1. Define Your Needs
The first step in financial planning is to define your client's goals and objectives. This should also be the first step in your software search. Your practice and planning needs should define what software you get. Don't try to fit your financial planning style to the software but rather, find the software that best fits your style.

	How sophisticated are your clients and their planning needs?
	How many financial plans do your create annually?
	Who creates the plans? You, your staff or both?
	Do you and your staff learn new software quickly?
	Do you prefer to present plans that are numbers, text or graphics oriented?
	Will the software work with the way your practice, computers and network are currently set up?
	Do you have contact or portfolio management software that needs to be integrated with the planning software?

2. Gather Information
The next step is to research what software is available. Before contacting vendors and reviewing demos, you should create an "must have" list of features. For example, this list could include cash-flow based planning, Monte Carlo simulations, integration with contact and portfolio management software, ability to work on a network and the ability to email financial plans. The list will help you narrow your search down considerably. Check with your broker dealer to see what software they provide, if any. Mutual fund companies may also provide planning software and calculators. Contact independent software vendors and obtain demos for those that have your "must have" features.

	Vendor Directory
	Knowing what financial planning software is out there is a good place to start your search. Check out AdvisorTek's comprehensive directory of vendors.

3. Analyze and Evaluate the Alternatives
Once you've completed the information gathering stage, create a short list of two to three software packages. To help you compare and evaluate these programs, use these AdvisorTek tools:

	Software Checklist
	This comprehensive checklist will help you evaluate your short list of software packages. It covers ten categories you should use to evaluate a financial planning software program: Planning areas, Features, Compatibility with you, Demos, Costs, Licensing/Updates, Training, Support, Vendor and System requirements.
	Software Evaluator
	This online calculator lets you do a side by side comparison of three software packages. You rate each program on each of ten categories and the calculator gives a total score for each program.
	Real Cost of Software Calculator
	Software costs include more than direct costs such as the annual license fee. There are also indirect costs such as training, support, software add-ons and upgrades, setup, installation and hardware and network upgrades to consider. Use this calculator to estimate the real cost of software.

4. Make a Decision
Choose the software that best meets your needs. Don't expect it to meet 100% of your needs since the perfect software program simply doesn't exists. It's more important to act now and not succumb to paralysis by analysis.

5. Implement the Software
Purchase the software and required licenses and make any required upgrades to other software and hardware. It may be a good idea to hire a computer consultant to help with the implementation of the new software, especially if your network requires configuration. You should plan out training for your and your staff and any integration with the previous planning software that was used. Don't uninstall old programs or delete data until the new system is up and running for several months, just in case you have to revert back.

6. Monitor and Evaluate
Monitor the software to see that it continues to meet your financial planning needs. Your practice may evolve over time, so your software needs may change as well. For example, if you move to a high net worth clientele or a fee based service, you may need more sophisticated software.


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