Why – and How – to Track Monthly Spending for High-Net-Worth Individuals

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There are many benefits to tracking monthly spending, regardless of your tax bracket. However, staying on top of monthly spending for high-net-worth individuals is especially important because they often have complex financial portfolios and spending patterns — which can lead to difficulties in understanding cash outflow, and where money is really going each month. Without clarity into how their money is being spent, it is more difficult to manage and preserve their wealth.

And that’s just one example of the benefits of tracking monthly spending.

Tracking expenditures for high-net-worth individuals has five main advantages:

  1. Leads to more mindful spending.

Access to monthly spending data provides a clear picture of spending habits, including both regular and irregular expenses. This information helps to identify areas where expenses can be reduced or streamlined, ultimately leading to better financial management.

  1. Identifies problem areas and where there might be overspending.

Tracking monthly spending provides a comprehensive view of one’s finances, making it

easier to create an accurate budget. This can help high-net-worth individuals allocate their funds effectively and avoid overspending in one area while underfunding in another.

  1. Assists with better planning for major expenses.

Or, put another way – helps to create a better, more accurate budget for future spending. High-net- worth individuals often have significant expenses like buying a vacation home, a yacht, artwork, or other high-value items. Tracking monthly spending can provide the information needed to plan for these major expenses, helping to ensure that there are enough funds available when the time comes.

  1. Provides increased awareness of investment opportunities.

By tracking monthly spending, high-net-worth individuals can identify areas where they have excess funds. This excess can then be invested in various opportunities that can lead to financial growth and stability.

  1. Improves cash flow management.

By keeping track of monthly spending, high-net-worth individuals can ensure that their cash flow remains positive. This helps them to avoid being caught in financial difficulties and maintain their wealth.

There are clear benefits to tracking monthly spending. But what is the best way to do so?

There are a few different ways that people can track their monthly spending, but for high-net-worth individuals we recommend outsourcing this task to experts (like us).

Why? That’s easy – it’s because we are solely focused on providing outsourced bill pay and accounting services to high-net-worth individuals and families. We’ve been dedicated to supporting these clients for decades, and we have a depth and breadth of knowledge that makes us true experts.

Outsourced bill pay service providers like Plumb offer monthly reconciliations to keep track of all transactions. Additionally, we provide easily accessible reporting to highlight the current state and future projections of cash outflow.

Plumb has also developed a proprietary bill pay app specifically designed for our clients and their financial advisors. This app streamlines the entire bill pay process and makes approving bills, viewing bill payment status, and communicating with the Plumb team easier than ever. It provides the clarity we know these clients need as well as access from anywhere, at any time we know they want.

At Plumb, we have a proven process in place for assisting our high-net-worth clients track their monthly spending:

Goal Tracking

  • We provide quantifiable information to help them meet the goals they’ve established.

Software Tool Assessment

  • We also make recommendations about the best software for them to utilize. For example, clients with multiple entities are best served by a software suite like Sage Intacct, whereas clients with more straightforward finances can use a platform like QuickBooks Online. Both are excellent tools, both can help to streamline reporting and create efficiencies, but it ultimately comes down to the clients’ specific needs.

Customized Reporting

  • When it comes to reporting, Plumb offers fully customizable reports. We provide P&L’s, expense tracking reports, cash flow statements, income statements, balance sheets, and more robust investment tracking reports offered by our Family Office Accounting team.

Supportive Services

  • We work in partnership with the wealth advisors of our clients, as well as directly with the client – whatever they prefer. Our goal is to make sure we are providing our clients with everything they want and need in their expense tracking.

Tracking monthly spending is a crucial aspect of personal finance, especially for high-net-worth individuals. With a considerable amount of wealth, monitoring how money is being spent is essential to making sure that they are on the right path towards realizing their goals and long-term wealth preservation. Outsourced bill pay and accounting service providers like Plumb are here to help ensure they have clarity into their daily finances so they can go out and enjoy what matters most to them.

Plumb Wins Two WealthTech Americas Awards – And Why This Matters

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Plumb has been recognized at The Second Annual WealthBriefing WealthTech Americas Awards 2023 for two of our best-in-class – and best-in-industry – services:

  • Bill Pay
  • Payment Reconciliation Services

We’ve been extremely honored to have our services recognized across a variety of respected and established Family Office and Wealth Management publications and media firms. The acknowledgement of our superior services by the WealthBriefing Awards is especially meaningful as explained by ClearView Financial Media’s CEO, and Publisher of WealthBriefing, Stephen Harris:

“These awards were independently and expertly judged solely on the basis of entrants’ submissions and their response to a number of specific questions, which were answered by focusing on the client experience rather than purely quantitative performance metrics… These awards recognise the very best operators in  Americas’ wealth management, with ‘independence’, ‘integrity’ and ‘genuine insight’ the watchwords of the judging process – such that the awards truly reflect excellence in Americas’ wealth management.”

Why This Matters (or, Don’t Just Take Our Word For It)

Winning awards from established, longstanding publications like ClearView Financial Media is additional validation that we are who we say we are: the best service provider in the high-net-worth and family office bill payment space.

All submissions were reviewed by a panel of 15 independent family office and wealth management industry experts, and these wealth tech authorities have deemed that Plumb’s services and client support goes above and beyond what others in the field offer.

Here’s what they had to say about Plumb:

“It was the winner’s focus on providing clients with white glove, high touch service and emphasis on innovation that impressed, along with significant growth in department size, client size, and revenue. Plumb is a very worthy winner!”

What’s Next?

We are not ones to rest on our laurels. While we are grateful for the recognition, we are never satisfied with the status quo. We plan to continue to focus on our high-touch client service and continue to innovate in the bill pay field. Decades in, and we are as excited about our future as ever.

How Plumb Securely Handles Wire Transfers, ACH, & Check Payments for the HNWI

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When managing the bill pay needs of high-net-worth individuals and families, it’s imperative to have bank-level security for all payments being sent – whether those are wire transfers, ACH, or old-school checks.

Plumb has the strictest of protocols to protect our clients and their money. And with our decades of experience working with HNWI, families, and family offices we have our payment security procedures down to a science.

First-time wire safety procedures

Any first-time wire transfer requests require verbal confirmation on a recorded line with the client or designee to confirm the transaction.

  • To authenticate the individual, they are asked a series of security questions.
  • Additionally, we reach out to the beneficiary on a recorded line to verbally confirm the written wire instructions that were provided.
  • A change to wire instructions also prompts a verbal confirmation from both the client and the vendor to reconfirm the instructions.

New vendor safety procedures

Any new vendor, an invoice with a 200% variance, or a vendor that hasn’t been paid in over a year requires a verbal with the client/designee before processing.

Employee cybersecurity training

Our team is also wholly trained in cybersecurity and participates in monthly security updates. They know what to look out for, how to spot a “scam” and what to do in the event that they suspect malintent: pick up the phone and confirm with the beneficiary, their designee, and the vendor. This step is as imperative as it is simple, and it can prevent fraud, months of headaches, loss of funds, and loss of the trust we have built with our clients. Preventing these events is of paramount importance to the Plumb team.

Is one payment option better than the other?

Although each payment option varies slightly in terms of how quickly a payment will be delivered or their associated costs (see below for more details), Plumb remains impartial when it comes to these different options.

Due to our stringent security measures and our internal system of checks and balances to ensure accuracy, payments made on behalf of clients via wire transfer, ACH, or check are all equally safe. While approximately 80% of our payments are made via wire transfer – especially those payments that are more urgent –  if a client prefers ACH over wires due to the fees incurred with wire transfers, we will always honor the client’s wish.

What’s next?

As a result of the pandemic and the improvements in bill pay technology, we have noticed a shift towards more electronic payments over the past couple of years. We don’t expect this trend to slow down any time soon. What we know for sure is that wherever the future of bill pay takes us, Plumb will be prepared with our best-in-class bill pay staff, high-touch service, and the latest security measures.

Glossary of Payment Terms

Wire Transfers

  • Speed of Payment: Same day.
  • Associated Costs: Fees can be incurred for both the sender and recipient depending on the bank. (Typically, $15-$30).
  • Safety: Funds are accessible immediately, so recipient is technically at an advantage.
  • Recourse in case of fraud: Once completed, there is no way of reversing. Internal process with the bank to handle the funds being returned (if applicable).
  • $ Limit: No limit for Plumb. (Daily limits with specified bank that can be increased as needed.)
  • Other Info: Currency rate/exchange fees can be incurred.

ACH (Automated Clearinghouse Network)

  • Speed of Payment: 1-3 business days.
  • Associated Costs: No cost.
  • Safety: More secure for the sender as funds can be reversed after funds have been sent (in most cases).
  • Recourse in case of fraud: Payments can be reversed by the bank (sender advantage).
  • $ Limit: $1MM limit.
  • Other Info: Limited to the US.

Check

  • Speed of Payment: Can take up to a week (or longer) to be delivered to a vendor.
  • Associated Costs: No cost associated with sending aside from postage fees.
  • Safety: Safe; Plumb’s policy is to send any high dollar checks, DMV payments, or tax payments via certified mail with tracking.
  • Recourse in case of fraud: Dispute and open a case with the bank.
  • $ Limit: No limit.
  • Other Info: International checks are typically sent using alternative methods like UPS or FedEx.

 

Plumb Wins Prestigious PAM Award

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Plumb is honored to have won the prestigious and coveted Private Asset Management award for Best Partnership Accounting System.

We were also shortlisted for the Best General Ledger System,

Thank you to the team at the PAM Awards for recognizing our accomplishments and contribution to family office accounting and bill payment.

Congratulations to the winners of the other categories, and to all who were shortlisted.

Plumb Family Office Accounting & Bill Pay is a high-touch, hi-tech family office accounting and bill pay service provider whose solutions are custom designed to meet the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients and family offices.

With decades of experience in this distinctive and niche market, Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. This gives them true control of their wealth and establishes the foundation for effectively implementing their financial strategies.

Let’s talk about how we can help you build trusted relationships with your clients.

Plumb Shortlisted for 2 More Awards

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2022 was a great year for Plumb, and 2023 is certainly getting off on the right foot!

We’re thrilled to announce that we are shortlisted for 2 awards from The Family Wealth Report:

  • Property & Household
  • Leading Individual – for our very own EVP, Anneke Stender

We are also shortlisted for these 3 awards as we announced last month:

Thank you to The Family Wealth Report Awards for including us on your shortlist, and congratulations on 10 years of award-giving.

We wish the best of luck to our impressive list of co-shortlisted companies.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners.

Plumb Family Office Accounting & Bill Pay is a high-touch, hi-tech family office accounting and bill pay service provider whose solutions are custom designed to meet the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients and family offices.

With decades of experience in this distinctive and niche market, Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. This gives them true control of their wealth and establishes the foundation for effectively implementing their financial strategies.

Let’s talk about how we can help you build trusted relationships with your clients.

How do you define financial clarity for your HNWI/UHNWI clients?

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Each one of your HNWI/UHNWI clients has a unique financial situation and looks to you to sort through the details to provide simple, clear reports that are meaningful to their lifestyle goals. Bringing clarity to a potentially complex financial landscape is no easy challenge, especially when each client is so unique.

To achieve that higher level of financial clarity, you need tools that will help you define and deliver. In the ebook 6 Essential Tools to Help You Manage HNWI/UHNWI Clients: Your Guide to Ensure Financial Clarity and Data Security, we help you understand design financial reporting that is focused on the unique needs of each one of your clients.

Built to fit

Your HNWI/UHNWI clients are unique, with diverse sets of portfolio and investment strategies that support very individual lifestyle goals. In the past, financial advisors often believed the only way to get the specific information they needed was to manually enter data from multiple sources into custom made spreadsheets. At Plumb, we are laser-focused on UHNWI clients and understand how emerging technologies, changes to accounting and reporting requirements, and security advances will impact your clients. Our team is dedicated to providing focused reporting that gives you the timely, clear insights that will allow you to be proactive with your clients. We can help you “pull it all together” with tracking and recording of 1099’s, K-1’s, charitable contributions, medical expenses, sales of stock, and all other income. You’ll have all the information your CPAs needs to prepare tax returns at your fingertips.

Agile, intelligent technology

With all the moving parts in the financial affairs of your HNWI/UHNWI clients, you need to continuously monitor and respond quickly. You need agile, intelligent technology to take a proactive approach to managing your client’s financial landscape. Plumb’s extensive experience with UHNWI clients combined with our understanding of Sage Intacct’s intelligent functionality can give you that edge. Tools built into Sage Intacct continuously monitor and analyze financial transactions to identify and alert for discrepancies and outliers—advancing your services from simple accounting to intelligent financial management.

Plumb uses Sage Intacct to automate reporting processes that connect disparate data sources and provide timely, complete information. Consolidation of multiple entities, bill payment, and streamlined financial planning processes all deliver focused reporting through customized, real-time financial dashboards.

Anytime, anywhere access

Financial clarity is only complete if you have the information you need on your phone or laptop anytime, anywhere. Complete transparency through web-based apps allows you to answer your client’s questions instantly. Customized, real-time financial dashboards deliver deeper insights into all areas of your client’s financial affairs. Secure web and mobile-based apps allow you to bring those insights with you safely no matter where you go.

Learn more about financial clarity for your HNWI/UHNWI clients

To help you simplify financial management and reporting your clients, please check out the ebook titled 6 Essential Tools to Help You Manage HNWI/UHNWI Clients: Your Guide to Ensure Financial Clarity and Data Security.

When you entrust the accounting, reporting, and data security details to true experts, you can focus on deeper, personalized, more strategic service delivery to your HNWI/UHNWI clients.

Plumb Family Office Accounting & Bill Pay is a high-touch technology family office accounting and bill pay service provider dedicated to serving the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Plumb ensures that your client’s bills are paid on time and works in partnership with you to deliver the highest quality data and financial reporting. In addition to our bill pay services, we also provide comprehensive Family Office Accounting support including tracking and recording of 1099’s, K-1’s, charitable contributions, medical expenses, sales of stock, and all other income.

Let’s talk about how we can help you build trusted relationships with your clients.

How can you ensure privacy and data security for your HNWI/UHNWI clients?  

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High net- and ultra-high net-worth individuals (HNWI/UHNWI) and family offices require a higher level of privacy and security assurances. As a trusted advisor, the tools you use to service your client’s financial needs need to meet world-class security standards. It’s difficult to focus on deeper, personalized relationships when you are constantly worried about protecting the privacy and data security of your clients.

In the ebook 6 Essential Tools to Help You Manage HNWI/UHNWI Clients: Your Guide to Ensure Financial Clarity and Data Security we’ll give you a clear understanding of what kind of security measures you should expect from your accounting and financial management partners.

Work with partners experienced with client privacy

At Plumb, we take security of customer data seriously. Operations are designed to ensure compliance with all data protection laws and regulations. State-of-the-art bank-level security and an in-house IT department provide additional monitoring and oversight. Plumb trains all employees specifically in the privacy best practices that apply to HNWI/UHNWI and family office clients.

Use software with world class privacy protection and data security

Highly confidential financial data requires software housed in data centers that meet high audit standards and are monitored 24/7/365 by security professionals. Security that only a world class software company like Sage Intacct can provide.

Sage Intacct applies the physical, network, application, and data security standards that protect the most private, critical data of your clients. External audits and other third-party certifications ensure financial information will be protected in a highly secure environment. Security features built into the Sage Intacct application prevent unauthorized programs, systems, and users from gaining access to resources and data. World class data centers are monitored 24/7/365.

Consistent quality control measures

Checks and balances are the keystone of professional level accounting and financial management. Quality control measures should ensure that no one person has control over all parts of a financial transaction. When working with a partner to deliver services to your HNWI/UHNWI clients, it’s critical that they can demonstrate how they establish the proper checks and balances in financial management.

Plumb follows a 7-phase process that features segregation of duties, multiple levels of review, and secure access. Using Sage Intacct as the unified accounting platform, transactional processes, consistent reviews, required authorizations, and user access are all systematically applied. Multiple sets of examination provide the checks and balances to prevent fraud and ensure accuracy.

The quality control measures integrated into the Plumb procedures, and the automated processes of Sage Intacct  reduce the opportunities for human error and fraud. Connecting data directly to vendors and other applications reduces the chance of errors due to manual data entry. By working with the experts at Plumb and their experience with Sage Intacct, you can take advantage of secure electronic payment options and timely reconciliations.

Learn more about privacy and security assurance for your HNWI/UHNWI clients

To help you maintain your focus on security as you work with your clients, please check out the ebook 6 Essential Tools to Help You Manage HNWI/UHNWI Clients: Your Guide to Ensure Financial Clarity and Data Security.

When you entrust the accounting, reporting, and data security details to true experts, you can focus on deeper, personalized, and even more strategic service delivery to your HNWI/UHNWI clients.

Plumb Family Office Accounting & Bill Pay is a high-touch technology family office accounting and bill pay service provider dedicated to serving the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Plumb ensures that your client’s bills are paid on time and works in partnership with you to deliver the highest quality data and financial reporting. In addition to our bill pay services, we also provide comprehensive Family Office Accounting support.

Let’s talk about how we can help you build trusted relationships with your clients.

 

Spending too much time managing bill payment for HNWI/UHNWI clients?

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Managing the bill payments for high net- and ultra-high net-worth individuals (HNWI/UHNWI) clients is a time-consuming and often frustrating task. Tracking down potential discrepancies, monitoring fraudulent transactions, working with vendors, and doing regular reconciliations are critical to maintain your client’s trust but take valuable time away from more strategic functions.

By working with a partner who specializes in bill payment for HNWI/UHNWI clients, you can spend less time in the accounting weeds and more time on high-value services. Plumb personal bill payment services handle the details of monthly personal bills and expenses.

Unique client requirements

As a trusted advisor to a special class of clients, you can’t risk working with inexperienced partners. At Plumb, we are laser focused on helping financial professionals like you serve HNWI/UHNWI and family offices. We have a proven track record of delivering bill payment, accounting, and financial reporting services to the clients you serve.

Proven HNWI/UHNWI client bill pay processes

Because bill payment services are one of the most time-consuming accounting tasks for HNWI/UHNWI clients, it makes good sense to consider outsourcing. A turnkey bill pay service should be designed to manage all the details of your client’s accounting, payment, and vendor management. At Plumb, accounts are closely monitored to identify any discrepancies or questionable transactions. Cash flow reporting, expense tracking, and bill payment are handled reliably and securely. Approving bills, viewing bill payment status, and communicating with the Plumb team takes full advantage of modern technology.

State-of-the-art technology supports better reporting

To maintain the levels of service your clients expect, bill payment needs to be managed by experts in both the Family Office space and the best-performing software for this niche audience. Plumb utilizes Sage Intacct  which can provide you with clear, detailed information that allows you to answer questions instantly. The automated processes of Sage Intacct simplify multi-entity consolidations, streamline bill payment, and provide timely reporting—all while reducing manual processes that take time away from higher-level services

Practices and processes to ensure data security

Security must always be top-of-mind for any service you provide to clients. Plumb’s bank-level security practices include real-time, 24/7 network monitoring and detection from in-house IT professionals. In addition to good data security practices, bill payment services should also have tight process controls in place.

Segregation of duties in bookkeeping and financial management provide an added level of security protection for your clients. Sage Intacct’s bill payment platform has checks and balances built in through automated processes. Plumb’s bill payment services include multiple sets of examinations to prevent fraud and ensure accuracy.

Learn more about the tools you can leverage to manage HNWI/UHNWI clients

To help you focus on the most important aspects of working with your clients, including bill pay, please check out the ebook 6 Essential Tools to Help You Manage HNWI/UHNWI Clients: Your Guide to Ensure Financial Clarity and Data Security.

When you entrust the accounting, reporting, and data security details to true experts, you can focus on deeper, personalized, and even more strategic service delivery to your HNWI/UHNWI clients.

Plumb Family Office Accounting & Bill Pay is a high-touch technology family office accounting and bill pay service provider dedicated to serving the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Plumb ensures that your client’s bills are paid on time and works in partnership with you to deliver the highest quality data and financial reporting. In addition to our bill pay services, we also provide comprehensive Family Office Accounting support.

Let’s talk about how we can help you build stronger relationships with your clients.

 

Plumb Bill Pay Implements a Check Fraud Solution with Cheque-Guard

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The Cheque Guard Suite of Products is the Industry-Leading Answer to Combating Check Fraud.

Press Release – Check Fraud Solution for Plumb Bill Pay

Plumb Bill Pay, a premier back-office accounting, financial reporting and bill pay firm for family offices and the high-net-worth, is pleased to announce a partnership with Cheque Guard and their check fraud detection tools and software. The combination of Plumb Bill Pay’s secure cloud infrastructure with state-of-the-art Barracuda Spam Firewall and Cheque Guard’s top-rated check printing security creates a robust defense to protecting client’s financial data.

“As a preferred outsourced bill pay vendor for many top multi-family offices, financial institutions and high-net-worth families, our security concerns around check fraud are a high priority,’ said Anneke Stender, Executive Vice President of Plumb Bill Pay. “After evaluating numerous solutions, we are confident that Cheque Guard is the leader in the industry with their innovative suite of products,” she said.

The Cheque Guard system replaces the need for Plumb Bill Pay to purchase individual checks from financial institutions for clients. Instead, specific account information is imported onto blank checks made with an image-survivable seal that encrypts the data into a barcode. The product is ChequeSeal, a next generation of Positive Pay that requires no issue file or transmission. The ChequeSeal is decrypted and verified at the bank to ensure authenticity of the check.

“Check fraud is the biggest form of payment fraud in the world, and we fully understand the magnitude of the issue,” said Emil Ramzy, President of Cheque Guard. “There is great synergy with the Plumb Bill Pay team and we are happy to partner with them and provide peace of mind that their check writing solutions are safe and secure,” he said.

Plumb Bill Pay offers a range of services, including bill payment, recordkeeping, income and expense tracking, cash flow reporting, vendor management and mail services. These solutions are customizable for every client depending on the need and complexity of their personal financial life.

“Security is at the forefront of Plumb Bill Pay, and we take a proactive approach to ensuring that customer data is not compromised,” said Robert Scherer, President of Plumb. “Cheque Guard gives us the extra layer of protection against the potential vulnerabilities of check fraud,” he said.

Plumb Bill Pay uses a proprietary task management system to facilitate and track bill pay management.  It is hosted on a cloud infrastructure with bank-level security measures and VPN connection. Bills are paid on time, monitored for accuracy and reconciled by a dedicated team. This includes accounting experts who specialize in serving the needs of the high-net-worth.

About Plumb Bill Pay:

For over two decades, Plumb has been helping high-net-worth families, their businesses, and family offices achieve greater levels of personal freedom by handling their personal reporting and bill pay needs.

Plumb Bill Pay works with clients nationwide with office locations in Southern California: 1227 Prospect Street, Suite 200, La Jolla, CA 92037; 16904 Via de Santa Fe, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 and 100 Bayview Circle, Suite 270, Newport Beach, CA 92660 and New York City: 747 Third Avenue, Suite 200, New York, NY 10017  

About Cheque-Guard:

Founded in 1991, Cheque Guard Inc. provides small to medium-size businesses and financial institutions with check fraud solutions, including ChequeSeal™ and ChequeSuite™. These software products allow businesses to integrate and deploy secure, controlled check printing and electronic payments for the Automated Clearing House (ACH), while creating a Positive Pay file for the bank as the checks are printed by the customer.

How to help eliminate check fraud with the protection of Cheque-Guard

This is the next generation of Positive Pay that requires no issue file and no file transmission.  The secure seal by ChequeSeal encrypts the check data into the barcode. When the check enters the banking system, an instant verification goes into action. Before it is paid, ChequeSeal references the encrypted information for comparison and determines the check’s authenticity.  For more information, click here.

check fraud solution

Are you ready to gain financial peace of mind knowing that your bills are being paid on time, reviewed for accuracy and detected from check fraud?



Prioritizing Family Life & Business: An Interview with Anneke Stender

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Top Ways to Handle Family Life and Business with a Busy Lifestyle

Several responsibilities can cause stress and anxiety in family life and business.  It can be hard to find the right balance between organizing family life events and getting year-end ready with clients and other commitments at work.

Here is a list of reminders and quick tips to keep things in perspective in your busy life:

  • Schedule: Plan smaller tasks and meetings than normal.  Time management is key and keeping a clear overview of due dates on your calendar.
  • Disconnect: When spending time with your family, make it a priority to unplug from work emails and calls.  Keep everyone informed ahead of time about your unavailability or absence, and let them know when you’ll be reconnecting.
  • Plan time for yourself: It can be exhausting to keep everything going, so taking time for yourself will rejuvenate you later.
  • Avoid talking business with family or friends when they do not ask.  However, it can be helpful to discuss certain topics and events with the most important people in your life to let them know what’s going on.
  • Clear communication: Set fixed times for family and work, so both sides can count on you.  Be fully present during those time blocks, so you’re focusing on one thing at a time.
  • Work when everyone is sleeping: getting up before the family wakes up or staying up after they go to sleep, so it doesn’t conflict with family time.
  • Delegate and trust others: bring in additional resources who can help you avoid stress.

An Interview with Anneke Stender

san diego accounting

With all your responsibilities at Plumb, how do you deal with upcoming family events and all the organization and planning?

Planning ahead and calendaring everything is essential for me.  I plan out the weeks and month very detailed in my corporate calendar, so nothing gets lost and everyone knows if I’m free or not. I always mark events or tasks that are not negotiable in red, so my assistant can plan and schedule meetings around those times.

Overall, the less time I have available, the more efficient I can be.  I focus on the really important things and delegate the rest to others.  I am thankful to have a great team at Plumb behind me that I count on, so I have enough time for my family.

How do you handle work during the days you are spending time with your family?  Are there any rules you set?

When I spend time with my family, I turn off my email notifications.  I want to avoid pop-up messages on my phone, so I am fully present to focus that time with my girls and my husband. I dedicate 100% to one thing at a time.

When I visit my family in Germany, I am totally unplugged from work for the duration of the trip.  Sometimes I feel that going overseas makes it easier to enjoy the time off, because I am distancing myself from work with different time zones.

Clear communication upfront towards everyone at work and from my family is the key for making this work. By setting fixed times, my availability for family and work is clear, so both sides can count on me.

What is your favorite time and place for getting work done?

My most productive time is early in the morning.  I usually wake up at 4:30AM and start checking and responding to emails in bed, then I start getting ready for work.  When the children are sleeping, I have time to work without distraction.  However, I mostly spend working time in the office in La Jolla or Orange County.

What do you do to avoid stress and how do you boost your energy levels this time of year?

Even if I only have an hour a day, I block it off in my calendar.  Pilates helps me to relax from time to time, however, I still struggle on getting better to take time for myself.  In addition, it’s always helpful to seek outside help, such as a nanny on special occasions or counting on someone to help with recurring tasks.

As a successful business leader and mother, who inspires you?

Sheryl Sandberg.  I just finished reading her second book, “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. I have so much respect and admiration for her and how she handles her life.

How Plumb Family Office Accounting Can Help with your Family Life + Business Throughout the Year

Recurring tasks like bill payment or handling with taxes at the end of the year, and general organization and planning take an immense amount of valuable time. Save this time and effort with the help from additional resources to spend it with your family and friends or use to refueling your energy.

Plumb Family Office Accounting excels at high-net-worth accounting and financial consulting by applying a controller-level’s financial insight to managing personal finances.

Schedule a Consultation to Learn More:



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