TAMP Billing Overview, Timelines & FAQ:

Overview: 

Fees are assessed through Orion and deducted from clients’ investment accounts on a monthly or quarterly basis. Prior to the end of each billing period, a reminder will be sent out to advisors to complete billing preparation, including conducting a billing audit and householding accounts to ensure accuracy. After the preparation period, a preliminary (mock) bill is generated for advisor review, during which advisors may request adjustments if necessary. Following this review, fees are debited, and a final bill is produced detailing total fees collected and the advisor’s net payout. Performance and billing reports will also be available at that time. Advisor compensation is disbursed on the same billing schedule.

Timelines:

  • Approximately seven business days before month or quarter-end

Reminder email to do billing prep will be sent. 

  • Approximately five business days before month or quarter-end

Mock bills are generated for review.

  • Approximately two to five business days after month or quarter-end

Fees are debited from investment accounts, final bills are generated, and performance and billing reports will be available.

  • Approximately ten business days after month or quarter-end

Payouts are deposited into your designated bank account.

FAQ:


How do I complete billing preparation?

To prepare for billing, perform a billing audit and verify all settings—including householding, fee schedule, payout, payment method, frequency, bill style, valuation method, and bill account status. If you notice any discrepancies, email the Support Team (support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com) to make adjustments. For guidance, see billing audit instructions and the householding accounts tutorial.

Click here for billing audit instructions.

Click here for householding accounts tutorial. 


What is an Orion mock bill (aka Payable Summary)?

A mock bill is a preview of advisory fees before the official billing file is finalized and posted. It allows you to review projected fees and catch issues before generating client invoices.


What is an Orion final bill (aka Payable Summary)?

A final bill is the official, posted advisory fee calculation for a billing period. It is the version that is locked, approved, and ready for invoicing and fee debiting from client accounts.


Where do I access the Payable Summary?

Both the mock bill and final bill are called Payable Summary Report.

  • The report sent a few days before month/quarter end is your mock bill.
  • The report sent a few days after month/quarter end is your final bill.

Once your bill is ready, you’ll receive an email prompting you to log in to Orion to access the Payable Summary Report from your Secure Exchange inbox.

To retrieve the report:

  1. Log in to Orion.
  2. Open the Secure Exchange app from the left-hand menu or use the search bar in the upper-left to find it.
  3. In Secure Exchange, open the email in your inbox.
  4. Click the attachment link to view your bill.

What does a Payable Summary report look like?

  • Sample Payable Summary report

A screenshot of a spreadsheet AI-generated content may be incorrect.


How to read the Payable Summary?

  • Pay Method: Shows how the fee for the account is collected. Direct is the most common method and the system default, meaning the fee is debited directly from the account at the custodian.
  • Billed Value: The account value used to calculate management fees.
  • Net Fees: Management fees for the billing period, calculated based on the account value and the agreed fee schedule.
  • Adjustments: Any credits or debits applied to the account’s management fee.
  • Net Due: The total management fee that will be deducted or invoiced for the billing cycle, including any adjustments.
  • Days in Cycle: The number of days the account is billed for during the period. Fees are prorated based on these days. The fee calculation is based on the exact number of days that occurred during that quarter or month. For example, if billing quarterly, the days in cycle for Q4 would be 92/365 because there are 92 days in that quarter. If billing monthly, the days in cycle for October would be 31/365 because there are 31 days in that month.
  • Fee Schedule: The rate at which the account is billed.
  • Pay Schedule: How the fee is allocated and paid out between the TAMP and the advisor.
  • Rep: The advisor’s portion of the management fee. Combined with Rep Adj, it reflects the total fee the advisor will receive.
  • Rep Adj: The advisor’s portion of any adjustments. Added to Rep to determine total advisor compensation.
  • RIA: The TAMP’s portion of the management fee. Combined with RIA Adj, it reflects the total fee the TAMP will receive.
  • RIA Adj: The TAMP’s portion of any adjustments. Added to RIA to determine total TAMP compensation.

What are some common questions about the Payable Summary?

  • Why are there accounts listed on multiple rows?

One common reason is that the account is billed using a tiered fee schedule. If the account value spans multiple tiers, each tier is displayed on its own row. 

Another reason is due to mid-month or mid-quarter cash flows. When deposits or withdrawals occur during the billing period, the fee is prorated based on how long those assets were in the account, which can result in separate rows.

  • What do the Contribution and Distribution fields mean in the Pay Method column?

These indicate deposits (contributions) or withdrawals (distributions) that occurred during the month or quarter. These transactions are automatically recognized as cash flows and are factored into the billing calculation, with fees prorated to reflect the length of time the assets were in or out of the account.

  • What is the billing calculation being used?

Billed Value x Fee Rate x Days in Cycle = Fee Amount

  • Why is my total billed value higher this billing period but the total net due is lower than the last billing period?

Fees are prorated based on the exact number of days in the period, rather than dividing the year into equal quarters or months.

For example:

  • A 92-day quarter will be billed slightly more than 25% of the annual fee (about 25.2%) because 92 days is slightly more than 1/4 of the year.
  • A 90-day quarter would be billed slightly less, at about 24.65% of the annual fee.

This can result in the billed value being higher, even if the net due is lower, depending on the number of days and any adjustments applied.

  • How do I audit Average Daily Balance?
  1. Log in to Orion
  2. From the left-hand menu, Open the Query app.
  3. Select Orion Queries.
  4. In the right hand menu, under Query Lists, select All Queries
  5. In the table under Query ID, type 21488.
  6. Right-click the Average Daily Balance by an Account Rep and select Run Query.
  7. Enter the Start Date, End Date, and Account Number.
  8. Change the Run To option to Excel.
  9. Click Run to generate the report. 

What if I need to make changes after the mock bill has been generated?

After reviewing your mock bill, if you need to make any changes, please email the Support Team (support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com) before we run the final bill.


What if I need to make changes after the final bill has been generated?

Final bills cannot be modified; however, adjustments can typically be made in the next billing cycle, subject to approval. After reviewing your final bill, if you need any changes, please email the Support Team (support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com).


How do I specify where my payout should be deposited?

Prior to your initial billing run, we will request that you complete a direct deposit form, which will be sent to you via DocuSign, to designate the account where your payout should be deposited. Should you need to make any updates, please contact the Support Team (support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com), and we will provide you with a new form to complete.


What is a performance and billing report?

It is an investment summary showing portfolio and account values, allocations, performance, cash flows, holdings, and fees. 


Where do I access the performance and billing reports?

  1. Log into Orion.
  2. From the left-hand menu, open the Reporting app. 
  3. Click Report Batches.
  4. Locate the batch for the current period and double-click to open it.
  5. In the upper right, select Actions, then choose Download all Generated Reports.
  6. A ZIP file will download containing individual billing statements for each client. 
  7. Review each statement carefully. If you have any questions, please email the Support Team (support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com).

If your clients have access to the Orion Client Portal, their statement will also be available there. Clients can access the report in the Document Vault under the Portfolio Statements folder. 


What does a performance and billing report look like?

Click here for a sample performance and billing report.


Why did an account not bill?

An account may not bill for a few common reasons:

  • Account is set to “Not Ready”
    • The account may be marked as Not Ready at the advisor’s request to temporarily hold off on billing or a restriction from Schwab may be present on the account, which can prevent billing from processing. 
  • Account is set to “No Fee”
    • If there is no fee schedule or the fee amount is $0, the system will not generate a bill. 
  • Account has no assets
    • If an account has no assets, no advisory fees will be charged.

What happens if a client leaves mid-cyle?

  • In Advance Billing

    If an account is billed at the beginning of a month or quarter based on your assets at that time, and the client or advisor chooses to terminate services before the end of that period, any unearned fees will be prorated and refunded.

    • Example: If a quarterly fee is charged on January 1 and the termination date is on February 15, the client would receive a refund for approximately one and a half months of unused service.

  • In Arrears Billing

    If your account is billed after the service period based on average or ending assets, the client will only be charged for the time services were actually provided. Fees are prorated up to the termination date, and no refund is necessary since fees are not paid in advance.


How are new accounts billed?

New accounts are typically billed on a prorated basis depending on when the account is opened and funded.

  • In Advance Billing:

    Fees are calculated based on the account value when assets are first received and are prorated for the remainder of the billing period. Ongoing billing then follows the standard monthly or quarterly cycle.

  • In Arrears Billing:

    Fees are accrued from the date the account is funded and billed at the end of the billing period, based only on the time the account was active.


What happens if I miss the mock bill review window?

If the review window is missed, we will not hold billing for confirmation during the mock billing phase and will proceed with generating final bills as scheduled.


How do I update my fee schedule?

To update a fee schedule, advisors can email our Support Team (support@xyinvestmentsolutions.com) with the proposed changes. Once received, the request will be routed to Compliance and Billing for review and approval before any updates are implemented.


Where can I see my billing history? 

For Orion billing, review the payable summary reports shared with you through Secure Exchange in Orion. 


How is the TAMP platform fee billed?

TAMP Pricing:

$0 - $5M AUM   35 basis points

$5M - 25M AUM   30 basis points

$25M+ AUM   25 basis points

Fees are based on the advisor's AUM, using a cliff fee schedule. Once a breakpoint is reached, all assets will be billed at that same breakpoint base fee.

TAMP platform fees may be assessed either to the advisor or directly to the client. When charged to the advisor, the fee is deducted from the advisor’s payout. When charged to the client, the fee is debited from the client’s account in addition to the advisory fee.


How often are TAMP platform fees evaluated to determine whether I’ve reached a higher/lower asset threshold and qualify for a lower/higher fee?

Total AUM is reviewed on the same schedule as your billing cycles to determine whether any adjustments to the TAMP platform fee are needed—for example, if you bill quarterly, AUM is reviewed at the end of the quarter; if you bill monthly, AUM is reviewed at the end of the month.


Where can I access my 1099?

Around the end of January in the following year, your 1099 form will be sent to you by email—possibly from a third-party provider—and a physical copy will also be mailed to you.