Friday afternoon, five meetings to write up
An adviser has a full week of client meetings. Each one produces handwritten notes on the fact find printout or a pad. Between meetings there is travel, calls and email. The file notes wait. On Friday, the adviser sits down to write them, trying to remember which client said what about their retirement date, and whether the second meeting agreed the protection review or just raised it.
Some notes are thorough. Some are brief. A few are still not done the following week. When a file is checked, the note is either thin or dated well after the meeting.
Why notes lag behind meetings
Advisers' diaries are built around client time. Writing up is squeezed into whatever is left. Typing a good note from scribbles takes time, and the details fade quickly. Some firms use paraplanners or administrators to type notes, which adds a handover and more delay.
There is rarely a set format either. Each adviser writes differently, so notes vary in what they cover, which makes them harder for colleagues and file checkers to use.
What late file notes cost
A file note is the record of what the client said and what was agreed. Written days later, it can miss things. That matters when paraplanners rely on it, when a colleague picks up the client, and when the firm looks back at a case.
| Problem | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Written from memory days later | Details lost or mixed between clients |
| Inconsistent format | Harder for paraplanners and colleagues to use |
| Backlog of notes | Adviser time taken from clients |
| Typed by someone else | Extra handover, and misread handwriting |
How we build same-day notes
- We agree the process with your compliance lead first: how client consent is obtained and recorded, what is retained and for how long, and where recordings are stored.
- Meetings are recorded, in person on a phone or tablet, or from Teams or Zoom, only after consent is captured.
- The recording is transcribed, and a language model such as Anthropic Claude or OpenAI, run under data terms your firm approves, drafts a note in your firm's own file note format.
- Each point in the draft links to the moment in the transcript it came from, so the adviser can check it quickly.
- The adviser edits and approves the note. Nothing is saved to the client record until they do.
- Approved notes are filed in Intelliflo Office, Xplan, Curo or your document store, with meeting date and attendees.
- Actions agreed in the meeting are listed separately and can become tasks for the team.
The draft is a starting point. It can be wrong: a misheard figure, a remark taken out of context. That is why the adviser reviews every note, and why every line links back to the transcript.
What advisers notice
Notes are drafted before the adviser has reached the car park. Checking and correcting takes far less time than writing from scratch. Notes follow the same structure across the firm, so paraplanners find what they need in the same place every time. And actions from the meeting do not get lost in the adviser's notebook.
Clients who do not want to be recorded are handled the old way, and the tool records that choice rather than pushing them.
Signs your file notes need help
- Advisers write notes at the end of the week.
- Notes vary widely in length and content between advisers.
- Administrators type up handwritten notes.
- Paraplanners ask advisers what was said in meetings.
- Agreed actions are not tracked after the meeting.