How financial advisors can get the most out of scheduling

The rise of robo-advisors and online financial sites make it easy for clients to source unbiased recommendations without a middle man. Financial advisors are still a trusted source of information. The advantage you have over online sources are the long-standing relationships you build with your clients. When it comes to financial planning, face-to-face meetings are the norm. Online scheduling eliminates the back and forth and allows clients to schedule meetings with you quickly and conveniently. 

Our online scheduling software was designed with the heavily-regulated financial services industry in mind. We’ve outlined the most important features your software needs to have.

Important scheduling features for financial advisors

BCC on customer emails 

For regulatory purposes, financial advisors must keep a record of all customer communication, including correspondence relating to scheduling.

In the Settings section of your OnceHub Account, you will see an option called Compliance BCC emails. This will automatically forward a copy of all outgoing customer notifications to a designated email address for your records.

Two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication adds a very important layer of security to your account by sending a code to your phone every time you sign in. This feature is required by most financial advisors and larger firms, as well as the New York DFS and other regulatory bodies.

Security and compliance

The financial services industry is a highly regulated industry, which is why we take security and compliance very seriously.

In the Security section of your OnceHub account, you can:

• Set password policies 
• Set up account lockout policies 
• Set a session timeout policy 

Visit the OnceHub Trust Center to view our security, privacy and compliance information.

Infrastructure

Our scheduling software integrates with all the major calendars, including Exchange. Each user can log in with their own credentials (email and password) or connect via a corporate account operated from one delegated mailbox. This option provides you with complete organizational control. 

Web conferencing integration 

Many clients prefer to meet with their financial advisor online, not at the office. It is imperative that your online scheduling software integrates with all major web conferencing systems, such as Zoom, GoToMeeting, and WebEx. 

Booking with approval

Automatic bookings made by your client are added to your calendar without any input needed. Booking with approval mode gives you more control. When your client makes a booking, they will need to suggest one or more time slots. You can review these suggestions and either approve or decline them.

Customer guests

If a client wants to invite a guest to a meeting (such as a spouse), they can add extra attendees on the booking form. All customer guests will be sent an email notification with the meeting details.

Multiple Event types

OnceHub scheduling software caters for different types of meetings, which can be set up as event types during setup. For financial advisors, multiple event types can include: 

• Intake meetings
• Quarterly reviews
• Check-in calls

Virtual and face-to-face options

You can also select how you would like your meetings to take place, such as:

• Phone call
• Video call
• In the office

Multiple locations

If you have offices in different cities, your clients can choose the office closest to their location. You can specify all required locations during setup.

Panels

Panel meetings are created when more than one financial adviser will be attending a client meeting. This can be set up as an Event type with a primary member and additional guests. 

Rooms and resources

This feature automatically reserves a conference room for meetings taking place in an office. Simply add meeting rooms to your resource pool during set-up.

Scheduling automations and integrations for financial advisors 

OnceHub can integrate with multiple third-party apps and platforms. Read a case study about how we successfully integrate with Zapier here. 

The way people access financial information may have changed, but the importance of the financial advisor remains the same. We’ve shown you how online scheduling can help you serve your clients better and keep your business relevant in an increasingly automated world.

To learn more about this topic, watch our webinar below:

Read part two in this series, Scheduling Scenarios For Financial Advisors.