Your biggest Xplan questions, answered

Practice Dynamix director Jessica Lamb recently jumped onto to Advisely to answer all your burning questions about advice tech, integrating business processes and uncovering Xplan’s hidden gems. Here are three of the most interesting conversations that came out of her AMA: 

Q: What do you think is the number one under-utilised Xplan feature?

This is a great question. I would have to say file note associations! Whenever I demo this feature, very few people are aware of its existence – but they do get excited about its potential.

Did you know that you can link a file note to an annuity, asset, insurance, liability, pension or super fund product? The reason you would link your file notes to a product is to provide focused file note views at the product level.

Here is a little video I created showing the power of this feature and how simple it is to use.

Q: How can a practice ensure workflow progress and client communications are shared across the team in an efficient manner. Essentially, how does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

My favourite topic at the moment is workflow. Given the recent enhancements in Xplan, we have seen a significant number of businesses flock back to Xplan for workflow management. There are so many benefits to keeping your workflows in your advice CRM, here are some of the key tools you can use: 

• Use Opportunities, Cases and Task Templates
  
  
• ‘Opportunities’ creates a visual on where the client is within the process. A Case that is linked to the opportunity can push the opportunity along the pathway so this can be automated.
  
  
• ‘Cases’ create the tool for Workflow (who does what and when) and Benchmarks (what needs to be actioned within Xplan and what has already been actioned)
  
  
• ‘Task’ templates are great for ad-hoc processes.
  
  
• Within a Task on Xplan – use checklists. The Task checklists are incredible. They are visual, easy to use and a game changer.

The Opportunities board is a great place for advisers or the admin team to review where things are at. Then using the filters, you can view ‘New Clients only’ or ‘Ongoing Clients only’. 

Task Hub is probably the biggest area, though, for the workhorses in the business. If you use Xplan to manage your task list (and you should), then the first thing you will want to do is make Task Hub your landing page. This means when you log into Xplan, it is the first page you go to.

Then, familiarise yourself with the filters and view options. There are lots of ways you can view tasks. Find the ones that work for you. Then, save your view.

I have put together a little video on Task Hub management that I think would be beneficial. Using Task Hub is the key to seeing what the right hand and left hand are doing, and where things are at, all within one screen.

Q: Do you recommend using a case for every advice document created?

A.Cases are a great tool to guide all staff through the journey of advice production. From the kick-off point, a team member will be tasked with the first component of your process.

This, if created well, will weave through the advice production and implementation process ensuring a smooth process is followed, nothing is missed and everyone is accountable to complete their phase of the process. 

This workflow does not have to be complex. And the introduction of Task Checklist makes this even easier. To expand on the workflow aspect of the Case, I would also recommend utilising the automation features within the task environment.

These include emails to clients, referrers and advisers keeping them updated along the way. Auto-creating File Notes using File Note templates, Merging Reports, and updating Xplan fields. All of these automations can create enormous efficiencies.

As a bonus, the introduction of Benchmarks to your case provides an overview checklist of all the key activities needed to be completed for this process to be compliant.

By using Benchmarks you can ensure all compliance related items are completed, and also visualise where the team are at in the process (what has been completed and what is outstanding). This gives you peace of mind in a business audit that all the requirements have been actioned as they have all been linked to the Case.

I am a huge fan and advocate for Cases and see them shine when used for advice production.