How to outline services and fees

Explain the types of financial services you provide to clients. Provide these details in an email, perhaps in a PDF attachment.

For instance, tell them that there are three typical types of assignments that I encounter when financial planning. They are:

Specific Issues

Many people have certain aspects of their life they want to discuss. Typical questions relate to whether or not a person’s investment portfolio is properly designed for safety and income; tax issues related to disposal of property or transfer of assets to children, either during lifetime or through a will; determining appropriate levels of life (or other) insurance; tax or investment advice related to receipt of an inheritance or retiring allowance; cash flow and tax issues related to marriage breakdown; management of death, particularly when nearing retirement; advice related to the estate and final tax returns of a deceased parent; starting a new business; and overall tax planning.

If you’ve prepared in advance as requested, these meetings are focused, and last about one or two hours. If you wish to have a written report, it usually takes me about an additional hour. My hourly rate is $X, plus applicable taxes.
Detailed Budgeting and Retirement Calculations

Sometimes people have done their own budgeting and only want a review of their calculations with advice on improvements. Often, I may be asked to provide a second opinion on a retirement plan that was done on a complimentary basis by a bank, insurance or brokerage firm. In such cases, this assignment is similar to the one above, and may only require a couple of hours. In other cases, a person needs assistance with determining their budget, planning for debt payments, forecasting their future cash flow and preparing the detailed calculations to assess whether their retirement plans are viable or not. This assignment can vary dramatically from a couple of hours to a full day, depending on the person’s circumstances, so it’s difficult to provide an estimate of cost.
Comprehensive Financial Planning

A comprehensive financial plan involves a review of many financial aspects of your life. We may be looking at your current cash flow situation, tax planning, investment portfolio analysis, insurance and other risk management considerations, planning for future education costs of your children, retirement planning, and wills and estate planning. There could be various alternatives within each of these areas to ensure you select the appropriate approach for your particular circumstances, and we may need to modify your needs as time goes on to deal with future changes in your life. A comprehensive financial plan normally takes several meetings and several days, with a cost that can be as high as $X.

Source: Blair Corkum, fee-only advisor at Corkum & Arsenault