Todd Latocha is the founder of Blackwater Financial in West Virginia and a member of XY Planning Network. He runs the firm as a solo advisor with one part-time administrative support. His core systems include PreciseFP, eMoney, Redtail, Schwab, Google Drive, DocuSign, and Holistiplan.
Before centralizing intake, Todd’s workflow looked like what many independent firms experience after leaving a larger organization. Client data was entered into eMoney, then entered again into Redtail. If something did not match, it had to be corrected in both places. Account opening required back-and-forth emails to collect missing details. Long onboarding forms led to incomplete responses, which meant follow-ups and delays.
He did not have a staff-heavy structure to absorb inefficiencies. If data was wrong or incomplete, he was the one fixing it.
Where the Friction Was
Most of the time was lost switching between systems and fixing information after it had already been entered. Data would move from one platform to another, then require correction because something did not match. The planning itself was not the constraint. The bottleneck was how information was collected, validated, and transferred between systems.
The operation issues included:
- Data entered in more than one system
- Generic onboarding templates that did not reflect his process
- Repeated requests for the same information
- Manual cleanup before syncing data
- Document uploads scattered between portals
Making One System the Starting Point
Todd decided that every client process would begin in one place.
PreciseFP became the intake and engagement system for onboarding, agreements, and data updates. Rather than using default fact finders from planning software, he built a master fact finder tailored to his firm.
The form uses conditional logic. If a client indicates they do not own a business, business-related questions do not appear. If they do not have children, education planning sections are skipped. Each client sees only the sections relevant to them.
That reduced incomplete forms and unnecessary follow-up.
Live Data Collection
In many meetings, Todd fills out the fact finder live with the client. Instead of sending homework before the meeting and hoping it comes back complete, he collects the information during the conversation.
That shifts the workflow from reviewing partially completed forms to confirming details in real time.
Field Mapping and Data Validation
Todd customized field mapping between PreciseFP, Redtail, and eMoney. When a client enters their name, address, or date of birth, that information is validated in the form and then syncs to the CRM and planning software.
He handles data hygiene before it moves downstream. That reduces correction work later.
He also replaced eMoney Vault for document uploads. Clients upload files through a published PreciseFP form connected to Google Drive. Files land in a defined folder structure without manual sorting.
Operational Results
Todd has said that without restructuring intake, he would have reached a capacity limit. According to the case study:
Onboarding time moved from two to three hours down to under 30 minutes.
- Account opening turnaround moved from two to three days down to approximately two minutes.
- Administrative time dropped from 15 hours per week to five.
- Manual data entry across four systems was reduced to a single intake hub.
- NIGO errors decreased significantly after front-end validation was introduced.
Capacity Without Additional Staff
With intake centralized and data flowing cleanly between systems, Todd increased the number of active clients he serves without hiring additional full-time staff.
The change did not involve adding more tools. It involved deciding where data lives first, validating it there, and letting integrations handle distribution.
How the Firm Runs Today
- Every new client begins in PreciseFP.
- Fact finders adjust based on client responses.
- Data syncs to Redtail and eMoney without re-entry.
- Documents upload through structured forms to Google Drive.
- Follow-up is based on engagement status rather than separate task lists.
- Planning time is spent inside eMoney and client meetings, not reconciling mismatched records.
You can download the full Blackwater Financial case study here.
Todd Latocha also discusses this workflow in the XY Planning Network session “Work Less, Scale More: The Upgrade Every Advisor Needs.”
If you are reviewing how intake and follow-ups operate inside your own firm, you can explore the same system by starting a 14-day free trial of PreciseFP.
