All your Xplan automation questions, answered

I recently jumped onto Advisely to answer all your Xplan automation questions.

Here are four of the most interesting conversations that came out of this AMA: 

Q: When a task is completed, can a note be added to the relevant client with the PDF merge of the comments and task description?

Yes, this is absolutely possible and a great way to make the detail help in key tasks easily accessible via notes. You can code an xmerge template to bring through the task details and set it to merge on task completion. See this article in Iress Community for help with the code and how to set it up Xmerge syntax for 'completed' Tasks.

I recommend using a note template with easily identifiable types, subtypes, or tags to ensure you can easily filter in/out the notes created. Also, consider whether every task needs to be saved or only key tasks in your process.

Q: We are currently looking to find ways to improve the annual reviews we do with relationship-managed clients. Is there a way to send an email with the client reviewing some basic client data (like health, tax, assets, liabilities, income, and expenditures, along with their goal)? Can this be set up and have a prompt for one of our team to review before it is sent?

Auto-emailing a client before a review with personalised documents is definitely an area where efficiencies can be gained via automation. Depending on the level of automation you’re comfortable with, there are a few ways Xplan can help facilitate this. 

1. An email template with an xmerge document attached (that automatically merges when you hit send). Have your review documents coded to merge out personalised content and link the document to your email template. The document will automatically merge & attach to the email when it is sent. 

2. As part of workflow automation, the above email can automatically send on task completion (or pop up for the team to review before manually sending, if you’re not comfortable with 100% automation) 

3. Scheduler (hands free). A schedule can be set to search for a specific list of clients (perhaps based on a saved search criteria that looks for clients with an upcoming review date between 30 & 60 days, automatically run every 30 days), and automatically send the pre-review email with the xmerge document attached to it. You could also have the schedule automatically activate a case or thread to step the team through the review process and follow up on the documents sent. 

💡 Tip: Whenever you’re looking at emailing a client, always consider if using Client Portal is a better option for even greater security. According to Peter Worn, they're the most important technology choice of all.

Portals are more secure for sending personal information and can further automate parts of your process. Clients can review and update their data before a review via the portal fact find and share additional information or documents securely. 

Q: Would you be able to go through how to auto-send quarterly reports to clients?

Quarterly reports can be automated using Scheduler.

1. Decide on your reports
• You could create an xmerge report pack or use your preferred reports direct from Portfolio
2. Create your email template
• Use xmerge code to personalise the content
• Link your xmerge or portfolio reports to the email template
3. Create an advanced search criteria
• This is really up to you - decide on what clients you’d like to send the report to and align the criteria accordingly
4. Set up a schedule
• Set the schedule to use your search criteria to search for clients who you want to send quarterly reports
• Set the schedule to send your email template
• Schedule it to run quarterly or at your preferred time
• Don’t forget to enable the schedule for it to run

The key to achieving the greatest efficiencies with this automation is to trust your data. Make sure you have robust routine processes in place, ensuring key client and portfolio data is accurate and up to date.

Q: I'd love to hear what the top four or five things you most commonly do to help your clients are. I find often it's not the things we think we need but a suggestion that makes you realise you could have been doing something so much more efficiently and not even realised it!

You’re so right! It is hard to ask the right questions when you don’t know what is possible!

Some quick and easy efficiency wins that spring to mind are:

• Set up your password security reset questions so you are not waiting on someone else to help you log in, in the case of a forgotten password! We still see far too many people ask for a password reset, which is not only inefficient but a security risk as well. Iress is on a mission to make remembering passwords across our ecosystem easier, so keep an eye out for IressID as well. (See more in the 2024 Q4 Xplan product roadmap webinar )
• If you are still duplicating data entry, stop, and ask if there is a better way. Much of the data you enter into Client Focus as part of fact-finding will automatically populate into our other tools if entered in the right place, in the right way. An easy efficiency win is to ensure you are using standard, rather than custom fields, for data collection and taking the time to link your data entry to the corresponding products in WealthSolver, Risk Researcher or Portfolio. An extra four or five seconds at the data entry stage can produce significant time savings down the line for paraplanners and advisers when it comes to comparing products and making product recommendations.
• Streamlining workflow is a big one as well. Workflow should make the work easier, not add to it. Consider where you can eliminate tasks and make use of the automation.
• A Client Portal strategy is also becoming more and more critical to eliminate sharing personal information via email. A Client Portal can help you streamline and automate many of your routine activities. Share important documents by simply uploading them as a note in Xplan, flagging them to be visible in Client Portal and having the system auto-notify the client. Have the client upload documents on their end to share with you, you’ll be notified and they will be auto-added as a file note. Ask the client to complete parts of the fact-finding prior to the meeting.
• Finally, I’m going to say data integrity is really the be-all and end-all when it comes to automation. You have to have robust processes in place to ensure data is captured in the right way, overlaid with exception reporting to call out any areas that need to be addressed. Once you have confidence that your data is correct, choosing to completely automate parts of your process is a no-brainer. Let the system take care of the routine tasks so you and your team can concentrate on the areas that add value to the end client.

If you want to know more about using Xplan more efficiently, head over to the discussion forums and ask a question—don’t forget to tag me at @Courtney Youngblutt!