Look beyond adviser-focused technology to improve productivity

It turns out that advisers can successfully organize their practices and improve their own productivity without relying exclusively on software programs designed specifically with them in mind.

A number of options offer helpful apps and websites, but are largely untouched by advisers because the marketing isn’t aimed directly at them. Here’s a rundown of some such tools.

For those looking for simple ways to efficiently map out to-do lists, there is Trello.

Chris Benson, a financial adviser with L.K. Benson & Company, who tries all sorts of apps when they come out, said he was in need of a prioritization program when he came upon Trello. He now uses it to manage his tasks.

Trello has a visual chart design that lets users drag and drop tasks from one project to another. It offers a free version, as well as an upgraded business version for $3.75 per user per month when paid annually. Advisers who want to use the program with colleagues can invite other members to manage message boards and projects and control who sees what. Users can export data in two file formats, CSV and JSON.

“We had a CRM, but I felt like I wasn’t able to track things as I wanted to do,” Mr. Benson said. “This is visual and intuitive.”

Jumping into new apps and websites tends to be uncommon with financial advisers, he said, who more often than not take a wait-and-see attitude with just-released technology.

“Most advisers stick to what they know,” Mr. Benson said. “But I think advisers are missing out on a lot of great software if they do that.”

To improve communication with colleagues, advisers may want to try out Slack.

The app can help a firm’s workflow run smoothly, with an internal communications system that allows colleagues to search through past conversations. It has four tiers of pricing:
• A free version that comes with 10,000 searchable messages.
• A standard version for $8 a month that comes with an unlimited searchable archive, integrations and simple usage statistics.
• A plus version for $15 a month that comes with the standard functionalities, as well as compliance exports and single sign-on.
• An enterprise version, coming this year for $48 a month, that includes all of the plus version’s features, as well as organization-wide security, reporting and analytics.

While there is industry-specific software for advisers, programs like Trello and Slack shouldn’t be ignored.

“The industry is woefully behind on technology,” said Steve Lockshin, a principal at advisory firm AdvicePeriod. “Without a doubt, the investment advisory industry is a very narrow industry, but there are tools that are widely accepted across lots of industries. Slack and Trello are two examples.”

Mr. Lockshin said his firm uses both.

To boost the efficiency of sifting through documents, Box.com is worth a try.

Julie Schatz, a financial adviser with Investor’s Capital Management, said that before she used Box.com, a document-filing system, her documents were all over the place. The program has four pricing tiers:
• A free version for one user with 10 to 100 GB of storage.
• A starter version for $5 per user per month with a maximum of 10 users and 100 GB of storage.
• A business version for $15 a month per user with a minimum of three users and unlimited storage.
• An enterprise version, with a customized feature set and pricing.

The more advanced versions have file locking, document history and permission-access capabilities as well.

For Ms. Schatz, Box.com helped to scale back the repeated documents and other clutter throughout her servers and computers.

“There’s time-savings in having everything in one place and not living in three places,” she said.

Her advice to fellow advisers: Figure out what causes the most stress in managing your practice, and attack it.

“It’s wherever your pain point is,” Ms. Schatz said. “Where do you waste the most time?”