What “done” looks like

• Your firm can operate day-to-day without chaos.

• Accounts can be opened, moved, serviced, and billed.

• Client onboarding is consistent and repeatable.

• Compliance isn’t an afterthought — it’s embedded.

• Your “first 30 days” operating rhythm is defined.

The Build sequence (don’t scramble the order)

1. Entity + foundational setup

2. Compliance + policies + supervision

3. Custody setup + account workflow

4. Core tech stack configuration

5. Client onboarding + forms + e-sign

6. Billing + reporting

7. Client transition execution

The “Minimum Viable Firm” checklist

• Compliance framework (policies, reviews, archiving, supervision)

• Custody + account opening process

• CRM configured with pipeline stages

• Standard onboarding workflow

• Document storage + naming conventions

• Billing + fee schedule + invoicing process

• Reporting cadence (client + internal)

Make these workflows real (the 5 you can’t skip)

• New prospect → discovery → proposal → onboarding

• New client onboarding + paperwork

• Money movement + service requests

• Quarterly review prep + follow-up tasks

• Compliance tasks (archiving, approvals, surveillance, reviews)

Common build mistakes

• Overbuilding the stack before you have clients moving.

• Not defining a “single source of truth” (CRM vs spreadsheets vs email chaos).

• No clear “owner” for each workflow.

• Doing everything custom when templates would work.

Do this in the next 14 days (action checklist)

• Create the CRM stages and define “exit criteria” for each stage.

• Build your onboarding workflow end-to-end (one test client).

• Set up document templates (agreements, IPS, welcome packet).

• Run a “mock transition day” with your team and list what breaks.

• Build a simple metrics dashboard: accounts moved, assets moved, open tasks, client calls.

Tools + pages to use in this phase

• Templates Library (onboarding packets, client emails, checklists)

• Execution Playbook (step-by-step transition sequence)

• Client Message Builder (objection handling + transition scripts)

Next step

Once you can onboard and service clients consistently, you move to Phase 4: Transition + Run.