In Search of the Best Financial Planning Software: eMoney

Last week I mentioned that I am considering changing financial planning software and discussed my review of MoneyGuidePro (In Search of the Best Financial Planning Software: MoneyGuidePro). Although it does many things quite well, I found a few shortcomings that, because of their importance, led me to rule it out for my practice. Last week I also attended an online demo of eMoney. This week I will be exploring NaviPlan from Advicent Solutions. I expect to decide on new financial planning software by the end of November so I can be up and running by January.

In this post, we’ll discuss what I have learned about eMoney thus far.

The demo I attended on eMoney only lasted one hour. Even though it was a one-on-one session, it wasn’t long enough to gain a clear picture or form a conclusive opinion. However, after some exposure, I suspect it may meet my needs, but I can’t say for sure. In any event, I do have a few thoughts to share. 

In my view, eMoney has a very strong value proposition. Subscribers can select the level they prefer from a basic plan to the whole enchilada. I’m considering the latter. At this level, it includes account aggregation, a client portal and document storage center, and it integrates with several custodians and even a few contact management systems. In short, it will make things more seamless, which is the goal. By integrating with a custodian’s website, an advisor can run a report with the percentage of total clients by age bracket, the assets and liabilities in each group, and a host of other things including the amount of assets which are held with competitive firms or in company retirement plans. The integrated data is updated daily. Therefore, when it’s time to update a client’s financial plan, all the advisor has to do is click a few buttons.