Plumb Bill Pay App: New Onboarding Module

Plumb has enhanced its proprietary bill pay and reporting web application by introducing an innovative Onboarding Module. This improvement significantly boosts the accuracy and efficiency of our client onboarding processes, resulting in improved client service.

 

For the Plumb team, this means that the onboarding process can be completed more quickly and accurately, thanks to a streamlined workflow that is aimed at unifying and tracking onboarding tasks, enforcing consistency, and reducing errors. We’re able to focus on delivering exceptional support to our clients, while minimizing delays and inefficiencies.

 

With the new Onboarding Module, clients now can input onboarding-related data directly into the application, further streamlining the process. An easy-to-navigate wizard takes them through each step of the data gathering process, allowing them to save their progress and return at their convenience. Within the system, clients have visibility to all onboarding tasks at their fingertips. By clicking the link in their Weekly Status Report email, clients can access the system to view completed and in-process tasks assigned to them and their Plumb team. A checklist and progress indicator shows clients where they are in the onboarding process and their percentage toward completion. Additionally, with our onboarding data upload feature, clients can securely upload all onboarding-related data in a central location.

 

Our onboarding feature is integrated with the Plumb Bill Pay app, and at the end of the onboarding process the client seamlessly transitions into active client status.

 

Overall, the new Onboarding module represents a significant enhancement to our web application, one that improves our internal processing, and enables our clients to directly engage with the process. Rob Scherer, CEO of Plumb says, “We wanted to create a worry-free workflow, ensuring all aspects of the client onboarding are accurately processed in a timely manner. We also wanted to empower our clients to provide data directly into the process to improve efficiency, while keeping our experienced staff just a click or phone call away if questions arise.”

 

At Plumb we constantly strive for innovation, and we are looking forward to the success that our Onboarding Module will generate!

 

With Plumb you can have access to your bill pay data – anytime, anywhere. Contact us at sales@thinkplumb.com to learn more about our bill pay app and how Plumb can help you and your clients focus on the big picture, while we focus on your bill pay and accounting needs.

Plumb Welcomes George Logemann as New Chief of Technology Officer

We are thrilled to share that Plumb has appointed George Logemann as our new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). George joins our team with extensive experience in financial technology and a fresh perspective that will drive our company to greater heights. As a member of our leadership team, George will play a central role in shaping and implementing our technology vision here at Plumb. George will lead software development, focusing on multiple phases of strategic enhancements and innovations, aimed at delivering exceptional value to our clients.

George has three decades of expertise in building financial technology for investment and wealth management enterprises. Notably, George dedicated over 13 years to Citadel, a leading hedge fund in the US. Within Citadel, George held various pivotal roles, including CTO and COO of Global Commodities, overseeing trading and risk technology as well as operational aspects for the firm’s commodities strategies. Prior to this, George spearheaded the creation of Citadel’s firm-wide back office platform, capable of capturing millions of daily transactions and supporting all portfolio management, operations and accounting processing. Beyond Citadel, George has dedicated several years to crafting cloud-based aggregation and operational workflow solutions for the financial advisory sector.

George’s background is broad and deep across financial technology and operations. We anticipate leveraging his leadership and experience at Plumb as we develop our comprehensive technology strategy and deliver top-tier solutions for our clients. “George brings such a cool edge and innovative creative process to our team. I am excited to see how he can expand the app and guide our technology team to new levels,” shared CEO Rob Scherer, expressing enthusiasm and optimism for the future. George has embarked on this mission by beginning to evolve our Plumb Bill Pay App into a comprehensive, interactive financial data platform. This expansion aims to offer clients not only convenience, but also valuable insights and interactive reporting features that empower them to take control of their financial health.

Unlike static reports that provide a fixed set of information, interactive reporting will allow clients to engage with their financial data dynamically. Plumb is using a scalable data warehouse, Snowflake, in tandem with the Plumb Bill Pay Application platform to obtain and pull from client data to offer more robust reporting and significant insights for our clients. Within the enhanced platform, Plumb will enable clients to gain more intuitive access to their information, customize dashboards, visualize trends, predict future cashflows, and receive real-time alerts and recommendations.

By transforming the app into a multifaceted data insights tool, we are not only enhancing its value proposition but also helping users gain a deeper understanding of their finances. This initiative will set a new standard in the fintech industry, demonstrating how technology can be harnessed to provide meaningful and interactive financial insights.

As we embark on this exciting journey, we are confident that George’s vision and expertise will enhance our technological capabilities, foster a culture of innovation, and propel us toward achieving our strategic goals. George shares, “Plumb’s leadership team cares about providing a high-quality client experience and they have outlined an innovative strategy. I am very excited to engage in this endeavor to help shape the future of the application suite and build solutions that will set us apart from other providers.” We look forward to the positive impact George will make and the advancements we will accomplish together. Join us in welcoming George to Team Plumb!

Plumb Placements for 2024 Citywealth Magic Circle Awards

Plumb is proud to announce that we’ve placed in two categories for the 2024 Citywealth Magic Circle Awards:

  • Technology Innovators of the Year (Winner)
  • UNHW Private Client Services of the Year (Runner Up)

The Magic Circle Awards recognize the accomplishments of professionals and firms working with high-net-worth individuals and families. The awards are presented in London in front of an esteemed audience comprised of over 400 professionals representing over 140 diverse organizations.

Following a rigorous submission process, the submissions are assessed and judged by a panel of private wealth advisors. Online voting is also open to the public, and counts for 10% of the final award vote.

Our proprietary Plumb Bill Pay App is a big reason we have been included in these awards. To learn more about our services and our Plumb Bill Pay App, please watch this brief overview video and reach out to schedule a personal demo.

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. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

Expense Tracking for Wealthy Individuals: Tools and Strategies for Comprehensive Financial Oversight

For high-net-worth individuals, managing finances extends beyond simply tracking income and expenses. It’s about gaining comprehensive oversight of a complex financial landscape that may include investments, trusts, real estate, and more. In this context, meticulous expense tracking becomes an essential tool for informed decision-making, optimizing wealth preservation, and achieving financial goals.

 

Let’s start with the basics. Why track expenses?

 

Expense tracking for wealthy individuals offers several unique advantages:

 

  • Identify spending patterns. Track where your money goes, from regular bills to occasional indulgences. This reveals areas for potential cost-cutting or strategic reallocation of funds.
  • Monitor asset performance. Track the specific expenses related to various assets like vacation homes, yachts, or art collections.
  • Inform investment decisions. Understanding spending habits can help to guide investment strategies. If you know how – and how much – is being spent, you can better determine the types of investments you should be making.
  • Catch mistakes before they happen. With exact and itemized expenses, it’s easy to spot something that doesn’t look right.
  • Ensure tax compliance. Accurate expense records are crucial for tax preparation and audits, especially for charitable giving. When expense tracking is set up properly it can help save both time and money with tax preparation.
  • Achieve financial goals. Tracking expenses against set goals, like saving for a second home or philanthropy, keeps you on track.

 

There are also a few effective expense tracking strategies that we suggest to all our high-net-worth clients.

 

  • Set clear goals. Define your financial objectives and tailor your expense tracking to monitor progress towards them.
  • Choose the right tools. Select a tool that aligns with your needs, preferences, and level of financial complexity. For example, the Plumb Bill Pay app is a great tool for providing clarity into finances.
  • Categorize meticulously. Create custom categories to accurately reflect your spending patterns and identify areas for improvement. At Plumb, we create the categories that best suit our clients’ needs so they can see their expenses exactly how they want to see them.
  • Review regularly. Schedule regular time to analyze your spending data and identify trends or areas for adjustments. Plumb provides customized reporting to our clients, as frequently as they need, with as much detail as they want.
  • Seek professional guidance. Consult a financial advisor or wealth manager for personalized recommendations and strategies, and seek outsourced bill payment and accounting support – like the experts at Plumb – to ensure effective management of your expenses.

 

Remember, expense tracking is about gaining valuable insights into your financial behavior, making informed decisions, and ultimately, achieving your long-term financial goals. By embracing effective tracking strategies and utilizing the right tools, wealthy individuals can transform expense management from a chore into a powerful tool for financial empowerment.

 

Take the Next Step Towards Financial Ease and Clarity: Experience the benefits of secure and streamlined expense management. Contact us at sales@thinkplumb.com to discuss how our outsourced bill payment services can enhance accuracy, save time, simplify record-keeping, and reduce stress, and fortify the security of your financial transactions. Your peace of mind is our priority.

Time is Money: The Power of Bill Payment Apps

In the fast-paced world of wealth management, even a minor delay can cost high-net-worth individuals and their advisors dearly. Any time not spent on maximizing returns is a missed opportunity.

 

Between managing complex portfolios, navigating the markets, and tending to multiple properties, every minute counts. However, a persistent drain on valuable time often lurks in the shadows: bill payments.

 

Traditionally, bill payment involved manual processes, requiring individuals and advisors to gather bills, write checks, and track payments meticulously. For HNWIs with complex investment holdings, this means dedicating considerable time and resources to monotonous administrative tasks. Moreover, the risk of mistakes and missed payments are ever-present, potentially leading to errors, late fees, and penalties.

 

Enter bill payment apps, which have transformed the landscape by offering intuitive platforms that centralize and automate the entire payment process. These innovative platforms are revolutionizing the way HNWIs and their advisors handle financial obligations, introducing efficiency and automation into a previously cumbersome process. These apps allow users to aggregate bills from various sources, including utilities, credit cards, mortgages, and subscriptions, into a single dashboard. Through secure integrations with bank accounts and financial institutions, bills are automatically retrieved and presented for review, eliminating the need for manual data entry.

 

The Plumb Bill Pay app is the perfect example of a game-changing app, and was developed and built exclusively by Plumb to address the issues and challenges faced by our high-net-worth clients and their advisors.

 

Here’s how bill payment apps, and the Plumb Bill Pay app in particular, save HNWIs and advisors precious hours:

  • Streamlined Workflow: Bill pay apps automatically categorize, prioritize, and schedule bills for payment. This ensures timely settlements without the need for constant oversight, eliminating countless hours spent on paperwork and data reconciliation. Additionally, these apps offer customizable alert systems, notifying users of upcoming due dates, payment confirmations, and unusual activity, thereby enhancing transparency and security.
  • Enhanced Visibility: Gone are the days of scrambling for missing invoices or chasing down overdue payments. Bill payment apps provide real-time visibility into spending patterns and cash flow dynamics, offering personalized insights and recommendations, empowering users to make informed financial decisions. {Read about the Plumb Bill Pay app Commitments module and how it provides clarity and insights.}
  • Reduced Errors: Manual processing is prone to human error. Bill payment apps minimize the risk of mistakes with automated payments, ensuring accuracy and timely payments.
  • Improved Security: Traditional paper-based systems are vulnerable to fraud and theft. Bill payment apps offer robust security measures such as multi-factor authentication and encryption, to safeguard sensitive financial information. {Learn more about just some of the ways Plumb provides the most stringent digital security here.}
  • Advisor Efficiency: For financial advisors, managing bill payments for multiple clients can be a time-consuming burden. Bill payment apps allow advisors to delegate and automate tasks, freeing up their time to focus on strategic financial planning and client relationships.

 

Bill payment apps have emerged as indispensable tools for HNWIs and their advisors, offering unparalleled convenience, efficiency, and security in managing financial transactions. By streamlining the bill payment process, these platforms liberate valuable hours that can be redirected towards more productive endeavors, ultimately empowering individuals to achieve their financial goals with confidence and peace of mind.

 

Family Office Services | FAQ | Plumb Family Office Accounting

Family Office Services from Plumb Family Office Accounting

Frequently Asked Questions…

The family office services of Plumb Family Office Accounting were developed to help clients navigate through their complex financial life.  By providing personal financial management with consolidated reports and timely bill pay, it gives a clear picture of our client’s wealth and the analysis needed to implement financial, estate and tax planning strategies.

Q:  Is there a minimum net-worth to become a Plumb Family Office Accounting client?

Answer: No. We believe that comprehensive, timely and accurate information gives our clients true control of their wealth, regardless of net-worth.  By getting into the habit of tracking income and expenses, it helps our clients in their wealth creation stage by following a financial plan to accumulate long-term savings and retirement goals.

A typical Plumb client has a net-worth ranging from $10 million to $150 million and sees the value in our service if they have a complex financial life, complete with multifaceted undertakings, such as alternative investments, corporate entities, private equity, international exposure, and collective properties.

Success Stories: Plumb Family Office Accounting Clients

Q:  What is the difference between Plumb Family Office Accounting and a single-family office?

Answer: Plumb Family Office Accounting creates a virtual family office by providing family office services to include personal accounting, bookkeeping and reporting with controller-level insight on a part-time basis or as-needed.

Single-family offices are typically set-up with full-time accounting staff, including a CFO, staff accountants, CPA and a team of attorneys.

By having a virtual or remote family office with Plumb, clients receive the financial data and organizational structure they need without having to hire a full team of advisors on their payroll.  Plumb Family Office Accounting works in conjunction with the trusted advisors of each client and provides financial data to the team to make better estate, tax and financial planning decisions.

Read: Top Ways that Plumb Family Office Accounting works with Trusted Advisors

 

Q:  Does Plumb Family Office Accounting manage their client’s wealth or recommend financial strategies?

Answer:  No. We do not advise or manage wealth, do taxes, or financial planning. We prepare comprehensive reports for clients and their advisors to see a holistic view of assets, including the performance of all investments, statement of cash flow, and net-worth statement.

View samples of personal financial reports created by Plumb

Q: What is the pricing structure of family office services by Plumb Family Office Accounting?

Answer: The price varies depending on the complexity of the family’s wealth and reporting needs.  For most clients, we charge a fixed-fee engagement on transaction-based pricing. In order to come up with a pricing structure, we calculate how many bills to be paid, accounts reconciled and the frequency of their reporting needs (monthly, quarterly or annually).

Typically, our clients pay between $2,000 and $4,000 per month for family office services with the minimum engagement being $1,000 per month.  Every client undergoes an annual fee review to see if there have been any changes in the scope of work throughout the year.

Family Bill Pay – Request a Quote

Download: New Client Questionnaire

Q:  Do you provide any other family office services besides personal reporting, accounting and bill pay?

Answer:  Since the majority of our clients lead busy lives, we’ve added outsourced concierge and personal assistant services.  These are customizable based on the family’s need and can range from property management services to booking travel and restaurant reservations, household employee payroll and basic mail pick-up and distribution.  Another example of outsourced concierge is relocation assistance, a project-based engagement in order to help manage and organize a personal move.

See list of outsourced personal assistant services

Q:  Does a client need to be located in Southern California to work with Plumb?

Answer: No, all the financial reporting and bill pay engagements are handled electronically with cloud-based assistance.  Plumb Family Office Accounting uses technology to facilitate bill pay and A/P work flow with a client login system to access reports and status updates.

We offer complete account protection and robust security measures to protect your information from unauthorized access. All confidential information is stored in a data center with multiple levels of security and can only be accessed by Plumb and you or your designated representative. All sensitive information is encrypted and uploaded to your private portal. Two-factor authentication to login to portal further safeguards your accounts and information

Plumb has staff located on both the west coast and east coast time zones to accommodate nationwide and international clients.

Q:  Who is handling the relationship with Plumb Family Office Accounting clients?

Answer:  Plumb takes a team approach for each engagement.  Every client has a main point of contact, a Client Relationship Manager, who oversees a team of junior and senior staff accountants.  The team approach is more cost-effective for the client, as each transaction is mapped in our task management software, and is broken down on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis.

There is a centralized client communication portal set up via email, so the team has access to client-specific information and requests.  This ensures dependability and consistency if an accountant is out of the office, needs approval or controller-level insight.

Q:  How can I be assured that my financial information is kept confidential and secure?

Answer: Plumb has been in business since 1996 and has a long history of continuity and confidentiality. We are fully bonded and all employees have to pass a background check before they are hired. With every engagement and task, it is handled with the utmost discretion and attention to detail.

We respect the privacy of our Plumb Family Office Accounting clients and take great measures to protect it.  We ensure compliance with best practices and internal control procedures, different levels of approval and password protection.  Our solid system of checks and balances gives our clients reassurance in the integrity and security of their private information and financial data.

Q:  I have a special project that requires assistance on a one-time basis.  Can Plumb Family Office Accounting help?

Answer:  Yes, we can accommodate short-term engagements and project work.  For example, Plumb Family Office Accounting works with divorce attorneys and their clients who are going through a divorce settlement and need help analyzing and tracking expenses to finalize child and alimony support.

Case Study: Divorce Client

Q:  How is the family bill pay set-up?

Answer: We have created a 4-step bill pay process with segregation of duties and different levels of approval.

  1. Client Associate pays bills
  2. Vice President reviews and signs checks
  3. Client Associate reconciles bank account
  4. Client Relationship Manager reviews bank statements

The family bill pay process is first established with the creation of a financial calendar of due dates and vendor information sheet.

View: Family Bill Pay Services: Organize your Financial Life.

Success Stories – Family Bill Pay 

How can you help with organizing for year-end and tax planning purposes?

Answer: We assist our clients to compile the annual tax organizer for their CPA.  Creating this comprehensive, audit-proof package allows to maximize standard deductions, as well as, allows for the CPA to be more cost effective.

Additionally, we provide the CPA with quarterly reports to adjust estimated tax payments as needed to avoid annual penalties and interest charges with the IRS or Franchise Tax Board.

Learn More: Plumb Family Office Accounting Annual Tax Organizer

Are you ready to simplify your financial life and take true control of your wealth?   



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5 Bill Pay & Accounting Tips for Family Offices

Anneke Stender, Executive Vice President of Plumb and the Founder of the Family Office Accounting and Bill Pay Division of Plumb, discusses bill pay and bookkeeping solutions for family offices.

An overview of Anneke’s background and Plumb Bill Pay

Plumb was founded in 1996 as an outsourced accounting firm for small to medium-sized businesses.

As we developed close and trusted relationships with these privately held businesses, we realized how unorganized some of the business owners were in keeping track of their personal finances. Due to our expertise in accounting and financial reporting, we recognized that we could serve the owners and their families as their outsourced accounting department.

Our family accounting and bill pay services were developed by accounting professionals who have a deep understanding of the unique needs of high-net-worth individuals and family offices. The idea is that we serve as an extension to our client’s family office teams, providing accurate data to all of their advisors so they can make better tax, estate and financial planning decisions.

“By providing high-touch accounting services and technology solutions through our Plumb BillPay app, we act as financial stewards for our Family Office clients in their day to day financial lives. We make sure that their bills are paid on time and their accounting practices are in order, so that our clients can devote more energy to enjoying life and have peace of mind.” – Anneke Stender

1. What are the different ways in which families and family offices pay their bills & handle their finances?

There are three different ways that bills are currently processed within families and family offices:

  1. Dedicated staff such as personal assistants, CFO/Controller or an in house bookkeeper.
  2. CPA firm provides bill pay services in conjunction with their existing accounting services department.
  3. Third-party bill pay provider that specializes in bill pay services, cash management, as well as reporting for families and family offices. These firms typically work in conjunction with the various family office advisors such as their financial planners, CPAs and estate planning attorneys to provide reliable and accurate reporting.

2. What are the 3 advantages to outsourcing Family Office Bill Pay?

It boils down to three advantages to outsourcing the bill pay function within a family office setting:

  1. Families can take advantage of the segregation of duties, including the checks and balances around their bill pay function. What we see here is that most families have one dedicated person handling all steps in the bill pay process. The biggest pain-point third party providers solve here is to alleviate the lack of checks and balances in this process by having a second or even third set of eyes review the transaction before it is released.
  2. Outsourced service firms take advantage of the latest technology in their space which helps to automate the process. Frequently, this leads to increased efficiencies and transparencies in the bill pay and approval process for families. For Plumb, this includes a proprietary bill pay technology solution that we have developed in house. Our bill pay workflow process software is an efficient, secure and easy way for our clients to get the right approvals prior to issuing a check or electronic transfer without having to comb through various email communication.
  3. Service firms like Plumb take a white glove or high-touch service approach when working with high-net-worth families and their family offices. This leads to quick turnaround times and the ability to handle last-minute requests, like urgent wires or ACH transfer which can be a big stress relief for families and their advisors. We call this service stance stewardship.

Ultimately, what third-party service providers do for bill pay is to optimize control over the process, bring more scalability, redundancy, precision, and expert oversight into the bill pay and financial organization of families and family offices. As a result this really creates more financial clarity and peace of mind for their clients.

3. What are best practices to optimize Bill Pay for policies, controls and security?

  • The confirmation of wire instructions: Confirm instructions verbally and record these verbal confirmations. If wire instructions have changed, we verbally confirm revised instructions.
  • Centralization of bills: We set up a post office box and a dedicated email address for each client for all incoming invoices which streamlines communication and minimizes loss of bills. A billing tracker is then created to schedule out payments.
  • Billing tracker: allows us to proactively reach out if no invoice is received.
  • Segregation of duties: An effective workflow for bill pay should look like this:
    1. Individual receives and enters the vendor invoices.
    2. Second individual will review the transactions to ensure the appropriate
    approvals have been completed.
    3. Third individual will have the authority to sign off on the transaction.
  • Workflow approval application software: Applications provide you with the ability to set approval limits by vendor, dollar amount or entity, as well as integrate with the underlying accounting system to avoid double data entry.

4. How is Plumb Bill Pay integrated with capital calls?

Capital calls and alternatives are an administrative burden for most of our clients.

The Plumb team takes care of the following financial administration tasks:

  1. When a new investment is made, the bill pay system can book the overall commitment, and schedule capital calls.
  2. Team monitors and tracks the remaining commitment.
  3. Verbal confirmation of wire instructions.
  4. Categorization and reconciliation of capital calls and distributions.
  5. Monthly report to the family and its advisors to better manage any upcoming cash and tax planning needs.
  6. Collecting all of the year end K1 statements for the CPA to incorporate with their tax compliance work.

5. How does Plumb Bill Pay allow families to have more clarity over their wealth?

Financial clarity is achieved through integration with existing advisors. Integration with other service providers happens on the reporting side. We link into the various banking and investment portals to obtain the data and categorize them in the underlying accounting system.

Our recommendation around reporting is that:

  • Monthly cashflows should be provided to the family, as well as the financial advisors so they can appropriately plan for future cash reserve needs.
  • Quarterly consolidated financial report is generated which contains a balance sheet, profit and loss, as well as entity financials. The goal here is to provide accurate and reliable data so that other service providers around the family can be more effective from a financial, tax and estate planning perspective. This allows our clients a much clearer and more accurate financial picture.

“Again, the most important take away here is that high net worth families and family offices are looking for ways to simplify their bill pay and bookkeeping needs and doing this in a secure and transparent fashion. They are looking for experts that specialize in their respective area and work well with their existing family advisors. The integration with a third party service provider that is fully integrated with a family office group and their financial advisors can really streamline this process.” – Anneke Stender

Interested in learning more about our services? Contact Anneke today:

Why Use a Personal Bill Pay Service Firm?

As a personal bill pay service firm, Plumb offers bill pay services that cater towards individuals and families who are dealing with complicated finances.  You may want to enlist the help of a personal bill pay service firm if you feel overwhelmed with the amount of bills and mail you receive each month and find it too time consuming to get your personal finances organized.

The Plumb personal bill pay service firm is not an online bill pay software, rather it is a team of accounting experts who have experience dealing with high-net-worth clients and their specific bill pay needs.  At Plumb, we provide high-touch services while also utilizing the latest bill pay software and technology to manage monthly expenses and produce cash flow reports.

Top 5 Reasons to Use a Personal Bill Pay Service Firm:

  1. Have your expenses tracked and bills paid on time so you can focus on your family and enjoy your wealth.
  2. Receive comprehensive cash flow reports, allowing you and your personal financial team to make better decisions about your wealth.
  3. Deliver accurate tax documents to your CPA by having organized recordkeeping throughout the year and electronically filing invoices.
  4. Pay household staff, prepare 1099s & 1096s, and streamline vendor management to centralize all household expenses.
  5. We monitor credit card and wire transactions for discrepancies, tracked and reconciled for accuracy, to give you peace of mind.

Who Uses a Personal Bill Pay Service Firm?

Plumb was established over 20 years ago to provide outsourced accounting services to entrepreneurs, their companies, foundations and personal family bookkeeping and bill pay needs. The typical client who requests personal bill pay service from Plumb has multiple properties, household staff, numerous bank, credit card and investment accounts to manage and track. Therefore, they want to reduce the overwhelm of paying multiple bills, reconciling accounts and staying on top of due dates.

Discover how Plumb, a personal bill pay service firm, can work for you.

Family Office Services: It’s more than Bill Pay

This is an interview brought to you by Acclaim Magazine and Editor, Tom Burroughes for Family Wealth Report. 

Cutting the Bill Payment Burden Adds Big Value For Clients

An interview with Anneke Stender, EVP of Plumb Bill Pay and Robert Scherer, President of Plumb Bill Pay.

What do you think is the main reason you have received this award-winning stage?

Plumb Bill Pay has been laser-focused to deliver an accounting service that has been either overlooked or underserved in the private client community. By offering a stand-alone outsourced bill pay solution to family offices, wealth managers and the high-net-worth, we have capitalized on a gap in the marketplace.

The interest in our “Property & Household” service offering has grown significantly in the past 18 months as the trend of outsourcing continues to rise. As a result, Plumb Bill Pay has onboarded an average of three new clients every month, adding 12 new employees to the team and expanding into three office locations across the country.

“We believe that our firm has achieved this award-winning stage based on the combination of providing high-touch customer service that is built on a technology platform with bank-level security while operating with proven accounting systems and procedures,” said Robert Scherer, President of Plumb Bill Pay.

The financial teams who engage Plumb Bill Pay as their back-office to process and pay client bills gain a competitive edge with a wide range of benefits.  Our service improves their business processes, which frees up time for their team to focus on investment strategies and higher-level accounting functions. It enhances their service offering by having a trusted resource for their clients who are overwhelmed with the amount of bills to pay and expenses to track. With our established security protocols and checks and balances, the burdens of compliance, risk and cybersecurity that come with processing payments and potential fraud are diminished when outsourced to Plumb Bill Pay.

What sort of challenges did you have to take on?

Working as a vendor for some of the world’s largest financial institutions, the security of our platform and internal controls to protect confidential information was built on unique and stringent specifications. We believe it is imperative for clients and their financial managers or designees to be able to maintain access to the bill pay workflow, but without compromising security.

We took on the challenge to build a customized cloud network that is backed on a singular data center. It is certified and compliant for bank standards with two-factor authentication and VPN connection. We also setup procedures and role-based workflows for approval limits and constantly monitor accounts for suspicious activity.

What can you tell us about how your colleagues contributed to this success?

As our firm experience’s rapid growth, we shifted the structure of our bill pay teams for optimal customer service. Every bill pay client is supported by at least 3 accounting experts, ranging from a dedicated manager, to associates, an account supervisor and signors. This allows for the appropriate checks and balances, while also giving the client and their personal financial team access to Plumb when they need them.

Since we work with successful and fast-paced entrepreneurs and affluent families, they have a lot of moving parts to their financial structure. Our personal bill pay teams understand the unique needs of the high-net-worth and provide the white glove customer service they require and deserve. Clients gain financial peace of mind knowing their household expenses are being handled, while also having clear insights into their finances with cash flow reports and tracking.

How have you dealt with the changes taking place in the North American wealth management market and in what way did your award reflect that?

Many of the wealth managers and financial advisors who refer to our personal bill pay services are looking for a reliable resource to handle their client’s complex bill pay service needs. It’s a competitive marketplace in the North American wealth management market in order to attract and retain high-net-worth clients. By offering a solution that reduces the overwhelm of managing multiple bills and chasing due dates, wealth managers can turn to Plumb for support. We work alongside them and customize our accounting services, reporting and security measures depending on their current operations.

From whom do you take inspiration, either in terms of people or other organizations, inside or outside the North American wealth sector?

“Our inspiration to deliver a superior bill pay service comes from our experience with working with some of the country’s largest investment firms and family offices,” said Anneke Stender, Executive Vice President of Plumb Bill Pay. “We admire their far-reaching approach and ability to provide such massive resources and options for their clients.”

What sets you apart from your peers this year?

For over 20 years, Plumb has been providing back-office accounting and financial reporting to businesses and high-net-worth families.  It is this depth of knowledge and our corporate finance approach to handling bill pay and multi-entity bookkeeping for the private client community that stands out above the rest.

We understand the business-sized challenges of high-net-worth clients who have a complex financial life. The families we work with have an average of 100 – 200 bills to pay each month, plus 3-4 entities to track. By producing cash flow reports with an up-to-date general ledger system, clients and their advisors have clear insights into their wealth to make decisions based on their financial goals.

What will you do to keep the standard of an award-winner and push ahead in the future?

Prior to winning this award we started the development of our Bill Pay App. It is now complete, and we have begun staged roll outs. This workflow application will be used as a tool to automate the bill pay process and enhance the client experience. By applying this forward-thinking technology, it will give us another tool to push ahead in the future.

Contact Plumb for a demo of our Bill Pay app.

What do you hope will be the main consequence of achieving this accolade?

This award brings us incredible exposure to a community that may not be familiar with our outsourced solution for bill pay.  Our current clients, some of whom are the wealthiest people in the country, love Plumb Bill Pay. It is their confidence in our service that drives us forward.

We hope it will bring attention to a service that can help financial management teams spend less time handling administrative bill pay functions and more time working alongside their clients to help strengthen financial futures.

How will you use the award to raise your profile in the industry among clients?

As a first-time nominee, we have been following the FamilyWealth Report Awards and their community of contributors for years. It is an honor to be recognized and we will continue to publicize our award online and within our marketing collateral.

For a list of all the award winners and their interviews, view the Acclaim Magazine.

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