What can be imported?
Firstly, we should clarify that we don't intend to entirely replace data entry in Voyant Adviser. However, most of the key items needed to create a client case in Voyant can be imported. The data imported varies with the third-party sending the data, however, the data usually includes:
- Your clients' personal information and planned retirement ages,
- Information about children and other family members,
- Employment and other income sources,
- Savings,
- Investments,
- Money purchases,
- Existing drawdown pensions,
- Annuities
- Properties and other assets,
- Debts,
- Protection policies,
- Expenses.
Other items that for accurate modelling require more complex information than can be gathered from the third-party data are captured as basic details in the fact find, alerting you to the need for further review, but must still be entered into Voyant manually. Generally, items that are not importable are:
- Anticipated future windfalls,
- Active final salary (defined benefit) pension schemes,
- Legacy expenses, which are used to model gifts to charities, family members, etc., usually for inheritance planning.
- Estate plans.
Addressing Errors Following Import
After importing you may receive a message stating that the plan has errors. Don’t be alarmed. This message does not indicate a problem with the data imported. Rather, some of the items imported need additional information in order to be effectively modelled in Voyant.
1. Click OK to close the message and start by addressing any issues flagged in the plan.
2. Warnings will appear at the bottom of the screen. These are clickable links, which will take you directly to the item in the plan that needs attention. Be sure to read the flagged messages as they usually provide a good description of what needs to be addressed.
3. For example, in this particular case, the first error related to Linda’s state pension. This link will take you to the Pensions > State Pensions screen with the pension selected and ready for editing.
4. To resolve this issue, we would simply click this screen’s Update A data check on the screen itself will revise the pension start age and the error message will disappear upon update.
5. Next, we would click one of the two errors related to the Legal & General Personal Pension 1.
This pension is, by default, set as a non-pension annuity. The software would normally require additional entries to model such an annuity, hence the warnings. However, this annuity is actually a pension annuity.
6. Select Pension in the middle of the screen and click Update. The two errors related to the annuity will disappear.
With these two items amended and the errors removed from screen, we can now begin our work on the case in earnest.
Checklist – Things to check following the import of a client fact find
Below is a quick list of things to check after you’ve imported a client case.
1. After importing, check the bottom of any screen in the software for error messages. These messages are links, which you can click to jump directly to the item in question and correct the problem. Be sure to read the error message. The descriptions in these messages are usually helpful (see above for more detail).
2. Check the timing and ownership of expenses and confirm they are timed correctly and owned by the correct owner(s).
3. Double-check your client’s expenses for possible double-accounting. If your client is itemizing expenses, verify that they do not include taxes, premiums on protection policies, and debt payments. These expenses are created automatically by the software.
For example, if they included a debt such as a mortgage in their fact find, the software will automatically create for this debt a “debt payment” expense, which can be found on the Expenses > Basics screen of the software. Future premium payments are also scheduled automatically when you manually enter protection policies into Voyant. Taxes are calculated and charged annually by the software.
4. Check planned future contributions to savings, investments and pensions and set the timing of these contributions, if necessary. Also set any employer contributions to defined contribution pension schemes, if applicable.
5. If the plan includes properties that have related debts, such as mortgages, and incomes, such as rental income, link these debts and incomes to the related property.
6. Use Voyant Adviser to enter items that are not importable.
Related topics
Integrations with third-party systems