Heartland is an active manager, seeking out those few companies from the broad market they believe fit the criteria of its investment discipline, embodied in Heartland’s Ten Principles of Value Investing™. This discipline is grounded in rigorous fundamental analysis, and has been exercised for over a quarter century. Each stock Heartland is potentially interested in is subject to a thorough review of multiple variables, resulting in a rich legacy of information and understanding of thousands of individual securities. This legacy also results in many pages of information and data!

In addition to research, the Firm has built a substantial file of client related material, going back to the Firm’s inception.

By 2010, decades of paper records had accumulated—much of which, for compliance purposes, required locked cabinets. “Any time we had a company visit, analyst research notes, quarterly company earnings reports, news articles or anything impacting an active company, paper was placed in a general location for administrators to file manually,” explains Mike Riggs, Senior Vice President and CTO of Heartland.

The pile of paper accumulated weekly and could require full days of filing by administrative staff. “We’d already gone through the 20 years’ worth of research, but we were still looking at 1,600 active companies for which we needed to maintain records,” he adds.

The Challenge

While the Firm had a fully developed and tested disaster recovery process for its mission-critical electronic information system, there were limited procedures in place for its paper-based stored files. “Both systems maintained single copy masters which took a large amount of floor and file cabinet space—and a lot of manual paper filing,” Riggs says. “We actually had a legacy scan-and-file system that was not being used because it added to the work load of users.”

Riggs led the Firm on a search for a more comprehensive electronic content management (ECM) system with two directives in mind—function and friendliness. As Riggs puts it, “We needed an intelligent forms processing system where we could develop a forms library to identify and process client-related paperwork, but it also had to be user-friendly.”

The Solution

In 2010, the Firm acquired a Laserfiche ECM system and began an extensive backfile conversion project using Laserfiche Quick Fields for advanced document capture. “For our client filing system, we were able to back scan all of our legacy files into Laserfiche according to form type and then organize the data according to client account code,” Riggs says. Using the Affinity integration tool, the Firm linked its CRM system to the digitized files in the Laserfiche repository using the client access code.

In the past, a sales administration representative would have to leave the phone call or schedule a call back with a client, go to the file cabinet and check out the file data. Now, with online access to the system, they can stay on the call and pull up client data using the shared client access code right from the CRM interface.

At the same time, Riggs notes, the flexibility of Laserfiche allowed him to grant remote, read-only access to staff who need to view files offsite for client servicing issues. “We have only one office but several executives who spend time at remote locations. Laserfiche gives them the opportunity to retrieve files when connected to their computers via a remote session.”

The process that saw the most operational improvement, however, was research. “We used Quick Fields to back scan our rich legacy of stock research, and we used Workflow to develop a way for research and portfolio managers to file directly to the Laserfiche repository,” Riggs says.

Here’s how it works:

• By utilizing a research template, analysts can drop files into a Workflow starting rule folder to kick off the template to select the research media type.
• Workflow then routes it to the proper security and media filing type.
• The workflow will run an SQL query to match the template security with an in-house security holding system to identify the full company name to place on file and route it to the proper Laserfiche research file folder.

“Now compliance, analysts and portfolio managers have ready access to research wherever they are, on-site and remote.”

Going with the Workflow

Heartland is now using Laserfiche and Workflow to deploy an accounts payable processing system that will scan in invoices from vendors, have operations staff identify cost centers and allocations, and then route them to department managers for approval. After the approval is routed back to the operation admin, it will then be posted directly into the accounting system for check processing.

Likewise, Riggs is also using Workflow to develop an automated system for approving marketing material that will handle markup and approval from multiple team members, as the content needs to be monitored for FINRA and SEC guidelines. “It’s a very time and paper intensive process that requires group participation,” Riggs says.

More recently, the Firm upgraded to a Laserfiche Rio enterprise system. “This allows us to have multiple Laserfiche servers, which means we have a mirrored Laserfiche server environment running at our disaster recovery site pointing to a backup copy of our production repository that is replicated to the disaster recovery site daily.” Riggs says he’s also looking forward to deploying Laserfiche Mobile to enable Heartland staff to use iPads to access data securely via Web Access.

By using Laserfiche ECM, the Firm is confident it will achieve its goal of limiting paperwork. Says Riggs, “We hope to build custom Web forms to avoid paper-based system processes that pop up as people develop templates for a variety of management tasks.”

Using benchmark data from recent industry studies prepared by Nexus Strategy, Moss Adams and the 2011 InvestmentNews RIA Technology Study, the ROI for RIAs white paper calculates how RIA firms using ECM technologies can increase profitability by 64.1% to 125.6%.

The paper provides best practices implemented by successful firms and real-world examples to outline significant ECM benefits, including:

• Reduced paper storage costs.
• Automation of back-office processes for increased efficiency.
• Integration with CRM software for increased productivity.
• Simplified compliance.

Download the guide today!

“With Laserfiche’s 25-year history and experience with over 30,000 installations worldwide, we were able to conservatively approximate the savings associated with using ECM to ‘go paperless’ and automate document-related processes,” said Tim Welsh, CFP, Senior Consultant at Laserfiche. “In total, firms that use ECM can increase profitability by 64.1% to 125.6%.”

Table 1: Summary of Staff and Cost Savings by Firm Size

In particular, firms that embrace ECM realize five major benefits:

• Reduced paper storage costs.
• Automation of back-office processes for increased efficiency.
• Integration with CRM software for increased productivity.
• Simplified compliance.
• Increased business valuation.

“For a relatively small investment in ECM software, RIAs can make a powerful improvement in today’s income as well as tomorrow’s long-term business value,” said Welsh.

The paper, “ROI for RIAs,” is available for free at the Laserfiche booth (#335) and Website.

About Laserfiche
Since 1987, Laserfiche® has used its Run Smarter® philosophy to create simple and elegant enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. More than 30,000 organizations worldwide—including federal, state and local government agencies and Fortune 1000 companies—use Laserfiche software to streamline document, records and business process management.

The 2011 InvestmentNews RIA Technology Study revealed that top performers who integrate CRM with ECM reap higher rewards from their technology spend. Laserfiche makes integration easy by providing out-of-the-box ECM integrations with CRM systems like Junxure, Salesforce.com, Tamarac, Microsoft CRM, Redtail and ACT!

“As the top ECM provider in the RIA space, Laserfiche is dedicated to supporting the CRM systems our customers rely on,” said Tim Welsh, Senior Consultant at Laserfiche. “By accessing documents stored in Laserfiche through their CRM systems, advisors can instantly respond to client queries, increasing productivity and profitability.”

Welsh will participate in “21st Century Document Management,” a panel discussion on Saturday, October 15, at 10:55 am in the Dearborn Room to explore how to build greater practice efficiency using integrated mobile, cloud and social media capture strategies.

Laserfiche will be on hand at booth #203/205 to demonstrate its enterprise content management (ECM) software solutions—including its new iPhone app, Laserfiche Mobile™—and give out an overview of the 2011 InvestmentNews RIA Technology Study.

About Laserfiche
Since 1987, Laserfiche® has used its Run Smarter® philosophy to create simple and elegant enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. More than 30,000 organizations worldwide—including federal, state and local government agencies and Fortune 1000 companies—use Laserfiche software to streamline document, records and business process management.

The Laserfiche ECM system gives financial advisors the ability to simplify regulatory compliance, improve profitability and limit exposure to civil and criminal liability. It allows advisors to prepare for audits more easily and ensure compliance with multiple state, SEC and FINRA regulations—all while accelerating business processes and making staff more efficient.

Laserfiche®, Run Smarter® and Compulink® are registered trademarks of Compulink Management Center, Inc.

Implementing ahead of inclement weather

Meyer says the move toward ECM was a proactive one. “For us, it was the general idea that we could increase efficiency by saving time and money while continuing to improve client service that first got us interested in an ECM. Also, the disaster recovery aspect really attracted us.”

As both an advisor and the firm’s IT Manager, Meyer brought a unique perspective to the search for an ECM. “Naturally, being in the financial services industry, auditing, security and compliance were simply ‘must haves.’ After that, flexibility and scalability were important to us in an ECM—we wanted a system that could grow with us over time as our business evolved,” he says.

The firm looked at several ECM solutions, including cloud-based options, before deciding on Laserfiche. “Laserfiche was the most feature-rich of the solutions we looked at in terms of the comprehensive functionality it offered,” he recalls. “Quick Fields, Bar Code Plug-In, Zone OCR, Audit Trail, Workflow—these were all appealing because they either directly or indirectly addressed our ‘must haves,’” he says. At the same time, Meyer continues, Laserfiche would improve day-to-day operations. “We wanted to reduce costs, and we found from talking to other firms using Laserfiche and reading about the software that, first, Laserfiche saves time—employees spend less time searching for documents. Second, it saves on paper and printing costs; and third, it saves on storage costs of client files and other documents.”

Last, but not least, Meyer adds, Laserfiche is a name synonymous with ECM in the financial services industry. “Having a tried-and-true, trusted name in document management was important to us as well,” he says. “The system was already approved by our broker dealer, Commonwealth Financial Network, which was also a plus.”

Laserfiche’s impact was felt not long after implementation. “The savings in time and paper realized after just one quarter was significant,” Meyer recalls. “We used to scan a copy of each quarterly report to a PDF using a multi-function copy machine (MFP). Someone would have to manually rename and file each report. At that time, we also kept a duplicate copy on file. Using Quick Fields and the Bar Code Plug-In, we were able to scan all of our reports and have them renamed and filed instantly. We also eliminated the need to keep a physical copy.”

Soon, hundreds of client files dating back to 1985 were scanned into Laserfiche, eliminating the need for several bookshelves and filing cabinets. While Meyer admits it was “a paradigm shift” for some employees to move from a paper-based system to a paperless one, after they experienced how they could literally file things automatically and then find them instantly, they embraced the concept completely. The transition brought peace of mind—and cost savings.

“There’s a reassurance in knowing that all of our important documents are stored electronically and backed up off-site, ensuring access to the data even if something were to happen to our office,” Meyer says, adding, “employees now have the option of accessing documents remotely [over Fure’s secured network], so they can work from anywhere.”

A key component to true enterprise consolidation of the firm’s information was working with reseller Cities Digital to integrate Laserfiche with CRM solution Junxure. “Before Laserfiche, we used to have some digital files in the CRM, some paper documents in a large client file and some documents in different filing cabinets; it was very disjointed,” he recalls. “Now, with the two systems integrated, we have one centralized location for statements, account paperwork, estate plans, correspondence and all relevant material related to a client.”

Automating compliance with Workflow

In addition, Laserfiche Workflow automates several business processes—chief among them logging client letters for compliance review. “We no longer need to make copies, depend on a person to manually log each letter, compile all letters into a binder for review and signatures or fax the letters every week,” Meyer says of the familiar process. “We used to create three copies of every single client letter we sent out. Now, we simply scan one copy right at our MFP, which Laserfiche Import Agent OCRs and applies metadata to before moving it into Laserfiche.”

Then, Workflow renames the document and applies the correct metadata by referencing Fure’s Junxure SQL database. The document is then routed to the correct folders automatically, which a Fure senior advisor is then able to review and sign—all electronically. “Once the workflow is completed, it even e-mails the signed document to Commonwealth’s compliance department,” Meyer adds. “Import Agent and Workflow, with some custom scripts built by Cities Digital and an electronic signature pad, have taken that process completely paperless with one touch of the button on our MFP.”

Audit preparation has likewise benefitted from the centralization and automation—utilizing functionality as simple as a robust search and as comprehensive as Audit Trail. “Laserfiche allows us to pull the necessary documents together for an auditor extremely quickly instead of going through file cabinets,” Meyer says. “The security and auditing of documents is also important as we are able to prove the integrity of our documents; any activity or change with a document is right there.”

The Laserfiche advantage: weather-proofed is ‘future-proofed’

For a family-oriented firm like Fure, the little improvements add up as well. “We can train new hires much more quickly—the system is that intuitive. We’re not having to give tours of file drawers or a bank of cabinets anymore.”

Meyer says he can recommend Laserfiche on two levels: “From an IT standpoint, the program is very easy to administer, and the flexibility of Laserfiche and the highly customizable security options allowed me to tailor the program to fit our needs as far as setting up template fields, adding users and ensuring compliance,” he says. “From a user standpoint, Laserfiche allows our financial planning team to access client documents and pinpoint what we need, when we need it, which translates into more time spent with clients and generating revenue and less time on tracking things down. That’s the real benefit—the reclaimed time and effort.”

Still, for all the operational benefits he can identify, Meyer credits the long-term value of Laserfiche to fitting so well with the firm’s holistic business philosophy. “Having a powerful ECM system like Laserfiche allows our business to adjust to the changing environment that many small businesses in any industry face,” he says.

“The more agile and flexible your technology system can be, the more ‘future-proofed’ you can become,” Meyer adds. “While it’s very hard to predict exactly where compliance, government regulations, clients’ needs and technology will be in the future, Laserfiche allows us to prepare as much as possible. Staying on course, no matter which way the wind blows, means having to adapt as conditions change without compromising on the final destination.”

“In our view, we had no choice as to whether to go paperless. You must go paperless if you want to survive and thrive in the financial planning industry,” he adds.

“We were becoming buried in paper, running out of space and spending valuable time looking for missing files. And as our investment business grew, our paper mushroomed, due to trade confirmations and quarterly investment statements. When our broker-dealer conducted our annual audit in 2004, it took a long time to find required forms. That’s when we knew we had to make changes,” Woodard remembers.

At Texas Christian University’s annual student job fair, Woodard was manning a booth when he ran into a local Laserfiche reseller.

“I had looked at several systems,” Woodard says, “but Laserfiche offered us the greatest flexibility to work like we always had, only using electronic files instead of paper. Laserfiche used TIFF files instead of proprietary file formats and used SQL as its underlying database, which gave us the ability to move our data to a different system later if we needed to. Also, the SQL platform is scalable as our electronic storage needs grow.”

Woodard Insurance purchased Laserfiche software and installed it immediately. Transition to the new system was relatively quick, given that there was an existing document management system in place, just not a digital one. Client securities files had been moved from paper file folders to three-ring binders with topical dividers and, when it came time to implement a digital solution, this interim step made the process much easier.

Where the old paper files were in strict chronological order, the topical divisions in the client binders made organizing Laserfiche’s filing structure much simpler. “We immediately began writing scanning procedures that covered the naming, indexing and location of each document in a binder,” says Woodard. These flexible procedures are updated and refined as employees encounter new situations or better ideas.

Client binders were divided up among employees, who began scanning them into the system. Scanning began in June 2005 and was completed by October. “Well, almost,” laughs Woodard. “The employees gave me one three-ring binder to do all by myself, and it still sits on my desk today.”

He then explains, “On the negative side, it’s that little task I keep procrastinating; on the positive side, the binder reminds me of our old archaic paper-based days and is a physical example of how far we’ve come in less than two years. Within two months, we were realizing great productivity gains, and five months after we began, we were fully benefiting from Laserfiche.”

One of the benefits Woodard noted was the ability to securely protect confidential information from prying eyes. “Since we shred immediately after scanning and auditing, Laserfiche removed highly-sensitive information from any threat of snoopy eyes, such as building cleaning crews, vendors or just nosy office visitors,” he says.

And then there’s the ability to serve clients with less stress. “We can show clients their applications, investment statements, check copies and other documents on our conference room slide screen during our periodic review meetings (which never fails to impress them), discuss the same documents with them when they call in without hunting them down, or we can e-mail them copies of these documents right from Laserfiche,” Woodard notes.

Woodard Insurance currently scans over 2,000 pages a month into their Laserfiche system. “It solves little problems for us daily,” says Woodard. “The biggest problem it solved was in the first few months when we scanned in our securities client binders. We were completely out of space. Now those $1,200 five-shelf binder cabinets are sitting empty. Anybody want to buy them?”

Cosentino founded Financial Foundations in 2001, and by 2006, the firm had doubled in size, with assets under management of $135 million. Although he is the sole owner of Financial Foundations, Cosentino was still aware that digital document management would benefit his firm just as much as a larger one. “In fact, I knew we had to implement an electronic filing system if we were going to continue to grow,” he says.

When Cosentino began looking for a digital document management solution, he consulted his technology advisor. They went to visit other financial advisors using Laserfiche to see how they used the system and how it fit into their existing work processes. All the users he spoke with raved about how easy Laserfiche was to learn and how well it worked with their business, which was crucial. “The fact that so many other financial advisors used Laserfiche was the number one reason I chose it,” he says. “The ease of use and the way it fit into my existing business were definite factors, but seeing how well Laserfiche worked for other financial advisors was really the key.”

At Financial Foundations, nobody misses their old paper-based processes. “It’s not just the ease of finding things, but the ease of putting things in,” Cosentino points out. “Now we scan, shred and toss all our paper. Desks are neater, there’s less clutter, and the piles of paper are completely gone.”

A key concern was not just eliminating paper, but also complying with increasingly strict FINRA and SEC regulations for retention and documentation. “With compliance the way it is, there were up to ten forms per client, and it was out of control,” he says. “The amount of paper is completely prohibitive.”

Financial Foundations is also using Laserfiche for more than just storing client records; their repository also serves as a centralized resource for everything from accounts payable to staff training. “All of our back-office processes are stored in Laserfiche,” he says. “Our staff can use the back-office folder to store information and retrieve the ‘how-to’s’ that will allow them to learn more, including all the processes for what they need to know and how to do it. This is a use I couldn’t have anticipated.”

Since implementing Laserfiche, Financial Foundations has grown, not just in staff, but also in clients. “With Laserfiche’s scalability, we’ll be able to grow more, and even faster,” Cosentino says. “Eventually, I’d like to open a branch office, and Web Access will aid with that. We’ll easily be able to create a centralized resource without duplicating our efforts. We can take advantage of Laserfiche’s connectivity and capabilities to create a centralized repository without the cost of setting it up.”

Back office staff are working so much more efficiently that Cosentino is also looking into buying another advisor’s book of business. “We’ll scan the information into Laserfiche and move it over,” he says. “In this industry, when you take on another advisor’s clients, that means all the applications and account forms too, and you have to have that back-office capability. If you’re going to grow by acquiring other practices, you have to transfer accounts, and without this capability, it would be nearly impossible to do without hiring on a significant number of staff. Laserfiche helps you grow in an easier, more cost-efficient way.”

Cosentino believes that growth will continue to be key for his firm as more and more sole proprietors begin to consider retirement. “Personally, I believe that over the next five, ten, even fifteen years, you’ll see a lot of integration and consolidation, and Laserfiche will aid with that,” he continues.

“There are so many one-person shops out there. They may have between $30-40 million in assets, but they don’t have a succession plan. Laserfiche works well as a succession plan, because the ability to easily transfer data increases the value of your business.”

Cosentino doesn’t doubt the value of Laserfiche to his business. “Absolutely, if you have Laserfiche, your business is worth more. If you don’t have it, tough luck, because clearly, you will have to implement a digital document management solution eventually, just to keep up.

“It may cost me up front, but in the long run, I will be in a better competitive position,” he adds.

For Murphy, his previous experience integrating two large broker-dealers had shown how the right technology ultimately leads to success. “If you want to succeed in this business, you’ve got to get great technology,” he says. “Using technology not only defensively, but offensively, is very near and dear to my heart.”

Murphy and Phillip Fournier, Spire’s Chief Operating Officer, went on the offensive and decided to invest in a document management system. They chose Laserfiche not just to manage paper, but also as a tool to cut costs and increase services—which would eventually help recruit both clients and advisors.

Murphy says that, at first, just the idea of a new system and way of doing things intimidated the firm’s advisors. “How many people have said ‘paperless’ in front of advisors and had them say, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’? That’s where we started,” he admits.

But, once apprehensive advisors, and more importantly, their sales and service assistants, began using Laserfiche and saw how easy and efficient it was, implementation and initial roll-out went smoothly.

National Sales Director Paul Murphy

Murphy credits the training his staff received from the firm’s Laserfiche reseller, One Source/ADI, for easing the implementation process. “I can’t say enough good things about the training. The results are great.” In the 18 months since the firm implemented Laserfiche, Spire has scanned documents from approximately 80% of their offices – with nearly all of their advisors and staff using the system regularly.

“The goal,” says Murphy, “is to apply technology to make work easier. Efficient process flow obviously increases efficiency. If everyone is more efficient, they’re happier. If they’re happier, they’re more productive. If they’re more productive, you’re more profitable.”

With Laserfiche, Murphy immediately noticed that Service Assistants and back office personnel were able to respond to client inquiries much more efficiently. Laserfiche is the way to make them more productive,” says Murphy. “We’re very happy that our staff is better able to process workflow and therefore better able to support our Consultants.”

And the benefits extend to firm staff preparing for audits. Instead of digging through storage boxes and file cabinets for a few days, Spire staff are able to find information in seconds. Laserfiche also helps the firm comply with SEC requirements, as they use Audit Trail to record any and all transactions and communications that take place in the Laserfiche repository.

“We’ve already been through an SEC audit with Laserfiche in place,” says Murphy. “And it was a dream.”

The Power of Recruiting with Technology

In addition to saving filing time and storage space, Spire Investment Partners found a unique way to use Laserfiche: to recruit new advisors. When sitting down with a broker who is considering going independent, Murphy demonstrates Spire’s efficiency with Laserfiche, to everyone’s amazement. “The power of having this technology is just overwhelming. It’s been an absolutely terrific resource for us,” he says.

Murphy adds that having a virtual office capability is a huge recruiting advantage. “It increases the value of your company and makes it that much more attractive.” According to Murphy, the advisors he’s demonstrated Laserfiche for are astounded at how easily it streamlines account opening, compliance review, archiving and regulatory processes. “It means we have a tremendous advantage,” he says. “Laserfiche is yet another way that we differentiate ourselves from our competitors.”

For advisors who are looking to move to the independent space, Murphy points out the advantages smaller firms with Laserfiche have over larger firms, including increased customer service and satisfaction. “Moving assets to the smaller, more nimble, more agile independent space can deliver every investment solution needed,” says Murphy. “ In our case, the client will have access to better, faster, and more updated technology that allows you to run your business better and faster with increased efficiency.”

For advisors who are considering going independent, or for broker-dealers who are investigating the possibilities of technology to enhance services and ultimately recruiting, Murphy suggests taking a look at the white papers and case studies available on the Laserfiche Website. For recruiting, he also suggests highlighting the increased efficiency, increased profitability, and the ease of complying with regulations that Laserfiche brings—and that makes the whole process easier. “Ultimately, it’s a profitable transaction. It’s a modest capital investment over a long-term boost, which also keeps you on the straight and narrow when it comes to regulatory issues.”

Murphy offers a simple conclusion. “You can’t recruit in this day and age without technology.”

Have a headache yet? If not, you probably at least have some sympathy for Rehmann Financial. With 60 associates located throughout Michigan and Florida, the rapidly growing wealth management firm faced a formidable information management challenge. But with Laserfiche document and business process management at the heart of its technology platform, Rehmann Financial has standardized business processes, enabled effortless information exchange and, within just a few months, achieved significant cost savings over their former paper-based business model.

The challenge

Operations Manager Amy Flourry oversees Rehmann’s myriad wealth management efforts. “We’re very diverse, with many different specialists,” she says. “When you put all of us together, you get a lot of different ways of working.”

Rehmann’s kaleidoscopic business interests make it simple for clients to handle all their wealth management needs with one firm—but aren’t so conducive to managing operations cohesively.

“It was difficult to remain consistent,” Flourry continues. “We had local network drives where we could share some information, but they became a huge burden on our IT department to keep making different drives available in different locations.”

As often happens with firms spread out over regional offices, paper-based processes were hampering inter-office communication. “Our compliance department is located at our home office in Lansing [MI],” she explains, “but with staff in other offices, they needed to be able to do audits, review paperwork and perform quality control for multiple locations.”

Rehmann’s advisors also suffered from limitations on the accessibility of information. “Our advisors frequently meet with clients on-site rather than at the office,” she continues. “But regardless of location, they still need access to their client files and our marketing materials.”

Then there was the ubiquitous problem of dwindling storage space. “We’re growing so fast,” remarks Flourry, “and we were adding offices and filing cabinets to maintain our paperwork. Never mind the problems with accessing information—it’s just not cost-effective.”

The choice

Solving a broad-reaching challenge required input from each corner of the organization. So Rehmann assembled a team of administrative, compliance and IT staff, along with advisors of varying technical skill, to develop a detailed feature matrix for potential solutions. The top priorities were integration with Junxure, the firm’s CRM software, ease of use and customizability.

Operations Assistant Katie Rambo, who administers the firm’s numerous software systems, needed a way to centralize all of Rehmann’s information—while working with all of its daily-use applications.

“We have a saying around here,” she notes, “‘If it’s not in Junxure, it didn’t happen.’ So integration with Junxure was very important to us.”

And how did Laserfiche fare in that respect, compared to other solutions Rehmann considered? “Very well,” she laughs.

Laserfiche also stood out for its ease of use. “We knew we’d never be able to obtain buy-in from our staff if the systems weren’t easy to use,” remarks Flourry.

Adds Rambo, “Laserfiche looks and feels a lot like Windows, so we knew it would be familiar to our advisors. That has also made for a smooth transition from paper for our support staff.”

Rehmann was equally comfortable with its Laserfiche reseller, Cities Digital, Inc. “They really know the wealth management industry,” Flourry says, “and that knowledge was very important to us.”

After narrowing down the list of potential software solutions to three, the multi-departmental task force looked at the feature matrix and reached a unanimous conclusion. “We held a group vote,” Flourry says, “and everybody felt like Laserfiche would work best for us.”

The change

With just a few months of Laserfiche use under their belts, Rehmann staff have already made impressive strides. As Flourry puts it, “We have so many different advisors and professional staff and administrative staff, all with different ways of learning and levels of technical expertise. Overall, I’ve been really impressed at how quickly people have gotten used to it.”

Rehmann’s compliance department has seen the most immediate, discernible benefits since installing Laserfiche. As Flourry explains, “They’re now doing audits remotely, whereas before they would have to travel to all the other offices. We’re saving on mileage, hotel costs, time out of the office, meals—a whole laundry list of expenses that we’ve reduced just by using Laserfiche.”

Laserfiche Workflow has also simplified and accelerated client agreement approval. Staff at remote offices immediately scan client agreements into Laserfiche, upon which Workflow routes them for approval. Then it’s on to the OSJ, where they’re electronically signed. Finally, the agreements are routed to the home office. If the agreement is rejected, it enters another workflow for reprocessing. It’s a dramatic improvement from stamps, envelopes and wet signatures, and it’s helped drastically reduce the amount of paper involved in the firm’s operations. “It’s definitely more efficient,” Rambo says. “Instead of sending documents through the mail, everything gets routed through Laserfiche Workflow.“

But what about the thousands of paper client files generated pre-Laserfiche? Flourry and Rambo have cultivated a playful competition between regional offices to encourage back-file conversion. Flourry explains, “We might say to our Troy office, ‘Hey, the Grand Rapids office already has all their client agreements scanned into Laserfiche—are you going to let them beat you like that?’

“We’re incredibly competitive,” she laughs, “but in a good way. A productive way”.

Thanks to this encouragement, and an enterprise-wide enthusiasm for increasing efficiency, Laserfiche has caught on like wildfire among staff. But Laserfiche isn’t just popular with current Rehmann associates. “It’s highly attractive to other firms thinking about merging with us,” Rambo notes, “and to new and prospective staff. They love to see that we have processes and best practices in place, and that we have a progressive stance on implementing new technology.”

Then there’s a less alluring, but equally important benefit—the support of senior management for future technology initiatives. “Once they saw Laserfiche’s cost savings and return on investment,” Flourry says, “they were all over it. They’ve been incredibly supportive of going paperless.”

With their Laserfiche implementation experience fresh in their minds, Flourry and Rambo have a few words of advice to share with other advisory firms considering going paperless.

“At first, it can be a challenge to get people on board with using a new system,” Rambo says. “That’s why you really need to get input from people throughout your office. By bringing in others’ opinions, some really great ideas will emerge.

“Also, be flexible. We approached implementation expecting certain issues, but we ran into a completely different set of problems—not worse, just different.”

Flourry has this to say about taking the paperless plunge: “Just rip the Band-Aid off! The longer you wait to go paperless, the more work it takes. If you can adopt your system early on, when you have a manageable work load, it makes things so much easier.”

And despite Rehmann’s success so far, Flourry admits to having one regret. “I wish we’d done this sooner,” she laments. “If I could do it over again, I would have done this three or four years ago.”

Thanks to their Laserfiche® digital document management system, Wall Street Financial Group has gained new efficiency, reduced overhead and enabled representatives to work more effectively—both at the home office and in the field. Wall Street Financial Group has been using Laserfiche for the past three years, and in that time, has utilized Laserfiche to capture client and working documents to a secure, centralized and searchable repository.

Now, thanks to Laserfiche Web Access™, a Web browser-based document management solution, representative can access, maintain and contribute to that repository just as easily from the field. Given that financial advisors are frequently out of the office meeting with clients, this ability to access and act on information online has greatly increased their productivity.

“Our processing center has recognized a considerable increase in efficiency thanks to Web Access,” says Michael Bewley, Wall Street Financial Group’s CEO. “It’s freed up time for our staff in the home office to focus on handling other aspects of our representatives’ practices.”

Web Access is a true “thin client,” offering virtually all of the document management capabilities of the standard Laserfiche interface. That means representatives can search, retrieve and work on client documents located in the company’s central database from anywhere they have an Internet connection.

“The burden of maintaining a paper-based client file has been lifted from the reps,” says Bewley. “Whether meeting at a client’s home, or in the rep’s office, the necessary documents are right at their fingertips.”

Advisors can now scan paper documents into the Laserfiche repository as soon as they generate them, in most cases eliminating the need to mail documents back to the home office. Most importantly, representatives can contribute to client files from anywhere, be it a client’s living room, a field office or an airport terminal. “Web Access allows field representatives to access information without having to be handcuffed to a filing cabinet,” adds Bewley.

The entirely-digital process affords considerable advantages beyond convenience and time savings. With Web Access, advisors are able to secure and store not just client documents, but also their notes and working documents. As Bewley explains, “Traditionally, reps would make annotations on the inside of a manila folder or on a sticky note. Information could easily get lost or destroyed. With Web Access, you have the ability to annotate the document in the field. You can make the notes you want, knowing they’ll be saved and backed up.”

According to Bewley, Web Access has taken Wall Street Financial Group’s efficiency and productivity gains to new heights. “It opens the door for our authorized advisors to easily access their documents. We’ve had an overwhelming response from our people in the field who are using Laserfiche Web Access. They love this system.”