In financial services, adopting technology is often seen as the finish line. The platform gets implemented, workflows are updated once, the team is trained and then nothing changes.
Years pass. The software evolves. New features are released. Your competition moves faster. Meanwhile, your firm continues to operate like it’s still 2015, running the same playbook, using the same processes and assuming that because nothing is “broken,” nothing needs to be fixed.
But if you’re not actively evolving, you’re falling behind.
The Illusion Of Progress
Most firms aren’t lacking technology They’re just underutilizing it.
We’ve seen this pattern across the industry. A firm invests in powerful platforms, often customizing them for their exact needs. But once those initial configurations are in place, the updates stop. The processes harden. The team falls into habit. Slowly, the firm becomes less responsive, less efficient and more vulnerable to competitors who are continuing to enhance the way they use the tools they already own.
Technology doesn’t slow down. But firms often do.
A Real Story: From Chaos To Clarity
I’ve helped numerous companies scale their business, and I’ve seen firsthand the cost of staying comfortable. In one case, we worked with a firm whose billing operations had become a maze of inefficiencies. They had more than 200 different fee schedules in place — each built around one-off deals, sales-driven exceptions or legacy client structures that no one had challenged in years.
The operational burden was staggering. Billing timelines stretched over a month. Processes were inconsistent, manual and prone to errors. And worst of all, no one had the time or clarity to fix it. The refrain was familiar: “It’s working … enough.”
But “enough” was holding them back.
We partnered with the team to redesign the entire billing operation. That meant downsizing from over 200 fee schedules to under 30. It wasn’t an overnight fix – it took multiple quarters of planning, development and testing. We piloted new workflows, aligned stakeholders and iterated until the system could scale.
The result? We cut the time spent on advisory fee billing by over four times.
But beyond speed, implanting changes also created capacity, reduced risk and improved the client experience. The operations team could now focus on strategic tasks instead of cleaning up spreadsheet errors. Advisors had consistent pricing models they could explain and defend. And leadership had data they could trust.
That transformation didn’t come from buying new technology. It came from challenging old assumptions.
“Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken” Is A Trap
The biggest operational problems don’t always start with bad decisions. Often, they start with outdated ones.
One common pattern we see is firms building an operational process around a specific sales feature. Maybe it’s a special billing setup for a single client, or a workaround created to accommodate a legacy product. Over time, these one-off choices accumulate. Instead of rethinking the foundation, the firm builds around it, layering exceptions, band-aids and manual steps onto what was already fragile.
Instead of rethinking the foundation, the firm builds around it.
Eventually, these decisions create drag. Operations slow down. Errors creep in. Teams burn out. But because everything technically works, no one speaks up.
This is how a firm falls behind, quietly, gradually and often invisibly.
Technology Alone Doesn’t Drive Efficiency. Process Does.
One of the biggest misconceptions in financial services is that buying a new tool will magically create operational efficiency. In reality, your technology is only as effective as the processes wrapped around it.
You can have the most powerful CRM, billing engine or planning tool on the market, but if your team is still relying on 2015 workflows, you’re leaving value on the table.
We’ve seen firms spend tens of thousands of dollars on new platforms, only to recreate the exact same manual processes inside a shinier interface. They’re stuck – not because they chose the wrong tool, but because they never adapted their thinking.
Modernization Is Not Optional. It’s Strategic.
Client expectations have shifted, competition has intensified and compliance requirements have increased. The firms that are thriving aren’t just tech-enabled; they’re agile.
They regularly ask: “Are we using the latest features our platforms offer?” “Which manual tasks could be eliminated today?” “What bottlenecks are slowing down our client experience?” “Are our internal processes designed for scale or survival?”
They treat operations as a growth driver, not just a cost center.
They treat operations as a growth driver, not just a cost center. They create space for their teams to rethink, test and refine. And most importantly, they never assume that what worked yesterday is good enough for tomorrow.
How To Start Challenging The Status Quo
You don’t need to rebuild your entire firm to start making progress. But you do need to commit to momentum. Here are a few ways to start:
Conduct a process audit. Identify areas where workflows haven’t changed in over a year. Ask: “Are they still serving us well, or are they just familiar?”
Assign tech champions. Give someone ownership over each platform to track updates, test new features and educate the team.
Review metrics that matter. Look at billing timelines, client onboarding speed and NIGO (not in good order) rates. These are leading indicators of operational health.
Create a culture of iteration. Celebrate teams who challenge old assumptions. Encourage pilots and experiments. Build time for reflection into your quarterly rhythms.
Build time for reflection into your quarterly rhythms.
Simplify when possible. Complexity compounds over time. Look for opportunities to standardize, consolidate and eliminate friction.
Consistent Evolution Trumps Early Adoption
The firms that win in this next era of financial services will not be the ones who adopted technology the earliest. They’ll be the ones who continuously evolve with it.
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken” may have served you well in the past. But in today’s environment, it’s a mindset that could cost you time, talent and trust.
It’s time to challenge the status quo, not because it’s failing, but because you can do better.
And better is where the future lives.
Randy Lambert is Head of RIA Solutions at Intention.ly.
