If you have been following my journey through independence, you'll know that I made the decision to increase my investment in technology this year. In this post, we'll focus on one tool in particular, eMoney. This tool covers areas such as financial planning, account aggregation, document storage, client portals, and more.
I've had regular phone calls with a personal trainer during the first 90 days to help get me up and running. Last week I learned about the client side of the tool and it is quite impressive. After eMoney was populated with my clients, I linked their accounts to my custodian, TradePMR. As a result, client account data will automatically update each day in eMoney. The next step was to establish the clients' personal portal (i.e. website) and learn about the functionality of the document storage system.
Document Storage
This feature in eMoney functions like a Windows Explorer tree in that there are first-line folders, second-line folders, etc. The program comes with several first-line folders as the default. However, a user may delete these folders (with a few exceptions) and create his own. I decided to scratch the default folders and customize it based on my practice and clientele. At this point I have 13 first-line folders.
For example, I have a first-line folder named Taxes and underneath it are two second-line folders named Income Tax and Property Tax. Under the Income Tax folder, I created several third-line folders, one for each year going back several years (ex: 2015, 2014, 2013, etc.). This is where I will store the client's federal and state income tax returns. As you may realize, the statute of limitations for past income tax returns (excluding a failure to file) is three years.
Uploading client documents to the folders is easy. Once you are in the target folder, you simply click Upload File, then browse and select the correct document. Storing client documents is a great way to help the client get and stay organized and demonstrate your value. Plus, once the client is comfortable with the system, they may be more likely to stay with you, unless of course, you give them a good reason to leave.
Client Portal
