AMA: I'm Zita White, Xplan doc notes expert and product manager at Iress, Ask Me Anything!

Got a burning question? Join me here on Thursday 13th June from 2pm to 2:30pm.

With years of experience helping advisers, paraplanners, client administrators and compliance managers streamline file notes with Xplan, I’m here to help.

Start popping in your questions below and Ask Me Anything!

Update: This AMA has now ended but please continue to pop your questions in the discussion forums and make sure you tag me at @zita.white

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rainier.reyes

Welcome everyone to an Advisely Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread!

Here's how to get involved:

Submit Your Questions: Just type them out and post now ahead of the AMA! This is a text-based event, so no audio or video needed. Whatever Xplan questions you have, Zita will be here to answer during the scheduled time.
Be Respectful: Keep it friendly and professional. Respectful dialogue makes the AMA enjoyable and informative for everyone.
Stay Engaged: Feel free to follow up or ask about different topics as the thread goes on. The more you interact, the richer the conversation.
Enjoy the Experience: Use this opportunity to gain insights, share laughs, and connect. Let’s make this AMA one to remember!

Looking forward to all your amazing questions and let the asking begin!

An exclusive badge is also available for participation in the AMA!">

An exclusive badge is also available for participation in the AMA!

amanda.cassar

In the UK, True Potential have an automated Review Process that sends out a series of 10 questions directly to clients; and then prints a Suitability Report (ROA) based on the answers. There's minimal adviser input required and it's followed up with the client approving the ongoing annual adviser fees. Is XPLAN looking to invest/roll out this kind of ongoing support option or do we need to turn to AI for this?

fenella

Is there any software/App available yet to allow Advisers to dictate directly into a File Note in Xplan? Do you have any suggestions on how best to cut down the time it takes to get a written File Note into Xplan following review meetings? We are looking at a 'talk to text' system and would love to know if anyone has found anything that works well for them.

genevievegibson

Hello Zita,

Ian Henry is selling his business at the end of the financial year 2024.

What would be the process to get a mass download of file notes stored in Xplan?

sarah.schultz

Is there an easy way of downloading all attachments within a file note? When I have an SoA to prepare, the adviser will save all files within Xplan notes. Sometimes there are 30+ files and I can only download them one at a time. Any chance of getting a "download all" option?

Corinne.Sampson30839

Is there a way of doing more advanced searches for documents?

For example, I would like to search for a document with the subject name that starts with "Record of Advice" (no text before it), or to search for "ROA" (case sensitive), or a subject line that contains both "Record of Advice" and "implementation", but it can have other words in between.

jaclyn.bazin4

Hello Zita,

Is there a way or possible future enhancement that will allow attachments uploaded to FSG section in XPLAN to automatically save to the Notes section also, linking it to the note?

Further, I know there is functionality that allows you to create a task from a Note, but if you have an existing task, when you attach a document to that task, can it be saved as a Doc Note or linked to an existing Note?

Or perhaps a Document Storage Repository that all document attachments uploaded into XPLAN Notes/Tasks/FSG etc that can be accessed in one central location for a client and downloaded if needed?

Thanks

felicity.eardley

Are you looking in the Doc library search filtering on the Client list?

I just enter whatever I'm looking for an all docs are returned. If you want to search just one client select them from the list on the left and only their documents are returned.

Corinne.Sampson30839

No, I'm trying to do an advanced search in order to mass categorise notes from all clients that have been incorrectly categorised.

Corinne.Sampson30839

Is there a way to search for documents with a more specific date criteria? I am looking for documents from January 2021, but I can only search for "last year" or "this year", etc.

rainier.reyes

Thank you everyone for joining and submitting your questions. Don't forget to refresh the page as new questions and answers come in!

zita.white

Hi @amanda.cassar and thanks for submitting the first question.

Without knowing the specifics of the questionnaire and the output, my initial assumption is that True Potential’s solution has likely digitised a simple process rather than using AI. A digitised process typically applies "if this, then that" logic to control the content of the output, such as the suitability report in this case. I assume the questions are basic, e.g., “Have your circumstances changed?” If the complexity increases beyond a certain point, it would likely be referred to an adviser.

The primary challenge lies not in the technical implementation but in defining the decision logic—understanding what each response signifies and building out the coded document to reflect these decisions. While AI could perform a similar function, it requires a significant dataset to analyse and extract historical patterns to provide answers for future scenarios. For AI to be effective, we need a robust, digitised dataset from which it can learn. For simpler scenarios, a decision tree outlining the advice process could serve as the foundation for automation.

Digitising the process offers greater control over the advice given, but comfort levels, historical data for training, and cost remain significant hurdles in AI adoption. Considerations around contracts, privacy, and data security are also important factors.

Iress’ Digital Advice product currently uses elements of digitised logic but continually evaluates its product strategy. AI in this space is more of a long-term strategy rather than a short-to-medium-term solution. While Xplan has the potential to incorporate such automated processes, leveraging AI effectively requires careful planning and significant data analysis, making it a path worth exploring.

There are parts of the process that can be achieved with current Xplan functionality. The review check-in in Client Portal can be configured with your questions. Once notified that the client has completed it and the results have been entered into Xplan, the RoA could be generated based on the client’s responses. I suggest discussing your desired scenario with your Relationship Manager to see what can be achieved now.

darryl.gunther4

Can you direct me to the process for updating fields in Xplan relating to Updating FSG Version numbers when we do a bulk client email of the FSG

zita.white

That’s a great question @fenella.smith

Several third-party providers integrate with Xplan, including Voice Recognition, Lumiant and Avanser. We’re also in discussion with additional providers to add them to Iress Open, but there are no confirmations or ETAs at this time.

Jessica Lamb shared an excellent video in a previous discussion about using a Google Chrome extension for voice-to-text in Xplan. You can check it out here: speech to text - Xplan integration | Advisely

Additionally, YBL offers a third-party product that uses AI to listen to your meetings, providing prompts for missed questions and assisting in producing meeting notes. While it doesn't automatically save notes to Xplan yet, it can update fields in Xplan based on your meeting. This could be a great tool to increase efficiency.

zita.white

Hi @genevievegibson , I understand that someone at Iress has already been in touch to discuss your specific requirements. However, I will still provide guidance on how to extract notes and attachments from Xplan.

Using Xmerge

Using Xport

zita.white

Hi @sarah.schultz, this topic recently surfaced in our doc notes initiative. Unfortunately, we couldn't address it due to time constraints. However, we’ll review the feedback we've received for future implementation, and I've noted your idea for consideration.

zita.white

Hi @jaclyn.bazin4, unfortunately, it’s not possible to automatically link documents uploaded in the FSG section to a doc note. This functionality is not currently on our roadmap, but I've noted your suggestion for future consideration.

Regarding your question about saving an attachment from a task as a doc note, or linking it to an existing note, this is also not possible at the moment. Although this was considered as part of our recent doc notes uplift initiative, we were unable to include it due to time constraints. However, we have noted your suggestion and will review it for potential future enhancements.

zita.white

Hi @csampson, the search functionality for the subject of the document note does have some limitations. The "search by text" field is more powerful and allows you to search for text contained within the document and attachments (although not the subject).

For more detailed guidance on how to perform advanced searches using specific words and phrases using “search by text”, I recommend checking out this article available in the Iress Community. It offers useful tips and criteria to help you refine your searches effectively.

zita.white

Hi @csampsonAbsolutely! You can use the 'view notes by' filter to choose from the date options: document created, document modified, or reference date. The second field then allows you to set the range. If you prefer a custom range, select the 'any days' option and a pop-up will appear for you to choose your desired range.

zita.white

Hi @darrylgunther4, sure! You can update the FSG details for individual clients using the FSG element, usually located on the FSG page. Depending on the Xplan site you use, this is often found within the Admin or Compliance menus. For detailed instructions, refer to this video in the Iress Community.

To update FSG details in bulk, you can use the "Modify All" functionality. This allows you to mass modify data for a selected list of clients. Follow these steps:

Use the Advanced Search functionality to refine your list of clients.
Run the "Modify All" functionality on the selected client list.

Important things to note:

The "Modify All" functionality is powerful and irreversible, so please proceed with caution. For more information and instructions, refer to the Iress Community links:

- Advanced Search
- Modify All

Depending on your Xplan site and user capabilities, you might need to contact your site administrator for assistance with running these bulk updates.

If you need to add additional FSG Version numbers to the field, this can be done by editing the Field Definition in the interface. This task must be completed by your Xplan site administrator. If you are the site administrator, instructions on how to edit field definitions is available here.

darryl.gunther4

Hi Zita, Thank you.

jaclyn.bazin4

Hi Zita,

I'm not sure if this is your area, if not could you please share this with the relevant team as I also would love to see the functionality to bulk update FSG dates/versions etc in bulk automatically when you send an email.

As a site administrator, Modify All (as you said) is a powerful function and as such we do not provide access to all users as there is no undo button. As a result, practices will often send out FSG in bulk then rely on site administrators to bulk update the fields on their behalf. We rely on using the same search criteria the client used to send the emails and this runs the risk of updating fields incorrectly if we have not used the same criteria. By having a function where it is automated based on when an email is sent would reduce this risk.

I would like to see it work much the same as tasks. When you complete a task, the outcome can update fields in tasks. For the bulk emails, it would be great to have the same function to update fields so only those that were sent the email are updated.

Administrative tasks are very time consuming within practices, having this functionality would not only help with compliance requirements, but add huge time saving efficiencies in processes moving it from a two step approach (1. send emails and 2. bulk update fields) to an all in one step process.

Thanks

zita.white

Hi @jaclyn.bazin4, FSG and tasks fall under CRM, so they're within my area of responsibility. I've noted each of your feedback items for consideration in future initiatives, where they align with the roadmap. Thank you for providing your insight.

felicity.eardley

This would be a huge win, it's a horrible process currently.

Corinne.Sampson30839

How do I get the badge? It has not yet appeared on my profile.

rainier.reyes

Hi @csampson - my apologies! Looks like the trigger wasn't working so I've added the badge manually to your profile.