We know that client meetings are crucial to your practice, and without proper discussions, the appropriate financial plan cannot be created. Furthermore, your customer base can range from a wide variety of clients. Some are easier to please, while others are more demanding. However, what should remain available consistently are your resources. Just as a baker cannot bake without flour, a financial advisor cannot advise without a proper financial planning software. Choosing the appropriate financial planning software for advisors, and for your services in particular, provides productive and engaging client meetings.
Nevertheless, determining a suitable financial planning software for an advisor is not an easy task. While there are several financial planning solutions, it can be difficult deciding which solution is best for your practice. You should consider several factors when determining the best financial planning software as they all contain different purposes and features. In other words, one financial planning software may be best for one practice but not the other. You should consider several factors such as the type of service you are providing, trade-offs you are willing to make, and client interactions with the financial planning software of your choice.
To help you decide on which type of software is best for you and your clients, we created five tips to get you started
1. What type of services do you provide to your clients?
Determine what type of service you provide. If your client wants to determine the adequacy of their life insurance, using a program that accumulates their children’s college savings may not be the best program. Investigate which program is most beneficial for your services. For example, inStream financial planning software for advisors is aimed to improve retirement planning. Although this program is beneficial in other areas, since it is targeted toward retirement planning, it may be more advantageous in this field.
2. What type of flow are you tracking?
Determining the type of cash flow you are trying to collect is important in determining the best financial planning software. Are you tracking the influx of all funds that enter the household or the influx of capital toward a specific goal? Goal-based flow involves tracking the influx of capital towards a specific goal such as accumulating $1,000 in savings in a one year period. Programs like MoneyGuidePro, eMoney Advisor, inStream, or Money Tree could be reviewed if this field is of interest. If you seek to collect data regarding the flow of all cash, programs like NaviPlan or Finance Logix may be your best bet.
3. Is ease of input important in your financial planning software?
How easily do you desire to maneuver the financial planning software? While it is essential to record your data, the ease of entering this data is also critical. The more complex the program, meaning it contains more features and functions, the more challenging it will be to learn the program. The more difficult, the more time-consuming data entry will be for your advisors. If easy navigation and data entry is your priority, financial planning software like MoneyGuidePro or Finance Logix may be an option.
4. Are you seeking an interactive program or a print-out report?
Do you wish to have a print-out report or a collaborative solution to use with your client? Rather than being an “advisor solution only”, financial planning software can become a collaborative solution. Inputting data with your client and noticing how the inputted data changes with various situations is a solution that can engage clients. This is critical in that the clients place more faith in the advisor when the advisor guides them through the process. If the program is easy to use, it allows you and your clients to engage with the program, which allows for a more productive client meeting. Programs like MoneyGuidePro and Finance Logix have a reputation of being interactive solutions.
5. Is client access important in your services?
Programs are transitioning from a program made solely for advisors to programs that involve client experience. This is where a personal financial management (PFM) portal, or client portal, come into place. This is a dashboard where your clients can view their progress with your services. Some programs like eMoney Advisor have integrated client portals, while other financial planning software programs have the option of adding on client portals. Engaging your clients in this manner can guarantee engaging client meetings, as well!
No matter the client, having the correct solutions can help create an engaging client meeting. Knowing the types of services along with client experience are important factors to consider, along with other aspects. However, if you determine suitable financial planning software for your advisors, you are increasing your probability for engaging client meetings.
Genivity is here to help. We place emphasis on helping advisors with goal-based financial planning that incorporates health wealth factors to provide personalized reporting. When implemented into your practice, this solution can create an engaging discussion with your clients toward financial planning. Genivity establishes this financial plan alongside the family, which ensures a mutual trust between the client, your practice, and Genivity.