Overview: CRM essentials for 20–50 client practices

As a financial planner managing a growing practice of 20–50 clients, building trust and maintaining long‑term relationships is essential for your success.

That's why having a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is so valuable — it helps you organize client information, track interactions, and manage follow-ups from one centralized platform that your entire team can access.

The best CRMs for financial planning teams of this size are designed with your needs in mind: secure data handling, effective client communication tools, and scalable workflows that grow with your practice.

In this post, we explore the top CRM solutions for financial planners managing 20–50 clients, focusing on intuitive interfaces, strong security, and specialized functionality.

Why you need a CRM

As a financial planner managing 20-50 clients, the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can transform how you manage your client relationships and drive business growth. Below, we take a closer look at challenges you may already be facing, solutions you can look forward to and key features you should look out for in the CRMs you intend to consider for your mid-sized practice.

Challenges without a CRM

If you don't have a CRM system in place already, you may be experiencing the following challenges that become particularly acute when managing 20-50 clients.

• Disorganization: Without a CRM, keeping track of multiple client portfolios, financial goals, and interaction histories becomes chaotic, leading to errors and missed opportunities with high-value clients.
• Missed opportunities: Important client follow-ups, annual reviews, and potential referrals can fall through the cracks, resulting in lost revenue and damaged client relationships.
• Inefficient processes: Manual data entry across multiple spreadsheets and scattered client files slow down workflows and reduce productivity for your entire team.
• Lack of insight: Without centralized data, gaining actionable insights into client behavior, portfolio performance trends, and business growth patterns feels challenging.
• Inconsistent communication: Without a proper system in place, your team may struggle to maintain consistent and personalized communication with 20-50 clients, affecting relationships and retention.

Benefits of a CRM

A CRM could be the solution to those challenges – and can have the following impact on your financial planning practice managing 20-50 clients.

• One source of truth: A CRM consolidates all client data, financial plans, and communication history in one place, making it easily accessible to your entire team and reducing the risk of errors.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating routine tasks like client onboarding, review scheduling, and follow-up reminders frees up time for financial planners to focus on high-value client advisory work.
• Improved customer relationships: CRMs enable personalized communication and timely follow-ups across your entire client base, strengthening client trust and loyalty while ensuring no one feels neglected.
• Better decision-making: Access to real-time data and analytics helps in making informed business decisions about client allocation, service offerings, and practice growth strategies.
• Increased sales: By identifying cross-selling opportunities and nurturing referral relationships more effectively, a CRM can boost conversion rates and revenue from your existing client base.
• Consistent communication: Automated reminders and communication tools ensure that all 20-50 clients receive timely and relevant updates, maintaining engagement across your entire practice.

Key features of a CRM for financial planners

If you happen to be considering a CRM for the first time, or looking to upgrade from an existing one – below are some key features you should look out for in the CRMs you're interested in when managing a practice of 20-50 clients.

• Automation: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows like client review scheduling, birthday reminders, and portfolio update notifications.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds clients' updated contact information and relevant financial data, enhancing efficiency for mid-sized practices.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks clients through defined stages from prospect to long-term relationship, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness across your team.
• Email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences tailored for financial planning services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly imports prospects and referral sources from LinkedIn and tracks professional conversations within the CRM.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better client allocation and business planning decisions.

How to use a CRM effectively as a financial planner

Below are a few ways you can use a CRM to streamline your workflow across the client facing side of your job, and your business development needs when managing 20-50 client relationships

1. Map your process

Defining and tracking the stages of your financial planning process is crucial for success when managing 20-50 clients. A CRM tailored for financial planners can help you create a clear roadmap from initial client contact to ongoing relationship management. Identify key stages such as prospecting, client onboarding, financial planning, quarterly reviews, and annual assessments. Use the CRM to set up these stages and track progress, ensuring no client falls through the cracks in your growing practice.

2. Prioritize the right leads

Effective lead qualification is essential for financial planners managing a substantial client base to focus their efforts on high-potential prospects. A CRM can streamline this process by providing tools to assess and qualify leads based on criteria such as investment capacity, financial complexity, and alignment with your service model. Utilize scoring systems and automated workflows to prioritize leads, ensuring your team spends time on the most promising opportunities that fit your 20-50 client practice model.

3. Be consistent in your outreach

Consistent outreach and timely follow-up are critical for converting prospects into clients and maintaining relationships across your entire client base. Leverage CRM features to automate email campaigns and LinkedIn outreach targeted at prospects, existing clients, and referral sources. Set up personalized email sequences and reminders to ensure no follow-up is missed across your 20-50 client relationships. Track engagement metrics to refine your outreach strategies and improve conversion rates.

4. Build long term relationships

Building long-term relationships with 20-50 clients requires systematic ongoing engagement. Use your CRM to implement strategies for identifying additional planning opportunities and cross-selling financial products and services. Segment your client base by life stage, wealth level, and service needs to tailor your communications. Automated nurturing campaigns can keep clients informed about market updates and new opportunities, helping you maximize lifetime value across your entire practice.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

With a lot of CRMs to choose from, it's a good idea to have the following steps as part of your decision making process for your 20-50 client practice.

1. Define your requirements

Before diving into the sea of CRM options, it's crucial to identify the key features that align with your financial planning practice managing 20-50 clients. Look for functionalities such as client portfolio management, automated review scheduling, workflow automation, and integration capabilities with financial planning software and custodian platforms. A CRM tailored for financial planners should also offer secure data storage to ensure client confidentiality and compliance with industry regulations like SEC and FINRA requirements.

2. Budget considerations

Balancing cost and return on investment is vital when selecting a CRM for your mid-sized financial planning practice. While premium solutions might offer extensive features, it's essential to assess whether these align with your business needs and client service model. Look for CRM platforms that offer scalable pricing models suitable for teams managing 20-50 clients, allowing you to access essential features without overpaying for enterprise-level functionality you don't need.

3. Selection Process

Start by researching CRM providers with experience serving financial planners and advisory firms of your size. Read reviews from other planners managing similar client loads, seek recommendations from industry peers and professional associations, and evaluate vendor credibility in the financial services space. Consider vendors that offer dedicated support and training specific to financial planning workflows to ensure smooth implementation and ongoing usability for your team.

4. Book a demo

Once you have a shortlist, take advantage of free trials to test each CRM platform's features and usability with your actual client management workflows. Pay close attention to user experience, customization options for financial planning processes, and how well the CRM integrates with your existing tools like portfolio management software and custodian platforms. Gather feedback from your entire team to ensure the chosen CRM meets everyone's needs in managing your 20-50 client practice. Get started by booking a demo with folk's sales team here.

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3. Tips for implementing a CRM

We've got three more tips for you when it comes to implementing your new CRM for your financial planning practice, so you don't feel as though you need to start from scratch.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM is smoother when you can easily import your existing client data from spreadsheets, previous CRM systems, or portfolio management platforms. Start by exporting your client and prospect data as a CSV file, including contact information, investment preferences, and interaction history. You can also import your LinkedIn contacts to capture referral sources and professional network connections. This way, you don't need to create a new database from scratch when managing your 20-50 client relationships.

2. Create a first pipeline

A well-structured pipeline is essential for tracking client progress and financial planning stages across your entire practice. For financial planners managing 20-50 clients, your pipeline might include stages such as Initial Consultation, Risk Assessment, Financial Plan Development, Plan Presentation, Implementation, Quarterly Review, and Annual Assessment. By customizing your pipeline to reflect these statuses, you can better manage your client relationships and ensure nothing falls through the cracks as your practice grows.

3. Onboard your team

Effective CRM implementation requires buy-in from your entire financial planning team, including advisors, administrative staff, and support personnel. Conduct comprehensive training sessions to familiarize your staff with the new system, highlighting key features specific to financial planning workflows and best practices for client management. Encourage your team to explore the CRM's capabilities for managing 20-50 client relationships and provide feedback on its usability. This collaborative approach will help ensure a smooth transition and maximize the CRM's potential to enhance your firm's efficiency and client service.

The 5 best CRMs for financial planners

1. folk

folk is the ideal modern CRM platform for financial planning teams managing 20-50 clients, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and seamless integrations perfectly sized for growing advisory practices without the complexity of enterprise solutions.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding updated client information and LinkedIn profiles, perfect for maintaining accurate records across 20-50 client relationships without manual data entry.
• LinkedIn Chrome extension: Seamlessly import prospects from LinkedIn, track networking conversations, and use templates for efficient professional outreach - ideal for building referral networks.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features enable financial planners to manage all client communications directly from the CRM, ensuring consistent service across their entire practice.
• AI-Powered features: AI tools assist in managing client relationships and automating routine tasks like follow-up scheduling and client categorization, perfect for teams managing substantial client loads.
• Seamless integrations: folk integrates with over 6,000 apps, including financial planning software, portfolio management platforms, and productivity tools, centralizing workflows for efficient practice management.

Pros

• Perfectly sized for growing practices: folk strikes the ideal balance for financial planners managing 20-50 clients - sophisticated enough to handle complex workflows yet simple enough for quick adoption across your entire team.
• All-in-one efficiency: folk streamlines your entire client management workflow by allowing you to import prospects from LinkedIn, automatically find their contact information, create personalized email sequences, and track all interactions in customizable pipelines - eliminating the need for multiple tools.
• Multiple pipeline management: folk allows you to customize dashboards to manage different client segments (prospects, active clients, referral sources) and business functions in one unified platform, perfect for comprehensive practice management.
• Financial planning customization: Custom fields for investment preferences, risk tolerance, life events, and review schedules, plus workflows tailored to financial planning processes.
• Cost-effective scalability: Extensive integrations and features at a price point that makes sense for mid-sized practices, offering enterprise functionality without enterprise costs.

Cons

• Advanced reporting and analytics: folk includes pipeline and deal-stage analytics, weighted revenue forecasting, performance breakdowns by owner, channel, industry, region, or any custom field, plus revenue insights—available today.

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, monthly or annual subscription plans are perfectly priced for financial planning teams managing 20-50 clients:

• Standard: $20 per user, per month - ideal for smaller planning teams
• Premium: $40 per user, per month - perfect for established practices with 20-50 clients
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month - for practices requiring specialized integrations

2. HubSpot

HubSpot CRM is a comprehensive platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, and customer service, though it can be complex for financial planning teams focused on client relationship management.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, though may be excessive for relationship-focused financial planning practices.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, and sales automation, though designed more for transactional sales than ongoing client relationships.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing and live chat, which have limited application for financial planning client service models.
• Lead Scoring: Prioritizes prospects with predictive scoring, though less relevant for referral-based financial planning businesses.
• Operations Hub: Syncs business processes across systems, adding complexity that many mid-sized financial planning practices don't require.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive interface makes it accessible for financial planning teams to manage basic client relationships.
• Free plan available: The free version includes basic CRM features, suitable for very small practices just getting started.
• Marketing integration: Strong marketing tools for practices focused on digital lead generation rather than referral-based growth.
• Automation capabilities: Workflow automation tools, though more complex than needed for most financial planning processes.
• Reporting dashboard: Comprehensive reporting, though much of it focuses on metrics not relevant to financial planning practices.

Cons

• Overly complex for financial planning: Many features are designed for e-commerce and transactional businesses rather than relationship-based financial planning practices.
• Expensive for required features: The features most valuable to financial planners are locked behind higher-tier plans that can be cost-prohibitive for 20-50 client practices.
• Limited financial services customization: Lacks industry-specific fields and workflows that financial planners need for client management.
• Marketing focus: Heavy emphasis on marketing automation that most financial planners don't need, cluttering the interface with irrelevant features.
• Steep learning curve: The extensive feature set requires significant training time that takes away from client service activities.

Price and plans

Prices for annual subscriptions that would serve financial planning needs:

• Starter: $15 per user, per month - basic features only
• Professional: $450 per user, per month - prohibitively expensive for most mid-sized practices
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month - far beyond the needs and budget of 20-50 client practices

3. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM designed for transactional businesses, offering pipeline management and automation that may not align well with the relationship-focused nature of financial planning practices.

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Key features

• Lead and deal management: Transactional deal tracking that doesn't align well with ongoing client relationship management in financial planning.
• Sales automation: Workflow automation focused on sales processes rather than the client service workflows financial planners need.
• Email integration: Basic email sync and templates, though lacking the financial planning-specific communication tools needed for client management.
• Reporting and analytics: Sales-focused reporting that doesn't capture the relationship metrics important to financial planning practices.
• Pipeline customization: Customizable for sales processes, but requires significant adaptation for financial planning client lifecycle management.

Pros

• Visual pipeline interface: Clean, visual representation of prospects moving through stages, though focused on sales rather than client relationships.
• Ease of use: Straightforward interface that's easy to learn, though may feel too simplistic for comprehensive client management.
• Activity tracking: Good for tracking individual interactions, though lacks the relationship context financial planners need.
• Mobile access: Decent mobile app for basic CRM access on the go.
• Integration options: Connects with various third-party tools, though fewer financial services integrations than specialized solutions.

Cons

• Sales-centric design: Built for transactional sales processes rather than the ongoing relationship management that defines financial planning.
• Limited client management features: Lacks tools for managing comprehensive client profiles, financial goals, and long-term relationship tracking.
• No financial services specialization: Missing industry-specific features like compliance tracking, investment preferences, or financial planning workflows.
• Reporting limitations: Reports focus on sales metrics rather than client relationship and service quality metrics financial planners need.
• Limited customization: While pipelines are customizable, the overall system is rigid for the diverse needs of financial planning practices.

Price and plans

Annual subscription pricing:

• Essential plan: $24 per user, per month - basic sales features
• Advanced plan: $44 per user, per month - still lacks financial planning specialization
• Power plan: $79 per user, per month - expensive for limited financial planning value
• Enterprise plan: $129 per user, per month - excessive cost for what financial planners need

4. Salesforce

Salesforce is an enterprise-grade CRM platform designed for large corporations, offering extensive features that are typically overkill and overly complex for financial planning teams managing 20-50 clients.

Key features

• Comprehensive ecosystem: Extensive platform with numerous modules, most of which are unnecessary for financial planning practices managing 20-50 clients.
• Customization capabilities: Highly customizable but requires significant technical expertise and development resources to tailor for financial planning needs.
• Artificial Intelligence integration: Advanced AI features that are complex to implement and may not provide proportional value for smaller financial planning practices.
• Enterprise integrations: Extensive integration capabilities designed for large enterprises with complex tech stacks, beyond most financial planners' needs.
• Security and compliance: Enterprise-grade security features, though simpler solutions can meet financial planners' compliance requirements more cost-effectively.

Pros

• Enterprise scalability: Can handle massive client bases and complex organizational structures, far beyond what 20-50 client practices require.
• Extensive customization: Highly customizable, though this requires significant technical expertise and ongoing maintenance.
• Advanced reporting: Sophisticated analytics capabilities, though often more complex than necessary for financial planning practice management.
• Market reputation: Well-known brand with extensive support resources, though much of this is oriented toward large enterprise implementations.
• Integration ecosystem: Vast integration marketplace, though most options are designed for enterprise use cases.

Cons

• Prohibitively expensive: Pricing structure designed for large enterprises makes it cost-prohibitive for most financial planning practices managing 20-50 clients.
• Overwhelming complexity: Feature set and interface complexity create steep learning curves that detract from client service time.
• Implementation challenges: Requires extensive customization, training, and often consultant support, adding significant costs and time investment.
• Overkill for financial planning: Most features are designed for large sales organizations and don't align with financial planning relationship management needs.
• Ongoing maintenance burden: Requires dedicated technical resources to maintain and optimize, which most mid-sized practices don't have.

Price and plans

Pricing that quickly becomes expensive for financial planning teams:

• Starter Suite: $25/user/month - limited features that don't meet comprehensive financial planning needs
• Pro Suite: $100/user/month - still requires significant customization for financial planning use
• Enterprise Plan: $165/user/month - expensive for mid-sized practices
• Unlimited Plan: $330/user/month - far beyond reasonable budgets for 20-50 client practices
• Einstein 1 Sales: $500/user/month - prohibitively expensive with features unnecessary for financial planning

5. Streak

Streak is a Gmail-integrated CRM tool that offers basic relationship management within your email inbox, though it lacks the comprehensive features financial planning practices need for managing 20-50 client relationships effectively.

Key features

• Email tracking and snippets: Basic email tracking within Gmail, though limited compared to comprehensive CRM communication tools financial planners need.
• Shared pipelines: Simple pipeline sharing for small teams, though lacking the sophisticated workflow management required for financial planning processes.
• Google Workspace integrations: Works well within Google's ecosystem, but limited integration with financial planning software and custodian platforms.

Pros

• Gmail integration: Works directly within Gmail, convenient for practices heavily reliant on email communication.
• Simple setup: Easy to implement with minimal training required, though this simplicity limits functionality.
• Basic pipeline tracking: Simple visual pipeline management, though lacking the depth needed for comprehensive client relationship tracking.
• Google Workspace compatibility: Seamless integration with Google tools, beneficial for practices using Google's productivity suite.
• Low learning curve: Intuitive for Gmail users, though the limited feature set may quickly become constraining.

Cons

• Limited CRM functionality: Basic features are insufficient for comprehensive client relationship management required in financial planning practices.
• Gmail dependency: Confined to Gmail environment, limiting flexibility and integration with other essential financial planning tools.
• Inadequate for 20-50 clients: Lacks the robust features needed to effectively manage and service a substantial client base.
• No financial services specialization: Missing industry-specific features like compliance tracking, investment preferences, or financial planning workflows.
• Limited reporting: Basic reporting capabilities don't provide the insights financial planners need for practice management and client service optimization.

Price and plans

Pricing that may seem reasonable but doesn't deliver proportional value for financial planning needs:

• Pro: $49 per user, per month - expensive for the limited functionality provided
• Pro +: $69 per user, per month - still lacks comprehensive financial planning features
• Enterprise: $129 per user, per month - high cost without the specialized tools financial planners require

Conclusion

Choosing the right CRM for your financial planning practice managing 20-50 clients is crucial for streamlining operations, enhancing client relationships, and driving sustainable growth. After evaluating the top options, folk CRM emerges as the clear winner for practices of your size, offering the perfect balance of sophisticated functionality, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness. While comprehensive platforms like Salesforce are overkill and Gmail-based solutions like Streak are underpowered, folk CRM provides exactly what financial planners need: intuitive client management, seamless integrations with financial planning tools, and pricing that makes sense for growing practices. Unlike HubSpot's marketing-heavy approach or Pipedrive's transactional focus, folk CRM is designed for relationship-based businesses like financial planning. Evaluate your specific requirements, but for most teams managing 20-50 clients, folk CRM offers the optimal combination of features, usability, and value. Try folk for free here.

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FAQ

Do financial planners with 20–50 clients need a CRM?

Yes. A CRM centralizes client data, automates reviews and follow-ups, tracks pipelines, and standardizes communication. It helps maintain service quality, uncover opportunities, and scale efficiently without adding headcount.

What features matter in a CRM for a 20–50 client practice?

Prioritize secure data, customizable pipelines, task automation, email sync and sequences, contact enrichment, LinkedIn capture, and clear analytics. Ensure easy onboarding and integrations with planning and custodian tools.

How much does a CRM cost for 20–50 client teams?

Expect $20–$100 per user/month for mid‑market tools. For example, folk CRM plans are $20–$40 per user/month, with custom from $60. Avoid paying enterprise prices for features you will not use. See folk for options sized to this need.

Which CRM does JP Morgan use?

Large banks use multiple systems. Public reports indicate JPMorgan Chase uses Salesforce in some divisions alongside proprietary platforms. Tools vary by line of business and region; smaller firms should choose simpler, purpose‑built CRMs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do financial planners use as a CRM?

Financial planners managing 20-50 clients typically use specialized CRM systems like folk CRM, which offers the right balance of functionality and simplicity for relationship-focused practices. While some larger firms might use enterprise solutions like Salesforce, and others might try basic tools like HubSpot or Pipedrive, the most successful mid-sized practices choose CRMs specifically designed for relationship management rather than transactional sales, with features tailored to financial planning workflows and client service needs.

Do I need a CRM?

If your financial planning practice manages 20-50 clients, a CRM system is essential for maintaining service quality and enabling growth. Without a CRM, tracking client interactions, managing review schedules, and ensuring consistent communication across your entire client base becomes increasingly difficult. A properly implemented CRM like folk helps organize client data, automate routine tasks, and enhance client engagement, ultimately improving efficiency and enabling you to serve more clients without compromising service quality.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs for financial planning practices managing 20-50 clients typically range from $20 to $100 per user per month for solutions that provide appropriate functionality. Folk CRM offers excellent value at $20-$40 per user monthly, while enterprise solutions like Salesforce can cost $100-$500+ per user monthly with features most financial planners don't need. It's essential to choose a CRM that fits both your budget and functional requirements without paying for unnecessary enterprise features.

Does folk's CRM respond to financial planners needs?

Yes, folk CRM is exceptionally well-suited to financial planners managing 20-50 clients. Its intuitive interface, customizable pipelines for client lifecycle management, and robust integration capabilities make it ideal for relationship-focused financial planning practices. Features like contact enrichment, automated follow-up sequences, LinkedIn integration for referral network management, and AI-powered tools specifically address the challenges faced by growing financial planning practices, providing comprehensive functionality without overwhelming complexity or enterprise-level costs.