Author Archives: Becca Perkins

Comprehensive, modern, and intuitive, the new Client Portal does more than enhance the client experience: it seamlessly places you at the center of your clients’ financial well-being. It allows your clients to view financial planning and portfolio data side-by-side, helping to draw the valuable connection between progress toward goals and investment strategy.

Many Orion advisors have already made the switch to the new Client Portal experience and have had some great questions along the way. We want to set you and your clients up for a smooth transition and top notch client experience. We’ve compiled the top questions we get about transitioning to the new Client Portal, so that you can be confident in your tech and provide your clients with a best-in-class experience.  

What do my clients need to do to switch?

Client experience is paramount to advisors and us at Orion, so we put in the work to ensure switching to the new Client Portal would be as smooth as possible for your clients. It’s actually as easy as flipping a switch. When you give us the word that you want to switch to the new Client Portal, our team will put a redirect in place and flip a switch. Your clients will use the same URL and same Client Portal login for the new experience. Plus, all their investment data, documents, and account balances will be there waiting for them in this sleek new experience.

How much work goes into setting up the new Portal?

Like we said earlier, it’s as easy as us flipping a switch for you! If you’re picturing a guy in a big control room full of switches, blinking lights and beeping, you’re absolutely spot on. Jokes aside, we do the background work so that most of your data is pulled into the new Client Portal. We even pull over your color theme so it’s already set up. You can preview what your client’s experience in the Portal will be like before you share it with them. Taking it one step further, we’ve also put together communications that you can share with clients about the New Client Portal, including an email and fact sheet, and a customizable marketing video. 

If I’m not ready to dive in, can I test it out?

Change can be scary, especially when you’re making a change for your clients, as well as yourself. So if you’re not ready to dive head first into the new Client Portal experience, we’ve made it possible to dip your toes into the experience first. Our team can help you test out the new Client Portal with a small group of clients, while you still maintain the Legacy Client Portal for your other clients. Once you’ve had some time to test out the new experience, you can let our team know when you’re ready to flip the switch to get all of your clients into the new experience.

What if I’m already using another financial planning tool?

If you are already using a financial planning tool such as eMoney or MoneyGuidePro, the good news is both of these tools integrate with the New Client Portal. Using Orion’s financial planning tool, Orion Planning, does offer the best experience though, providing more integrations and features. Orion Planning is available to Orion clients at no additional cost, so if you did want to test out the tool, you can keep some clients on MGP or eMoney, and test out Orion Planning with a smaller group of clients. 

What’s this about an app? 

The rumors are true, we’ve got a best-in-class mobile app coming for the new Client Portal! This app is still being tested before we officially release it, but we will be sure to let you know when it’s ready in a few months. Using this new app will require that your firm be set up in the new Client Portal first, so we recommend making the switch now so that you can be among the first to get the app!

Get a demo of the Client Portal here.

Let’s Get Started! Get connected with our team to start making the switch to the new Client Portal. Not yet working with Orion? Let’s talk!

1139-OAT-04/05/2021

The most powerful tool is just a tool if you don’t know how to use it. But on the other hand, the most powerful tool can be a total game-changer when you know how to use it to its fullest potential. 

That’s why support is so important to us at Orion. We want to make sure you are equipped to get the most out of your Orion tech. While many other tech providers might have extra costs for getting help, we provide access to our SME teams, hundreds of knowledge articles, training, and more, all for no extra cost. And we are excited to share that our Support app is getting a makeover, which means getting the help you need will be easier and faster. 

Here are some of the support updates to check out:

A New Look

When you navigate to the Support app from the Orion homescreen, the first thing you will notice is the new look! The support homepage has been reorganized with you in mind. The table of contents features popular topics, which you can click on to get how-to’s, just the facts, settings and definitions, and more for each section. The homepage was set up so you can self-service and quickly find the answers you need, by searching the library of knowledge articles, videos and tutorials, or by submitting a support case. 

Better Case Communication

A support case is your go-to when you need to contact our team after-hours or if you have a complicated issue. Submitting a case starts up a conversation between you and the Orion team. These conversations are housed in the Support app but you will also get email notifications about new responses pertaining to the case so that you never miss a beat. If the messages contain PII, you will need to open the Support app to read the message, but you will also get an email notification that you have a new message to read in the app. These enhanced communication features ensure that you stay in the loop to get your questions answered faster. 

New Levels of Access

To promote collaboration and efficiency on your team, rep-level advisors on your team now have access to some of the features of the support app, including our helpful support articles and tutorials. This access will automatically be turned on and can be controlled in the user profile for each of your reps. 

Contact Us from Anywhere

There’s no need to pause what you are working on to get help! Click on the “Contact Us” menu to chat or call our SME teams to get answers quickly. This menu can be accessed from anywhere in Orion. You can also use the “Assist Me” button to get quick access to the Orion Support app. 

Want to learn more about the Orion Support app? Check out our video!

Not working with Orion yet? Get a demo of our Support app and more!

3322-OAS-12/11/2020

As National Financial Planning month comes to a close, we thought of no better way to celebrate than by hearing from our Financial Planning team here at Orion! We asked this talented team for their best financial planning tips, and we encourage you to take a look and pass them on to your clients!

Tip 1: Small Changes Lead to Big Successes

“My tip, particularly for younger investors, is to remember that financial planning is a marathon, not a sprint. Small changes in the short run can lead to large successes in the long run. 

Look at your employer’s 401(k) plan. Do they offer an automatic yearly contribution increase? Instead of putting in a flat 5% year after year, you may have the option to automatically increase your contributions by 1% each year. So you may start with 5% in year one, but then bump to 6%, 7%, and so on. As your salary increases you most likely won’t notice the larger percentage of your income going to 401(k) contributions, but you’ll be saving a little more each year. This small change, which can most likely be done online and should only take a few minutes, may help your 401(k) grow much faster.” – Spencer Fleming, FPQP^TM, Financial Planning SME

Using Orion Planning you can leverage client data to run meaningful simulations, address hypothetical scenarios, and create actionable steps to ensure financial well-being for today—and for the future. 

Tip 2: The Right Time is Anytime

“It’s never too early or too late to start planning for retirement but the sooner you start the better. Scenario 1: Assuming a 5% rate of return if you save $1,000 a year for 10 years you have $13,207 at the end of year 10. Scenario 2: You save $10,000 10 years from now. You only have $10,000 at the end of year 10. Both scenarios cost you $10,000 out of pocket but in scenario 1 you end up with an extra $3,207 because you started earlier and because of the power of compounding.” -Randon Lester, CPA, CFP^®, Manager of SME Financial Planning Team

Show your clients how easy it is to start planning with Orion’s quick and easy workflows that gather the necessary information that you need to create dynamic plans. 

Tip 3: The Key to Client Success 

“Allowing clients to see and understand their overall net worth visually, along with having a detailed budget are key to a client’s success. These two things working together help shape the client’s spending habits and allows them to see that if I do this I can decrease my liabilities and if I do this I can increase my assets, which of course has an overwhelmingly positive impact on their long term financial plan.” -TJ Maher, CFP^®, ChFC^®, Product Director of Financial Planning

Create reports in Orion Planning to dig deeper into your clients’ financial health and future goals and set the stage to discuss saving and distribution strategies.

Tip 4: Don’t Set It and Forget It

“Once you have a Financial Plan in place, it isn’t something you can set and forget. No one has a crystal ball so it’s hard to predict how our lives will change over time and it’s impossible to predict variables we can’t control like the markets and tax laws. It is important to revisit your plan at least annually to make sure you’re still on track to meet your goals.” -Brian Morgan, CFP^®, Product Director of Financial Planning

Keep your clients engaged in their finances with our sleek new Client Portal, which houses all of their information in one place.

That’s a wrap on Financial Planning month! We hope you are able to take these tips and ideas and apply them to your business so you can have a strong close to 2020. Check out our webinar to see how you can put these tips into action with Orion Planning. And if you’re not an Orion client yet, what are you waiting for?! We’d love to show you around with a demo. 

 2843-OAS-10/30/2020

Does it feel like just yesterday that you finished up the Q2 billing? As summer came to a close, the end of Q3 snuck up on us and that means it’s time to think about billing again. We know that billing can be a manual and time-consuming process that takes away from the other tasks that you enjoy, like interacting with your clients to help them reach their financial goals. So let’s go over some tips and tricks to save some time with these billing tasks.

Use the Best (and Most Accurate) Billing Method

There are many options to consider when it comes to billing, such as whether you do it in arrears or advance, use period end or average daily balance, among other considerations. And at Orion, our tech supports every which way you’d like to run your bills, but ultimately, we recommend billing in arrears (bill for past months) using the average daily balance (bill on average amount in account over a period of time) as this methodology is the most accurate and is more consistent for your clients (more on this here). This method also saves you a few days of work! Orion advisors who use the average daily balance method versus period ending completed their billing process 4 to 7 days faster.

Tip to Takeaway: Follow our best practices by billing in arrears and using the average daily balance to save time and bill more accurately.  

It’s Never Too Early to Peer Into the Future

Let Orion’s Bill Generator App provide you with a snapshot into what future months hold. A projection of your upcoming bills can help you estimate your upcoming revenue and ensure your fees are calculating as expected. We recommend that you run a forecast bill at least once a week before running the live bills. This not only gives you time to audit the fees, but allows you to also test out any changes you may want to make to your billing to things such as billing settings, new accounts, adjustments, and more.

 Tip to Takeaway: Run a forecast bill at least once a week before running the live bills so that you can double check your numbers, test changes, and avoid surprises. 

Worry Less with Secure Payment Options

You want to get paid, so let’s make it easy for your clients to pay you! Give your clients the flexibility to pay in a manner that best suits them. Through our integration with BluePay, your clients can pay directly using ACH or credit card. In the virtual world of 2020, security is a top priority so that we can make sure that both you and your clients feel secure. With additional security measures on the platform, such as CAPTCHA, you can rest assured that sensitive information is safe. 

Tip to Takeaway: Leverage Orion’s integration with BluePay for additional security, to save time, and to give your clients a better payment experience.

Save Time with Helpful Integrations

The days of having to open multiple tabs and logging in and out of different systems are over thanks to the seamless integrations within Orion. Upload your custodian management fees faster with our billing integrations, which create a shortcut so that you can import custodian fee files directly from the custodian’s portal into Orion. Your fee statements can also be customized to the standards of each custodian that you work with. 

Tip to Takeaway: Take advantage of the integrations within Orion to cut down on the time it takes for custodian billing. 

Ready to get paid faster this quarter? Check out our Quarter End Billing webinar to learn more and see the tool live in action. And as always, our team is ready to answer your questions about billing processes in Orion Connect, so contact our billing subject matter experts here!

Not already an Orion client? Let us show you our billing tools in action! Sign up for a demo today. 

2330-OAS-09/04/2020

In the virtual world of 2020, communication is more important than ever before to maintain relationships and grow businesses. Trading in those valuable face-to-face meetings and conversations for emails, messages, and video chats has come with a learning curve for many of us. Luckily, the tech we use has been rising to the occasion to facilitate deeper connections with our clients and continued growth for our businesses.  

Your Orion tech is no exception. We are excited to introduce the Client Portal Newsfeed, giving you another line of communication with your clients. Read on to learn about the features of this new release. 

What is the Newsfeed?

Coming on September 28, the Newsfeed will be in the sidebar of the new Client Portal, as shown in the screenshot below. You can use the Newsfeed for any communications such as links to quarterly statement uploads, event-based notifications, custom RSS feeds, video market commentary, and more. Clients will see the Newsfeed on the homescreen after they log in, ensuring your posts are one of the first things they see. 

Elements of a Newsfeed Post 

We developed the Newsfeed with flexibility in mind, so that you can manage your feed and content in a manner best suited for you. The following features are available when creating a Newsfeed post:

• Get your main point across – write the message you would like to post and add any supporting links. Keep it short and simple. 
• Determine your audience – send the post to all of your clients or target specific individuals. The more you can customize your message to your audience, the better.
• Choose the best time– select whether you would like your Newsfeed post to publish now, or set it to go live on a later date. Try to post during times when you know your clients are online.
• Save it for later– save a draft for when you are still editing and want to come back to it later. WFH distractions? Save a draft and come back later with fresh eyes. 
• Keep your content fresh – use the custom RSS feed functionality to bring in the latest updates from a news site, blog, or other relevant source. 

In addition to writing your own posts that will show up in the Newsfeed, posts will automatically publish to the Newsfeed when you upload a new statement to the Client Portal and when a new event-based notification is added. 

How Do I Get Started?

To control the newsfeed posts, head to the Client Experience app. This is where you will create new posts and remove current posts, if needed. Ensure that you have access to the Client Experience app by enabling it in the Manager Users app, under the Role tab. The Newsfeed will not appear on the Client Portal homepage until your first post has been created. 

Learn more about the Newsfeed feature in the Client Experience App Overview document from the Orion Support team.

Not working with Orion yet? Sign up for a demo here.

2463-OAS-09/24/2020