Scalable Salesforce Business Process Management for RIAs

Even in its most basic form, Salesforce is a powerful tool. Yet many registered investment advisors (RIAs) reach a tipping point soon after the initial implementation, data migration, and training. As wealth management firms grow, manual workflows, spreadsheets, and inconsistent processes can quickly become operational bottlenecks that slow business momentum and increase risk. RIAs need structured, automated workflows that support onboarding, account maintenance, money movement, and portfolio management — all without adding operational risk or additional head count. That’s where business process management (BPM) comes in.

What Is Business Process Management (BPM) for RIAs?

BPM is a methodology that leverages software like Salesforce to help organizations achieve their goals with automation, making activities or workflows consistent, predictable, and scalable. BPM is not a “one and done” philosophy. It requires continuous analysis to look for areas of improvement or growth as goals and conditions change — including business strategies, acquisitions, regulatory changes, or new service offerings.

Benefits of BPM:

• Streamlined, repeatable workflows across the organization
• Reduced operational risk from manual errors
• Enhanced client and employee experiences
• Greater scalability without adding head count
• Enhanced visibility, transparency, and compliance reporting

How BPM Works in Wealth Management Firms

Typically, BPM for wealth firms involves core operational workflows for account maintenance, such as updates to addresses, beneficiaries, or other client information. It could also include opening or closing accounts, moving money, or managing portfolios. Each workflow could include multiple steps or subprocesses, assignments to more than one individual or functional group, and dependencies that need to occur before a task can be completed. 

For example, one of the most involved BPM requests ShellBlack consultants receive is for new client onboarding. This single business process usually requires the following subprocesses: 

• Account opening
• Account maintenance
• Money movement workflows (to move “money in”)
• Portfolio management processes

How ShellBlack Delivers BPM in Salesforce

Most RIAs migrating to Salesforce from a legacy customer relationship management (CRM) platform already have business process workflows in place. Our first priority is ensuring business continuity before go-live in Salesforce. 

For RIAs with existing workflows, ShellBlack:

• Reviews current processes and identifies opportunities to automate and optimize them in Salesforce

• Configures Salesforce BPM solutions that align with existing operations while leveraging Salesforce’s full capabilities

• In many cases, we enhance workflows to reflect how the firm operates today — not how it operated years ago

For RIAs without existing workflows, ShellBlack:

• Designs the Salesforce experience with the future in mind, even if BPM is not implemented immediately, so workflows can be layered in as the firm matures
• Breaks BPM into manageable phases to make adoption easier while still supporting a long-term vision
• Tackles high-impact, high-frequency processes first, such as account openings/closings and address changes

Key Questions We Ask Before Implementing Business Process Management for RIAs

1. Do you currently have documented workflows?
2. How and to whom are your tasks (or action items) assigned? 
3. Are there task dependencies, or can steps run in parallel?
4. Do you operate with dedicated teams or advisor/client service associate (CSA) pairings?
5. What instructions are provided in the task description versus external standard operating procedures (SOPs)? 
6. How frequently do your workflows change?
7. Do you prefer a “build” or “buy” approach (one-time cost vs. recurring fees)?

The answers to these questions directly influence the development of the BPM solution that will best support the firm. Other important considerations include firm size, complexity, compliance requirements, and internal resources. Let’s take a look at the four most common BPM options in Salesforce: Action Plans, Flows, Third-Party Tools, and Custom Business Processes. 

Salesforce BPM Options for RIAs: Pros and Cons

Action Plans

Native functionality; often considered the easiest solution to set up and maintain from an administrative perspective, unless automation is involved.

• Best for:
  • RIAs with simple requirements
  • Processes that don’t change very often
  • Firms that don’t require complex functionality for teams or task assignments
•  Limitations:
  • May not be end-user-friendly, depending on how Action Plans are launched
  • Limited automation and not intuitive; typically requires a consultant or advanced admin to build
  • Not flexible or dynamic; hard-coded to a text field and versioned templates, often requiring additional flows to launch properly
  • No automation out of the box
  • In-flight workflows do not update dynamically when processes change; new Action Plans and flow updates are required
  • Rigid task assignment; tasks must be assigned to a specific user or queue unless additional flow logic is added
  • Teams can be used for role-based assignment, but are limited to one role per person, restricting flexibility
  • Text-only instructions; rich text is not supported

We previously explored using Action Plans in our blog, Salesforce FSC How-Tos for FinServ Business Processes, where we walked through how Action Plans can be used in conjunction with Cases to support business processes and highlight important limitations firms should consider. While Cases offer flexibility for managing workflows, we developed our Business Process Launcher to help end users clearly visualize and navigate each process more effectively.

Flows

Flows are native to Salesforce and are much more powerful and flexible than Action Plans. 

• Best for:
  • Firms with complex task assignments and highly customized processes
• Limitations:
  • Complex to build and maintain; requires advanced admin or consultant support
  • Greater risk of technical debt and conflicts with Salesforce best practices if not carefully governed
  • Requires the firm to fully define and document all process steps in advance; assumptions cannot be made during build
  • Limited native data storage, as Flows typically create tasks rather than structured process records

Third-Party Tools

These are usually the most admin- and user-friendly options. They typically have polished user interfaces, strong documentation, and easier implementation and configuration for admins (think Conga Orchestrate).

• Best for:
  • RIAs that don’t mind paying ongoing fees and need something that is both user- and admin-friendly. 
• Limitations:
  • Ongoing subscription and licensing costs
  • Initial onboarding and learning curve for administrators and users
  • Data model and data storage constraints are possible, depending on the tool selected
  • Expands the technology stack by introducing an additional third-party vendor
  • Additional limitations vary by vendor and feature set
  • Scalability depends on the tool’s capabilities and cost structure

ShellBlack’s Custom Business Process

After hundreds of Salesforce implementations for wealth firms, ShellBlack developed a custom solution to overcome the limitations of individual BPM solutions. Admins manage BPM through templates — not complex flows — making it easier to adapt as the firm evolves.

Key Benefits:

• Admin- and user-friendly design
• Leverages native Salesforce functionality
• Minimal custom objects with maximum flexibility 
• Dynamic tasks that always reflect the latest process changes
• Flexible task assignment across individuals, roles, or queues
• Scalable across all business processes
• Reusable template eliminates repetitive configuration
• Rich text instructions embedded directly into tasks

Case Study: Why Choosing the Right BPM Solution Matters for RIAs

We recently implemented the ShellBlack custom business process for a wealth management firm migrating from a Salesforce overlay. Their previous workflows were rigid and difficult to customize, limiting operational efficiency. 

After moving to Salesforce and implementing BPM, the firm:

• Enhanced workflows with guided screen flows
• Increased end-user adoption
• Realized an average time savings of 12 minutes per process

At scale, those minutes translate into significant operational and financial impact.

Ready to Improve Business Process Management for Your RIAs?

Whether you’re migrating from another CRM or looking to scale operations within an existing Salesforce instance, ShellBlack helps RIAs design and implement BPM solutions that grow with your firm.

Talk to a Salesforce BPM expert for wealth management. shellblack.com/contact

Content contribution from Aubry Halloran, senior Salesforce consultant at ShellBlack