the strategy, a trade blotter, quarterly billing with exclusions and compliance records, on top of the custodian you already use. If your audit shows the same facts in four places, that's the problem it addresses, and we help you migrate your data from your current CRM. See the product page, or read what RIA software costs and software demo questions.
One thing to do this week: write down every place a client's strategy is recorded in your firm.
A method for reviewing any set of tools, not a recommendation of any vendor.
Questions advisors ask
How often should we review our software?
Once a year, and whenever you add a tool or a person.
What's the biggest warning sign?
The same fact kept in several places, such as a client's strategy in the CRM, the IPS and the billing spreadsheet. Every copy is a chance for them to disagree.
Should we just buy an all-in-one platform?
Not necessarily. Some firms want everything from one vendor; others prefer a few focused tools. The audit tells you which problems you actually have.
What about data security?
Note which tools hold client data and check each has your firm's data separated, encrypted and covered by your vendor oversight.
Is this a recommendation of any vendor?
No. It is a method you can apply to any set of tools.
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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