The Personal BillPay Diaries

Why Be Flexible?

FreyerMartin just announced new pricing that is more flexible than ever before. You can now buy exactly the services you need for a fixed price that lets you be taken care of the way you want without worrying about how much it's going to cost.

Advertorials aside, asking how flexible to be is a legitimate business question. I personally want choices - don't back me into a corner I don't want to be in and ask me to pay for the privilege. As a business leader, however, flexibility often translates to complexity and additional costs somehwere along the way. It also makes it more difficult to forecast revenue and expenses.

In our industry, flexibility and willingness to accomodate choices adds significant value to the premium brand we've created. While it means uncertainty on some levels, it means a lot to us to know that we can count on our clients being happy about their options, and passing that on to their friends and colleagues. Their satisfaction drives our continual innovation.

We look forward to sharing it with you, one day, too.

Nearly Lost Hurricane Insurance!

This is a true story (identifying details have been changed to protect privacy):

Mrs. Smith has houses in Maryland, New York and Florida. She splits the year between the three. At some point between Maryland and New York, the hurricane insurance renewal for the Florida property came due. She never saw the bill - it either arrived when she wasn't in Florida, or got carried around and lost.

By the time she found out, the policy was about to lapse. It was late summer (hurricane season), and reinstated policies have a 90-day exclusionary window where claims can't be made. Mrs. Smith was terrified. After days on the phone with the insurance company and her bank, she got the policy renewed (not reinstated), but she was harried, exhausted, and upset at the near miss.

Had she been our client, it never would have happened. We know when bills are expected in, and if one doesn't arrive, we chase it down. It's paid on time, regardless of where the client is or whether we ever saw a hard copy. Our theory is "pay it now, sort out the backup later."

Don't forget to support FreyerMartin's run for the final 5 in the Forbes.com $100,000 Boost Your Business competition at http://boost08.perfectprize.com/voting/. Vote for (only) FreyerMartin. You may need to check your spam folder for the validation email - many people have found theirs there. Thanks for your help!

The DMM Landscape

Daily money managers, or DMMs, are a marvelous resource for helping you manage the chaos that day-to-day finances can become when you aren't able to invest the time needed to keep them up to snuff. A DMM's core service is making sure your bills are paid. At a minimum, you get peace of mind and possibly even a boost in your credit score, since payments are consistently made on time. There are many more benefits, depending on your specific situation.

DMMs serve a broad range of client profiles: seniors, executives, physically or mentally disabled, frequent travelers - the list goes on. Their service delivery methods vary greatly. Some work at your house, some pick up items from you and work on them at another location, some have bills sent directly to them. Payment methods are also very different. Some DMMs will prepare payments but not make them, others use your bank's online bill pay, others still issue payments from funds you set aside either in a separate bank account, or in the provider's bank account.

If you're looking to outsource your bill paying, it's important to know which combination of choices makes you comfortable and suits your lifestyle. Each has pros and cons, so there's no wrong answer. Decide on "style" first, then move on to vetting a potential provider's background, security, and other credentials. Be sure to confirm their membership in the American Association of Daily Money Managers. They've recently started certifying DMMs; there are few who hold the certification at this time, but more will certainly be coming.

Welcome

Welcome to the Personal BillPay Diaries!

I'm the founder and President of FreyerMartin, a daily money management (aadmm.com) firm. As a leader in this young industry, I spend a lot of time just letting people know that personal bill-paying services exist. There are many ways in which our industry's service is delivered. Each appeals to different needs. All are useful.

FreyerMartin excels at serving clients around the globe who have heavy demands on their time and aren't always available to manage their household and personal bills, but understand the importance of clean finances and want to ensure they're well taken care of. Our typical client profile is an executive-level individual, a professional athlete or entertainer, and/or a heavy traveler.

We love our work. Knowing that what you do day in and day out makes a powerful, positive impact on every client you serve is a wonderful feeling. We've been fortunate enough to have fantastic clients, so the past five years have been a lot of fun.

Over the next week or so, we'll be sharing some industry background. Then we'll dive into the day-to-day experiences we see in the office. Our goal is to share our expertise with people who care about keeping clean finances. Client confidentiality and discretion are paramount in our firm, so we'll be sharing general observations - nothing that would cause a client to recongnize him/herself.

Please feel free to ask questions. We're here to answer!