Lacey Shrum on the Hidden Problem with RIA Fees & Billing | In The Harbor #22

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of In The Harbor, Jason Johns and Scott Lindsay sit down with Lacey Shrum — attorney, former RIA CCO, and founder of SmartKX — to unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of RIA enterprise value:Billing. Revenue. Fee transparency.Most firms treat fee billing like “something that happens in the back room,” powered by Excel, muscle memory, and a lot of exceptions. Lacey argues that’s not just inefficient — it can be a quiet drag on revenue, client experience, compliance confidence, and valuation.We get into:Why quarterly-in-advance billing creates hidden friction (especially around cash flows and volatility)The real-world issue of “snapshot billing” vs. what actually happened across the quarterWhy billing methods can materially impact revenue (and what that means in a valuation / M&A environment)How firms can use better billing infrastructure to reduce client fee disputes and improve advisor recruitingThe “three-part billing loop” Lacey focuses on: documentation → calculation → analysisWhat implementation looks like across different firm sizes (from sub-$1B to multi-custodian enterprise)And because it’s In The Harbor, we close with some rapid-fire fun — Montana ranch life vs. RIA billing, NFL chaos, Chiefs vs. Lions diplomacy, and why certain rivalries feel a little… one-sided.If you’re an RIA operator, CFO, COO, CCO, or anyone who cares about margin, scalability, and enterprise value, this episode will make you look at fee billing very differently.Learn more: smartkx.io (And follow SmartKX on LinkedIn for ongoing billing + revenue content.)⚓️ Find us In The Harbor Where sports, leisure, and finance come together — from the rink to the markets and everywhere in between.🎙 Subscribe, follow, and join the conversation: 📸 Instagram & TikTok → @intheharborpod 💼 LinkedIn → Rock Harbor LLC 🐦 X & 📺 YouTube → @InTheHarborPod