We operate on a retainer basis, beginning at 10 hours per month. You choose your retainer upfront, but you may also change your retainer at any time with 30 days notice in writing.

You may use your retainer hours toward any service we provide, regardless of the level, without notice. However, we recommend confirming with your Client Service Specialist that they are able to provide the service in question; if not, additional team member(s) may be assigned.

Frequently, your Client Service Specialist will have the flexibility to work a few hours over your retainer, but this cannot be guaranteed and is handled on a case by case basis. We encourage frequent communication with your Client Service Specialist in real time about your needs as they evolve.

You can count on frequent communication from us about where you stand with your retainer multiple times during each month. We will be especially proactive if the month is almost over and you still haven’t used a large portion of your retainer hours. We will make every effort to work all of your retainer hours; however, we cannot guarantee this in cases where multiple hours are left for the end of the month.

You will receive an invoice at the beginning of each month for the hours worked the previous month. We use timers and bill by the minute, so your invoices will be extremely detailed.

Any hours worked over your retainer will be billed at the respective hourly rates; there is no additional cost. However, if you consistently request multiple hours above and beyond your retainer, we will recommend a higher retainer going forward to ensure we have the capacity to meet your needs.

Unless you have specified otherwise, your Client Service Specialist will be logging in daily to all of your systems (email, custodian, CRM, etc) and working through all tasks for the day. The timing of this may vary from day to day, depending upon the schedule of your Client Service Specialist.

We consider your CRM to be the hub of all communication. While we do utilize email, phone calls and other forms of interaction, it is our best practice to make sure everything is in the CRM. This makes it possible for any team member to log in at any time and see what was done, what will be done next, and the expected timeline, not to mention keeping records for compliance and auditing purposes.

All onboarding is performed by your Client Service Specialist in tandem with either the Director of Operations or the Client Service Manager. Onboarding at VOS consists of two phases:

The first phase is obtaining credential access to all of your systems (email, CRM, custodian, etc.), which can be accomplished relatively quickly.

The second phase is figuring out how best to work together. This phase is significantly less concrete and there is a much wider variation in expected timeline. Let it suffice to say that this phase is highly customized, specifically calibrated to suit you, your firm and your specific situation. It takes as long as it takes and we will be there to partner with you every step of the way.

We have had very little success working with broker-dealer affiliated firms and therefore no longer provide that service. We understand that there can be huge benefits for an advisor to work with a broker dealer, but we have also found that we are unable to meet our standards for client service within the broker dealer framework.

Additionally, VOS works solely with advisors that call themselves fee-only. More specifically, this applies to advisors who only bill their clients based on an hourly/flat rate for planning and/or a percentage of AUM, not on any commission based structure.