Integrated cash flow management to keep clients on track

The best financial advice strategies can fall short without clear visibility of client cash flow. That’s why CHG Integrated Wealth runs a Cash Hub for every client – keeping them accountable and on track towards their goals.

Located on the NSW-Queensland border at Tweed Heads, CHG Integrated Wealth has evolved from an accounting practice to a holistic finance, wealth advice and accounting business. With a clear understanding of its ideal clients – busy business owners, Whiskey’s (retirees), and ‘HENRYs’ (high earners, not rich yet) – Head of Wealth Lisa Kirk knew full visibility of cash flow would be crucial.

So CHG uses the power of Macquarie Bank’s Cash Management Account (CMA) as what it calls its Cash Hub for clients.

“All our client’s cash inflows and outflows pass through that account. That allows us to quickly and painlessly measure cash flow – and what gets measured gets managed,” she says.

CHG sets up automated ‘drops’ that go from each client’s Cash Hub towards the best use of that cash to meet their goals. That could be a home loan offset account, a Macquarie Bank term deposit or CMA Accelerator account, or an investment account. A set amount is also allocated into an everyday transaction account for their everyday living expenses.

“From a client’s perspective, the Cash Hub just sits there in the background,” explains CHG Financial Planner Saul Muscardin. “The balance that we hold in it at any one time isn’t high, because we’re always allocating cash somewhere productive. We do the hard work of worrying about cash flow, and they just get on with their life.”

Real-time cash optimisation

“Cash management shouldn’t be hard,” explains Olivia McArdle, Head of Payments and Deposits for Macquarie Bank. “Macquarie’s cash ecosystem streamlines the experience for the client and the adviser.”

She describes it as a hub-and-spoke model. “The CMA is a cash hub at the centre, with direct links to a CMA Accelerator Account for excess cash on call at a higher rate, and term deposits for fixed returns if clients want to lock away funds for a set period – maybe for a tax bill or saving a deposits for an investment property.”

Transactions between accounts are real time and unlimited, with no daily limits and no fees. And with real time data integrations to over 45 platforms and push notification authorisation options for clients, it’s easy to set up accounts and make cash transfers on behalf of clients if they prefer.

“Advisers can set up a quite sophisticated cash maximisation strategy, while also having more time to focus on more complex investment options,” says Olivia.

Turn advice into action

Saul describes the benefits to CHG’s business as “gold”.

First, it takes any guesswork (and data entry time) out of managing expenses. “The numbers don’t lie, and the Cash Hub automates data feeds into XPlan,” he explains. Separating savings from everyday banking, with another set of eyes on transactions, also keeps clients accountable for their spending decisions.

CHG can also be more proactive with advice, which clients value.

“We’ve got eyes on each clients’ Cash Hub every single day,” says Saul. “We know what they’re building towards, so we can call and say, ‘I just noticed you’ve had a pay rise, let’s increase your super or pay down your debt quicker.’ We don’t have to wait for an annual review meeting.”

Best of all, it bridges the gap between advice and implementation.

“If we leave cash transfers in the client’s hands, we can’t be confident it will get done,” says Lisa. “But with Macquarie’s CMA, we can initiate cash transfers during a meeting, and authorization is simple: clients just get a notification on their phone to approve the payment,” says Lisa. “It’s just so easy to implement and tweak strategies on the go.”

Olivia says around a third of Australia’s SMSFs choose Macquarie’s CMA as their cash hub¹ for the same reasons. “It gives you visibility, data and control. Our data feed quality is the best in market, and our authority options are a game-changer. Some clients will want their adviser to execute all their cash transactions – right down to paying their tax bill – because they’re busy. They’ll get a push notification when the payment is made. Other clients may want to authorise the payment, and they can do that from their mobile or desktop.”

Lisa believes nothing compares to Macquarie’s fully integrated cash ecosystem.

“It’s easy for us, and easy for our clients. It’s the cornerstone of our cash flow offer,” she says

To learn more about Macquarie’s cash solutions, request a call or explore our cash management solutions.

¹ Source: Macquarie Bank Limited data, ATO Self-managed Super Fund Statistical Report.