Bill Paying
Febert & Associates, LLC can handle all aspects of a family’s bill paying. Although each engagement is developed in accordance with a client’s specific goals and objectives, we do have a standard procedure that is used by most clients. A client’s invoices will usually be mailed directly to our office, and we will send the client a weekly fax or e-mail detailing that week’s invoices with some comparative information. The client either approves the payments or requests us to follow up certain invoices for inconsistencies or questionable items.
After the client’s approval is received, the payments are processed by our office. We provide numerous internal and external controls to provide the client with assurances about this process. The payments are only released by our office after they have gone through three levels of internal review, and the checking accounts used for the bill paying are funded by the clients. Although we usually have signature authority for the checking accounts used for bill paying, we generally maintain no signature authority over a client’s other checking, savings and investment accounts. In addition, we establish online access whenever possible in order to give the client the ability to review the transaction history at any time.
This service is very popular with families, and it is especially useful for those individuals that travel extensively and with those who spend time at a number of different personal residences. Clients receive the peace of mind that their invoices are being paid no matter where they may be geographically, and it also gives them the time and freedom to pursue their other interests and passions.
In addition, since we often prepare the family’s personal financial statements and income tax returns, we are able to maximize the income tax benefits by identifying and properly segregating all income tax deductions as we process the invoices for payment.