Fee Disclosure Statement (FDS) Auto Generation
Automatically compile, generate, and send compliant Fee Disclosure Statements to every client on their engagement anniversary, with built in opt in tracking and follow up task creation for your advisers.
The Problem
Every client with an ongoing fee arrangement needs a Fee Disclosure Statement every year. That's not a suggestion. It's a legal obligation under the Corporations Act s962H, and ASIC's Regulatory Guide 245 spells out exactly what has to be in it: itemised fees, services provided, services not yet delivered, and an opt in renewal notice.
For a practice with 200 ongoing clients, that's 200 individualised documents. Each one timed to a different anniversary date. Each one pulling fee data from your billing system, your platform, and possibly your insurance provider. Miss one, and the client's ongoing fee arrangement can be legally terminated. At a median ongoing advice fee of $4,668 per client, every missed FDS puts real revenue at risk.
The typical process looks like this: someone on your team maintains a spreadsheet of anniversary dates. As each one approaches, they pull fee data from multiple systems, copy it into a Word template, review it, generate a PDF, save it to the client file, email it with the opt in notice, and then set a calendar reminder to follow up in 21 days if the client doesn't respond. Four hours per client. Across 200 clients, that's 800 hours a year of admin time. Roughly $40,000 in wages spent producing documents that look almost identical every time.
And the real danger isn't the time. It's the errors. Manual data entry across multiple fee sources means transcription mistakes. One wrong number in a disclosure document can trigger a compliance breach, reputational damage, or a client exercising their right to terminate the arrangement.
How It Works
The automation replaces every manual step in FDS production with a workflow that runs on schedule, pulls live data, and handles follow ups without anyone touching a spreadsheet.
1. Daily anniversary check
A scheduled trigger runs each morning and checks your client database (such as Xplan, Airtable, or your CRM) for any clients whose engagement anniversary falls within the next 30 days. This replaces the manual spreadsheet entirely.
2. Fee data aggregation
For each flagged client, the workflow pulls all fees charged during the preceding 12 month period. It connects to your billing system (such as Xero or MYOB) for adviser fees, your platform's API for platform fees, and any other fee sources you use. Everything lands in one structured dataset.
3. FDS document generation
The compiled fee data populates a compliant FDS template through a document generation tool such as PDF Monkey or Documint. The template includes all required elements: itemised fees, services provided, services not yet delivered, and the mandated opt in renewal wording. The output is a branded PDF that looks like it came from your firm.
4. Email delivery with opt in notice
The completed FDS is emailed to the client with a covering letter and the opt in or opt out renewal notice. Delivery tracking confirms the email was received. If delivery fails, the workflow flags it immediately so your team can follow up by post or phone.
5. Compliance logging
Every FDS issuance is logged to your compliance register with a timestamp, the client's name, the document reference, and the delivery status. This gives you a complete audit trail without anyone typing a thing.
6. 21 day follow up task
If the client hasn't responded to the opt in notice within 21 days, the workflow creates a task for the adviser in your practice management system or task tool (such as Asana or Microsoft To Do). The adviser sees exactly which clients need a call, with the original FDS attached for reference.
Why Practice Management FDS Modules Fall Short
Most advisers assume their platform handles this. Xplan, Midwinter, and AdviserLogic all have FDS generation built in. But "built in" and "working well" aren't the same thing.
The modules bundled with practice management software tend to be rigid. You get a generic template with limited branding options. The fee data pull is often incomplete, covering platform fees but missing adviser fees billed through a separate system. And the opt in tracking? Usually a checkbox someone has to manually update.
Then there's cost. These platforms run $100 to $500 per user per month. You're paying for the entire suite just to access an FDS tool that does half the job. A purpose built automation using Make or n8n with a PDF generation tool costs $30 to $80 per month total and handles the complete workflow from fee aggregation to follow up task creation.
Twelve clients' FDS documents were overdue. Each one represented a fee arrangement that could be legally terminated if the client noticed. At $4,668 per client, that was $56,000 in annual recurring revenue sitting on a knife's edge because of a missed calendar entry.
That scenario plays out in practices every month. Not because advisers don't care about compliance, but because the manual process has too many moving parts for a small team to manage without something slipping.
From Compliance Burden to Value Demonstration
Here's what most advisers miss about the FDS. It doesn't have to be a dry, legalistic document that clients skim and file away. Done well, it's a chance to remind clients why they're paying you.
A basic automation compiles fees into a template. That's the minimum. But a more advanced workflow can pull activity data from your practice management system and generate a services summary that describes what you actually did during the period. Reviews conducted, portfolio changes made, insurance cover reassessed, estate planning referrals arranged. All of it drawn from your existing records, formatted into plain language.
This turns the FDS from something clients tolerate into something that reinforces the value of your advice. When the opt in notice asks whether they want to continue, they've just read a summary of everything you did for them. The renewal rate goes up because the document itself makes the case.
And it costs you nothing extra. The data already exists in your systems. The automation just surfaces it in the right place at the right time.
The Business Impact
Take a practice with 200 ongoing clients and one admin person handling FDS production. At four hours per client, that's 800 hours a year. At $50 per hour, you're spending $40,000 annually on a task that an automation handles in minutes per client.
The automation cost? Between $30 and $80 per month in tooling. Call it $960 per year at the high end. That's a saving of over $39,000 in the first year alone. But the real number is bigger than that, because those 800 hours don't just cost wages. They cost opportunity. That's 800 hours your admin person could spend on client service, onboarding, or tasks that actually grow the practice.
Then there's the revenue protection. Every missed or late FDS puts a $4,668 ongoing fee arrangement at risk of automatic termination. If you lose even three clients to missed disclosures, that's $14,004 in recurring revenue gone. The automation eliminates that risk entirely by ensuring every FDS goes out on the right date, every year, without anyone having to remember.
- 800 hours of annual admin time recovered for a 200 client practice
- Over $39,000 saved per year compared to manual FDS production
- Zero missed disclosure deadlines with automated anniversary tracking
- Complete audit trail for every FDS issued, logged automatically
- 21 day follow up tasks created without manual diary entries
- Reduced compliance risk from eliminating manual data transcription
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this handle different fee structures across clients?
Yes. The workflow pulls raw fee data from your billing system and platform APIs. Whether a client is on a percentage based fee, a fixed annual fee, or a fee for service arrangement, the automation compiles whatever was actually charged during the period. You configure the template once to handle each structure, and the workflow applies the right format to each client.
What if my fee data sits across multiple systems?
That's exactly the problem this solves. Most practices have adviser fees in Xero or MYOB, platform fees in a separate system, and insurance commissions somewhere else. The automation connects to each source, aggregates the data for each client, and compiles it into one document. No more copying numbers between spreadsheets.
Does the generated FDS meet ASIC's RG 245 requirements?
The template is built to include every element required by RG 245: itemised fees, services provided, services not yet provided, and the mandated opt in renewal notice wording. You work with your compliance team to approve the template once, and every subsequent FDS uses that approved format with live data. The automation reduces compliance risk because it eliminates manual transcription errors.
What happens if a client's email bounces?
The workflow tracks delivery status. If an email fails, it flags the client immediately so your team can follow up by phone or post. This is actually safer than the manual process, where a bounced email might sit unnoticed in someone's inbox for days.
We only have 50 ongoing clients. Is it worth automating?
Fifty clients at four hours each is 200 hours a year. That's five full work weeks of admin time on one recurring task. At $50 per hour, you're spending $10,000 a year on manual FDS production. The automation costs under $1,000 a year. And beyond the cost saving, you eliminate the risk of missing a deadline and losing a client's ongoing fee arrangement.
Can advisers review the FDS before it goes out?
Absolutely. You can add an approval step where the generated FDS is sent to the adviser for review before the client receives it. The adviser gets a notification with the PDF attached, approves or flags changes, and only then does the workflow send it. Most practices start with this step and remove it once they're confident in the template and data accuracy.
How long does it take to set up?
Most practices are up and running within two to three weeks. The bulk of the setup is connecting your fee data sources and building the FDS template to your compliance team's specifications. Once that's done, the workflow runs on its own. Book your free audit and we'll map out exactly which systems need connecting and how the workflow fits your practice.
Sources
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