Administration has a nasty habit of filling the time available. Time spent on data entry, chasing paperwork, switching between systems, producing reports manually and staying on top of compliance requirements has steadily expanded. Nick Eatock, CEO and Co-Founder, intelliflo explores how, unfortunately, that means the enjoyable work – understanding clients, helping them make good decisions, being there at moments of uncertainty – tends to get squeezed into whatever time you have left.
The good news is that adviser platform technology can change that balance, freeing up time from boring, burdensome administrative processes to spend however you choose, whether that’s serving more clients or a better work-life balance.
The most basic source of lost time is rekeying. Our 2026 Advice Efficiency Survey highlighted that 68% of firms continue to list manual data entry as one of their top efficiency killers. Plus, each time client information is re-entered, there’s an opportunity for mistakes, with just 1% of firms reporting error-free onboarding. A platform that connects CRM, back-office, investment, reporting and compliance tools properly means client data flows through the advice process once, saving time and reducing risk.
The same logic applies to workflow. At intelliflo, we’ve built our tasks and workflows engine based on direct customer feedback, and the principle behind it is straightforward. Instead of chasing steps manually, outcome-triggered processes move forward automatically once conditions are met. And when you’re ready to implement the financial plan, wealthlink, our seamless platform integration, lets you carry out client investment requirements from inside intelliflo office, with no logging in elsewhere and no rekeying required. The result is a substantial time saving of around 40 hours for every 100 clients, compared to doing the same work across separate systems.
What does automation look like in practice? Consider what happens around a client meeting. An AI-powered engagement assistant can record the conversation, capture client data and goals, transcribe the discussion and generate compliant records, all without you needing to step away from the client to take notes. Post-meeting, documents are produced in minutes and data is updated without manual rekeying. You review and approve, with the routine steps handled by technology.
Compliance is also strengthened. Many advice firms experience compliance as a separate layer of work; something that runs alongside the advice process and demands its own time and attention. Technology can change that by capturing audit trails, suitability evidence, client communications and review records as part of the natural workflow. It becomes embedded in how the work gets done, rather than bolted on at the end, with much of the burden met by technology, overseen by human compliance specialists.
Established digital tools also play a key role in streamlining advice and improving the client experience. Digital fact-finds, secure portals, e-signatures and real-time valuations make the advice process more transparent and accessible. When administration moves faster and more smoothly, you can be more responsive. This affects efficiency and the client relationship. Clients are already familiar with financial technology. Most will use a banking app on their phone regularly, and they expect you to be just as digitally capable.
Technology, being built now and likely to be in your hands by the end of the year, will push efficiency further. Agentic AI is a prime example. Where generative AI tools respond when you prompt them, agentic AI works continuously in the background, scanning for anomalies, preparing you for upcoming client reviews and flagging where a decision is due. It puts what needs attention in front of you and handles preparation, while you stay in control of every decision. In the next generation of intelliflo office, this kind of capability will be built in and made openly available, so that other tools a firm uses can benefit from it too.
The case for technology adoption is increasingly measurable. Our eAdviser Index segments firms by how fully they use available technology, and the data is consistent. Firms that use more of intelliflo office’s capabilities serve more clients per adviser, manage more assets under advice and generate more revenue. The gap between the highest-adopting firms and the lowest is substantial and growing.
The industry is changing, and the firms making fullest use of these tools are already serving more clients with the same teams, without compromising on the quality of advice. The sooner you build them into how you work, the more time you get back to spend with clients.
About Nick Eatock
Nick is a long-standing and passionate supporter of the value of financial advice. He has pioneered the role of technology solutions that fundamentally improve the efficiency and engagement experience for both clients and advisers. In turn, this has the potential to significantly widen access to financial advice.
Nick is responsible for ensuring that intelliflo delivers to its strategic vision by supporting, coaching and mentoring the great people who work for us.
As an entrepreneur, Nick founded the original intelliflo business over 20 years ago with the express intent of improving technology for those operating in the financial advice industry. Technology has changed over that time and Nick has ensured that both the service and the software that intelliflo provides has remained at the forefront of this evolving landscape.
