What’s the most common mistake firms make when trying to automate their bill pay process?
When family offices or business management firms set out to automate bill pay, the goal is usually clear: reduce manual work, improve accuracy, and gain better control. But in the push to modernize, many firms make a critical misstep by prioritizing speed over structure.
The most common mistake we see is automating a broken or incomplete workflow.
If your current process relies on email approvals, scattered spreadsheets, or one person’s institutional knowledge, simply adding automation won’t fix it. In fact, it can make problems worse by scaling inefficiencies and reducing visibility. Without a strong foundation of roles, rules, and controls, automation can create gaps instead of closing them.
Before you automate, it’s essential to define your ideal workflow:
- Who needs to approve what?
- What documentation needs to be attached or retained?
- How do you want to manage access across entities, teams, or outside advisors?
This is where purpose-built solutions like AgilLink make a difference. AgilLink doesn’t just digitize your current process—it helps you design a better one with:
- Customizable approval paths by entity, vendor, or amount
- Role-based access controls to maintain privacy and reduce risk
- Integrated document management and audit trails for compliance
- Seamless workflows that reflect how your team actually operates
Taking the time to define your controls and structure first sets you up for success later. And with the right platform, the transition is smoother, smarter, and far more effective.
What’s the best way to onboard a new client to the bill pay process?
Onboarding a new family or client is one of the most critical, and often most overlooked, parts of a successful advisory relationship. Done well, it creates confidence, transparency, and operational clarity from day one. Done poorly, it leads to delays, and unnecessary confusion.
At AgilLink, we work with firms every day that manage complex, high-net-worth clients, including family offices, entertainment professionals, and athletes. Over time, we’ve seen what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to onboarding.
Here are a few best practices to consider.
Start with a clear repeatable process
The most efficient firms treat onboarding like a repeatable process and not a one-off project. Create a standard checklist that includes:
- Establishing legal entities, households, and chart of accounts
- Setting up client-specific approval workflows
- Defining roles and user permissions
- Gathering vendor information and historical financial data
- Aligning on reporting needs (frequency, level of detail, etc.)
Secure the right bank relationship
To use AgilLink, each client must have a bank account with City National Bank. This integration enables seamless payments, real-time visibility, and a secure link between banking and accounting. If the client isn’t already a City National Bank customer, we recommend starting the account setup process early to avoid onboarding delays.
Don’t wait to configure controls
One of the biggest mistakes firms make is delaying the setup of controls “until things are running.” But this opens the door to inconsistent processes and potential risk.
Set up:
- Role-based access so each team member only sees what they need
- Dual approval workflows for payments
- Document retention policies and audit trails for every transaction
- Establish thresholds for when clients need to approve bills, in addition to the dual approval workflow
With AgilLink, all of these controls are built in, so once they’re configured, your team can operate with both speed and security.
Communicate early and often
It’s important to establish regular communications with clients to obtain approval for payments and keep them informed about upcoming bills- using a mobile app makes this easier, especially with younger clients.
Use onboarding as a chance to set expectations, explain your process, and build trust. The more clarity you provide upfront, the fewer roadblocks you'll encounter later. Make sure to ask your clients how they prefer to communicate, some prefer email, others want a text message, a letter in the mail or a phone call.
The way you onboard sets the tone for everything that follows. With a strong process, the right banking partner, and a platform like AgilLink, firms can bring on new clients smoothly, without sacrificing control, compliance, or efficiency.
What’s the best way to handle bill pay across multiple entities and family members?
Managing bill pay for a single household is complex enough, but for family offices and business managers supporting multiple generations, entities, and interests, it quickly becomes a logistical and operational challenge.
The stakes are high, because delays, errors, and lack of controls can expose clients to reputational and financial risk. Here’s what we have seen work.
Start with a centralized platform—not a patchwork of systems
Spreadsheets, email threads, and disconnected bank logins may work temporarily, but they don’t scale. Top firms use centralized bill pay and accounting platforms that:
- Handle multiple legal under a single interface
- Allow for cross-entity payments and reporting
- Maintain full visibility into who did what, when, and for whom with transparent workflows
Centralization creates consistency, without forcing every client into the same mold.
Set up role-based permissions and approvals
With multiple family members, staff, and advisors involved, access control is essential. The most secure setups include:
- Customizable user roles so that family members, staff, and outside advisors only see or approve what’s relevant to them.
- Tiered approval workflows- allow approvals based on thresholds, entity, or vendor to ensure both flexibility and oversight.
- Separation of duties to prevent fraud and improve accountability
Effective bill pay isn’t just about moving money, it’s about knowing who’s moving it, and why.
Create a consistent, transparent and repeatable process
Firms that operate at scale don’t reinvent the wheel each time a bill comes in. They have:
- Standardized intake processes for bills, whether they’re mailed, emailed, or uploaded
- Pre-defined rules that categorize expenses by family member, household, or entity
- Scheduled payment cycles to manage cash flow and reduce last-minute requests
- Dashboards and audit trails for real-time transparency
- Secure document management, so invoices and approvals are accessible and attached
Don’t let complexity undermine control
Managing dozens of entities and hundreds of vendors doesn’t have to mean dozens of workflows. The most effective firms use platforms that are made specifically to handle structured processes that scale with the family- without adding operational drag.
Whether you’re supporting a single client or multiple branches of a multi-generational family, the key is the same: streamline where you can, control what you must, and invest in systems that reduce human error while increasing oversight.
Bill pay doesn’t need to be chaotic. With the right infrastructure and controls, firms can manage complexity with confidence, ensuring that every dollar is spent with purpose, visibility, and accountability.
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