I recently ran across a new practice management tool on PRWeb of all places.  The tool is called PreciseFP and is available through Spectrum Input, LLC, a software service company based in Alpharetta, Georgia.  Spectrum Input, LLC was founded by Don Whalen, CFP® and Sebastian Skwarek, a specialist in Adobe technology solutions.

Click here to read the PreciseFP press release on PRWeb.

What PreciseFP aims to do is simplify the data gathering and entry process advisers face when bringing a new client into the firm.  I don’t quite make the connection with the phrase “precise financial planning (FP)” to data gathering, but still, the application has promise in streamlining the potential volumes of data gathered by advisers and their staff.  PreciseID is a cooler name, but it’s already taken by Experian.

Bruckenstein Reviews PreciseFP

Included in the press release is a link to a review by Joel P. Bruckenstein on the Morningstar Advisor website.  Joel gives a decent overview on how the utility works, but I didn’t get a sense of how PreciseFP might be orders of magnitude better than a fillable PDF created specifically for clients to complete when signing on with a firm.

PreciseFP runs $489 a year (or $49/month).  To save PDF files locally, advisers will also need to buy Adobe Acrobat running anywhere between $149 and $499 depending on desired functionality.

Important Takeaways about PreciseFP:

• Two interfaces are offered: an Advisor Dashboard and a client site
• Customization of intake questions is limited, other customization appears non-existent
• It won’t prevent garbage data from being entered by clients.  For example, clients may not know if the state in which they married is a community property state
• Specific interfaces with popular CRM and financial planning software applications don’t exist, although data from PDF files can be exported to an intermediate XML file (YourSilverBullet, anyone?)
• It’s a version 1.0 product, so the user community is limited and more dynamic features are yet to be added

Nevertheless, PreciseFP is one of only a handful of applications targeted at simplifying the data gathering process.  It’ll be interesting to see how well the application is received in the adviser marketplace.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 5:55 am and is filed under Efficiency, Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.