[Advisors] How to Escalate Fees Automatically (Annually)
In This Article:
Effortlessly increase your client's subscription fee each year by adding an automatic fee escalation! A scheduled escalation can be added to new subscriptions as well as ongoing subscriptions and will increase the client's payment each year as long as the subscription remains active.
Please note that each firm can set specific requirements/settings for fee escalations, and might require approval before fee escalations can occur.
Here's how to take advantage of this feature:
Adding an annual fee escalation when creating a subscription
1. Select the Subscriptions tab in your sidebar and click Request Payment in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.
2. Enter in the initial subscription information as normal (e.g. Client, Frequency, etc), then click Continue
3. On the second screen under Payment Amount, click the Add a Fee Escalation button:
4. In the Schedule Fee Escalation modal, select the Escalation Type: Set Amount, Percentage, or Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Note: The CPI is pulled directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and uses the CPI-U that is two months back/behind the current date. For example, if an escalation takes place in January 2020 the CPI for November 2019 would be used. ( this is because the prior month's CPI rates were not yet available).
Enter the escalation Amount and Start date for the escalation (in MM/YYYY format):
5. Click Done and finish the subscription creation process!
When your client activates the subscription, they will see a message notifying them of the scheduled increase:
After the subscription is activated, your client will also see the increase information when they click into the subscription details:
An email reminder to your client about an impending fee increase will also be sent out on the preceding month that the escalation goes into effect. For instance, a client will receive a reminder on September 20th for an October 20th fee increase.
Example email:
Please note that because the client approved the increase as part of activating the subscription, no additional action is required by your client for this increase to be applied. Their payment method on file will be charged the increased fee on their next bill date!
Adding a fee escalation to an active billing subscription
An escalation added to an active subscription will require the client's approval before it can take effect. This does require them to have an AdvicePay account set up in order to approve or deny the increase since they will be prompted to log in.
1. Find the subscription you wish to adjust and click Edit Subscription from the drop-down menu
2. Click the Add a Fee Escalation button
3. In the Schedule Fee Escalation modal, select the Escalation Type: Set Amount, Percentage, or Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Note: The CPI is pulled directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and uses the CPI-U that is two months back/behind the current date. For example, if an escalation takes place in January 2020 the CPI for November 2019 would be used. ( this is because the prior month's CPI rates were not yet available).
Enter the escalation Amount and Start date for the escalation (in MM/YYYY format)
4. Click Done and finish the subscription editing process!
Your client will immediately receive an email notifying them of the escalation and asking them to approve the change:
By following the link and logging into their account, your client will see information about the escalation and have the ability to click Accept or Reject:
Once your client clicks Accept, the escalation will be applied in the month/year you determined!
An email reminder to your client about an impending fee increase will also be sent out on the 20th of the preceding month that the escalation goes into effect. For instance, a client will receive a reminder on September 20th, 2020 for an October 2020 fee increase.
If your client clicks Reject, the escalation will not be applied and the subscription will continue billing at its existing amount.
We also have a couple of email settings that can be customized to ensure your clients accept their fee increase prior to the targeted billing cycle.
- The Fee Change Due Soon Reminder can be toggled on to send an email to your clients either 1 day, 3 days, or 7 days before the next bill due date to remind them to accept the fee increase. The default is 3 days.
- The Fee Change Past Due Reminder is toggled on automatically by default to send a reminder to approve any increased fee changes 7 days after the requested date.
📍 To manage, customize, or turn off these reminders, please see this article: Managing Emails Your Clients Receive
When the firm needs to approve the escalation
Based on your firm's settings, adding a fee escalation to a new or existing subscription may require internal firm approval from the "home office" account first.
If approval is required, we'll display a message letting you know during the escalation setup process:
While subscription escalations are waiting for approval, they are not visible to the client and no email notifications are sent out.
When the invoice is approved:
- You will be notified of the approval via email
- The subscription will update to its normal status
- The subscription will no longer be editable
The subscription/escalation will appear in the client's account for payment/acceptance
If this is a newly created subscription and it includes the option to email the client, upon approval the invoice notice (including a request for eSignature (s) on any contracts) will also be sent immediately to the client. If the email option was not part of the request, the client will not be notified.
If the fee escalation is on an existing active subscription, the email notification requesting the client's acceptance will be immediately sent to the client.
What happens when approval for a subscription + escalation is denied?
If approval is denied:
- You will receive an email letting you know what subscription/escalation was denied (and a reason why, if provided)
- New subscriptions that had an escalation included will reflect the "Approval Rejected" status; nothing will be published to client accounts
- Existing active subscriptions that had an escalation attached will reflect a standard "Active" status and continue billing as normal; nothing will be sent to clients and fees will not increase
After a subscription escalation rejection, you will continue to have the ability to edit the invoice if desired! If approval is still needed after editing, it will be sent back through the same approval process for review.
Alternatively, you can leave the subscription as-is or cancel it.