KPIs for Fee-Only RIAs: What to Track and Why It Matters

Advisors want to run a healthy, scalable firm, but when it comes to tracking performance, things can get fuzzy fast.

When advisors come to us at XYPN, they’re usually not lacking effort or intention; they’re building real firms, serving real clients, and making thoughtful decisions every day. Where things can get tricky is turning all that hard work into clear, measurable insight.

That’s where KPIs come in.

This blog is here to help you use KPIs as a supportive tool, not a judgment tool. We’ll talk about why KPIs matter, how to choose KPIs that align with how fee-only firms actually grow, and share real, usable KPI examples across the major parts of your business, all without turning this into a corporate buzzword situation.

1. What a KPI Is (and Is Not)

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is NOT:

• A vanity metric

• A random number you track because someone told you to

• A thing you only look at when something goes wrong

A KPI is:

• A signal that tells you whether the systems in your firm are working

• A measurable outcome tied to a specific goal

• A way to make better decisions before problems become fires

Firms should use KPIs as decision-making tools, not a performance theater. As a fee-only firm, you are not optimizing for transactions; you are optimizing for recurring revenue, capacity, and sustainability, client experience over time, and your own sanity as a business owner.

By utilizing KPIs, they will help you spot bottlenecks before burnout hits, understand why growth feels hard (or easy), tie daily work to long-term firm goals, and help build a business that works for you.

Or said more simply: KPIs turn vibes into visibility.

2. Why KPI History Matters (and Why Context Is Everything)

Here’s something that doesn’t get said enough: a KPI without historical context is just a number having a moment.

Before you can set meaningful goals, you need to understand your own patterns over time.

Looking at KPI history helps you:

• Establish realistic, measurable goals (instead of vibe-based ones)

• Spot trends early, both good and bad

• Separate one-off anomalies from actual performance issues

• Avoid setting targets that accidentally bake in burnout

For example, if you’ve averaged 3 qualified leads per month for the last year, jumping straight to a goal of 15/month without changing your marketing inputs isn’t ambitious; it’s disconnected.

Historical data lets you ask better questions:

• Is this KPI trending up, flat, or down?

• What changed when the number moved?

• Is this a capacity issue, a demand issue, or a systems issue?

Use Peer Data to Add Perspective (Not Pressure)

This is where looking at other advisors’ KPIs becomes incredibly helpful. Benchmarking isn’t about comparison spirals. It’s about context.

Seeing how similar firms track metrics like revenue per client, operating margin, or clients per advisor can help you:

• Sense-check your goals

• Identify blind spots

• Understand what’s typical at your firm's stage

• Decide where not to optimize yet

💡 XYPN benchmarking data gives advisors visibility into what peers at similar revenue levels and firm stages are seeing, which makes goal-setting more grounded and a lot less lonely.

Turn History Into Goals

A simple, sustainable approach to turning your KPI history into goals is to:

1. Look at 6–12 months of historical data for a KPI

2. Identify the baseline average

3. Set a modest improvement target (think 5–15%, not 5x)

4. Pair the KPI with a specific action or system change

This turns KPIs into feedback loops, not finish lines.

3. How to Choose the Right KPIs (Without Overcomplicating It)

Before we jump into examples, here’s the framework I recommend:

1. Start With the Goal, Not the Metric

Ask: What are we trying to improve, protect, or scale? Revenue stability? Client experience? Lead flow? Capacity?

Your KPIs should exist because of a goal, not the other way around.

2. Pick Fewer Than You Think You Need

If everything is a KPI, nothing is. Most advisors do best with:

• 1–3 KPIs per business area

• Reviewed consistently (monthly or quarterly)

3. Make Them Actionable

A good KPI should clearly answer: If this number goes up or down, what should we do next?

If not, it’s probably not the right KPI.

4. KPI Examples by Area of Your Firm

Below are example KPIs that fee-only advisors commonly track. They’re starting points; use what fits your firm's stage, niche, and goals.

Growth & Marketing KPIs

These help you understand whether your marketing and business development efforts are actually working.

Examples:

• Qualified leads per month

• Discovery meetings booked

• Discovery meeting → client conversion rate

• Cost per lead (if running paid marketing)

• Revenue added per new client

Many advisors use XYPN’s marketing tools to refine messaging; these KPIs help you measure whether those changes are landing.

Client Experience & Retention KPIs

Retention is one of the biggest growth levers in a fee-only firm.

Examples:

• Client retention rate

• Annual revenue churn

• Average response time to client requests

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) or client satisfaction survey results

• Number of client referrals received

💡 Pro tip: If referrals feel slow, your retention KPIs often explain why.

Financial Health KPIs

These KPIs help you understand whether your firm is profitable and sustainable.

Examples:

• Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)

• Revenue per client

• Revenue per advisor or team member

• Operating margin

• Owner's take-home pay as a percentage of revenue

💡 XYPN benchmarking data is incredibly helpful here: context matters, and knowing what’s typical for firms at your stage can be a game-changer.

Capacity & Operations KPIs

This is where burnout prevention lives.

Examples:

• Clients per advisor

• Average planning hours per client

• Time from onboarding to first plan delivery

• Tasks completed per week/month

• Number of processes documented

If growth feels chaotic, these KPIs usually tell the story.

Team & People KPIs (If You Have or Plan to Hire)

Hiring without KPIs is how advisors end up recreating their own workload.

Examples:

• Revenue per employee

• Utilization rate (billable vs. non-billable time)

• Time to onboard new hires

• Employee retention rate

• Training hours per team member

5. How Often Should You Review KPIs?

Consistency > frequency. Most advisors do well with:

• Monthly reviews for operational and financial KPIs

• Quarterly reviews for growth and strategic KPIs

What matters most is that KPIs:

• Are reviewed on a schedule

• Lead to decisions

• Are adjusted as your firm evolves

Your KPIs at $250K in revenue should not look the same at $1M, and that’s a good thing. Setting KPIs is how you:

• Take your goals seriously

• Protect your time and energy

• Build a firm that supports the life you want

And you don’t have to do it alone.

Between XYPN’s benchmarking, tools, and community, advisors have access to the tools and context needed to choose KPIs that actually make sense.

Start small. Stay consistent. And remember: clarity compounds.