"I asked for that money two weeks ago"
A client emails their adviser asking to take a lump sum from their pension. The adviser forwards it to the admin team. An administrator completes the provider's form, sends it to the client to sign, receives it back, submits it. The provider needs something else. The client is on holiday. Meanwhile, the client calls the office asking where the money is, and nobody can find the email chain quickly.
Multiply that by the steady flow of routine requests every advice firm handles: regular income changes, one-off withdrawals, top ups, address changes, new bank details. Each one is small. Together they take a large share of the admin team's week.
Why routine instructions go missing
Instructions come in through whoever the client contacts. They are passed on by forwarding, and tracked in individual inboxes. There is no shared list of open instructions, so an instruction is only as safe as the person holding it.
Verification steps are also informal. Your firm probably has rules about confirming changes to bank details or large withdrawals directly with the client, because email accounts get compromised. When the process relies on memory, a busy day is when a step gets skipped.
- Instructions arrive to advisers, administrators and the general inbox.
- No shared list of open requests.
- Verification steps followed from memory.
- Provider forms prepared and chased by hand.
- Clients not told when an instruction completes.
Holidays and sickness expose the problem. When the administrator who took an instruction is off, colleagues cannot see it, and the client who calls to chase gets a promise to look into it rather than an answer.
What lost instructions cost
| What goes wrong | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Instruction delayed | Client waits for money they need |
| Verification step skipped | Exposure to fraudulent requests |
| Provider requirement missed | Instruction stalls silently |
| Client not updated | Repeat calls to the office |
The verification row is the one that keeps owners up at night. Requests to change bank details by email are a known route for fraud, and a consistent check matters more than any amount of speed.
The instruction log we build
- Instructions are logged from email, phone or the client portal into one shared log, with the client, plan, type and amount.
- Each instruction type carries your firm's own steps, for example a call-back to a known number before any bank detail change, and the log records who did each step and when.
- Provider forms are pre-filled from the client record where possible, and sent for e-signature.
- Submission to the provider is tracked, with provider replies matched to the instruction and requirements flagged.
- The client receives updates at points your firm chooses, such as submitted and completed.
- A board shows all open instructions by age and type, with any that have skipped a required step highlighted.
The log does not approve instructions. It makes sure the steps your firm requires are followed and recorded, and it holds an instruction back until they are.
A calmer admin team
Every request is in one place. Anyone in the team can see its status and take over if a colleague is away. Verification steps are followed every time, with a record. Clients hear when their instruction completes, and the "where is my money?" calls fall away. And the owner can see how long instructions are taking, and where they are waiting.
Patterns show up too. If one provider regularly asks for extra forms on withdrawals, or one type of request always takes longer, the log makes it visible, and the team can prepare clients for it at the start rather than apologising at the end.
Does this sound like your office?
- Client instructions are tracked in individual inboxes.
- Verification checks depend on the person handling the request.
- Provider forms are completed by hand for each request.
- Clients chase to find out if an instruction has been done.
- You cannot list all open instructions right now.