In this video, see a step-by-step guide on how to enter data into the US Voyant AdviserGo software.
Transcript:
In today’s training, we’re going to look at data entry for a cash flow plan in Voyant. We’ll start at the home screen and navigate down to the plus button in the bottom right-hand corner. From there, we’ll select the “Create Client” option and enter the client’s first and last name, their date of birth, and then a plan start date.
The plan start date is when the plan begins, and it’s important to remember that Voyant works in full planning years. The date you enter will mark the beginning of the second planning year. For example, if the plan starts in November 2025, the second planning year will start in January 2026. The state of residence you select will apply any relevant state taxes to the plan. So, if your client lives in a state with income taxes, this setting ensures those are applied appropriately.
Next, we’ll indicate whether the client is retired or not. If they’re not retired, we’ll provide an estimated retirement age, which can be changed later. We’ll click “Done” to save, then open the plan. Inside the plan, we can add more information by again using the plus button.
Let’s start with the “People” tile. We’ll add Jane’s spouse, John, including his birth date, and then use the drop-down to add their child. Once everyone is entered, the “People” section will display all of them. You’ll notice that default surplus accounts are automatically created for each person. These nominal accounts hold any surplus funds—like an inheritance or property sale—until you tell the software where to allocate them.
Now let’s look at plan settings. These are the underlying assumptions for the plan. They’re defaults provided by the software, not recommendations from Voyant, so I recommend setting your own defensible values. Anywhere you see underlined text, you can click for inline help to understand what an item does and how it affects the plan. Here, you can review tax brackets, build asset allocations, set market assumptions, configure major loss settings, and adjust liquidation and savings order preferences. For example, a liquidation order determines which accounts will be used first to fund retirement expenses. In “Calculation Settings,” excess income is assumed to be spent by default, but you can toggle other options if you prefer.
Depending on the client’s tax situation, you can also review the “Taxes and Other Financial Information” section. Standard deduction is the default, but for higher-net-worth clients, you might want to disable it and enter itemized deductions or tax credits.
Next, let’s set up the plan’s timeline. The timeline is the framework for the plan—everything in Voyant is tied to events. Some events, like retirement or mortality, are created automatically when you enter ages. You can add more events by clicking the plus button or directly on the timeline. For example, at age 75, we’ll add a “Slowing Down” event and assign it a boat icon. At age 55, we’ll add a “Remodel” event with a house icon.
Goals represent trackable expenses the client is working toward. We’ll add a “Retirement Living Expenses” goal of $50,000 per year, prioritized as “Basic.” We’ll also add a “Travel” goal of $20,000 per year, prioritized as “Leisure,” and step it down by half at age 75 using the event we created. Finally, we’ll add a one-time “Kitchen Remodel” milestone goal of $30,000 at age 55, categorized as “Luxury.”
Right now, none of these goals are met because we haven’t entered any assets, so the dashboard will show shortfalls in red. We’ll also add a general pre-retirement expense of $50,000 per year, ending at retirement, so it doesn’t overlap with retirement living expenses. The cash flow chart now shows the remodel bump, travel expenses in retirement, and the step-down at age 75.
Next, we’ll enter income. Jane earns $85,000 per year, and John earns $80,000. These inflows will now appear in blue on the chart. We’ll then add assets, starting with a $50,000 high-yield emergency fund, which we’ll set so the software does not use it to cover expenses. We’ll also add a taxable brokerage account with $100,000, a $25,000 cost basis, a 1.5% fee rate, and $250 monthly contributions, invested in a savings portfolio.
Now we’ll add retirement accounts. Jane has a $200,000 401(k), contributing 5% of her income with a 100% employer match up to 5%. John has a $300,000 Roth 401(k), contributing 6% of income with a 5% employer match. The liquidation order ensures tax-deferred accounts are used first and Roth accounts last.
We’ll add Social Security benefits for both, estimated from income starting at age 67. Then we’ll add their main residence, entering its market and purchase value, growth rate, and mortgage details. The mortgage payment will now appear as an expense in the plan.
In “Year View,” we can review inflows, expenses, taxes, contributions, and withdrawals for any year. In the “Investments” and “Retirement” sections, we can drill down into contributions by source, asset allocations, and growth. The “Property” section shows debt versus value, and “Taxes” breaks down cumulative lifetime taxes, deductions, and state tax details.
In the chart section, I recommend turning on details and the legend to review expenses, inflows, and asset balances over time. For example, in retirement, this couple is projected to have $2 million in liquid assets, growing to $4.5 million by the end of the plan, which might open conversations about increasing spending or retiring earlier.
We can stress-test with insights like “Retirement Spending Analysis” to find their maximum sustainable annual spend. In this case, even at $148,672 per year, they avoid cash flow issues and still pass assets to heirs. We might create “What If” plans—for example, spending $90,000 in retirement or retiring at 63—and compare them side by side with the base plan. This shows trade-offs between legacy value and lifestyle.
Finally, in “Reports,” we can package these scenarios into deliverables for the client. For example, we might create one report set for the base plan and another for the “Retire Early and Spend More” scenario, then generate a side-by-side comparison for the client to take home.
I hope this has been helpful. If you have questions while building a plan, you can email support@planwithvoyant.com, use the “Request Support” button in the client menu, or explore inline help wherever you see underlined text. There are also many videos available in the software to guide you through different features.
For a step-by-step approach see this guide