A fee-only financial planner serves 72 households, charges roughly $4,200 average annual retainer, and spends 60 percent of the week on service work the CRM should automate.
Fee-only financial planners, RIAs, and independent fiduciary advisors run practices where client service dominates the week: annual plan refreshes, quarterly check-ins, tax-planning touchpoints, estate review, insurance review. Compliance obligations run through books-and-records retention and advertising rules. Strkr's financial planner configuration models the client service motion natively alongside the compliance surface so the planner spends more time with clients and less time stitching workflow tools together.
Fee-only financial planners rarely find a CRM that fits their fiduciary motion. Wirehouse CRMs assume commission-sales compensation and transaction tracking. Generic sales CRMs ignore the service-heavy workload. Specialty tools exist but tend to run narrow. Here are the pains that come up.
The service calendar runs the practice
Each household gets 8 to 14 scheduled touchpoints annually.
A fee-only planning practice runs on a structured service calendar: annual comprehensive planning meeting, quarterly check-ins, mid-year tax planning, estate document review, insurance review, 401(k) and benefits election review. Each client expects roughly 8 to 14 scheduled touchpoints annually. Generic CRMs lack the service calendar structure. Strkr's service calendar runs the cadence per household with the touchpoint type, scope, and completion status visible.
Fiduciary standard shapes advice
Documentation of recommendation rationale is not optional.
The fiduciary standard requires planners to act in the client's best interest with documented rationale behind every recommendation. The documentation satisfies regulatory review and defends against future claims. Strkr's fiduciary documentation workflow captures recommendation rationale per plan element with attached supporting analysis (Monte Carlo output, tax projection, risk tolerance questionnaire) in the client file.
Financial planning software integration
eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital live outside the CRM.
Financial planning software (eMoney Advisor, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital, NaviPlan) runs the modeling, projections, and client-facing financial plan generation. The data lives separately from the CRM and the planner duplicates data entry. Strkr integrates with the planning platforms so plan deliverables, assumptions, and milestones surface in the client service calendar.
Household structure is complex
A client, a spouse, two kids, two business entities, one trust.
A planning household includes the primary client, spouse, children, parents (sometimes), associated business entities, trusts, and inherited accounts. Relationship structure drives the planning conversation. Generic CRMs flatten the household to one contact. Strkr's household model carries the full relationship graph with role (primary, spouse, child, parent, business owner, trustee) and planning scope per party.
FINRA and SEC books and records
Communications and advice records must retain for specific periods.
FINRA and SEC compliance requires books-and-records retention: electronic communications, written client communications, advertising content, trade confirmations, suitability documentation, custody records. Retention periods vary (3 to 7 years for most categories). Strkr's compliance archive meets the retention requirements with WORM-compliant storage, searchable archive, and compliance officer export workflow.
Advertising and marketing compliance
The new SEC Marketing Rule changed what planners can say publicly.
The SEC Marketing Rule (effective November 2022) changed advertising requirements for registered investment advisers: testimonials and endorsements require disclosures, performance presentations require specific disclosures, hypothetical performance has restrictions. Planners posting on LinkedIn or sending newsletters need compliance review. Strkr's advertising compliance workflow routes marketing content through compliance review with the audit trail and retention.
The financial planner data model
How Strkr models households, plans, and compliance.
A fee-only planning CRM has to carry the household with its full relationship graph, the planning engagement with service calendar, the plan deliverables with fiduciary documentation, and the compliance surface for books-and-records retention and advertising review. Strkr's financial planner configuration ships the pieces modeled natively.
Household record
Primary, spouse, dependents, entities, trusts.
Each household carries the full relationship graph: primary client, spouse, dependent children, parents in advisory roles, business entities owned, trusts (revocable living, irrevocable, special needs, bypass), inherited accounts. Each party carries role, planning scope involvement, and consent status. The planner sees the full household in one view rather than hopping between individual records.
The service calendar runs the per-household cadence: annual comprehensive planning meeting, quarterly check-ins, mid-year tax planning (coordinated with CPA), estate document review (every 3 to 5 years), insurance review (annual), 401(k) and benefits review (annual during open enrollment), life event triggers (job change, marriage, divorce, birth, inheritance, retirement). The calendar surfaces upcoming and overdue touchpoints.
Planning engagement
Fee structure, service scope, retention state.
Each planning engagement captures fee structure (annual retainer, project fee, AUM-based, hybrid), service scope (comprehensive, limited scope, specific projects), engagement letter execution, retention state (active, winding down, terminated). Fee calculation runs automatically for retainer and AUM-based engagements with billing cadence configured per household.
Plan deliverable
Written plan with recommendation rationale documented.
Each plan deliverable captures the recommendation set with rationale (why this recommendation serves the client's best interest), supporting analysis (Monte Carlo output, cash flow projection, tax impact, risk tolerance questionnaire), implementation steps, and follow-up timeline. The fiduciary documentation satisfies regulatory review and defends against future claims. Version history preserves prior plan iterations.
Investment account
Custodian-held accounts with asset allocation visible.
Each investment account carries custodian (Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing, Altruist, Betterment for Advisors), account type (taxable, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), SEP-IRA, HSA, 529, trust), balance, asset allocation. Account data pulls from the custodian via secure feed with the planner reviewing drift versus target allocation.
Risk tolerance questionnaire
Captured at onboarding and refreshed annually.
Risk tolerance questionnaires capture at onboarding and refresh annually or on major life events. The questionnaire record carries the answers, the resulting risk profile, the signoff by the client, the fiduciary rationale for the recommended allocation. Changes in questionnaire output surface for the planner review conversation.
Communication archive
Email, phone, portal messages retained per FINRA.
Client communication archive retains email through the planner's inbox integration (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace), phone call summaries, portal messages, and SMS communications. The archive meets FINRA books-and-records retention requirements (typically 3 to 7 years depending on category) with WORM-compliant storage and searchable retrieval.
Advertising compliance
Marketing content routed through compliance review.
Marketing content (LinkedIn posts, newsletter articles, website pages, podcast transcripts, speaking engagement content) routes through compliance review per the SEC Marketing Rule. Testimonials and endorsements require specific disclosures. Performance presentations require the net-of-fees presentation and benchmark comparison. The audit trail captures every version and approval.
Household lifetime value
Retention, referral generation, aging roll-up.
Household analytics roll up retention duration (how long the household has been a client), referral generation (how many referred households came from this client), fee lifetime value, service visit completion rate. The analytics inform fee structure refinement, service model adjustments, and succession planning for the practice.
The financial planning practice motion
What runs weekly, monthly, annually.
A fee-only financial planning practice runs structured cadences that most CRMs do not fit. Here is the typical rhythm for a 50 to 200 household practice with 2 to 6 planners on Strkr.
Weekly: service calendar review
Upcoming touchpoints scheduled, overdue surfaced.
Weekly service calendar review covers upcoming client touchpoints (next week's meetings, follow-up tasks due, document requests outstanding) and overdue items (clients missed on quarterly cadence, documents stuck in review, pending signatures). The planner clears the week's cadence rather than running on reactive requests. Strkr's calendar view surfaces the triage priorities.
Weekly compliance review covers marketing content pending approval, trade suitability documentation for recent transactions, sample communications for the periodic compliance review. The compliance officer (or outsourced compliance consultant) runs the review in Strkr with the audit trail capturing approvals and findings.
Monthly: billing cycle
Retainer invoices and AUM fees calculated.
Monthly billing runs retainer invoices for retainer clients, AUM-based fee calculations for AUM clients, project fee billing for project engagements. Payment collection runs through ACH or credit card with the recurring billing cadence configured per household. Realization reporting surfaces any revenue slippage.
Monthly: planning software sync
eMoney and MoneyGuidePro data refreshed.
Monthly planning software sync refreshes projections for all active households: eMoney Advisor, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital projections update with current account balances, planned deposits, and market context. The sync surfaces households approaching plan triggers (retirement date approaching, Social Security claiming window) for proactive outreach.
Annually: comprehensive planning meeting
Full plan refresh with risk, allocation, and goals review.
Annual comprehensive planning meeting per household covers risk tolerance refresh, allocation review, goal updates (retirement date, legacy intent, lifestyle changes), tax strategy for the coming year, estate document review, insurance review. The meeting runs 90 to 120 minutes with the pre-meeting pack generated from Strkr and the follow-up tasks captured during the meeting.
Annually: ADV update and compliance filing
Form ADV, state registrations, surprise exam preparation.
Annual compliance filings cover Form ADV update (Part 1 and Part 2 brochure delivery), state registration renewals, surprise exam preparation if the firm has custody, cybersecurity policy review, business continuity plan review. The compliance workflow runs the filing cadence with the SEC and state filings tracked.
Integration with the planning practice stack
eMoney, Schwab, Fidelity, Microsoft 365, DocuSign.
A fee-only planning practice runs financial planning software, custodian platforms, communication tools, document signing, and compliance archives. Strkr integrates with the common pieces so the planner does not swivel chair between windows.
Financial planning software
eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital, NaviPlan.
Financial planning software integrations with eMoney Advisor, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital, and NaviPlan surface plan deliverables, assumptions, projection milestones, and client-facing plan access from the Strkr household view. The planner works in the planning software for modeling; the service calendar lives in Strkr.
Custodian integrations with Schwab Advisor Services, Fidelity Investments WealthScape, Pershing NetX360, Altruist, Betterment for Advisors, and TradePMR surface account balances, holdings, asset allocation, and transaction history. The data refreshes daily with the planner reviewing allocation drift against target.
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
Email, calendar, document integration.
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace integrations pull planner email into the household view with FINRA-compliant archive, sync calendar bidirectionally for client meeting scheduling, and let Strkr AI draft follow-up emails on service touchpoints and document requests. The planner works in Outlook or Gmail; Strkr captures the activity.
DocuSign, PandaDoc, and Dropbox Sign integrations route engagement letters, risk tolerance questionnaires, Form ADV delivery acknowledgments, consent forms, and account opening paperwork through electronic signature. Executed documents attach to the household record automatically with the audit trail captured.
Portfolio management
Orion, Tamarac, Advyzon, Black Diamond integrated.
Portfolio management platforms (Orion Advisor Tech, Envestnet Tamarac, Advyzon, Black Diamond, Addepar) integrate for reporting, billing, and reconciliation. Performance reports flow to the client portal; billing calculations flow to the household record. The planner reviews quarterly performance in the context of the service calendar.
Risk and compliance archive
Smarsh, Global Relay, MyRIACompliance.
Compliance archive integrations with Smarsh, Global Relay, MyRIACompliance, and RIA in a Box retain communications per FINRA and SEC requirements with searchable retrieval. For firms running outsourced compliance consultants, the integration surfaces audit-ready communication samples for the periodic review.
Tax software coordination
CPA handoff for tax planning and tax prep.
For planning practices coordinating with the client's CPA, the handoff workflow surfaces tax-planning triggers (Roth conversion opportunity, tax-loss harvesting, charitable giving timing, estimated tax payment planning) to the CPA with the client authorization. Return copies flow from the CPA back to the planner for integrated planning. Integration with the common tax software (ProConnect, Lacerte, Drake, UltraTax) handles the data exchange.
Insurance quoting
Life, disability, LTC quotes referenced in plan.
For planning practices offering insurance analysis (life insurance needs analysis, disability income analysis, long-term care planning), the quoting integration with carriers like Northwestern Mutual, MassMutual, Guardian, Prudential, LTCI Partners surfaces current quotes in the plan context. The fiduciary documentation captures the recommendation rationale with alternatives considered.
Audit trail and books-and-records
FINRA and SEC retention satisfied with WORM archive.
The books-and-records archive meets FINRA and SEC retention with WORM-compliant storage, searchable retrieval, and compliance officer export workflow. Retention periods configure per record category (electronic communications typically 3 years, written client communications typically 5 years, advertising typically 5 years, custody records longer). SEC exam preparation runs through the archive with sample retrieval.
Head-to-head
Strkr versus Redtail, Wealthbox, or a wirehouse CRM.
Fee-only financial planners typically land on Redtail, Wealthbox, Junxure, or AdvisorEngine. The specialty tools cover the planning motion but typically lack modern UI, open integration, and the service calendar depth that fee-only shops need. Here is the comparison.
Feature
Strkr
Redtail or Wealthbox CRM
Service calendar with structured cadence
Native with per-household touchpoint cadence
Task list without structured service model
Household with full relationship graph
Primary, spouse, dependents, entities, trusts
Household groupings but limited relationship depth
Fiduciary documentation workflow
Native with recommendation rationale captured
Notes field or external document
Financial planning software integration
eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital native
Partial integration via API
Custodian integration
Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing, Altruist native
Native but typically read-only
Advertising compliance workflow
SEC Marketing Rule compliant review flow
Separate compliance tool required
Books-and-records retention
FINRA and SEC compliant WORM archive
Separate archive tool required
Modern UI with keyboard shortcuts
Native modern interface
Legacy UI with limited extensibility
Fully loaded monthly cost
Roughly $70-90 per seat with planner pack
$75-120 per seat plus compliance archive
How teams use Strkr
How financial planners run Strkr.
Fee-only planners moving onto Strkr collapse the specialty-CRM-plus-planning-software-plus-compliance-tool stack into one integrated tenant. Here are specific motions from planning practices on the platform.
Solo RIA, 85 households, retainer model
Service calendar completion rose from 68 percent to 94 percent.
A solo RIA with 85 households was completing roughly 68 percent of scheduled service touchpoints annually because the task tracking lived in a spreadsheet nobody owned. Priscilla, the sole planner, moved the service calendar into Strkr with structured touchpoint cadence per household and automated preparation workflow for each meeting type. Completion rose to 94 percent over three quarters, which translated to better retention (two households retained that had been drifting) and roughly 11 new referrals attributable to the deeper service engagement.
Fee-only firm, 4 planners, 240 households
Compliance archive retrieval dropped from 6 hours to 15 minutes.
A fee-only firm with 4 planners faced an SEC exam that required communication sample retrieval across 2 years and 240 households. The prior pattern (searching across Outlook, OneDrive, printed files) typically took 6 hours per sample request. Jasbir, the chief compliance officer, moved the communication archive into Strkr with searchable retrieval and FINRA-compliant WORM storage. Sample retrieval dropped to 15 minutes per request, which the firm completed the SEC exam in roughly one-fifth the usual time with zero deficiency findings.
Hybrid RIA, 6 planners, mix of retainer and AUM
Household billing errors dropped from 11 per cycle to under 1.
A hybrid RIA running mixed retainer and AUM billing had been running 11 billing errors per quarter on average because the fee calculation lived in a spreadsheet that got reconciled against Orion monthly. Hamish, the operations lead, moved billing into Strkr with the fee structure configured per household and automatic calculation per billing cycle. Billing errors dropped to under 1 per cycle, which eliminated the quarterly refund-and-apology cycle and freed roughly 20 operations hours per month.
A multi-family office serving 32 ultra-high-net-worth households had been running flat contact records that missed the full household relationship structure (spouse, children, grandchildren, trusts, business entities, foundations). Rupinder, the senior advisor, moved the household model into Strkr with the full relationship graph per family. The visibility surfaced 14 planning gaps across the book (uncoordinated estate documents, outdated trustee designations, missed GRAT opportunities) that generated roughly $4.8M in incremental AUM through implementation.
Fee-for-service firm, 3 planners, project-based
Project engagement conversion rose from 54 percent to 76 percent.
A fee-for-service firm doing project-based planning (comprehensive plans, topic consultations, hourly engagements) was converting 54 percent of discovery call prospects to signed engagements. Celeste, the firm owner, moved the discovery-to-engagement workflow into Strkr with structured follow-up sequences, Strkr AI drafting the engagement letter personalized to the discovery conversation, and electronic signature collection within the follow-up email. Conversion rose to 76 percent, which translated to roughly $340K in additional annual project engagement revenue.
Run a fee-only planning practice on a CRM built for the fiduciary motion.
Start a 14-day Strkr trial with the financial planner configuration enabled. Household relationship graph, service calendar, fiduciary documentation, planning software integration, custodian integration, FINRA-compliant archive, SEC Marketing Rule workflow. See what one tenant feels like for the full practice motion.
How is Strkr different from Redtail, Wealthbox, Junxure, or AdvisorEngine?
Redtail, Wealthbox, Junxure, and AdvisorEngine are purpose-built CRMs for financial advisors with strong depth on the advisor-specific workflow (compliance archive, custodian integration, fee billing). The depth is a strength. The weakness is modern UI, open integration, and the service calendar structure that fee-only shops specifically need. Strkr is a general-purpose modern CRM with a financial planner configuration pack covering household relationship graphs, service calendars, fiduciary documentation, planning software integration (eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital), custodian integration (Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing, Altruist), and compliance archive. The practical difference: Redtail and Wealthbox win on advisor tenure and specific integrations with wirehouse-centric tools; Strkr wins on modern UI, broader platform coverage (sales pipeline for new client acquisition, marketing automation for referral generation), and open API for custom integration. Many planners under 100 households find the switch justified; larger shops with heavy custodian-specific workflow sometimes stay on the specialty tool.
What financial planning software integrations ship?
Native integrations for the common financial planning platforms: eMoney Advisor (the most widely used among fee-only planners), MoneyGuidePro (long-standing specialty tool), RightCapital (growing fast among younger planners), NaviPlan (legacy but still in use), and Advicent NaviPlan Select. The integration surfaces plan deliverables, projection assumptions, scenario modeling output, and client-facing plan access from the Strkr household view. For practices running proprietary planning tools or spreadsheet-based planning, the custom integration pattern uses the REST API with webhook support. KMS-encrypted credential storage with the integration debugger surfacing every sync event. We never route the integration through Zapier because every integration ships as first-class native code.
Does Strkr handle FINRA and SEC books-and-records retention?
Yes. The books-and-records archive meets FINRA and SEC retention requirements with WORM-compliant storage, searchable retrieval, and compliance officer export workflow. Retention periods configure per record category: electronic communications typically 3 years readily accessible plus 2 additional years in archive, written client communications typically 5 years, advertising typically 5 years, custody records longer, suitability documentation varies by firm registration status. For firms registered as investment advisers with the SEC, Rule 204-2 applies with specific record categories and retention periods. For firms registered as broker-dealers with FINRA, Rule 17a-4 applies with different categories. The archive handles both regulatory frameworks. SEC and FINRA exam preparation runs through the archive with sample retrieval, and the audit trail captures every record access during exam response.
How does the service calendar work for fee-only practices?
The service calendar runs per-household cadence configured by the practice: annual comprehensive planning meeting, quarterly check-ins, mid-year tax planning touchpoint, estate document review (every 3 to 5 years), insurance review (annual), 401(k) and benefits election review (annual during open enrollment), life event triggers (job change, marriage, divorce, birth of child, inheritance, retirement, death in family). Each touchpoint carries scope (what the meeting covers), estimated duration, preparation requirements (documents needed, client homework), and completion status. The calendar surfaces upcoming touchpoints for the planner's week with the preparation workflow starting a configurable number of days before the meeting (typically 7 to 14 days for comprehensive meetings). Overdue touchpoints flag for triage. For practices with multiple planners sharing households, the calendar routes touchpoints to the right planner based on specialty or household assignment.
Can Strkr handle the SEC Marketing Rule for advertising review?
Yes. The advertising compliance workflow handles the SEC Marketing Rule (effective November 2022) which changed advertising requirements for registered investment advisers. Testimonials and endorsements require specific disclosures (nature of relationship, compensation if any, conflicts of interest). Performance presentations require net-of-fees presentation, specific benchmark comparison, and prescribed time periods. Hypothetical performance has restrictions on when and how presented. Social media posts, newsletter articles, website content, podcast transcripts, and speaking engagement materials all fall under the rule. The compliance workflow routes marketing content for review before publication with the audit trail capturing every version, every reviewer, every approval. For firms running outsourced compliance consultants, the review workflow surfaces content for external approval. For firms with internal CCO, the review runs through the internal compliance officer. The retention archive preserves advertising content with the required supporting documentation.
How does household billing work for mixed retainer and AUM practices?
The billing module handles the common fee structures used by fee-only practices: annual retainer (flat annual fee, billed monthly or quarterly), AUM-based (percentage of assets under management, typically billed quarterly in arrears or advance), project fee (flat project fee for specific engagements like comprehensive plans or topic consultations), hourly fee (less common but still in use), hybrid combinations. Each household carries the fee structure configuration with the calculation running automatically per billing cycle. Payment collection runs through ACH or credit card with the payment processor integration (Stripe, PayJunction, PaySimple, LevelPaying). For AUM billing, the calculation references the custodian-reported asset balance at the billing calculation date. For retainer billing, the calculation uses the configured annual fee divided by the billing cycle count. Realization reporting surfaces revenue slippage, write-offs, and prorated adjustments for mid-period onboarding or termination.
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