FAQs

• It’s important to know what something’s going to cost before you buy it.
• The fee isn’t dependent on the speed of the paraplanner assigned to the case, and it won’t vary if they work faster or slower than their colleagues.
• We want to give you the best quality we can. If we take a little longer to write and check your report, that cost isn’t on you.
• Value comes from knowledge and experience. It’s not based on the length of time it takes to complete a task.
• When advisers first start working with us, their reports can take longer than those for established clients. Fixed fees mean you don’t pay more just because we’re learning about your business and how you work.
• Our fee structure means that additional pieces of advice in any one report are significantly discounted. This often works out cheaper than paying by the hour.
• There are exceptions to any rule, and for work such as financial plans and discussion documents, we can’t quote a fixed fee, as every case is bespoke.

Yes. We ask all our clients to reserve some of our time by paying a retainer. This helps us to know how much work we can expect, which helps us maintain service levels. It also provides a regular source of income into our business, which gives us stability – and means we’ll always be there when you need us.

We discount our fees for clients on retainers of £500 a month or more. This is because our relationship becomes more efficient at that level. Higher retainers get larger discounts.

We also complete one off project work from time to time, if we have capacity.

It depends! We keep back a small Service Charge to help cover the cost of time not spent on case work – such as providing guidance and acting as a sounding board. However, clients receiving a discount (see previous question) and who give us regular work will effectively get this back.

You can carry it forward for one month, and we always use up the oldest retainer on account first. We don’t want anyone to lose any retainer.

No. We don’t charge anything to get you up and running.

Yes, we have to.

Yes. We’re happy to complete a report for you before we ask you to commit to a retainer, if it puts your mind at ease. However, you might feel reassured by our sample report, which we’re happy to send you on request.

Absolutely! This is our preferred way of working, as it’s more efficient for us and you get your reports back sooner. We have a suite of templates and can incorporate your company branding and colour themes. Our reports are designed with the reader in mind – they’re concise and written in a conversational tone. Technical information is relegated to the appendix for those who want to dig deeper.

Quality and accuracy are really important to us. We’ve heard too many horror stories about advisers having to spend their time fixing reports. Everything we do is checked by a second paraplanner before we send it to you. This includes checking for technical accuracy and planning opportunities, as well as spelling and grammar, as you’d expect. The report you receive will be ready to issue to your client.

If there’s ever an error, oversight or omission on our part, we’ll fix promptly and at no cost to you.

We’ve always had a culture of challenge, meaning that we question each other and the advice, and we’ll give you our ideas and opinions when appropriate. We don’t churn out reports like a sausage factory, and we won’t write up a recommendation just because you’ve asked us to. We’re paraplanners, not report writers. If you want to have open discussions and a culture of challenge, you’ve come to the right place.

They’re sent along with supporting research through our secure portal. You can download them in a couple of clicks. Your Suitability Reports will be in Word format, in case you want make minor changes such as added personalization – we can never get to know the client to the same extent that you do!

Our reports are layered, with increasing levels of detail as you progress through the document. The Report Summary outlines the main details. The next section explains the ‘why?’, and the appendix gives the technical detail.

Standard cases are completed within 5-7 working days, assuming we have a complete file. Very complex reports and financial plans can take a little longer.

We can usually do this, yes. We appreciate that sometimes a report is needed quickly, for example, if a product has a closing date. We’ll always accommodate if we can.

We use a secure online portal to transfer data, which is encrypted end-to-end. We use strong passwords, and these are protected by a password manager. We’re now applying for our Cyber Essentials certification. All work is completed on company owned computers and no data is stored locally.

We can provide you with letters to help gather data on your clients’ existing plans and we can help fill in any gaps. However, we don’t get involved in the application process. We can refer you to a specialist support company if you need help with administration.

We work with an external compliance consultancy to make sure our reports are compliant.

No. Our team are all employed directly.

This is possible in some circumstances, either in person (depending on your location) or via a video call.

Yes. We no longer deal with Defined Benefits Pension Transfer cases.

No, we specialise in working with directly authorised advice and planning firms. We found that large networks often have compliance requirements and processes to safeguard themselves, but which do little for the client.