Frequently Asked Questions
CPS was formed in 2011 and purchased by Hayley Knight in 2013. When Hayley bought the business, she had a vision to build a business that created opportunities for paraplanners to do great work on their terms, find a true work-life balance and be appreciated for what they do. Fast-forward almost 10 years, and CPS now helps over 30 paraplanners achieve the above, supporting the work of over 37 advisers all across Australia. CPS has been proudly built by paraplanners, for paraplanners.
By design, we’re very different from most paraplanning firms. Take a look at this video to see the things that we think really set us apart.
We require all our paraplanners to have a minimum of 2 years of experience as a Paraplanner, as well as hold a DFP or relevant degree.
This is not a problem at all. Just get in touch, let us know the type of work you’re looking for and we’ll see if there’s a great fit here.
We have a group of experienced, senior paraplanners in our team who are responsible for the onboarding and vetting of new paraplanners, as well as helping respond to technical queries across our team. The opportunity to join this group is available to all of our paraplanners and if you’re interested in becoming a senior at any point, we’d love to discuss this with you!
We work with a range of businesses, but our ideal client is a multi-adviser firm with clear and effective internal processes, with an expected paraplanning volume of 2-3 SOAs per week. We currently work with practices from across 22 different licensees and particularly like working with self-licensed firms.
A typical CPS paraplanner will work with the same client all the time. If you are looking for a higher workload or full-time hours, we may pair you with multiple clients, depending on their SOA volume requirements. But you will always be working with the same businesses.
Our Paraplanning Specialists undertake a rigorous process of scoping the needs of each paraplanner and advice business so that we can connect you with the right client. The types of things we’re looking to match for during our ‘matchmaking’ process include the types of advice required, your desired volume of work, the software you know how to use and the Licensee experience you have.
The good news too is that you’re never under any obligation to accept an offer. It’s important to us that you’re comfortable with the firm you’re working with and are doing the type of work you want to be doing.
Our client agreements mean that all our SOAs will be produced within 5 business days.
Part of the benefit of working with us is that we’ve got your back in situations like this! So if you’re ever not happy with what’s happening or a particular client situation, just let us know! We’re in your corner to help you navigate and mediate situations like this.
We have built our entire business so paraplanners like you can work when you want, how you want and on your terms. All that we ask is that you communicate proactively, meet your delivery deadlines, and never leave it more than 1 business day to respond to any queries from your clients.
All our CPS paraplanners are contractors
By working with CPS, you’ll be covered by our PI and Cybersecurity insurance policies. That being said, we’re not insurance experts, so we recommend that you talk with an Insurance Specialist to make sure you have appropriate protection in place.
This is completely fine! Just make sure you give us at least 14 days’ notice.
We want you to do what you do best, great paraplanning, knowing you can rely on us to help take care of the rest. We offer a bunch of support to our paraplanners, including:
Access to SOA Vetters and other Paraplanning specialists for technical and other SOA-related queries
Direct client training and support to help you in onboarding new clients, as well as assistance in dealing with challenging client situations if they ever pop up
We also take care of all the ‘annoying side’ of running a business such as marketing, sales, invoicing and debt collecting.
As long as you have an ABN and your own computer with up-to-date security software (we recommend Norton), you’re ready to get started! Once you join CPS, we’ll provide you with the training, templates and software access you need to successfully work with your client(s).
We pay our paraplanners monthly, on the 15th of each month. For each piece of work, you will be paid at a base rate of 50% of the fee, which you can access via our pricing calculator here.
We certainly do! We offer a variety of incentives for speedy SOA delivery, as well as a bonus of up to 25% of your total paraplanning fees if you receive high levels of satisfaction from your clients. Book a chat with us and we can tell you more about these extra money perks.
In general, you need to register for GST if your gross contracting income exceeds $75,000 p.a. But we are NOT tax or accounting experts and can’t advise you on this. It’s best you discuss and clarify the answer to this with your Accountant or a licensed tax professional.
Going it alone gives you a lot of freedom, but also a lot of responsibility! Here are some of the benefits of working with an outsourced firm:
They’ll find your clients and do marketing on your behalf
They will take care of the invoicing, debt collecting and money side of things
You will often have access to great training, as well as other paraplanners to answer your questions
You will minimise your time in onboarding new clients so that you can get to the SOA bit quicker!
If you ever want to go away, they will be able to arrange ‘back-up’ for your clients
We’ll train you on our systems, and we also have a dedicated in-house Paraplanning Specialist who is available to answer any questions you may have. While we run ad-hoc team training sessions, we expect you to independently continue increasing your technical skills.
