Published on

23 Feb 2026

How does Command Deck work for a financial advice firm?

Real-world applications for unified practice data

Command Deck has real applications that impact your day-to-day as well as your strategy. From daily operations to shaping your business, this article contains examples intended to help clarify the value delivered from a client data and management information (MI) solution.

A growing practice

The case of a four-adviser practice scales its HNW client operations without administrative overhead

One of our clients had ambitions to scale but faced operational friction. They used XPLAN for many years, and it was customised extensively. Their challenge emerged from disconnected data between XPLAN and the platforms where client assets live. Advisers spent considerable time gathering current valuations and verifying transactions before each client meeting. For a practice managing 200+ client households across multiple platforms, this consumed hours each week. When it came to trying to scale, adding additional advisers meant adding more administrative burden rather than focusing on client relationships.

The solution

Command Deck established two-way integrations between XPLAN and the practice's platforms. Portfolio data now flows automatically into XPLAN, eliminating manual updates. The practice also implemented the premium client portal, giving high net-worth clients self-service access to consolidated holdings data.

The results

Very quickly, ‘how are my investments doing?’ calls decreased significantly and the fact-finding process became more efficient. More significantly, the practice achieved a model that enabled scalable growth, allowing them to expand their client book in a way that would not have been possible with their previous operational model. Through improved administrative efficiency, enabled by unified data, they are now able to serve more clients without proportionally increasing overhead.

A multi-office consolidator firm with tens of advisers

The case for operational efficiency at scale

A consolidator firm with multiple offices and dozens of advisers struggled to understand business performance across all its locations. The firm used Intelligent Office (IO) as its CRM. Client assets were held across multiple platforms, which is often inevitable for a consolidator that had acquired several practices. Staff manually pulled contributions and withdrawals from each platform, keyed data into Intelligent Office and ran monthly reports. This required an ‘army of admins’ that ultimately delivered information that was too stale for responsive management.

The solution

Command Deck established connections to all platforms and integrated with Intelligent Office. Automatic import of contributions, withdrawals and valuations (including historic data) eliminated manual keying. Transaction reconciliation dashboards provided oversight before data synced.

The firm configured dashboards for different management levels so that office managers, regional directors and executive leadership alike each saw relevant metrics and information they needed to make informed management decisions.

The results

The practice reduced administrative burden after rolling out Command Deck across a couple of its offices. It’s now rolling out across the rest of its locations, and real-time dashboards have transformed management. Rather than reviewing month-old data, leaders can see current performance and address emerging challenges immediately. Asset flows became transparent, revealing which offices drove growth and which needed support, where the charging model was working and for which clients it might need some tweaks.

The acquisition-ready practice

A case for building enterprise value through data quality

Now let’s look at a different example: the founding partners of a 20-year old practice are considering their exit strategy. They've built a solid business but don’t have a grip on their firm data and worry that data quality would significantly impact the firm’s valuation. Their CRM had accumulated two decades of records, but this includes a significant number of duplicates, plenty of outdated information and inconsistent conventions. This is typical across many practices. They’ve had multiple platform relationships through their evolution over time. The partners know that potential buyers would struggle to verify the business from this unclear data.

The solution

Command Deck's data cleansing capabilities serve as the foundation for their exit preparation. Command Deck identified duplicate records, standardised naming conventions and flagged incomplete client profiles. Newly created ‘golden source’ client data now flows into a unified view, enabling the practice to see its clients’ actual asset distribution, client retention trends and charging information with confidence for the first time.

The results

When the practice is ready to engage with potential buyers, due diligence can proceed smoothly, and buyers can access clean, verified data through dashboards rather than having to manually extract figures. Most importantly, the practice is in a much better position to demand a premium valuation since buyers recognise that clean data demonstrates the firm’s operational excellence and the reduced integration risk.

Common threads across implementations

Despite different circumstances, practices working with Command Deck share common outcomes:

Reclaimed time: Practices recover substantial time previously consumed by reconciliation, data gathering or routine client queries;

Improved confidence: Advisers and practice leaders gain confidence that data accurately reflects reality, leading to better decision-making and stronger client conversations;

Scalable operations: Growth becomes more achievable when technology drives efficient operations. Practices can add clients or advisers without proportionally increasing administrative burden;

Enhanced client experience: Whether through premium portals, more responsive service or better-informed advice conversations, clients benefit tangibly from unified data.

Take control of your data with Command Deck. Clean client data and easy to action insights in clear dashboards empower you with visibility of what's really happening across your practice, right now.

Book a demo

Explore how Command Deck might work for your specific circumstances with one of our team

Request a demo

Frequently asked questions

How long before practices typically see measurable benefits through Command Deck?

Most practices report time savings from eliminated manual reconciliation within weeks of going live. Client-facing benefits typically become evident within the first quarter. Strategic benefits develop over six to twelve months.

Do practices need to consolidate onto fewer platforms before Command Deck delivers value?

No. Command Deck specifically addresses the challenges of multiple platform relationships. Some practices eventually consolidate platforms, but Command Deck removes the urgency by making multiple platforms manageable.

Can smaller practices with just two or three advisers benefit?

Absolutely. Smaller practices often struggle more with administrative burden because they lack dedicated back-office staff. An adviser spending four hours weekly on manual data requests and reconciliation represents 10% of their capacity.

How do clients respond to being asked to use a new portal?

Portal adoption varies by demographic. High net-worth and digitally-engaged clients typically adopt quickly. Practices achieve strongest adoption when positioning the portal as an additional service enhancing rather than replacing personal adviser relationships. The Command Deck premium portal is branded in your style, helping clients adopt it more smoothly.

Can Command Deck help practices already using comprehensive CRMs?

Yes. Even sophisticated CRMs can only report on data within their own system. Command Deck's value lies in aggregating data across all platforms and your CRM, reconciling discrepancies and surfacing insights that single-system reporting cannot provide.