In this video, we walk through how to model a holding company in the Canadian software.
Transcript
In today’s webinar, I’ll be demonstrating how to model a holding company in Voyant. We’ll be working on the Canadian version of the software.
We’ll look at how to reflect revenue moving into the company, how to model dividends and salaries being paid out, and how to make the company the owner of both assets and expenses. I’ll also cover a few advanced features that may or may not already be activated in your account. If you don’t see these features and would like access, just let me know after the session, and I’ll be happy to enable them.
This webinar is being recorded. You’ll receive the recording within 24 hours. We won’t be opening up for live questions, but if you have any afterwards, feel free to email me at support@planwithvoyant.com.
Adding a Holding Company
We’ll start on the Dashboard. Click the plus (+) button, then go to the Corporate tab and select Holding Company.
For this example, our clients Charles and Charlotte will be the joint owners of a family business.
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You’ll see nominal account fields listed here. These are not required for setup, but you can click the hyperlinks to learn more about each one.
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You can also toggle taxation features on or off depending on eligibility—such as the Small Business Deduction or Capital Gains Exemptions.
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On the left-hand side, you’ll want to enter ownership details. I’ll set up a 50/50 split in common shares for Charles and Charlotte.
Once saved, you’ll notice a new Corporate section has been created, along with a non-registered account for the business. This account will automatically receive all company revenue and will be the source of salaries and dividend distributions.
Adding Revenue to the Company
To model revenue:
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Click the plus (+) button again, select Income, then choose Other Income.
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Set the owner as the business. Now that the company exists in Voyant, it can own income streams just like a person.
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Enter the details—for example, $500,000 per year.
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Choose the taxation type and timing. For today’s example, I’ll run the revenue through the end of the plan.
Once saved, you won’t see revenue in the Cash Flow chart, since that chart only shows personal cash flow. To view company revenue, check the Assets chart (corporate assets) or the Net Worth chart (corporate net worth).
Scheduling Salary and Dividend Distributions
Next, let’s push income from the company into Charles and Charlotte’s personal cash flow.
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Go to the plus (+) button, select Corporate, and choose Distribution.
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For a salary:
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Source: Business
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Recipient: Charles
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Amount: $100,000 per year until retirement.
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Repeat for Charlotte, with the same amount and timing.
Now let’s schedule dividends:
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Dividends will be split automatically according to the share ownership (50/50 in this case).
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Set them to begin at Charlotte’s retirement and run through the plan's end.
After saving, you’ll see employment income in the early years of the plan and dividend distributions later on. Switching to Year View provides a detailed breakdown of income, taxes, contributions, and withdrawals by year. You can also explore details under the Investments or Corporate sections for further breakdowns.
Company-Owned Property
The company can also own property.
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Click the plus (+) button → Property → name it Business Property.
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Set it as a business property, not a principal residence.
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Enter details such as market value, purchase value, and any linked debt. For example:
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Market value: $2M
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Purchase value: $1.5M
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Linked mortgage: $1.4M, 5% interest, 25 years remaining.
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This will automatically apply an expense to the business. If the property instead generates income (e.g., rental properties), you can link income rather than expenses.
Advanced Features
Under the Corporate section, opening the holding company allows you to model advanced scenarios:
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Ownership Transfers – Transfer the business to another person (inside or outside the plan) as a gift or a sale. For example, selling the business could show a large inflow of cash in that year.
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Estate Freeze – Model a freeze by using the Share Buyback and Issue New Common Shares option, or by creating a dedicated What If scenario.
If you don’t see these advanced options and would like them activated, email me at support@planwithvoyant.com.
Recap
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Add the holding company via the plus (+) button → Corporate.
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Model revenue as Other Income with the company as the owner.
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Model distributions (salaries/dividends) via Corporate → Distribution.
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Properties can be owned by the business and linked to debts, expenses, or income.
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Advanced options like ownership transfers and estate freezes can also be modeled.
Closing
If you’d like help modeling a specific holding company, I’d be happy to meet with you one-on-one. You can:
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Email me directly at support@planwithvoyant.com, or
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Within the software, click your client’s name in the top-right, select Request Support, enter your question, and share client access.
Thanks for joining today’s session, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.