Plumb Bill Pay + Sage Intacct Use Cases for Family Offices

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Plumb provides financial clarity and peace of mind to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients and the family offices that manage their wealth.

We know the following is true:

  • Consolidated financial reporting is crucial for family offices managing the wealth of multiple family members or multiple generations of a family.
  • Automated accounting processes for those with complex financial transactions provides efficiency and transparency.
  • Compliance and audit support for family offices is critical.

Plumb helps Family Offices with accounting needs.

We have decades of experience helping family offices manage their accounting needs. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

Family Office Services Outsourcing: The Ultimate Audit Checklist

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Finding the right outsourced family office service provider can be challenging enough, but once that decision is made, how do you know if you’ve made the right choice? And what steps can you take to ensure that your needs and goals are being met?

At Plumb we pride ourselves on providing clarity in accounting and stewardship in service for our high-net-worth bill pay and accounting clients (and their trusted advisors). This guides everything we do – from our seamless client onboarding process to our ongoing check-ins and accurate, customized reporting.

Here we take you through our top 5 recommendations for monitoring the effectiveness of your outsourced family office bill pay and accounting provider. Use this simple checklist to ensure that you are getting the service you need from your outsourced firm.

  1. Clarity

Working with an outsourced service – regardless of what that service is – should provide you with clarity. When it comes to bill pay and accounting, clarity is paramount. But what do we mean by clarity? It’s not just about having organized spreadsheets and balanced books. It’s about seeing the story behind the numbers: understanding where your money comes from, where it goes, and why. This clarity will help pave the way for successful wealth management and maintenance.

  1. Communication

A key component to any solid and productive relationship is communication. This is no different when thinking about your relationship with your outsourced service providers. Do you feel like you are kept up to date on everything you need to know about? Are your emails and calls responded to with urgency? Does the team working with you understand your goals, your needs, and your expectations? Are the updates and reports they provide clear and well-explained? If you answer “no” to any of these questions, you should address this with your outsourced firm to see what can be adjusted.

  1. Access

How easy is it for you to get the data and information that you need? Does your outsourced service provider have an app (like the Plumb proprietary bill pay app) that you can access anytime, from anywhere? What about customer support access? How much access do you have to the team handling your account?

  1. Comprehension

Do you feel that you understand what this outsourced service provider is responsible for, as well as any data and information that they are sharing with you? Are they sending updated and timely reports? Better yet, do you have access to a digital dashboard where you can view the data you need, in the way you want to view it?

  1. Peace of Mind

At the end of the day, are you able to relax and rest easy knowing that your bill pay and accounting needs are being met? That you don’t have to worry about keeping track of due dates and cash flow because your outsourced team is on top of it? The ultimate goal for any outsourced service provider is to alleviate the daily stress and worry their clients face. At Plumb, we want our clients to focus on the things in life they enjoy and love – and to leave the bill pay and accounting details up to us. We’ve got it covered.

Contact us at sales@thinkplumb.com to explore how Plumb’s expertise can elevate your bill pay and accounting experience. Let us tailor solutions to meet your unique financial goals, providing the specialized attention your wealth deserves.

The Plumb Difference in HNWI Bill Pay

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Plumb Bill Pay and Family Office Accounting emerged from a realization of the distinct challenges faced by our business-owner and entrepreneurial clients. While relying on their company’s accounting team initially served them well, unforeseen circumstances like retirements or changes in personnel often led to gaps in effective bill payment and accounting management.

High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) possess distinctive bill pay and accounting requirements, setting them apart from the average individual.

Here are key aspects of the unique bill pay and accounting needs we address for HNWI clients:

  1. Complex Portfolios: HNWIs have an array of diverse investments, necessitating expertise in managing stocks, bonds, real estate, and private equity holdings. Plumb’s extensive experience in handling complex financial bills related to hedge funds and PE investments is showcased in this article.
  2. Privacy and Security: Prioritizing the protection of sensitive financial information is critical for HNWIs. Plumb ensures robust security measures, strict confidentiality, and discretion in all financial transactions. Delve deeper into our focus on these crucial elements in our dedicated article.
  3. Customization: Tailored solutions are imperative to meet the unique financial goals and preferences of HNWI clients. Plumb recognizes the need for customized financial reports, providing insights into specific goals through performance summaries, tax reports, and estate planning documents.
  4. Technology Forward: Utilizing cutting-edge tools is paramount for accuracy, efficiency, data accessibility, transparency, and long-term success. Plumb’s proprietary bill pay app embodies these qualities.
  5. Cash Flow Management: Managing cash flow for HNWIs is pivotal for meeting lifestyle needs and investment requirements. Plumb excels in handling complex bill payment and cash flow forecasting, especially in scenarios involving multiple income streams and investment accounts.
  6. Professional Guidance: Collaborating with teams of financial advisors, accountants, and estate planners is customary for HNWIs. Plumb seamlessly integrates with these teams, ensuring personalized guidance and effective service delivery.

Plumb stands as a proven and trusted partner in recognizing the need for specialized attention and services due to substantial wealth and complex financial portfolios. With decades of experience, we deeply understand and cater to high-net-worth clients’ unique bill pay and accounting requirements.

Discover the Plumb Advantage: Contact us at sales@thinkplumb.com to explore how Plumb’s expertise can elevate your bill pay and accounting experience. Let us tailor solutions to meet your unique financial goals, providing the specialized attention your wealth deserves.

Unlocking Time and Precision: Why High-Net-Worth Individuals Are Outsourcing Bill Payment

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For decades, our dedicated team has been assisting high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families. In our extensive experience, we’ve consistently addressed common concerns about the benefits of outsourcing bill payment for our esteemed clients.

Here are the top 5 advantages of engaging a professional bill pay provider.

  1. Enhanced Accuracy: Timely and accurate bill payments are crucial for financial management. Professional bill payment services, such as Plumb, ensure precision and promptness, minimizing the risk of late fees or missed payments.
  2. Time Savings: Recognizing the hectic schedules of our clients, we understand the value of time. Delegating bill payment responsibilities to an expert HNW bill pay service provider frees up precious time for strategic financial planning, investment decisions, and overall enjoyment of life.
  3. Simplified Record-Keeping: Efficiency and accuracy thrive on organization. Outsourced bill pay services consolidate financial data, offering clear transaction records and simplified tax preparation. This leads to a transparent financial picture and more efficient financial management, empowering smarter decision-making.
  4. Reduced Stress: Managing numerous financial obligations can be stressful. Bill payment services alleviate this burden, allowing clients to enjoy greater peace of mind without concerns about missed payments.
  5. Enhanced Security: Security is paramount when handling financial transactions. Outsourced bill payment services employ advanced security measures, safeguarding sensitive financial information and protecting against potential threats.

Our expertise shines in the complex realm of managing high-net-worth clients’ financial affairs. With diverse investments, multiple assets, and constant financial responsibilities, the need for a professional and experienced outsourced bill pay provider becomes evident.

Our bill pay app and services offer effective and valuable solutions, streamlining financial management for high-net-worth individuals, families, and their financial management teams.

Take the Next Step Towards Financial Ease and Clarity: Experience the benefits of safe and streamlined financial management. Contact us at sales@thinkplumb.com to discuss how our outsourced bill payment services can enhance accuracy, save time, simplify record-keeping, reduce stress, and fortify the security of your financial transactions. Your peace of mind is our priority.

Plumb Bill Pay App Spotlight: QuickBooks Online Integration

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Plumb’s proprietary bill pay app was designed specifically to address the needs of our high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients and their financial management teams.

{Watch this brief overview video to see our app in action.}

This proprietary app delivers an intuitive interface that offers anytime, anywhere access to bill pay and cash outflow statuses – and it’s fully integrated with QuickBooks Online.

How it works

  • We pull information needed to facilitate the entry of vendor invoices, such as vendors, chart of accounts, and payment data out of QuickBooks Online and into the Plumb bill pay app.
  • We push the updated bill data from the Plumb bill pay app into QBO.

Security measures in place

The transfer of data is protected via bank-level security and consistent audits to ensure financial privacy and security. In addition, we benefit from the rigid security practices of our industry-leading vendors, such as Apple, Google, and AWS. It is important to note that no bank account information is shared between the platforms.

Benefits

Thanks to the seamless integration with QBO, our clients and their trusted advisors benefit from:

  • Easy and customizable approval process by entity
  • Clear dashboard view of bills paid, bills pending approval, and total cash outflow.
  • Balance snapshot with alerts if funding is required.
  • 6-month projection of estimated cash flow based on commitments.
  • “Hot List” of most important bills to track.
  • Quick access to bill information, expense details, relevant attachments, and bill pay reports
  • Easy communication with the Plumb Team – from the app.

For a sneak-peak at some of the app features, please watch these brief videos:

We’d love to discuss how you can benefit from this app. Please reach out today for a consultation and a demo.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

Plumb Shortlisted for 2 PAM Awards!

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Once again, Plumb is thrilled to have been shortlisted for two 2024 PAM (Private Asset Management) Awards:

  • Best General Ledger System
  • Best Partnership Accounting System

We extend our congratulations to all fellow nominees and a sincere thank you to WithIntelligence and the PAM Awards team for this incredible honor.

PAM Awards Shortlist

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

8 Tips for Navigating the Conversation: Outsourcing Bill Payment for HNW Parents

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Our Top 8 Tips for How to Talk to Your Parents About Outsourcing Their Bill Payment

When it comes to discussing financial matters with high-net-worth parents, the conversation can be more complex than with the average household. High-net-worth individuals often have multiple investments, assets, and financial complexities that require careful management. If you’re considering broaching the topic of outsourcing bill payment for your high-net-worth parents, it’s crucial to approach the conversation with sensitivity, respect, and a focus on their financial well-being.

  1. Understand Their Financial Landscape

Before initiating the conversation, take the time to thoroughly understand your parents’ financial situation. This includes their assets, investments, income sources, liabilities, and financial goals. High-net-worth individuals typically have diverse financial holdings, and it’s essential to grasp the big picture.

  1. Emphasize the Benefits

Highlight the advantages of outsourcing bill payment with an experienced and hands-on team like Plumb. Mention how it can optimize their financial management by ensuring that no payments are missed, preventing late fees, and streamlining record-keeping. Emphasize that not only can this free up their time for more strategic financial planning and investment decisions, but it will give them more time to enjoy their lives and do what they love – whether traveling, spending time with friends and family, or just relaxing.

  1. Address Their Concerns

Acknowledge that your parents may have concerns about relinquishing control over their financial affairs. Listen actively to their worries and address them one by one. Discuss how they can maintain oversight and retain decision-making authority while delegating routine tasks. At Plumb, we understand these concerns and hear them from prospective clients almost daily. In fact, we created our proprietary Bill Pay App specifically for our clients. Our app provides bill pay transparency and insights that we know our clients want. Read more about our app here.

  1. Present Professional Options

Research and present professional options for outsourcing bill payment, like Plumb. We have a proven outsourced bill pay solution, including a proprietary bill pay app, with high-touch customer support, and expert bill pay accountants who ensure bills are paid accurately and on time.

  1. Discuss Privacy and Security

Assure your parents that their privacy and financial security are paramount. Choose a service provider like Plumb with bank-level security and a strong track record of safeguarding sensitive financial information. Explain the robust security measures in place to protect their data – you can learn more about Plumb’s focus on confidentiality and security here.

  1. Transparency in Costs

Be transparent about the costs associated with outsourcing bill payment services or hiring financial advisors. At Plumb, we are very upfront with our fees and take the time needed to walk our clients through exactly what they can expect in return.

  1. Ensure a Comprehensive Approach

When discussing outsourcing, stress the importance of a comprehensive approach to financial management. Explain that the chosen service provider will work in tandem with your parents’ existing financial team, including accountants, attorneys, and investment advisors – just as we do here at Plumb.

  1. Offer Ongoing Support

After the decision is made, offer ongoing support to ensure a smooth transition, but work with a bill pay service provider who will make this an easy and pain-free change. You’ll also want to find a firm like Plumb who offers high-touch, full-access client support.

Broaching the subject of outsourcing bill payment for high-net-worth parents is a delicate but necessary conversation that can enhance their financial well-being and peace of mind. By approaching this topic with empathy, knowledge, and a focus on their specific needs, you can help your parents make informed decisions that optimize their financial management while respecting their autonomy and preferences. Ultimately, this can contribute to their financial security and their overall happiness.

Plumb delivers financial peace of mind by assisting high-net-worth individuals and family offices know where their money is going, so their trusted advisors can effectively manage it. We work in partnership with their team — including wealth, CPA, and other advisors — to provide the highest quality of data and financial reporting to establish a holistic view of their assets and financial holdings. We’d love to help answer any questions you may have. Feel free to schedule time to speak with Anneke Stender, our EVP, at your convenience.

16 Questions You Should Ask Your Outsourced Bill Pay Provider – and Our Answers

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  1. How does your Bill Pay process work?

From initial client set-up to ongoing high-touch support, we have this process down to a science.

  1. We ask the client or their designee to complete a new client questionnaire.
  2. Upon receipt of this questionnaire, we prepare a comprehensive solution-oriented proposal.
  3. Once the proposal is agreed upon and the contract is signed, we begin our seamless Onboarding process. We request a current vendor list and coordinate view only account access, where applicable. We prepare a billing tracker with all of the monthly, quarterly and annual bill pay commitments. Lastly we set-up the client/designee with access to our bill pay app and customize the invoice approval process.
  4. Once everything is set up, we begin the bill payment work which includes cash flow monitoring and comprehensive reporting. This reporting may include expense tracking, cost analysis/ variance explanations, budgeting, and forecasting.
  5. At the end of the year, we provide a Year End Summary Report and 1099/1096 filings to ensure that your CPA receives all the necessary details to incorporate the information into the annual tax filings.

If you have any specific questions, read more about our process here.

  1. How do you keep client confidentiality?

We have full confidence in the established protocols we have implemented to safeguard the confidentiality of our clients.

We proactively protect classified data in several ways:

  • We have a customized cloud network built on unique specifications, backed on a singular data center that keeps all data stored and safe from localized data loss. This data center is certified PCI 3.0 compliant, HIPAA compliant, and SSAE-16 Type II compliant.
  • We maintain state-of-the-art bank-level security and an in-house IT department that provides constant monitoring and oversight.
  • We maintain rigorous oversight of internal client access.
  • We focus on a clear segregation of duties among our team.

We pride ourselves on our effective and all-important quality controls, security measures and confidentiality guardianship. Please let us know how we can assist you in your family office accounting or bill pay needs. We have more to share on this topic, so please see our blog posts about how we protect the confidentiality of our clients.

  1. Do your clients work with a team or an individual?

The quick answer is: both. When you work with Plumb, you have a team of experienced high-net-worth bill payment and accounting professionals at your fingertips. You will be assigned a primary contact for your day-to-day questions and needs, but that person works with an entire team of experts to help ensure not only the necessary quality controls, but also the high-touch support that is synonymous with Plumb.

  1. Do you pay client bills by check or wire?

We can pay bills by wire, ACH, or checks, and we follow the strictest of protocols to ensure that any and all payments are made securely. Please read our article with more details on this topic, including definitions of some important payment terms, here.

  1. How does the bank account set up work? Do we set up our own or under their name with a POA?

Bill pay account(s) are set up in the client’s name. The Plumb signers are then added to the account(s) as limited POAs to sign off on banking transactions, such as ACH, wires and checks.

  1. What type of reporting will they receive and frequency and can we see an example?

This depends on the scope of work. Plumb’s standard reporting package is  a monthly expense report with variance analysis.

  1. Can you help with collecting my K1s at the end of the year?

At Plumb, we can help you track and collect all of the various K-1s you are due to receive each year.  As K-1s are received, we reconcile them against the transactions in your books to ensure accuracy and work with the appropriate parties if corrections are needed.  We can then provide reconciled year-end financial statements to the CPA for finalizing tax returns. Still have questions? Check out our detailed recommendations here.

  1. What is your interaction with my CPA?

Plumb works in partnership with CPAs (as well as any other trusted advisors) to ensure all aspects of our client’s financial life work together cohesively, efficiently, and seamlessly. We act as a Controller-level point of contact between the CPA and client by delivering reliable, timely and organized reporting. We track 1099’s, K-1’s, charitable contributions, medical expenses, sales of stock and all other income, and we also handle the preliminary year-end tax work by preparing the Annual Tax Organizer. All this with the goal of being able to provide your CPA with the accurate and updated documentation they require. Read this post about the ways in which we work with other financial advisors.

  1. Do I have to approve every invoice?

During the onboarding process we will review your goals for the management of your bill payment. We can set up your account so that you can approve certain bills, or bills over a certain amount, or even bills that are a certain percentage higher than what they typically are. Our client services are bespoke, and we can provide the assistance and support that works best for you and your lifestyle.

  1. What happens with all my bills? Do I forward them or do they come to you and how?

During the onboarding process, Plumb assists in getting delivery emails or physical addresses changed so that all invoices are coming directly to Plumb. During the onboarding/transition time, clients either forward bills to Plumb by email, send them weekly via overnight mail or upload them directly into the Bill Pay App. Generally, after 60-90 the majority of the bills are received directly by Plumb.

  1. Where is my account manager located and are they in my time zone?

Our Plumb team works remotely in the United States, across a few different time zones. If you prefer to have your main point of contact be someone in your time zone, we will make every effort to find you the best fit. However, we always tell our clients that our Plumb team is just that – a team of experts who are available to help answer questions and provide insights whether you are their direct client or not.

  1. Do you manage international accounts/handle my home in France? Or just US assets?

We have experience in handling bills related to assets outside of the US. Our recommendation is to be set up as a signer on the foreign bank account for ease of paying the bills oversees.

  1. Do you have a portal I log into to see the bills?

Absolutely. We have a proprietary bill pay app available on both web and mobile devices. Our app was designed with our HNWI clients – and their trusted advisors – in mind. It provides access and clarity to the bill payment process and makes approving bills, viewing bill payment status, and communicating with the Plumb team more accessible and easier than ever. Our intuitive and incredibly useful app is the logical evolution of our high-touch, high-tech service. If you’re interested in a demo, please reach out to Anneke to schedule time.

  1. Can advisors have view-only access to the information in the software/app?

Yes, that’s not a problem. During client onboarding we will review the details about who should have access to what, and who can issue approvals.

  1. Can my assistant or property manager approve certain invoices on my behalf?

Yes. You can select any trusted designee to approve certain invoices on your behalf. We can also set up your account so that invoices under or over certain dollar amounts are approved by different people.

  1. How do I know if more money needs to be funded in the bill pay account and how does that process work?

This can happen in a couple of different ways. The first is that your Plumb team member will let you know if your bank balance is underfunded based on the number and dollar amount of bills in queue to be paid. The second is that our bill pay app will show a bank balance snapshot on the dashboard of available funds. If upcoming obligations exceed the balance, a warning message with the shortfall amount will be displayed.

Plumb Bill Pay & Family Office Accounting is a high-touch technology bill pay and family office accounting service provider dedicated to serving the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Plumb ensures that your client’s bills are paid on time and works in partnership with you to deliver the highest quality data and financial reporting. In addition to our bill pay services, we also provide comprehensive Family Office Accounting support.

Let’s talk about we can help you, so you can devote more time to enjoying life.

Plumb Family Office Accounting Services FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions…

The family office services of Plumb Family Office Accounting were developed to help clients navigate through their complex financial life.  By providing personal financial management with consolidated reports and timely bill pay, it gives a clear picture of our client’s wealth and the analysis needed to implement financial, estate and tax planning strategies.

Q:  Is there a minimum net-worth to become a Plumb Family Office Accounting client?

Answer: No. We believe that comprehensive, timely and accurate information gives our clients true control of their wealth, regardless of net-worth.  By getting into the habit of tracking income and expenses, it helps our clients in their wealth creation stage by following a financial plan to accumulate long-term savings and retirement goals.

A typical Plumb client has a net-worth ranging from $10 million to $150 million and sees the value in our service if they have a complex financial life, complete with multifaceted undertakings, such as alternative investments, corporate entities, private equity, international exposure, and collective properties.

Success Stories: Plumb Family Office Accounting Clients

Q:  What is the difference between Plumb Family Office Accounting and a single-family office?

Answer: Plumb Family Office Accounting creates a virtual family office by providing family office services to include personal accounting, bookkeeping and reporting with controller-level insight on a part-time basis or as-needed.

Single-family offices are typically set-up with full-time accounting staff, including a CFO, staff accountants, CPA and a team of attorneys.

By having a virtual or remote family office with Plumb, clients receive the financial data and organizational structure they need without having to hire a full team of advisors on their payroll.  Plumb Family Office Accounting works in conjunction with the trusted advisors of each client and provides financial data to the team to make better estate, tax and financial planning decisions.

Read: Top Ways that Plumb Family Office Accounting works with Trusted Advisors

 

Q:  Does Plumb Family Office Accounting manage their client’s wealth or recommend financial strategies?

Answer:  No. We do not advise or manage wealth, do taxes, or financial planning. We prepare comprehensive reports for clients and their advisors to see a holistic view of assets, including the performance of all investments, statement of cash flow, and net-worth statement.

View samples of personal financial reports created by Plumb

Q: What is the pricing structure of family office services by Plumb Family Office Accounting?

Answer: The price varies depending on the complexity of the family’s wealth and reporting needs.  For most clients, we charge a fixed-fee engagement on transaction-based pricing. In order to come up with a pricing structure, we calculate how many bills to be paid, accounts reconciled and the frequency of their reporting needs (monthly, quarterly or annually).

Typically, our clients pay between $2,000 and $4,000 per month for family office services with the minimum engagement being $1,000 per month.  Every client undergoes an annual fee review to see if there have been any changes in the scope of work throughout the year.

Family Bill Pay – Request a Quote

Download: New Client Questionnaire

Q:  Do you provide any other family office services besides personal reporting, accounting and bill pay?

Answer:  Since the majority of our clients lead busy lives, we’ve added outsourced concierge and personal assistant services.  These are customizable based on the family’s need and can range from property management services to booking travel and restaurant reservations, household employee payroll and basic mail pick-up and distribution.  Another example of outsourced concierge is relocation assistance, a project-based engagement in order to help manage and organize a personal move.

See list of outsourced personal assistant services

Q:  Does a client need to be located in Southern California to work with Plumb?

Answer: No, all the financial reporting and bill pay engagements are handled electronically with cloud-based assistance.  Plumb Family Office Accounting uses technology to facilitate bill pay and A/P work flow with a client login system to access reports and status updates.

We offer complete account protection and robust security measures to protect your information from unauthorized access. All confidential information is stored in a data center with multiple levels of security and can only be accessed by Plumb and you or your designated representative. All sensitive information is encrypted and uploaded to your private portal. Two-factor authentication to login to portal further safeguards your accounts and information

Plumb has staff located on both the west coast and east coast time zones to accommodate nationwide and international clients.

Q:  Who is handling the relationship with Plumb Family Office Accounting clients?

Answer:  Plumb takes a team approach for each engagement.  Every client has a main point of contact, a Client Relationship Manager, who oversees a team of junior and senior staff accountants.  The team approach is more cost-effective for the client, as each transaction is mapped in our task management software, and is broken down on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis.

There is a centralized client communication portal set up via email, so the team has access to client-specific information and requests.  This ensures dependability and consistency if an accountant is out of the office, needs approval or controller-level insight.

Q:  How can I be assured that my financial information is kept confidential and secure?

Answer: Plumb has been in business since 1996 and has a long history of continuity and confidentiality. We are fully bonded and all employees have to pass a background check before they are hired. With every engagement and task, it is handled with the utmost discretion and attention to detail.

We respect the privacy of our Plumb Family Office Accounting clients and take great measures to protect it.  We ensure compliance with best practices and internal control procedures, different levels of approval and password protection.  Our solid system of checks and balances gives our clients reassurance in the integrity and security of their private information and financial data.

Q:  I have a special project that requires assistance on a one-time basis.  Can Plumb Family Office Accounting help?

Answer:  Yes, we can accommodate short-term engagements and project work.  For example, Plumb Family Office Accounting works with divorce attorneys and their clients who are going through a divorce settlement and need help analyzing and tracking expenses to finalize child and alimony support.

Case Study: Divorce Client

Q:  How is the family bill pay set-up?

Answer: We have created a 4-step bill pay process with segregation of duties and different levels of approval.

  1. Client Associate pays bills
  2. Vice President reviews and signs checks
  3. Client Associate reconciles bank account
  4. Client Relationship Manager reviews bank statements

The family bill pay process is first established with the creation of a financial calendar of due dates and vendor information sheet.

View: Family Bill Pay Services: Organize your Financial Life.

Success Stories – Family Bill Pay 

How can you help with organizing for year-end and tax planning purposes?

Answer: We assist our clients to compile the annual tax organizer for their CPA.  Creating this comprehensive, audit-proof package allows to maximize standard deductions, as well as, allows for the CPA to be more cost effective.

Additionally, we provide the CPA with quarterly reports to adjust estimated tax payments as needed to avoid annual penalties and interest charges with the IRS or Franchise Tax Board.

Learn More: Plumb Family Office Accounting Annual Tax Organizer

 

Are you ready to simplify your financial life and take true control of your wealth?   


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Prioritizing Family Life & Business: An Interview with Anneke Stender

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Top Ways to Handle Family Life and Business with a Busy Lifestyle

Several responsibilities can cause stress and anxiety in family life and business.  It can be hard to find the right balance between organizing family life events and getting year-end ready with clients and other commitments at work.

Here is a list of reminders and quick tips to keep things in perspective in your busy life:

  • Schedule: Plan smaller tasks and meetings than normal.  Time management is key and keeping a clear overview of due dates on your calendar.
  • Disconnect: When spending time with your family, make it a priority to unplug from work emails and calls.  Keep everyone informed ahead of time about your unavailability or absence, and let them know when you’ll be reconnecting.
  • Plan time for yourself: It can be exhausting to keep everything going, so taking time for yourself will rejuvenate you later.
  • Avoid talking business with family or friends when they do not ask.  However, it can be helpful to discuss certain topics and events with the most important people in your life to let them know what’s going on.
  • Clear communication: Set fixed times for family and work, so both sides can count on you.  Be fully present during those time blocks, so you’re focusing on one thing at a time.
  • Work when everyone is sleeping: getting up before the family wakes up or staying up after they go to sleep, so it doesn’t conflict with family time.
  • Delegate and trust others: bring in additional resources who can help you avoid stress.

An Interview with Anneke Stender

 

With all your responsibilities at Plumb, how do you deal with upcoming family events and all the organization and planning?

Planning ahead and calendaring everything is essential for me.  I plan out the weeks and month very detailed in my corporate calendar, so nothing gets lost and everyone knows if I’m free or not. I always mark events or tasks that are not negotiable in red, so my assistant can plan and schedule meetings around those times.

Overall, the less time I have available, the more efficient I can be.  I focus on the really important things and delegate the rest to others.  I am thankful to have a great team at Plumb behind me that I count on, so I have enough time for my family.

How do you handle work during the days you are spending time with your family?  Are there any rules you set?

When I spend time with my family, I turn off my email notifications.  I want to avoid pop-up messages on my phone, so I am fully present to focus that time with my girls and my husband. I dedicate 100% to one thing at a time.

When I visit my family in Germany, I am totally unplugged from work for the duration of the trip.  Sometimes I feel that going overseas makes it easier to enjoy the time off, because I am distancing myself from work with different time zones.

Clear communication upfront towards everyone at work and from my family is the key for making this work. By setting fixed times, my availability for family and work is clear, so both sides can count on me.

What is your favorite time and place for getting work done?

My most productive time is early in the morning.  I usually wake up at 4:30AM and start checking and responding to emails in bed, then I start getting ready for work.  When the children are sleeping, I have time to work without distraction.  However, I mostly spend working time in the office in La Jolla or Orange County.

What do you do to avoid stress and how do you boost your energy levels this time of year?

Even if I only have an hour a day, I block it off in my calendar.  Pilates helps me to relax from time to time, however, I still struggle on getting better to take time for myself.  In addition, it’s always helpful to seek outside help, such as a nanny on special occasions or counting on someone to help with recurring tasks.

As a successful business leader and mother, who inspires you?

Sheryl Sandberg.  I just finished reading her second book, “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. I have so much respect and admiration for her and how she handles her life.

How Plumb Family Office Accounting Can Help with your Family Life + Business Throughout the Year

Recurring tasks like bill payment or handling with taxes at the end of the year, and general organization and planning take an immense amount of valuable time. Save this time and effort with the help from additional resources to spend it with your family and friends or use to refueling your energy.

Plumb Family Office Accounting excels at high-net-worth accounting and financial consulting by applying a controller-level’s financial insight to managing personal finances.

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