January 28, 2026
Most advisers do not feel slowed down by one big admin problem.
What we see in most firms we work with is something more subtle. Time is lost in small chunks throughout the day. A quick chase here. A follow-up there. A “just checking” message that pulls attention away from advice work. By the end of the week, advisers feel busy without being entirely sure where the time went.
At Plus Group, we support advisers with the admin and workflow that sits around advice delivery. That includes case coordination, provider chasing, LOA handling, paraplanning handovers, and making progress visible so advisers are not constantly checking. When admin friction is reduced, advisers usually feel the difference before they can measure it.
This article breaks down the admin tasks that slow financial advisers down most, based on what we see happening day to day inside real advice firms.
Provider chasing is one of the biggest and most consistent drains on adviser time.
It rarely shows up as a single task. It shows up as repeated checking, follow-ups sent from memory, and progress that feels assumed rather than confirmed. Advisers often step in because they want to keep clients informed, even when chasing is not really their role.
A common situation we see is an adviser replying to a client update request, then having to pause the reply to check whether a provider has responded. That interruption might only take a few minutes, but it breaks focus and adds up quickly.
This is closely linked to why LOA chasing costs so much time, especially when there is no clear routine or ownership.
LOAs sit early in the advice journey, which makes delays particularly frustrating.
In many firms, LOAs are sent promptly but not always tracked consistently. Chasing happens once, then relies on someone remembering to follow up again. Advisers often only realise there is an issue when something else cannot move forward.
What slows advisers down is not just the LOA itself, but the uncertainty around it. Time is lost checking whether it was sent, whether it was accepted, and whether it needs chasing again.
Firms that tighten this part of the workflow often start by looking at what a good LOA process actually looks like, rather than trying to move faster.
In many advice firms, advisers become the central coordinator by default.
They are copied into everything, asked questions from all sides, and end up stitching together updates from different people. It feels helpful in the moment, but it pulls advisers into admin work that fragments their day.
We often see advisers spending more time coordinating progress than delivering advice, which is a big reason case flow starts to feel heavy. This is one of the patterns that firms notice when they start simplifying case management for financial advisers more deliberately.
Client chasers are not the problem on their own.
They become a problem when advisers are reacting rather than updating proactively. Each chase triggers a check, a follow-up, and a reply, all of which interrupt other work.
A typical example is an adviser in the middle of report review stopping to answer a client email, only to discover they need to check with admin or a provider first. The response then gets delayed, and the original task takes longer to return to.
This reactive pattern often overlaps with the early signs of admin backlogs damaging client relationships, where uncertainty creates more inbound pressure.
Advisers lose a surprising amount of time looking for information.
Checking whether a document has been received. Looking for the last provider update. Confirming whether paraplanning has started. None of these tasks are complex, but they interrupt flow.
What we see working well is not more detail everywhere, but clearer visibility. When advisers can see status at a glance, they stop searching and start advising.
Explaining the same admin points over and over is another quiet time drain.
Advisers often find themselves explaining why something is delayed, what stage a case is at, or what is being waited on. The explanation itself might be short, but the mental load of revisiting it repeatedly adds up.
This often happens when admin and provider updates are not flowing cleanly, leaving advisers to fill in the gaps verbally.
Advisers stepping in to unblock cases is common.
They chase a provider, clarify a missing detail, or nudge a handover along. It helps the case in the short term, but it also reinforces the pattern that advisers are the backstop for admin issues.
Over time, this makes admin friction adviser-dependent, which is one of the reasons workload becomes uneven across the week.
Paraplanning queries are a necessary part of the process.
They become time-consuming when handovers are unclear. Advisers are pulled back in to answer questions that could have been resolved earlier if information was complete.
We see this most often when admin preparation and paraplanning are not aligned. Tightening that handover reduces rework and cuts down on back-and-forth.
Tasks that are nearly done often take longer than expected.
Waiting on one final confirmation. Chasing a missing document. Checking that something has been acknowledged. These tasks sit in the background and require repeated attention.
Because they are not urgent enough to dominate the day, they quietly drain time as advisers check in on them repeatedly.
One of the biggest hidden admin tasks is mental tracking.
Advisers remember who is waiting on what, which case needs a follow-up, and what still needs checking. This mental load is tiring and easy to underestimate.
When progress is not visible, advisers compensate by remembering more. When visibility improves, that mental load lifts quickly.
Individually, none of these tasks feels overwhelming.
Together, they fragment the day. Focus is broken. Advice work takes longer. Evenings fill up with admin that did not fit earlier.
What we see is that advisers rarely need to eliminate admin completely. They need fewer interruptions, clearer ownership, and better visibility so admin stops leaking into advice time.
In firms where advisers feel less dragged down by admin, a few things are usually true.
Ownership of tasks is clear. Chasing happens routinely rather than reactively. Case status is visible without asking. Advisers are not the default coordinator.
These changes do not come from working harder. They come from structuring admin so it supports advice rather than competes with it.
Reducing admin drag is about removing friction, not avoiding responsibility.
When admin tasks are owned, tracked, and visible, advisers stop being pulled into constant coordination. Time opens up naturally, not because work disappears, but because it stops interrupting everything else. Over time, that shift changes how the week feels and how sustainable the workload becomes.
Why does admin feel like it takes over the day even when it isn’t the main task?
Because admin rarely arrives as a single block of work. It shows up as interruptions, checks, and follow-ups that break concentration and stretch everything else out.
Which admin tasks create the most disruption for advisers?
Provider chasing, LOA handling, and case coordination tend to cause the most disruption because progress is unclear and advisers feel responsible for filling the gaps.
Why do advisers so often end up doing admin themselves?
Usually because it feels quicker in the moment. Over time, that turns advisers into the default problem-solver, even for tasks that do not need their involvement.
Is admin drag mainly a systems problem?
In most firms we see, it is not. The issue is usually unclear ownership and poor visibility rather than the tools being used.
How does admin slow advice delivery rather than just adding extra work?
It fragments focus. Advisers switch between advice, chasing, and explaining delays, which makes everything take longer and feel heavier.
Why do “nearly done” tasks take so much time?
Because they require repeated checking. When progress is not visible, advisers revisit the same task multiple times to see if anything has changed.
Does outsourcing admin automatically fix these issues?
Not on its own. Outsourcing helps when it improves ownership, routine chasing, and visibility. Without that structure, the same problems often remain.
What change usually makes the biggest difference first?
Clear ownership of admin tasks and a visible view of case progress. Advisers notice fewer interruptions almost immediately.
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