How to Serve More Clients With Less Effort

Serving more clients consistently depends on how smoothly onboarding sets the stage for planning. When early steps introduce friction, advisors can find themselves clarifying details and resetting expectations before real planning even begins.

A clearer onboarding approach helps you move cleanly from data gathering to planning. By intentionally separating information gathering from planning and being deliberate about when insights are shared, you can move into planning conversations with greater focus and less interruption.

Watch an Onboarding Workflow in Under 4 Minutes

This short video shows how a clear onboarding framework comes together in practice—how advisors gather information, review it before planning, and control when results are shared so planning conversations stay focused.

In under four minutes, you’ll see how to:

• Invite a client to complete onboarding without granting full Client Portal access
• Get notified when onboarding is complete so you can review and validate the data
• Build and refine scenarios using your normal planning process
• Deliver recommendations through Presentation View
• Enable full Client Portal access at the right time

Under 4 minutes

This approach helps improves efficiency and supports a smoother transition from onboarding to planning.

Best Practice: Use This Framework when Onboarding a New Planning Client

Effective onboarding follows a simple, repeatable sequence. Each step prepares the next and keeps both the advisor and client focused on what matters at that moment. Below is how that workflow comes together in practice.

1. Start with data gathering only. Invite the client to complete onboarding with Client Portal Access limited to Onboarding Only. This keeps the client focused on entering information and avoids early exposure to planning outputs.

2. Pause once onboarding is complete. Once the client finishes entering their information, you’re notified. There’s no need to monitor alerts or manually pause the client experience.

3. Review and validate client information. Before building anything, review what the client entered. Confirm accounts, clarify goals, and identify gaps so planning begins with a complete picture.

4. Build the plan using reviewed data. With validated information in place, move into your normal planning process. Model scenarios and prepare recommendations without having to revisit inputs.

5. Walk through scenarios together. Guide the planning conversation with confidence using Presentation View. Discuss scenarios in context before they are shared, keeping the focus on insight rather than interpretation.

6. Grant Full Portal Access with confidence. Once the plan reflects the client’s full story, enable full portal access so ongoing engagement starts from a place of clarity.

This workflow removes the need for manual access changes mid‑process and helps keep onboarding focused from start to finish.

Put This Onboarding Workflow to Work with Your Next New Planning Client

Whether you’re using this onboarding approach for the first time or standardizing it across your practice, a few focused steps can help you move faster with every new relationship.

Start here:

• Enable onboarding‑only access for your next new client: Open your Client Portal settings and choose Onboarding Only, so you can review all client information before planning begins.
• Visit the Knowledge Base: Get a quick, guided Standalone Data Gathering walkthrough (≈10 minutes)
• Adding multiple new clients at once? Bulk Client Upload helps you create multiple client profiles in one step, reducing manual setup and getting clients ready for onboarding faster.
• Need help onboarding at scale? eMoney’s Data Migration Services can help load client data accurately and securely so your team can move into planning faster.
• Related Best Practice: Scale Digital Advice Faster: Save Hours with Reusable Templates in Presentation View