Now, however, an increasingly large proportion use complex, all-encompassing data-management programs that handle all of the client administration information for their firm.

Given the regulatory upheaval in the financial advisory market, many advisory firms may be in the midst of a planned upgraded to their administrative software to cope with the recording and reconciliation of income from various sources and providing identical regulatory reports.

FTAdviser’s Guide to Back Office Systems tackles what advisers can expect from back office options on the market, how cheaper options differ from all-in-one systems and how back office software can help with your regulatory compliance.

Answers supplied by Richard Stanton, sales manager at Time4Advice; Sue Nutall, owner and lead consultant at Jacana; and Steve Billingham, owner and director of Steve Billingham Consulting.