Best Practices for Business Owner Discovery and Data Collection

Business owners need trusted advice, but many aren’t getting it. Research shows that 65% of small business owners aren’t currently working with a financial advisor, and 75% don’t have a formal succession plan, two major gaps that represent one of the largest growth opportunities in wealth management.

But to serve business owners effectively, advisors need to be able to capture data about the business, a historically complex challenge.

Personal vs. Business Data

Gathering personal financial data is a critical step in the financial advisory process. Advisors who are most successful in this otherwise cumbersome process know that clients are more likely to share key information as trust in their advisor grows.  

Discovery and data gathering for personal plans has become relatively commonplace. Clients anticipate requests for bank statements, investment accounts, and personal tax returns when engaging a financial advisor.

For advisors who work with business owners, this process of discovery and data gathering is especially complex. Owners can be challenging to pin down, and private business data is often disparate and disorganized. Financial statements may be incomplete, the accounting system might be outdated, and business owners themselves don’t always fully understand their own numbers.

There’s also an emotional component to consider; business owners dedicate years of their lives to growing their businesses. Asking for detailed financial data about their life’s work can feel invasive; doing so requires a foundational level of trust between the advisor and business owner.

How do you build that trust?

Open with the Right Discovery Questions

Before you ask for a single piece of financial data or document, start with high-level, meaningful conversations. Focus on how the business fits into the owner's long-term vision and life plan

Ask questions like:

• What motivates you to build this business every day?
• How does your business fit into your life goals?
• What do you believe your greatest challenge is when planning for the future? 
• If something happened to you or the business tomorrow, do you feel like your family will be okay financially?
• Have you thought about what comes after this business for you personally?

These questions:

• Establish that you understand the role their business plays in their lives and long-term plans. 
• Surface the real planning needs (succession, exit strategy, wealth transfer, risk management). 
• Create context that makes the eventual data request feel relevant rather than invasive.

Offer Value When Asking for Data

Providing immediate value naturally increases trust and leads to a greater willingness to share data.

For business owners, business valuation is the perfect entry point. 

“Do you know what your business is worth?” can be a powerful and appropriate follow-up to many of the opening questions listed above. Offering a valuation estimate gives owners something tangible and valuable while creating a clear reason for data collection.

With advances in business planning software, estimating client business valuations no longer requires extensive time and fees from specialized consultants. Advisors can now offer real-time estimates of business value to prospects and clients within minutes of gathering business data. 

When framed as part of value delivery, data collection is no longer seen as an administrative burden and instead becomes an unlock for clients and prospects. 

Modernize the Data Collection Process

Traditionally, business data collection has been fragmented and cumbersome: email requests, manual document uploads, and hours spent entering information into spreadsheets or planning software. 

But technology has streamlined the tedious, error-prone process for forward-thinking advisors and their clients.

For Financial Data

Modern platforms use AI-powered document readers that extract data directly from business tax returns. No more manual entry of 1065s, Schedules C, or corporate returns; technology reads the documents and populates the relevant fields automatically.

Even better, tools now integrate directly with accounting systems like QuickBooks. The client authorizes access once, and the platform pulls the current financial data directly from their books.

RISR uses integration with QuickBooks and AI business tax return readers to import key financial data about client businesses for advisors.

This approach is faster and more accurate than manual collection. It eliminates the back-and-forth of requesting missing documents and respects the client's time, which strengthens the relationship rather than straining it.

For Non-Financial Data

Financial statements tell only part of the story. You also need to understand the business operationally and uncover "softer" talking points around risk management, legacy, retirement planning, and succession & exit. :

Business Risk Assessment

• Who are your key employees? What happens if they leave?
• How concentrated is your customer base?
• What are your biggest operational vulnerabilities?
• Do you have adequate insurance coverage for business-specific risks?

Integration with Financial Planning

• What percentage of your net worth is tied up in the business?
• Do you know how much your business needs to be worth to fund life after exit? 
• How does business cash flow support your personal lifestyle?
• Are you taking enough compensation, or is too much wealth trapped in the company?
• How does your exit timeline align with your retirement goals?

Succession and Exit Planning

• What is most important to you in a future exit (maximizing proceeds, protecting legacy, maintaining control, stepping away)? 
• Have you identified potential successors (family, employees, or external buyers)?
• What's your ideal exit timeline?
• What would you want your life to look like after exiting the business?

These questions can be covered in conversation or through a simple questionnaire, but they provide essential insights for comprehensive planning.

For more detailed guidance on succession and exit planning questions, download our free data gathering fact finder template.

The RISR Difference

Most advisors already possess the core skills needed to serve business owners, but until now, they’ve been missing the tools that make business data capture seamless and insights immediately accessible.

RISR powers financial planning with business owners through three core capabilities:

• Seamless Data Capture: RISR connects directly to QuickBooks and uses AI to extract data from tax returns. Clients authorize access once, and the platform handles the rest.
• Tailored Discovery Flows: RISR’s discovery flows are tailored to uncover the talking points that matter to business owners across business valuation, wealth, succession & exit planning, and risk management. 
• Actionable Insights: RISR's platform analyzes financial data to provide an initial business valuation and guide advisors through ways the owner can improve aspects of their business and raise its value.
• Client-Ready Deliverables: RISR generates branded valuation reports, risk assessments, and succession planning frameworks that you can present to clients immediately. 

Interested in learning more? Schedule a walkthrough of the RISR platform with our team by clicking here.