Key Features at a Glance

• Tracking: The element calculates the total sum of concessional (CCs) and non-concessional contributions (NCCs) for each financial year.
• Historical Data: Contribution tracking starts from the 2018/2019 financial year onwards.

How the Data is Calculated

The contribution figures are calculated based on the data entered in the Contributions tab within the superannuation plans.

Flexibility and Compliance Details

Manual Overrides: You have the option to manually override the calculated figures for both CCs and NCCs if needed. This is done via the Edit screen for the specific financial year. While in the Edit screen you can also capture:

• Total Super Balance (TSB)
• Refunded Excess CCs
• Refunded Excess NCCs

Notes and Document linking

You can link a Note to easily consolidate all relevant documents/statements for each financial year's contributions in one place, which helps keep all relevant information organized.

Xtools/Xtools+ Contribution Cap Calculations 

The Super Contribution Summary is about to get even more powerful! Contribution cap data will be imported into the following Xtools: Xtools+, Optimiser, Retirement Funding, TTRAP and Lifestyle Goals.

Cap Calculations

Xplan will calculate your client's Personal Concessional and Non-Concessional Cap data by leveraging the existing Contribution Summary information.

• Concessional Contributions (CCs): The system will calculate your client's unused and used concessional cap for each financial year, using previous eligibility for the carry-forward rule.
• Non-Concessional Contributions (NCCs): The system will determine the financial year in which your client has triggered the bring-forward rule.

If you can't see the Contribution Summary on your Xplan site, reach out to your site administrator to have it added to the interface.

💡 For more information refer to this Community article

When presenting financial strategies, viewing the potential outcomes of different options is key to help make informed decisions. The Xtools+ Compare Charts function is a powerful tool designed for exactly this. Instead of switching between individual scenarios, you can generate a single set of charts that visually contrast the projections, making the impact of your advice immediately clear.

This feature allows you to select any of your Xtools+ (CALM) scenarios and view their projected outcomes, like Net Assets, Cashflow, or Asset Allocation, on the same graph. It’s perfect for viewing 'current position' versus a 'recommended strategy,' or for comparing two different strategic options. By presenting the data this way, you create a compelling and easy to understand narrative for your clients, helping them clearly see the long-term benefits of your recommendations. It simplifies complex information and brings your advice to life in a tangible way.

How to Compare Charts

1. Navigate to CALM: For your chosen client, go to XTOOLS > XTOOLS+ > CALM. This will show you the list of existing scenarios.
2. Select Compare Chart: At the top of the list of scenarios, click the Compare Chart button.
3. Choose the chart you wish to compare: From the left hand menu select the chart you wish to compare
4. Choose Scenarios: Simply tick the boxes next to the scenarios you wish to compare.
5. Compare: Click the Compare button.
6. View Results: The comparison chart is now visible.  You can change to other charts by selecting them from the navigation menu on the left.

References

Iress Community - Xtools+

Iress Community - Xtools+ Compare Chart Xmerge

If your advice wizard isn't set up with the Xtools+ tables you use all the time, no worries, here's a quick and easy way to extract them in a usable format.

1. First, figure out which tables you use most often.
2. Then, go to Administration > Templates > Table format and set up how you want your tables to look.
3. Download the Xword toolbar, use it to get the code for your table, and then just add format='ABCDE' to the end of that code (make sure ABCDE is the name of your table format!).
4. And boom! You're ready to merge!

💡 Pro tip for virtual / outsource Paraplanners: If you work on different sites, make one Word document with all your go-to tables. Then, on each site, create a table format that matches that practice's branding but give it the same name on every site. This way, you can reuse your coded document everywhere!

▶️ Play the video below to see it live in action in real time.

As clients move through different phases of life, their risk tolerance and investment needs shift. That’s where Life Stages in CALM come in—letting you automatically adjust investment profiles over time, based on age or balance. For example:

What are Life Stages?

Life Stages allow you to change the investment profile for Super and Account-Based Pension accounts across different points in a client’s life. Typically, this means shifting from a high-growth strategy while accumulating wealth, to a more conservative one in retirement.

Here’s how to set it up (a detailed guide is available on the Community):

1. Turn it on:
   Go to Admin > Site > Assumptions > Risk Profiles > Life Stages
   Set Activate Risk Profiles by Life Stages to Yes
   
2. Define your stages:
   Use the sliders or input the End Age for each stage.
   Need more stages? Click the + button.
   (Heads up: Stage 1 will always start at age 0, and the final stage ends at age 99.)
   
3. Add investment balance cohorts:
   Enter the end balance for each cohort.
   Only want age to drive the profile? Add a single cohort with a very large end balance.
   (Don’t forget to hit Save after each step.)
   
4. Complete the matrix:
   Based on your age and balance settings, you’ll now see a matrix—match each stage/cohort with your existing risk profiles.
   (Don’t forget to hit Save after each step.)

To see it in action:

• In CALM go to Super > Accumulation and in the Rates section, set the Investment Profile to Life Stages
• Do the same in Pensions
• Head to the Asset Allocation Incl Super chart and watch the allocation shift over time

You can read more about Life Stages here: CALM Xtools+: Using Life Stages risk profiles

If you find yourself building the same types of scenarios in Xtools+ (think: super contributions, pension strategies, or asset sell-down sequences), you don’t need to start from scratch every time. By saving a well-constructed client model as a scenario template, you can reapply that structure to new clients with minimal adjustments.

Templates can retain:

• Income and asset structures
• Strategic assumptions
• Modelling (like contributions, drawdowns commencing an Account Based Pension)

Why is this helpful? It standardises how your team models advice, improves turnaround time for strategy reviews, and reduces input errors. It’s especially powerful for practices working at scale or those who want to embed best-practice scenario logic.

Create a scenario once, use “Save As Template,” and next time you start a new Xtools+ scenario, select your saved template. You’ll be surprised how much time this can save.

Jump into Xtools+, build your most-used scenario, and save it as a template. Then try applying it to a different client—see how fast you can go! And if you’re not sure where to start, head to the Iress Community for examples and a step-by-step guide.

You can get more information here Iress Community - XTOOL Scenario Templates