by Rebecca King

Advisers increasingly rely on technology to enhance their client service, expand the number of clients they can effectively serve and improve productivity. One of the many types of software products available to advisers is document management software, which can help organize and manage files while fulfilling compliance requirements.

According to the FPA-ActiFi Adviser Technology Reports: Document Management Edition, the benefits of document management software that current users most commonly report include increased productivity, more effective client service and decreased worry about things falling through the cracks (see graph below).

Increase Productivity
Are you looking to maximize your productivity? Make sure you are using the filing functions of your document management software along with integration and document retrieval. Advisers are 50 percent more likely to report increased productivity if they use the filing function, 22 percent more likely with the integration function and 20 percent more likely if they use the document retrieval function.

If you, like 37 percent of your peers, list increased productivity as the No. 1 benefit you want from your document management software, be sure to implement a clear process for each of these areas and ensure it is followed for maximum success.

Increase Client Satisfaction

Document management software can also help you increase client satisfaction by ensuring consistent, high-quality service while delivering information quickly and in a client-friendly format. Advisers who use the workflow capabilities of their software are nearly twice as likely to report increased client satisfaction. Separately, those who use document conversion are 60 percent more likely to report increased client satisfaction. So by using both the workflow and the document conversion capabilities, you will likely see client satisfaction increase.

Decrease Worry
Does the fear of losing paperwork or not meeting compliance regulations with your paper files keep you up at night? Consider using the workflow and filing functionality of your document management software. Advisers who do so are 26 percent and 40 percent more likely to report decreased worry, respectively.

Increase Revenue
There are three key functional areas in which adviser use shows a significant likelihood of reporting an increase in revenue. Start by leveraging the workflow capabilities (advisers are more than twice as likely to report an increase in revenue if they use workflow). Using the document conversion features of the software nearly doubles the likelihood of reporting increased revenue, and using the integration features boosts the likelihood of reporting a revenue increase by more than 60 percent.

Scale Your Practice and Decrease Expenses
Do you want to be able to serve more clients through your software and save money? If so, consider using the workflow features of document management software. More effective management of the process as team members contribute to document creation, review, approval, publication and disposition increases the likelihood of reporting increased scalability by 36 percent and the likelihood of decreased expenses by 53 percent.

More Effective Client Service
If, like nearly 30 percent of your peers, you seek more effective client service as the most important potential benefit of document management software, be sure to harness the filing and integration functions. Advisers who use the filing features are 33 percent more likely to report more effective client service, and those who use the integration features are 25 percent more likely.

Whether you currently use document management software or are currently seeking a solution, identify the benefits of most importance to you and start planning now for how you can best leverage these features and functions in your practice. Don't forget to map out your current and/or planned processes to see how the software integrates with your existing structure.

Before you start down the path of choosing a solution, be sure to check out FPA's document management software adoption template available online at http://www.fpanet.org/professionals/PracticeManagement.

Rebecca King is assistant director of research and business development at FPA. Contact her at Rebecca.King@FPAnet.org.

TD Ameritrade Institutional, Division of TD Ameritrade Inc., member FINRA/SIPC/NFA. TD Ameritrade is separate and not affiliated with Financial Planning Association or ActiFi and is not responsible for the policies or services of any third party. In no instance should the listing of a third party be construed as a recommendation or endorsement by TD Ameritrade.

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Learn More
If you are one of the many advisers who currently doesn't have document management software, or you are in the process of re-evaluating your current solution, be sure to check out the complete FPA-ActiFi Adviser Technology Series report on document management software, including vendor information on pricing, support and functionality.

Learn more online at www.FPAnet.org/AdviserTechnologySeries. FPA members receive these valuable reports free of charge, courtesy of TD Ameritrade Institutional.

Document Management Software Functionality

Workflow-managing the process as team members contribute to the documents' creation, review, approval, publication, and disposition
Accessibility-accessing the software remotely, for example on your phone/PDA
Compliance/Policy Enforcement-using the software to ensure that document-related actions are audited, documents are retained or disposed of properly, file formats can be managed and content important to the organization is protected
Document Conversion-converting document types, like word to PDF for delivery to a client
Document Retrieval-using search and/or metadata tools for easy and fast retrieval. This can include tagging, categorization, folders, descriptions and commenting, document body search and file name search
Filing-managing how and where files are stored
Form Processing-completing and storing forms within the document management software
Integration-sharing data/content with other systems and software
Security-controlling access to documents at different levels (folder, departmental, categorical, stage or file level)
Template Management-providing/accessing standardized document templates for the purposes of time-savings and promoting consistent presentation and formatting
Versioning-maintaining/storing the history of previous iterations during the lifecycle of a document