A collection of practice management and client service ideas submitted

by NAPFA members.

T H E E F F I C I E N T

PLANNER^ Software, PDAs, Scanners Can Improve Productivity

From Susan S. Spraker. I have found that ACT is invaluable. I use the "alarms" and Notes every day to plan all the out- standing items that need to be transacted for clients, including: birthday recogni- tions (I send handwritten cards); notice of required minimum distributions, with- drawals from accounts, and contirmation that deposits were received; distribution of extra reports and information they may have requested; appointment cal- endar updates; change of address; and more. It's all done with the keystrokes and NO PAPER. Clients appreciate the prompt follow-up and reminders, and they wonder how we can do it. Well, this is how. And we don't have to remember anything because the Notes section of ACT has all the details that are not in the daily or hourly alarm. As an added bonus, all of our staff has access to ACT, so any one of us can do what needs to be done.

Also from Susan S. Spraker. We have a written procedures list for any incom- ing or exiting client. This ensures that all loose ends are handled. The sheet shows who is assigned which task, and everyone who has a job to do must sign off on that part of the project and route the proce- dures list to the next person.

From Charles Simon. Tip for Micro- soft Outlook Users: You probably already

use the Outlook signature tool for your own e-mail sign off. But did you ever consider using it for form letters that you send via e-mail? Store your form letter

70. This site has a number of quick calculators on many financial planning topics.

using the "signature picker" tool (go to tools/options/nlail format). You can give each form letter a name that can be se- lected whenever you use the "signature" icon. (You will probably have to adjust line breaks to make the letter look right when it prints, so send test letters first.) This accesses and gets your standard messages out in a flash. No more wasted time cutting and pasting form letters from a Word document.

From Nancy Nelson. Use a colored glue stick to seal envelopes. This is es- pecially handy when you send a mass m*. My glue is purple, so I can see where I've been, but dries clear. Your tongue will thank you.

Also from Nancy Nelson. A quick and easy way to get a rough estimate of Social Security benefits for a client wha doesn't have his or her personal benefit estimate on-hand is to log on fa bp://www. finance.cch.com/sohoAo- plets/SoeialSecurity.q. By entering present age and income, you'll iastandy get a rough estimate of annual heorne (under present rules), as well as a bar graph that shows increasing monthly payments from starting ages 62 through

Mamie Aznar. I use www.maxemai1. rn for faxing. The fax comes into my e-mail mailbox as a pdf, and I save it to the appropriate client file. This has saved quite a bit of time since I don't have to print and scan the paperwork to get the document into the appropriate file. Melisssa Hammel says that her firm uses g(r~ir811~efax.~orn, and she's very pleased.

Also from Mamie Aznar. I take notes directly in ProTracker when talking to a prospect or a client. This saves me the step of copying my handwritten notes into my contact management system. With one click, I can print out the notes and have the meeting agenda in front of me.

Also from Mamie Aznar. I have set up a standard folder structure for each c4ient. When I take a new client, I use Mcrasoft Explorer to copy the sample foldm into the appropriate client folder (set up A-G, H-N, 0 -Z) and rename it with the client's name so that every dient folder is standardized. [Nancy Nelson ad&: The idea behind breaking up t h ~ dphabet into segments is to be able to Bee a group of about 10 names in one frame/glmce. Sounds minor, but it

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saves a lot of scrolling, as well as helps to maintain client privacy if you are doing this in front of a client.]

Also from Mamie Aznar. This may be a no-brainer, but about a year ago, I decided to invest in the scanner that Joel Bruckenstein and Dave Drucker recommended, the Fujitsu fi-4120C, and switched from scanning from a multi- function device to this high-speed little workhorse. What a differencewell worth the investment!

Ben Utley. I use keybbard shortcuts for everything. Try this: Go to www. google.com. In the address bar, drag the Internet Page icon onto the desktop. Once the shortcut is on the desktop, right click on it, then select "Properties." Under Properties, h d the field called Shortcut Key and insert the cursor. Hold down ''Ctrln and "G" (for Google); the text "Ctrl + Alt + Gn should show up. Then hit "OK." The next time you want Google, all you've got to do is hit Ctrl+Alt+G. I

do this for all my major Windows pro- grams (Word=W, Excel=X), notepad (which I use copiously for notes), Google, Money Guide Pro, and even my own Web site. [Nancy Nelson adds: I switched to Mozilla Firefox as my Web browser, and it has Google Search built right in to its toolbar.]

Melissa Hammel. I love Cyber Secre- taries-a dictation service with confiden- tiality. This service is staffed by parale- gals who are scattered across the US. You dictate your notes, and they type them and e-mail them to you. We use this for client meetings. Go to www.voice2doc.

to find out more about them.

Also from Melissa Hammel. I have switched from a paper calendar to a per- sonal digital assistant (PDA). It fits in my purse and is very simple to use. I really like the feature that allows me to "sync" it with the calendar on my computer, which also keeps my work and home calendars in sync.

From Ken Robinson, I use Lacerte for tax preparation. In addition to e-filing my client's returns, Lacerte dows me to save the tax return as a PDF fde. If the client wants a copy e-mailed, it's easy to do, too. I keep my file copy as a PDF, which saves on paper, toner, wear on the printer, and most importantly, iile space. I've started archiving other documents as PDFs as well, leaving the fJe relatively unclut- tered and making it easier to find those relatively few papers that I need to keep in hard-copy. 4'4-

Nancy C. Nelson is a NAPFA-Reg- istered Financial Advisor who runs her eficient practice from a home ofice in O l p p i a , Wash., most of the year, and Ji-om somewhere warmerfor three months every winter (now in sunny Costa Rica!). Please e-mail your ideas to Nancy at ncnelson@~.netcom.com orfax to (360) 352-201 7.