Over July and August our team is transitioning from our beloved MoneyGuidePro financial planning software to a robust suite of financial and investment planning tools housed within the eMoney software. [Our "large projects and housekeeping" aren't on the domestic end and rather represent a big data migration initiative to improve the quality and depth of services we provide to clients.]
As we begin rolling out eMoney, our newest financial planning software and client portal, we wanted to highlight some features that you’ll definitely need to know about.
The Vault
First and foremost- the Vault! This is a secure document portal within eMoney, located along the top navigation bar of your personal website. Next time you have a document you’d like to share with us, simply upload it to the Shared Documents folder and the software will notify us. It’s that easy!
You also have another folder that you can use as your own personal filing cabinet if you choose. This is the My Documents folder which we do not have access to. You can create your own sub-folders and house your own documents there if you'd like. Apparently, some folks use this for ALL their documents, including family recipes.
We encourage you to avoid sending sensitive information via email. Sensitive information includes account numbers, Social Security numbers, and tax documents. The Vault is a much more secure way for us to share documents back and forth.
Spending and Budgeting Tools
Once you’ve connected your accounts to eMoney (if you haven’t received instructions on that yet, don’t worry- you will!), you can take advantage of the spending tracking and budgeting tools available. You’re able to track your expenses and income, categorize your transactions, and create budget items for your household. It’s an extremely dynamic tool where you can run reports across different time frames and accounts and is very user-friendly.
Tracking your spending can give great insight into your fixed vs. discretionary expenses, which we can use in your overall financial plan to model accurate savings rates and predict your spending in retirement. It can also just give you peace of mind knowing where your money is going and knowing that you have a handle on your income and expenses every month.
Your spending and income data can flow seamlessly into your financial plan or you can chose to keep it separate.
eMoney Mobile Site
The folks at eMoney have taken the time to optimize the mobile experience for you. That is, you can get eMoney on your phone or tablet and it’s very user-friendly. Once you get to the Home page of your eMoney website, click the Help link in the top right corner, and click How to Access the Mobile Site. The software will take you through the process of setting up your mobile access.
From there you have the full functionality of this robust software right on your phone. You can use the budgeting features described above, and get a quick look at your net worth and investments. You can also set up various mobile alerts in your Settings tab based on different events. For example, receive a weekly email summary of your investments, or get notified if you’ve exceeded your budget.
We are really excited to be rolling this out to our clients and we hope you take advantage of these resources. [Debbie is entranced with her own mobile app on her iPhone, having figured out how to bookmark the website tab on her iPhone screen.]
If at any point you have questions on how to navigate the software, don’t hesitate to reach out to Courtney and she can help troubleshoot any issues. You can also click the Help button on the top right of any page on your personal website and get assistance with the features on that particular page. For example, if you’re in the Vault and click the Help button, you’ll see an option for “Upload a Document” and the software will actually walk you through the clicks it takes to upload a document.
Your client site is optimized for you and your experience. We really encourage you to take the time and customize it for your needs and make the software work for you.
And of course we’re always here to answer questions and walk you through these exciting features if you want to set up a quick call.