SoA Helper Overview
In today's post we'll have a look at an exciting new tool designed to help you create fully customised SoA templates directly within Microsoft Word. We call it the "SoA Helper" and it is helpful indeed, as it enables you to easily grab data from your Provisio strategies and display them within a Word template of your own creation. You can insert values from strategies, charts, tables and even conditionally display content based on client information.
The SoA Helper is a Microsoft Word plug-in tool. Installation is quick and easy... just have a peek at the instructions to see for yourself! After installation, the plug-in is accessible in MS Word via the Provisio tab.
Let's start by having a look at the interface:
Interface
The SoA Helper is organised into five sections:
Create
Formatting
Manage
Details
Information
Let's have a closer look at each one:
Using the SoA Helper with Provisio
There are three steps to using the SoA Helper in coordination with Provisio. These include:
Create a template using the SoA Helper plug-in.
Upload your template to Provisio.
Export your strategy content to your new template.
There is a great deal of functionality available when creating a new customised template, so in today's blog post we'll focus on some of the core features: inserting variables and using conditional text.
Creating a Template: How to Insert a Variable
In the example below, we'll create a simple entry in the template that displays your client's date of birth. Start by entering, "Your date of birth is: " in MS Word. As the SoA Helper is a point-and-click utility, you simply have to select the date of birth entry from the Provisio menu system to automatically insert the proper code. Here's how to do it:
In Word, click the Provisio tab.
Click Insert Variable.
In the drop-down menu, select the Fact Find entry; alternatively, you can select a strategy. In the example below we'll use the (Retirement) Adequacy entry.
In the sub-menu, select input.client.dateOfBirth
That's it ā the variable code is inserted and should read: {DOCVARIABLE ad.input.client.dateOfBirth}
The example graphic conveys some other popular client-based variables, such as retirement age, total income, the client's superannuation balance and its tax-free component.
Later on we'll upload the template to Provisio and then, when creating an SoA, we'll select it for data export.
Creating a Template: How to Insert Conditional Text
One of the most powerful features of the SoA Helper tool is its ability to enter information that is conditional; that is, content is displayed to the viewer based on data from the client strategy.
In the example below, we are displaying a client's relationship status. Start by entering two sentences: "You are single." and "You and your partners are a couple."
Highlight the "You are single." sentence and, using the Provisio menu, select Remove Section ā Adequacy ā couple ā Remove if couple. This removes the sentence if the client has a partner.
Then, as conveyed in the graphic, highlight "You and your partner are a couple." and select Remove Section ā Adequacy ā couple ā Show if couple. This displays the sentence if the client has a partner.
When you're done, be sure to save the document in Word DOC format (not .DOCX). If you have a newer version of Word, this may require you to save the file as a Word 97 - 2003 document.
When you're all done your template can be re-used over and over again, so there's a good chance that you may need to do this only once. All subsequent strategies that use the template will automatically display one of the sentences based on the client's relationship status as specified in Provisio. In the example below, the client has a partner.
Using the Information Section
Feel free to experiment with SoA Helper options when creating your own unique template. To view a definition of a variable, simply hover your mouse over a menu option. You can also insert a variable and then highlight it in Word... the Information section will display a description of the selected variable.
Uploading your Template to Provisio
When your template is ready to go, the next step is to upload it to Provisio. Here's the walkthrough:
In Provisio's Top Menu Toolbar, click your name and then, in the sub-menu, select Templates.
In this example we're using the Retirement Adequacy strategy, so click New Adequacy Template in the Adequacy section.
Click Choose File, navigate to your newly-created DOC and then select it for upload.
After it has uploaded, enter a name for your new template in the Name field.
Click Save.
Your template is now available for export. If you make changes to the template in the future there's no need to go through the whole upload process again... simply click the Update button.
In the example below we uploaded a template DOC and named it "Provisio Adequacy Template".
Select the Template for Strategy Export
Well, the template has been created and uploaded to Provisio... the only thing left to do is to use it!
Go ahead and create a new strategy projection. Since we've uploaded an Adequacy template, we'll use the Retirement Adequacy tool to create and optimise a new projection.
When done, click the small arrow to the right of Export Document and select your new template. If there is no drop-down arrow, then click Export Document and select your template via the Select the template... field (in this case, "Provisio Adequacy Template").
Select the Adequacy strategy projection you just created/optimised.
Complete other fields as needed.
Click Export.
Provisio will now export your strategy details to the new template.
When done, click Download Statement of Advice to save the SoA to your system.
That's it ā check out your document in MS Word, print it out and share it with your impressed client.
Last Words
Of course we've only just touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of the SoA Helper's functionality. Your imagination is truly the limit. Your templates can be as simple or as complex as you like ā tables of upcoming yearly financial data, financial projection charts and highly-configurable conditional text are all at your disposal. So create away!
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